Rating: 
Summary: great film until the very end
Review: This movie was moving and relevant. As the title tags it, it's about being a thirteen year old girl and trying to fit in with a cool crowd. The camera shot choices give it a documentary feel and the plot certainly comes across true enough. It could have very easily fallen into one of those gratuitous teen sex flicks given it's subject matter. But it never wandered from it's harsh and very real portrayal of a family's struggle by catering to purile interests and believe me, there were plenty of scenes that were of that nature. Kudos to the director for keeping this movie focused. In fact, the only scene of nudity involved an adult, the mother, in a totally appropriate scene (coming from the shower). A very honest movie that touched on what faces the teenagers of today and don't kid yourself that it's only those kids in CA or NY. Flashes of advertisements showing distorted images of sexuality and beauty were effective and the scenes of socialization could be updated "Lord of the Flies". There were so many social issues that were touched upon that I give it good marks for effort. I also liked the whole way it dealt with these issues. However, I couldn't stand the ending and it ruined the overall movie experience for me. I hate it when movies leave the ending open to interpretation just as a method of ending. This technique can be used effectively when part of the plot itself (Swimming Pool for instance), but it doesn't work here at all. Leaving it at the mother and daughter scene before that silly playground one would have made it a better film and left this viewer not feeling so let down. It was a powerful piece until the very end where it all unraveled for me.
Rating:
Summary: makes you think
Review: saw this with my wife around a year or so ago and this movie is still fresh in my mind. had heard lots of buzz about it, and after watching it, can say that the buzz was justified. The way they show the "downfall" of the lead character, and her desire to be liked (and to get a reality escape from events at home) has been done very well, and it feels very real. We could empathize with her as well as her mom, and talked about this movie long after the credits rolled..
She's justa 13 year old, who wants to be cool, hip like the other girl(s)... this movie kinda shows that one of biggest obstacles for young teens are other teens themselves (not drugs or sex etc.). you don't know whom to blame - moms, friends, brother, the absent dad or just the fact that protaganist has noone left to confide to except her "best" friend..
a must-see.. This is a movie which will make you think and wonder, and that's a good thing considering the major crop of movies that we get nowadays.
Rating: 
Summary: Just to clear things up
Review: Not a review, i dont have the time right at the moment, but for all those people who say the things in the film dont happen, they friggin well do. You were extremely lucky if you went through adolescence and never saw or experienced anything there, i'm thirteen, and i've seen it all happen, it does.Maybe you're blind to the fact that all around you, there's teenagers going through the exact same thing. You can choose to believe it or not, like it or not, but it happens, deal with it. This film's the closest thing to reality i've ever seen, and some of you lot really need to open your eyes.
Rating: 
Summary: meh...
Review: At the beginning, I thought this movie progressed really well. It showed how a girl struggling with family problems and trying to fit in would do anything to feel accepted by her peers. Towards the middle of the movie, it started to seem like this movie was pandering to guys who would rather see 13 year olds having sex than actually sitting down and watching a movie that had some actual substance. Towards the end, the movie got a little too artsy. The fight with her mother was long and drawn out, especially the crying. The end was all summed up by various time-elapsed shots of the girl and her mother sleeping in bed together, and culminating in her spinning around on the merry-go-round, looking at the sun, and giving out a loud scream. All in all, a very disappointing movie. Do yourself a favor and rent this one before you decide to buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Concern over viewer from Deutschland
Review: Firstly the movie was great. I don't understand what planet the "viewer from Deutschland" (can't spell Deutschland) comes from. His critique is laughable at best, and his xenophobic stance blinds him from the reality of a cosmopolitan society and the points made in the film. (...)
Rating:
Summary: Gut wrenching and horrifying portrait that's hard to forget
Review: Much like Larry Clark's Kids which was released almost ten years ago, Thirteen is a nearly unflinching look at an inner-city early adolescent teen named Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) whose reckless desire for freedom spins her life out of control. Her new friendship with the popular and alluring Evie (Nikki Reed who also co-wrote the film) begins Tracy's downward spiral, while her recovering alcoholic mother (Holly Hunter in an Oscar nominated role) struggles to maintain her fractured family life. What helps make Thirteen all the more genuine is that Reed, an actual teenager, co-wrote the film with director Catherine Hardwicke, giving the film a realistic point of view combined with Hardwicke's handcam documentary style approach. Shocking, at times horrifying, and hard to watch at some points; Thirteen ends up being something you'll not likely forget after viewing.
