Assassination Nation

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source: Assassination Nation

The only thing this...thing...has going for it are visual effects. It's The Purge meets Mean Girls. This is supposed to be a shock-to-the-system, wake-up-sheeple movie about privacy and hypocrisy, but it's just a flat-out oinker of a movie. There's just no value in it. The heroes are snotty little twits who garner your sympathy only because you know they're innocent. Nearly every scene is cringe inducing. It's a violent, cacophonous assault on logic and coherence, and it feels like it was directed by a toddler in desperate need of Adderall. It got so bad that I had to watch it on mute with subtitles. By the end of the movie, I despised pretty much everyone in the movie, even the ones who hadn't done anything wrong. I feel dumb for having watched this.

Art reflects society. When society grows divided and divisive, art will reflect it, and such is the case with Sam Levinson's ASSASSINATION NATION. As with Kubrick's A CLOCKWORK ORANGE in 1972, (now ranking in the top 100 films on most critics' lists,) it's decidedly not a movie for everyone. ASSASSINATION NATION goes places uncomfortable and apropos, and does so in spectacular, over-the-top fashion. PEW Research cited a staggering 94% of all American teens wielding social media as of 2015. We tell these teens that all nudity is inherently sexual and that their strongest natural urge is to be shunned, all while blatantly using it to sell practically every product on the planet. Some of their private divulgences, then, naturally contain nudity. As a legal repercussion, we've arrested and charged girls as young as thirteen with Felony Pornography Production for unwisely sending their boyfriends topless pictures - pictures these indiscrete boys shared with their entire schools and beyond. For added trauma, as hacking of social media grows more sophisticated, so, too, grows the broadcast of stolen photos and missives. We inexplicably shame women who've been wronged - women whose privacy has been violated, women who have been raped - and excuse males, saying, "Boys will be boys." We give boys a free pass and a pat on the back, be they aspiring athletes or nominees to the Supreme Court. But oh! My mistake - Brock Turner actually served three months of a six-month sentence for raping an unconscious woman and leaving her behind a dumpster. No free pass there, though some bemoaned how "sex offender" status would hurt Turner's promising career. Take a country where women have traditionally been treated as Second Class, achieving the right to vote only after a nearly 100-year unmet demand and not assuming control of their own bodies until fully a half-century after that - where marital rape wasn't declared illegal across all states until 1993, where equal advancement, and equal pay, for equal work is still out of reach for many, and you have a recipe for angst. Next, introduce a manipulative political party (unashamedly gerrymandered a 33-seat gain in Congress while losing by 1.4 million votes in 2010) that pairs bible-banging righteousness with cascading hypocrisy to roll back hard fought rights women gained and ensure others are never achieved. Then, ice it with a philandering leader who has publicly called women "pig," "dog," "cow," "slob," and "disgusting animal," a man who elicits and validates the very worst tendencies... and you have the recipe for an explosion. ASSASSINATION NATION takes a bloody hard look at where we are, lensing women's societal issues through a contemporized frame of the Salem witch trials. Some couldn't see past the violence committed by Alex and his droogs and condemned A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, and so will some be repelled by the violence and avoid ASSASSINATION NATION. In both cases, though, looking closer and paying attention rewarded this viewer. Your mileage may vary.

This is a fantastic commentary on social media and the cloud...the thin line we tread between privacy and being completely exposed. It delivers on all fronts and definitely lives up to the marketing campaign pushing how "graphic" it is. Perhaps some parts were a little obnoxious and overly self-aware but wow was it a fun experience. See this in a good theater with proper speakers and you won't be disappointed.

Was it the best film? No. But it's a fun movie, it goes more towards the teenagers, young adults but it's about a small town where everyone loses their minds and it's a fun storyline. If you're bored i definitely would watch this movie, it's not boring and it has good talented actors. Bill is amazing, Bella is a great actress not focusing on her in the media, Cody Christian did his job, he isn't the best actor, but he's a good actor and i can see him in more roles soon.

Completely surprised me - one of the very few movies where i didn't agree with the critics and their low score. Strong female cast, good plot, mind numbing violence with an amazing soundtrack. One scene was shot in one take which was suburb (try and guess which one). It's a great unique movie. It compelled me enough to make this my first movie review.

Didn't know what to expect when I saw this at a sneak peek tonight. My friends and I enjoyed it! Some unexpected storylines coupled with the director's use of close-up shots and bass created a sense of claustrophobia throughout the movie, which worked well with the script. Had a great take on current internet culture that felt real and not like some 50 year old executive's take on "being hip". Only gripe was the last 15 minutes or so seemed crammed together. Would have gladly sat through another 10 minutes to wrap up some things they skillfully built throughout the movie. Overall I enjoyed it and would watch again. The older people in the crowd were not pleased at all, however. Lolz! (You'll better understand that last bit after the movie.)