Was up late last night, and saw this fifteen-year-old girl, Nikki Reid, on Last Call with Carson Daly. She wrote and acted in this movie (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0328538). Just something else for the general wannabe-filmmaker public to be jealous about. :-D I don't know if the film will be any good. I don't know if it can be, considering the arguments brought up in related threads about the issues of the quality of writing of people under the age of say, 21, or maybe to be a little more generous, 18. But still, it's gonna be interesting to see how this movie turned out, if it ever plays anywhere near me.
i saw the trailer for this before Northfork. don't know a whole lot about it, but i did notice that it was co-written by the lead actress. it looked interesting, based on the trailer.
the director, Catherine Hardwicke is a production designer whose credits include Vanilla Sky and Three Kings.
I interviewed both Nikki and Evan a while back. You can read about it at:
http://www.movienavigator.org/thirteenpress.htm
..From whaT I have read/heard about this film it seems very promising ..and i think Holly HUnter is cool........
Saw this last night and it was very entertaining, if a bit harsh on its 13-year-old subjects.
Most of the cast was excellent. Evan Rachel Wood had to support the fairly complex central character and she was excellent. Although the scenes featuring adult actors kept this film from sinking, the teenager scenes were helped along by lively direction and editing and an engaging mix of frantic music (Clinic's song made the "dropping acid in the park" scene among my favorites). Nikki Reed was just barely tolerable as Evie, but she was the co-screenwriter (and she's only 15 today!) and it was obvious she'd had little to no acting experience. But, you know, she was alright....
Holly Hunter's performance was watertight, as usual. She's just completely believeable as Tracy's effed up, struggling mom. Her affection for her role and for her onscreen daughter never seemed forced. I also thought Tracy's estranged Dad's scene was among the best....groan-inducing and funny.
As several reviewers have stated, Thirteen does tend to take the shock value a bit far, and needlessly so. Tracy's troubles with Evie and with her fucked up home life get emotional mileage enough without her self-mutilation scenes. Those were unnecessary, I thought, and the least believeable aspect of the Tracy character.
Out of 10.0 possible points, I'll give it: 7.6
I really really liked this movie. It really made me sad. Evan Rachel Wood's performance is amazing. Easily the best female performance I've seen all year. Her penultimate scene with Holly Hunter in the kitchen was devestating.
I don't think they went too far with the material; they could have gone a whole lot further -- and the characters certainly put themselves in situations that could have ended up much worse. I'm glad the director decided to keep things reigned in; it makes the movie even more realistic. I also think the self mutilation was justified -- that's something that character would do.
I kept thinking about my 13 year old sister while I was watching it, and being really really glad she's not like that.
Is your sister as hot as they are? (Just kidding...)
yeah what's the nipple factor in this?
this movie is like that episode in South Park where Cartmen goes to Maury and goes "whateva, whateva, I do what I want!" for 2 hours.
good gawd, that is a funny episode...
Quote from: Pyeah what's the nipple factor in this?
I would think non-existent since the girls are underage.
dang.
can't be that shocking then.
Just saw this on thursday night. Very powerful film, I must say. It's a film I'd love to seen 13 year olds sneak into. I was working at a theatre where that was playing and I knew they were sneaking in, I'd wave them in. I'd venture to say a lot of that was accurate, but I'm curious to know what percentage of 13 year olds have experienced most of that. I felt it was shot very well, it got right in there to see the self mutilation which was ugly for me (i have this thing with body parts and such. Requiem's black heroin did that for me: "ughh. fuck!!") But regardless of how I take it, that's how it should be done. Don't hide content like that from our eyes. Make it look as bad as it could. I say this, but I had no problem with the bellybutton piercing because that worked how it did. That wouldn't have had much effect if they just kept the camera on her stomach. The other shots that aren't praised enough are the marketing shots. Quick flashes of billboards and things like that. That was very good.. obviously that made a lot of sense and tied into the "I'm on a diet" comment from Tracy."
Now I don't think Holly Hunter's performance seemed forced. I can't really *feel* for the character like certain mothers out there can, but I felt that she had a genuine love for her daughter and always wanted the best for her. The scene with them at the end together when she grips Tracy in the bathroom is a great scene. Just the way they move.. and their timing.. It just looked so well done.