Rating: 
Summary: People who say this movie is great have mental problems
Review: I have never seen a more horrible film in my entire life. If this is a so called "accurate" representation of a teenage female's life then we are all doomed! In this movie they do drugs, talk back to their parents, fail school, party and to top it all off they constantly hang out with black males and in fact have sex with them. So not only does this movie set a bad example for REAL teenage girls but it tells them that it's "cool" to do drugs, fail school, talk back to their parents, and have sex at THIRTEEN with males of another race.
Rating:
Summary: a painful reminder of who we are as a people
Review: Thirteen, co-written by Nikki Reed who also co-stars (Nikki) as the popular teenager archetype is a terrifying examination of the realities of being a teenager today. What is so gripping is the causal realities of expressed in this film: damaged people who inflict their wounds on their youngsters through apathy, divorce, and drug and alcohol addiction. We witness the effects on their families as both Tracy (Rachel Wood) and Evie (Nikki Reed) find themselves in a self-destructive relationship each exploring the world of drugs and sex and peer pressure. You can see why each of them are drawn both to each other and to the world they inhabit and it feels more like a documentary than a film.
As the film draws to a close the relationship comes apart and Tracy is given a second chance to turn things around while Evie will continue the slow destructive path to who-knows-where. Holly Hunter is brilliant as Tracy's Mom having to capture the character of a recovering alcoholic who's life is in turmoil without ever going for the TV movie of the week tear jerker.
The ending is a painful reminder of how hard it's going to be for both of them. What terrifies me most is how it is obvious that this trend will continue and how families today are little different than families of any generation except the accessibilities of drugs and sex makes for a terrifying reality that I doubt will change. Thirteen will leave you with a sick stomach and a chilling reality. It's not so much about plot as it is a character study that is so real that as a parent you will loose sleep over it. I guarantee it for I did!
Rating:
Summary: Best movie!!
Review: THis movie is great. It's very realistic!!! Great Actress!! Evan RAchel Wood's the best!!
Rating: 
Summary: Powerful, but Unconvincing
Review: What the film 'Thirteen' displays is a symbolic motif of what teenagers, namely females, go through. Because it is unflinching in its presentation, the symbolism behind it can be misconstrewed as 'this is what all teens go through.' And while it is probably fair to say that many teens have had their brush with drugs, sex, and disfunctional families, 'Thirteen' is almost too eager to present the life of an urban teen. The premise is similiar too what many Junior high students feel they must do: fit in. Tracy ( Evan Rachel Wood), is the quiet and meek good girl. Her eager to please attitude and outcast status at her school draws her to Evie (Nikki Reed-who also co-wrote the script). Because Evie posseses raw sexuality and an overtly shallow confidence, Tracy finds her alluring. It only takes a 2 to three minute scene before Evie and Tracy exchange dialogue and become friends. What transpires between these two young ladies is a brutally, if not exaggerated, relationship based on drugs, stealing, sex and unprovoked anger. Although I was not convinced nor shocked by the girls behavior, Mel's (Holly Hunter in a heartbreaking performance) utter blindness of Evie's lies and Tracy's rants left me most affected. Hunter's naievete is bound to leave viewers with the widest spectrum of emotion. Hunter's willingness to give love and befriend her daughter is most likely what contributes to Tracy's descent from a well-balanced girl to out-of-control floozy. As ambitious as it tried-and wanted- to be, 'Thirteen' never breaks from the bounds of an after school special. Tracy's plight is overtly aimed at parents on what to look out for. But because not all teenagers act like Tracy and Evie, it should only be taken as a coming-of-age drama. Holly Hunter's fierce and vulnerable performance is most convincing, as she desperately tries- and fails- to win back Tracy. If 'Thirteen' would have focused on less 'eager to shock' methods, it could have been taken more seriously by me. Co-star and co-writer Nikki Reed went through much of the same turmoil as displayed in the film, but viewers should remember that she is one teen among many, and this unflinching but the over-the-top "expose" of sorts only shows a slight piece of the reality of young teens. It is a must see, but not a must believe movie.
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