Thirteen

Rating:
Summary: Good quality but hard to take
Review: A thirteen-year-old girl wrote the story for this movie, so it is reasonable to assume that the facts presented are real or at least very close to reality. This is one of the aspects that makes the story so difficult to endure. The situation is presented in a way that shocks the viewers and leaves one in fear of having to deal with a similar problem.

The movie starts out showing Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) and her friend Evie (Nikki Reed) getting high in the house of the former. The action immediately goes back to the time in which Tracy was starting out in high school as a completely normal kid. We see how peer pressure affects the way adolescents act and how detrimental it is for their development. Tracy, in her desire to become popular and hang out with the "queen" of the place, Evie, pressures her mother into spending money on clothes, moves to stealing and cannot stop the slippery slope from then on. She deserts her previous friends and gets involved in drugs and consequently sex.

In the meantime, the movie presents a great depiction of how these facts affect the parents, and in this case specifically, the mother (Holly Hunter). Tracy's mom is a former drug addict, fighting to stay clean while trying to rebuild her relationship with her former boyfriend, Mason. The performances of the whole cast is superb, and this is one of the reasons why the movie is so disturbing. I only recommend you to watch this movie if you feel you can endure a story that is depressing and brings out fear in most people.

Rating:
Summary: Over the top and relentless
Review: I'm sure "thirteen" has a message in there somewhere, but it is relentless and bleak. Not only that, but the main character exhibits every cliched teenager angst symptom imagined by pyschotherapists. Each one of these problems is harrowing enough-but in one individual?? This is an afterschool special gone to hell.
The acting is superb though-though the main character becomes almost unsaveable cinematically.

Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: What an incredible movie. I didn't even know what it was about when I picked it up at the video store. I was shocked to find out that the movie was brave enough to explore its important topics. I think it was an eye opener to a lot of parents who are totally blind or even those that think they know whats going on in their teens life (I know mine dont...).

Definitly check out this movie.
If you are suffering with depression/drug abuse/self injury,etc I would suggest watching the movie alone.

Rating:
Summary: Sweet Thirteen
Review: An enticing and relevant indie effort, "Thirteen" stands as a pleasant surprise and a peculiar teen movie. This coming-of-age tale about a 13-old girl (the impressive Evan Rachel Wood, from the TV-Show "Once and Again") who suddently begins exploring her darker side isn`t grounbreaking material, yet suceeds as a compelling effort nonetheless.

Director Chaterine Hardwicke offers an intriguing debut oeuvre, one that dares to take a deep and risky look at today`s teenagers. "Thirteen" presents a strong and vivid visual style, full of energy and dynamism and somewhat reminiscent of MTV. The direction also offers a documentary-like quality, being quite realistic and credible on its approach. Hardwicke manages to develop key subjects such as family connections, sexual initiation, drug and alcohol abuse, school relationships and hierarquies, the access to popularity and many other key issues of urban societies.

Although this movie could have been an average and moralistic afterschool special, it wisely avoids easy melodrama and stereotyped situations, presenting a wide-eyed perspective with enough ambiguity and depth. The lead character Tracy changes quite fast (perhaps way too fast), and her search for a different and stronger personality is well showcased here, evolving from a cute, smart and innocent girl to an experienced, trendy and hip "lolita" that enters a downward spiral. The movie`s pacing is well-balanced and the powerful soundtrack adds a vital sense of rythm and confusion. The performances are noteworthy as well, especially Holly Hunter as a young and worried mother who doesn`t know how to react to her daughter`s behaviour.

(...)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie!!
Review: This is now one of my favorite movies. It is so good. I definately recommend that you rent this. A++ !!

Rating:
Summary: Good production value keeps you mildly interested
Review: This is a poorly written and badly directed short film, pure and simple. What is interesting and keep me watching, to some extent, was the production values. Shot on video it appears, with a bad script and bad direction, one would think it would also have horrible production value. That is what the viewer expects when they watch a film that is terrible and shot on video. BUT Not in this case, they spent some money and it shows. It keep me very mildly interested to see what was coming next, just to see!

Probably the worst indie film I have seen that looked big budget Hollywood even though it was shot on some sort of video format.

Instead of spending the sum of money they must have spent for some rather impressive set design, it would have been nicer to see a better executed story with some good direction. But then again how can we expect new filmmakers to do this when even Hollywood won't.

Rating:
Summary: Dull Unrealistic Plot Leads To 104 Minutes of Dissapointment
Review: I saw this movie after reading mixed reviews about it, and after about 40 minutes I could hardly stand to watch any more of it. I am a teenager myself, and there has never been a more incorrect portrayal of teen life than in this movie. At the beginning of the movie, the main character plays with Barbies and loves her mother, but then meets Evie who is the school "bad girl", befriends her after proving she's cool enough, and then supposedly Evie corrupts her mind to make her change her life in a negative way. Come on! One person could not change you in such a way that you would start shoving your mom and piercing yourself up, you would already have to be pretty messed up in the first place. She wouldn't have done it because Evie "corrupted" her, she would have done it on her own for rebellious purposes.