Flaws. I think Nikki Reed's history needed to be a bit more clear to us. I didn't like never finding out. If she was a pathological liar, so be it but the movie never makes it clear what's true and I think that should've been revealed to clear up confusion of the character. And of course, Tracy's father was a problem. All those scenes with him needed to be cleaned up BIG TIME. They should've worked something out with his deleted scenes or perhaps not even include him. I don't know. Perhaps just a better INTRO and not just suddenly one day on their porch. Didn't work for me.
All in all, a very moving film.
I watched this last night and really loved it. I was just waiting for some kind of sappy resolution, but was ecstatic it never came.
Afterwards, I turned to my wife and said, "If we're having kids, it's gonna be boys."
Quote from: GhostboyI'm glad the director decided to keep things reigned in; it makes the movie even more realistic.
i just watched this movie. holy shit. i was cringing through the wholte thing. from the opening scene on, even when things werent bad yet, just knowing they were going to be bad, was just really really uncomfortable to watch. i thought this movie was very very realistic and probably the only way to acheive that was to have a damn 13 year old co-write it, and it worked. i liked the cinematography too, the camera was so energetic and constantly moving around. and also how by the end of the film the colors were muted and everything looked dead. i liked how they gave just enough explanation to justify the girls falling into these situations as far as being from broken homes etc. without ever being cheesy or going too far. it made them somehow more sympathetic than the rich kids in traffic, although i can understand anyone falling into this kind of thing, this just helped for this particular movie so you didnt spend two hours going "what the fuck are you doing?!!" because as a parent, you really would have no idea how to handle this. i dont know that this is a great film, but certainly a powerful one and i think this should be required viewinng for 8th/9th graders along with Elephant.
also; performances amazing all around. and good job female director!
*maybe a spoiler*
my only problem was with the end. im glad that they didn't take an easy way out...but i felt it defenitely ended too soon...like,all of the sudden it was over...althought the scene up to the end was phonomenal, the film didn't know how to put a resolution on something as big as that. so, it didn't. im not sure how i would have ended it, but it defenitely would not have been that abruptly.
EDIT - Oh, P. There's no actual nipple factor in this...but there's a few scenes i think you'll quite enjoy.
I just watched this for the first time last night. I thought it was really good if not really depressing (not necessarily the end, but it in itself). And no, P....no nipple factor except for Holly Hunter...but there's some tonguing between the two girls, if that's what really matters.
While watching this, I was reminded of the first time I saw Varsity Blues in theatres. Hardly the film goer then, I was intrigued by the serious issues the film was talking about, but I still knew most of it was for show only. Issue after issue, controversy after controversy, the film was promoting itself at the same time because it made the controversy appeal as entertainment to a soundtrack that made the film "hip". Fast forward 5 years and you get "Thirteen", a film that hides its showmanship of sex and drugs with indepedent filmmaking techniques. The same problems remain and even though this is based off a true story, the writers admit they used more controversies than what really happened and there lies my point. I will admit the dramatic punch at the end of this film is more honest than the other, but the same feeling of opportunism for every taboo teenage problem and vice is still present.
Quote from: The Gold TrumpetWhile watching this, I was reminded of the first time I saw Varsity Blues in theatres. Hardly the film goer then, I was intrigued by the serious issues the film was talking about, but I still knew most of it was for show only. Issue after issue, controversy after controversy, the film was promoting itself at the same time because it made the controversy appeal as entertainment to a soundtrack that made the film "hip". Fast forward 5 years and you get "Thirteen", a film that hides its showmanship of sex and drugs with indepedent filmmaking techniques. The same problems remain and even though this is based off a true story, the writers admit they used more controversies than what really happened and there lies my point. I will admit the dramatic punch at the end of this film is more honest than the other, but the same feeling of opportunism for every taboo teenage problem and vice is still present.
I don't think I could disagree more. I just finished watching Thirteen and it's not a perfect film but an effective one. I feel almost like Tracy was my child, meaning that the film was so personal that I felt involved somehow.
It's all about perception. If you thought that Thirteen was glamorizing sex and drugs, then that's what you brought into it. There was nothing in the film that was enticing whatsoever.
Yes, it was a bit "afterschool special" at times and I have issues with the subtext that "only
slutty white girls would ever hang out with black and Latino guys," but it's no less potent a film for it.
This film was entertainment only because it's a film. By writing it off as a teen exploitation exercise undercuts the reason for the film's existence. I say "reason" because the film didn't have much of a specific point other than to say, "This happens and it's fucked up." It doesn't offer any solutions to the problem, it doesn't sugarcoat anything (if anything, it comes off as a "greatest hits" of teen problems all rolled into one movie) and it definitely doesn't glorify any of the behavior in the film.
