Retenue

I'm an old fart that still loved this comedic teen scream. The acting was very good, not Oscar material, but fun and talented. And hey the kids are still young, who's to say there's not one in their future? Shanley Caswell and Spencer Locke were great and cute as buttons.

Josh Hutcherson made a likable leading man.

The movie itself was eclectic, space ships and time travel to ax welding prom queens. A little bit Scream, Animal House, and Back to the Future.

Cinematography was great as was a wonderful soundtrack.

Note: Yes brief nudity, and the other stuff you have to consider if young kids watch. However, the gore was limited and comedic. Your kids, but about 12-14 years old would be my cut-off.

I went into this knowing very little, on the back of seeing Detention mentioned in a horror movie list and attracted by the promise of a very different kind of horror film.

From the very opening line of dialogue (I'm Taylor Fisher and I'm a B**CH - beauty, intelligence, talent, charisma, hoobastank) the film picks no bones in immediately letting you know what you're in for and the satirical, self referential kind of humour we're dealing with. Unfortunately the film misses the mark on this front far more often than hitting it. I have no issue with this kind of humour (see Josie and the Pussycats or The Cabin in the Woods for stellar examples of it done well) but it feels far too much like an exercise in throwing everything at a wall and hoping something sticks in this case (as does the convoluted plot). Admittedly there are a sprinkling of lines that hit the spot but in order for this kind of humour to succeed it has to be razor sharp and Detention just isn't there. Eventually the relentless culture references become tiresome and I found myself disengaging from the movie.

On the plus side the film is acted perfectly well and the cast is obviously giving it their all (Shanley Caswell carries the movie and is particularly watchable) and to be fair you can't say the filmmakers aren't ambitious and trying to do something different, which has to be commended, but assuredness and ambition unfortunately can't save the movie overall as it descends further and further into ridiculousness and leaves you with the feeling that the movie isn't as smart as it thinks it is.

If you're looking to pass 90 minutes without particularly needing to heavily invest in something then you could do worse than Detention, but otherwise it's a film best left in the annals of relative obscurity.

Actually you might feel this tries so hard to be cool, that it never quite achieves that goal. But is that a criticism? And if you think that the same man who directed this took a hiatus after his last movie (Torque), just because he wanted to find himself and his own style rather than just do one studio movie after the other. The director himself will be the first to tell you how much he despises the movie itself (though I do think he is a bit too hard on himself on "Torque"). Still it's refreshing to see a director not being full of himself. Kudos for that and the movie he made here.

Detention is worth watching a second time. Just to see if you got everything right the first time around. And because of the dialogue. If you want to criticize something, I guess you can say, that every character is fast with a witty response, making them all seem alike. Characters could have been developed a bit better. Still good throughout, with a rather complicated story.

I have been waiting for this movie to go into wide release since being in the audience at the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival when the director brought this film to town. The entire theater was packed and I don't know of a single person who was not having a blast. The film grabs you from the beginning and you're hanging on to the arms of your chair until the end. I'm not talking about horror...I'm talking about the sheer PACE of the movie.

The film is VERY fast-paced. So fast that when the audience was cracking up from a line or a scene, the next scene had already started and we missed the first several lines. It took me about 15 minutes to adjust to the pace, kind of like when you watch an Irish film it takes the same amount of time to figure out What ppl are saying and then once your brain gets into the groove, you're off.

I would describe this film as a mash up of Heathers, Donnie Darko, and The Breakfast Club on acid, with a Red Bull soda chaser. Super fun, destined to be a classic.

I wonder if they've waited for a release so that Josh Hutcherson can become a super mega star via The Hunger Games, in order to boost revenue. Not. A. Bad. Plan.

Go see this movie. You're welcome.

i saw the trailer of this movie and didn't understand anything but i love josh hutcherson and i watched all of his movies so i thought i'll give it a go, thank you josh for introducing me to one of the craziest movies ever. this flick you either absolutely love or hate, it's not one move it's a bunch of movies mashed up together like the director took a dozen films put them in a blunder and came up with the weirdest most addictive cocktail ever, what's more cool about it is that it doesn't take itself or other movies too seriously, it's direct and honest to audiences, it tells you from the start , we're here to have fun but that doesn't mean it's empty, oh boy it's full to the brim with crazy ideas and outrageous twists it's a popcorn movie that makes you think and ask after watching because while watching you'r too busy catching up with it's fast pace and different stories which all connect at the end. the cast are pretty good especially that girl who plays Riley and the popular girl ione and of course josh"Clapton Davis" with his cool shades.this is one of few movies i watch repeatedly because it's fun and interesting