This review is for the ones like me who were concerned about scary images. Not too many worries here, there's no gruesome cadavers or blood spurts, they only show a close-up of a teen who had gotten shot, but all you see is some blood on one girl's head. There is a scene with a dead body, but it's not presented in a scary "Hollywood" type of way, it's very peaceful, and the dialogue between the two main characters is beautiful here. FYI: the body is not a shooting victim. I actually found that some of the dialogue was more disturbing than the film itself. For example, near the beginning when Busy Philipps asks Erika Christensen if she knows why carnations have become the "funeral flower" and she tells her because back in the old days before they could embalm the body, they would use the flowers to try and "cover up the smell of the rotting flesh," that kinda creeped me out. So yeah, there's just a few little things like that. Overall the movie is fairly intense, if you're super sensitive to movies and such you'll probably need to watch something light afterwards. But please check this out, it's not too scary, it's amazing, and the acting and writing are terrific. If you liked "Thirteen," "Swimfan," "Gossip," or even "My First Mister" then get this.
An amazing, moving tale that doesn't preach
I thought this was a phenomenal movie. I'm glad the filmmakers did not try to answer the question of why the shooter appeared - in fact, you never see him nor the shooting onscreen. You only see the trauma afterwards and the pain that the characters go through as they struggle for an answer that's not there, and that's how it is in real life.
Erika Christensen and Busy Phillips are just mindbogglingly good. Usually both preppie teens and Goth chicks are portrayed in a simple, one-dimensional fashion, but I've never seen a film that got under the skin of both these "types" better, and I've never seen another film that made me believe more that two girls who were seemingly so different could become so close. The catharsis at the conclusion is both believable and immensely satisfying.
Yes, the police dialogue is both stilted and unreal (in fact, I think they could have taken the investigation part out altogether). Doesn't matter - the one police character who is part of the heart of the story does a great job with what he's given.
If you get the DVD, don't miss the featurette. This movie was screened at Columbine after an English teacher requested it. Some of the viewers were shooting victims and they thought this movie was a very accurate portrayal of the chaos and unsatisfying groping for answers that happens in the wake of this kind of tragedy.
Boring, slow pace, cliche
I don't see why this movie is highly rated. Very unlikable, simple characters, predicatble story - could have been told in 44 min tv show.
A gut-wrenching portrait of adolescence, Thirteen is made all the more powerful because it was co-written by a genuine teenage girl, Nikki Reed, who also co-stars in the movie. Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood), a serious good student, finds herself needing to express her anger and resentment at her fractured family life. To rebel, she pursues a friendship with the reckless, alluring Evie (Reed), who seems to have all the cocksure freedom that Tracy desires. What follows is both harrowing and compelling: Tracy becomes enmeshed in a relationship with Evie that empowers Tracy and drags her deeper into the misery she wants to escape--and terrifies her mother (Holly Hunter), who struggles desperately to hold on to her daughter's love. Thirteen makes every step on this path utterly... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Holly Hunter - Evan Rachel Wood - Nikki Reed Director(s): Catherine Hardwicke DVD Release Date: Released the 27 January 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Sultry Eliza Dushku runs for her life in a snug white tanktop, pursued by inbred backwoods cannibals in Wrong Turn. Dushku (Bring It On, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and a clump of other attractive young people (including Six Feet Under's Jeremy Sisto and Desmond Harrington of We Were Soldiers) get waylaid in the deep West Virginia wilds by a trio of grotesque mountain men, all given realistic ugliness by makeup artist Stan Winston (Interview with the Vampire, Terminator 2). Wrong Turn is the sort of movie where you know who's going to die by the order they appear in the credits, but fans of the inbred backwoods cannibals genre (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes) will find much to savor, particularly the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Eliza Dushku - Emmanuelle Chriqui - Jeremy Sisto Director(s): Rob Schmidt DVD Release Date: Released the 06 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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In terms of alluring female nudity, Swimming Pool shows a lot, but it's what remains concealed that gives this erotic thriller a potent, voyeuristic charge. With his Hitchcockian handling of secrets and lies, prolific French director François Ozon reunites with his Under the Sand star, Charlotte Rampling, to tell a seductive tale of murder and complicity, beginning when British mystery novelist Sarah Morton (Rampling) seeks peace and relaxation at her publisher's French villa, only to find his brash, sexually liberated daughter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) arriving shortly thereafter to disrupt her solitary reverie. What begins as mutual annoyance turns into something more sinister and duplicitous, alternating between Julie's predatory sex with men and Sarah's observant,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Charlotte Rampling - Ludivine Sagnier - Charles Dance Director(s): François Ozon DVD Release Date: Released the 23 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The plot of Pieces of April, a sweet independent film, couldn't be simpler: As a raffish young woman named April (chipmunk-cute Katie Holmes, Wonder Boys, Dawson's Creek) struggles to cook Thanksgiving dinner in her dingy, cramped New York apartment, her estranged family slowly drives toward the city, stopping now and then to question why they're going to a meal they expect to be not only bad to eat, but awkward and unhappy. The writing, acting, and directing of Pieces of April ranges from straightforward to clumsy--and yet the movie builds to a surprisingly potent emotional conclusion. Much of the credit goes to wily Patricia Clarkson (High Art, The Station Agent), who plays April's cancer-ridden mother with a compelling mixture of sadness,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Katie Holmes - Patricia Clarkson - Derek Luke - Oliver Platt Director(s): Peter Hedges (II) DVD Release Date: Released the 24 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Based on Susanna Moore's popular novel, In the Cut centers on Frannie (Meg Ryan), an emotionally stifled English teacher who gets steamy with sultry Malloy (Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count On Me), a cop who's investigating a series of brutal murders--but Frannie soon suspects that Malloy may be the killer. As a psychological thriller, In the Cut is heavier on psychology than thrills; the story is a skeleton that director Jane Campion (The Piano, An Angel at My Table) cloaks in one of the most nightmarish visions of urban life since Taxi Driver or Seven, accompanied by lots of explicit sex. The movie's dark tone will put some viewers off, but Ruffalo's effortless magnetism serves him well; no woman in the audience will question how quickly Ryan... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jennifer Jason Leigh - Meg Ryan - Mark Ruffalo Director(s): Jane Campion DVD Release Date: Released the 10 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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