The only problem with the practicality of Thirteen is that the audience that should be learning a lesson from this movie is too young to be freaked out by it. But many a parent will shit themselves with fear because of it.
Quote from: hacksparrowI don't think I could disagree more. I just finished watching Thirteen and it's not a perfect film but an effective one. I feel almost like Tracy was my child, meaning that the film was so personal that I felt involved somehow.
It's all about perception. If you thought that Thirteen was glamorizing sex and drugs, then that's what you brought into it. There was nothing in the film that was enticing whatsoever.
Yes, it was a bit "afterschool special" at times and I have issues with the subtext that "only slutty white girls would ever hang out with black and Latino guys," but it's no less potent a film for it.
This film was entertainment only because it's a film. By writing it off as a teen exploitation exercise undercuts the reason for the film's existence. I say "reason" because the film didn't have much of a specific point other than to say, "This happens and it's fucked up." It doesn't offer any solutions to the problem, it doesn't sugarcoat anything (if anything, it comes off as a "greatest hits" of teen problems all rolled into one movie) and it definitely doesn't glorify any of the behavior in the film.
The only problem with the practicality of Thirteen is that the audience that should be learning a lesson from this movie is too young to be freaked out by it. But many a parent will shit themselves with fear because of it.
Kids is a movie that really scares someone about the youth of the world. The context is everything and comparing this film to that, its Hollywood esque in the purest sense. In the middle of the girls running around doing wild things to a hip soundtrack, the scariest of the problem (the girl cutting herself) is quietly alluded to and shied away from only to come full circle as a dramatic turn that shows just the aftermath. If
Kids took on that problem, it'd make it an effort to show every detail of the girl cutting herself. In what
Thirteen is trying to accomplish, it adds nothing grotesque or new that hasn't already been detailed by a movie like Kids. Its level of rawness (or lack of) makes the film very exploitive. I never got the feeling of being punched in the gut the way Kids did to me. This film is actually a breeze compared to that.
Dramatically, looking at both films, they strive to accomplish very little.
Kids does scare the shit out of you, but its still trying to throw every taboo at the audience to make their heads turn. Both films look at problems that could be given 100 other films of screen time to be given sincere investigation into the complexity and weight of their problems. These films just run the mill on every taboo they can find.
Quote from: mdFor a long time i didnt even know what the age of the girls were
...okay.
Quote from: OnomatopaellaQuote from: mdFor a long time i didnt even know what the age of the girls were
...okay.
dude....they were all 18
i'm going to have to disagree with you md. your problems with the film seem to stem from you finding the situations to be unrealistic, but i dont think thats true at all. my friend who grew up in a broken home found the movie to be incredibly truthful and realistic as he had gone throught a lot of those same situations with his younger sister as he stood by like the helpless brother. the movie doesnt say THIS IS HOW ALL GIRLS ACT. but it doesnt mean that the story the movie tells COULDNT happen.
Quote from: El Duderinodude....they were all 18
I don't know where you guessed that but the two leads are under 18.
Quote from: Cinephile 9000Quote from: El Duderinodude....they were all 18
I don't know where you guessed that but the two leads are under 18.
Come on. You don't have to say it.
Quote from: mdIn terms of relationships, and reality, none of this could have ever happened....well it could happen and it does happen, they just were lazy in both the writing and directing. Im sorry but no 13 year old girl, who is so goody two shoes and smart 4 months prior, is really going to blow prescriptions drugs, drop acid and do whatever whatever, especially when there parents are in the next room, i mean how dumb did they want us to think that these girls were. I could understand if they were 18 but not 13.
The pressures that young teen girls go through are very real. And yes this does happen. By the time I was 18 years old... I had already had my share of teen hell. The spiral downward, especially for teen girls entering highschool, is extremely quick and contagious. Within 1 month of highschool, I had started smoking pot and cigarettes and drinking.
I am a well adjusted young woman. But I was insecure enough to spiral downwards too. I'm lucky I caught myself. Not everyone can.
Because you have kids (or a kid) I suggest you take this movie as a cautionary warning. Denial just perpetuates this behavoir.
I always took advantage of those kinds of girls. I guess that could go into the thread about what we did as a kids we regret.
Quote from: Cinephile 9000Quote from: El Duderinodude....they were all 18
I don't know where you guessed that but the two leads are under 18.
i was kidding :wink:
i know too many people that crazy to think it wasn't accurate.