All in all, if you want an unentertaining, unrealistic portrayal of a struggling 13 year old's life, this movie's for you, but since not many people would want that, save your time and money and watch something with a lot more meaning.

Rating:
Summary: not worth your time
Review: i saw this movie and i did not like it. the camera made me mad. you can tell this movie was written by a teenager.

Rating:
Summary: Sex, drugs and Shattered innocence..right?
Review: The opening scene should have gave it all away.It was a close up of former good girl Tracy getting high and then when touching her face realizes that she is so high that she cannot feel her face. So she ultimately decides in a few seconds to have her overly willing friend,Evie ( you still cannot see her though at this point) to hit her. Thus driving both of them into a wild hitting phase which concludes in one of the girls yelling, "YEAH!"
By this time you are either a)switching off the dvd player, b)compelled, or c) apalled but at the same time intrigued. In case you are wondering (and you probably are) I was C. Not really at the graphic detail of teen drug use but the fact that I had never seen my generation so accurately portrayed in any film. Scary right? Unlike the film I will start at the beginning of my "Thirteen" experience.
When I sat down to watch the hyped film I expected to be blown away by the "gut-wrenching sadness" and "heartbreaking storyline" that I had been fed by countless critics. It was like they were screaming into my head " RUN AWAY FROM THIRTEEN! YOU WILL BE IN HYSTERICS BY THE OPENING SEQUENCE! AHHHH!" But the reality was that I ended up laughing at it. Now my having said that may raise some eyebrows of overbearing parents that are reading this, so overbearing parents you might as well click the 'x' on the screen because its only getting worse for you. Back to Thirteen. The synopsis is simple. 13 year old Tracy is practically a good kid. She has a great relationship with her lush of a mom (Holly Hunter)and gets all A's. Well always this sinks to the bottom like the Titanic when Tracy starts her first day of seventh grade. She meets/sees the newest freshest faced 'hottest girl in school'type, Evie. (Evie, Evil..get it?) Anyway the girls become bestest buds after one shopping trip where Tracy steals a wallet to impress her. This may be where the only fault in the film comes from. Because its like BAM! Tracy is the baddest girl and Evie is the founder of all their rebellious shenanigans in one day. ONE DAY. Now I know that Nikki Reed, who was 13 when she wrote the script with Catherine Hardwicke (The director)but the fact that Tracy goes from Barbies to belly button rings in one day kind of streches it.The rest of the film follows their downfalls into drugs, sex and all that jazz that parents try SO HARD to keep their kids from getting into. And then it ends..thats all I'm going to say because I don't like to give away endings. ONto performance critiqing. Every critic who did a review on Thirteen labeled Evan Rachel Wood, Tracy as the biggest jewel in the crown. Maybe..she did a good job. A GOOD JOB. It wasn't overdone and it was believable but there was a LOOK AT ME I'M DOING IT quality that I found kind of offputting. I thought that Tracy couldve done without taking on ALL of parent's biggest fears. But other than that Evan really did a great job. Onto my favorite older actress, The Oscarwinning Holly Hunter! Hurrah hurrah hurrah right? Well she did good. She did. But I still felt as though she was kind of...dependable. The performance was safe. Good yes, but safe. There wasn't anything bad about it but there wasn't anything stand out about it. Brady Corbet hasn't got enough reconigtion as Tracy's worried brother. I have an older brother and I know that is exactly how he wouldve reacted to the change in his sister. Jeremy Sisto was probably one actor in the film who belonged in it for more than he was. He was great. Kip Pardue, his short part served him well. I can see that he is still playing the goof ball card..good because he does it well and I don't see him doing anything else..sorry but I speak the truth. Now now now you didn't think I would forget Nikki Reed did you? GOOD because I SAVED the best for last. Nikki Reed deserved more credit than she got. Yeah she wrote it, and she wrote it well...but is everyone forgetting the amazing talent that radiated from her as Evie on-screen? I mean to be that great..it just rocked the movie. She came off strong and fearless sometimes but at the same time you saw the hurting part of her..the part she used to manipulate and analiate people from her life. She made the movie. And thats it.
Bottomline: I would go rent it right now if I were you. And then if you feel the same, which you will, you should buy it. You will like it believe me..thats all folks

Rating:
Summary: Just like me.
Review: I truely believe this movie is a great one. Anyone who like a good story, this is the movie for you. I feel like i connected with it personally because it reminds me alot of what myself and a friend got into last year. Although it did not go so far as these girls, it was quite the same. The drugs, the sex and the drinking were a very hard thing to watch. But connecting with the main character truely got me emotionally. By the end i was crying remembering some old memories i once had.