Quote from: mdif this was a black family....itd be a whole differant story
If you didn't say that just to piss people off, then I'd like to know why you think it would be a different story. And no, I'm not sharpening my "PC" claws in anticipation of your answer; I genuinely want to know why.
So would a lot of white mothers.
I understand where you're coming from, after so many black comedians have 'advocated' corporal punishment in child rearing, but it's a issue that could probably be better divided by class than race, and even then it's impossible to draw lines.
Basically, had the mother been played by Angela Basset and not Holly Hunter, that wouldn't have been an excuse for her to hit her daughter. The essence of the character would have to change.
this movie was not made for 13 year olds to see it.
Quote from: mdI understand eve is hot and stuff, and maybe tracy really just wanted to make out with her, but really...what was her motivation in trying so hard to be friends with her.
a girl that was in the 'cool circle' who had previously made fun of her, is all of a sudden accepting her as a friend? you dont believe that a 13 year old would be seduced by that? see also: tina fey's Mean Girls for further proof that this is how girls act.
Quote from: mdQuote from: themodernage02also: tina fey's Mean Girls for further proof that this is how girls act.
ill add freaky friday and the confessions of a teenage drama queen to that list to....
for you then...
Buena Vista Home Entertainment have now released the disc specs for the original
Freaky Friday which stars Barbara Harris alongside a young Jodie Foster. The disc will be available to own from the
1st June, and should retail at around $19.99. A double pack with the 2003 remake will also be available for $39.99. The 1976 Freaky Friday will be presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen along with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Extras will include a newly recorded Look Back With Jodie Foster interview and a Memory interactive game.
Disney have announced a release of
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen which stars Lindsay Lohan, the irresistible star of Disney's recent Freaky Friday remake. This 'hilarious comedy' will be available to own from the
20th July this year, and should set you back around $29.99. The disc will carry both widescreen and full screen editions of the film, as well as a Confessions From The Set feature, a Eliza's Fantasy deleted scene, the Lindsay Lohan Music Video "That Girl" and an audio commentary with director Sara Sugarman, writer Gail Parent, and producers Robert Shapiro and Jerry Leider.
Quote from: mdsimply because a black mother would beat the shit out of her daughter if she ever said fuck you to her...
Quote from: mdand on the whole race thing...i have lived in the ghetto and seen families raised...for the most part they don't take shit like some white parents do. Don't think im making an assumption merely on watching comic view. Im not advocating violence, personally i think its cruel and unjust...but is it effective?
I have to agree. Not only would the parents beat the shit out of her but grandparents, aunts, and uncles would come over just to get a couple of smacks in too. I'm almost not joking.
But regarding the effectiveness of it, it's still a crap shoot. There are as many kids that will stay in line as ones that will act up even more out of defiance. For example, a friend of mine from grade school was never allowed to go out at all, always had to be home right after school, and would get a beating if he wasn't; this happened all the way up through high school (I imagine the beatings stopped once he got taller but who knows). The year after we graduated, I found out that he had gotten this girl we knew pregnant. It's nothing particularly shocking but this was the sort of thing his parents were trying to avoid and it happened anyway. Personally, I think it happened
because he was such a shut-in. It doesn't just depend on the upbringing; it depends on the psychological effect that said upbringing has on the individual and we're back to square one.
Getting back to Thirteen, I posted a few weeks ago what I thought of it but after thinking a lot about it, the overall effect that the film had on me has kind of diminished. It accidentally trivializes the shit that goes on in by trying to cram so much into one movie. This kind of thing does go on but I understand why people find it hard to believe.
Quote from: mdThis movie is very overrated, firstly the direction isnt very good...i hate the whole, psuedo verite cinematagraphy. It did wonders for 21 grams, but it does nothing in thirteen but scream to the audience "hey look im trying to direct, but i don't know what to put here,s o ill just insert some broll footage"
I couldn't agree more. Yeah, we get it. You're trying to make it more real by having this 'documentary feel', but what you're doing is taking the attention away from the actors and the story. I will say, that Thirteen is pretty accurate in conveying how fleeting school friendships are, and the want to be popular and be with the 'in' crowd.
Quote from: mdif you thought thirteen was good at establishing and recgonizing social circles of middle grade kids, then youll love how singleton handles race,sex and um neonazism with michael "yo right right thats dope" rappaport which im assuming reflect his days at usc in his excellent sophmore film, higher learning.
I think it is his best film; better than "Boyz N The Hood."