Twelve

I for one thought that the narration by Kiefer Sutherland was one of the better things about this movie. The narration throughout the movie is what makes it different from other films. It also explains some of the characters because there isn't enough time to show everything on camera.

I liked this movie. It's about college drop out drug dealer, White Mike, whose mainly selling weed to his rich high school friends in New York City. His supplier, played by 50 cent, commits a couple of murders, that doesn't play a major role except that most of the movies' characters know one of the guys. The other major plot is this kid, Chris, likes to throw parties at his house. He throws a party for the hottest girl in school, and things end badly due to his crazy brother. I just thought the movie was interesting as it told the tale of how rich white kids waste their money and have parents whom are never around.

FINAL VERDICT: I liked the narration and how it shows all the characters without getting confusing. I recommend it.

I finally got to see this movie and I have to say, I really did like it. I know that this movie has been getting terrible reviews and slammed by just about everybody, but I would like to back this movie up a bit.

1 - When I first heard about this movie and saw the trailer, my first thought was this reminds me of "The Rules of Attraction" and "Less Than Zero," two of my favorite books and movies. So I immediately went searching for the book "Twelve." Found it, read it, and LOVED it. I guess you sort of have to be into these types of stories to enjoy them. But needless to say, the book reminded of "Rules" and "Less Than Zero," which is why I liked it so much, except "Twelve" takes place in the present, which I can relate to, and not the 80's, even though I still love them.

Realizing this right now as I type this, don't watch this movie or read the book if you are not into these types of movies/books. If you are, then I highly recommend it.

2 - After having been a fan of the book, I was very anxious to see the movie. I finally saw it, bought it without seeing and wasn't sure what to expect, and I can say it was better than I expected. I was beginning to let the negative reviews suck me in, but I was pretty pleased with it. I think the main reason why I liked it is because it stayed very true to the book. Obviously the book is better, but the movie was pleasing for me.

3 - I was very happy with the casting in this movie. I think Chase Crawford did a great job. Very believable as White Mike. I hadn't really seen him do anything because I don't watch "Gossip Girl," so it was nice seeing what he can do. I really like Emma Roberts so I enjoyed her just as much as Molly as I always do in any role she portrays. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, small part, but very strong performance. I only knew him as a musician, never seen him act, and was impressed with him. He too, was very believable. Most of the actors in this movie were very believable. The two individuals who stood out most to me were Billy Magnussen and Emily Meade. I have never seen them in anything else before, and I thought they were absolutely great. I hope to see more of them. I also loved Ellen Barkin's appearance in this movie. She was great as always.

4 - A lot of other comments or reviews, slammed the narration of Kiefer Sutherland in this movie. I will admit in the beginning it seemed to be too much, or some parts didn't really need to be narrated, but the majority of the narration, I thought was needed. I did not think it was out of place. It reminded me of the book once again. The narration was informative, descriptive, and at sometimes comical, or comic relief in my opinion.

5 - I thought the style was done very well in this movie. The music, the party scenes, the atmosphere, the different groups and cliques, the suspense and fear, the sadness, the chemistry between the two leads, etc. This movie pulled it off. I was worried before I saw the movie and with all of the bad reviews that it would have been too much or not enough, but NO, I was pleased.

This is my overall opinion on the movie. The only thing I did not like about this movie, and I wont give any spoilers to anyone, I felt like the end was rushed. It seemed like the "Event" at the very end, came and went too fast. Still an impressive performance delivered by the actors, which helped the scene out for me, but I felt like not enough time was spent at the end. I guess to understand what I mean, you would have to read the book then see the movie. My recommendation.

But I will say that although the very end had a slight minor change, again no spoilers, I was happy with the ending. That was a major concern for me, but I thought the very end was simple and sweet. Which worked.

I honestly really hope this review helps people who are interested in this movie. I'm going recommend it to people who are into these types of stories/books/movies. I think what helped me the most was that I knew what was going on, which might be a spoiler for some people or people just might not like that, but just know that if you watch this movie, its a lot like the book. And don't let the negative reviews stop you from seeing it. Check it out and see for yourself.

I've never seen anything that any of these actors have been in before, so I can't compare their work here. However, I really thought Billy Magnussen, Chase Crawford, and Emily Meade stood out in this film. I didn't expect their performances to be that believable, but I think they did a really wonderful job. Magnussen is a VERY convincing psycho-junkie, Crawford does a really great job with his character's inner good v evil, and Meade is really fantastic as a desperate clueless teenager with too much money. All other characters weren't worth remembering in my book.

I actually really liked the movie's narrative style and language. Kiefer Sutherland has a nice voice for the part, and it was timed really well. Makes me wanna read the book.

After making his abominations of Batman with 'Batman Forever' and 'Batman & Robin,' Joel Schumacher lost a lot of respect from basically all of the film-going community. However, to me, he has had enough solid flicks like 'The Lost Boys,' 'Phantom of the Opera,' 'St. Elmo's Fire,' and '8MM' to at least have some credibility.

Unfortunately, his newest film 'Twelve' is one more addition to the negative side of his filmography. It tells the story of White Mike (Chace Crawford), a young wealthy drug dealer in New York City whose already complicated life becomes even more problematic when his cousin is murdered and the prime suspect becomes Hunter (Philip Ettinger), White Mike's best friend.

Perhaps the most obvious issue about 'Twelve' that negatively affects the rest of the film comes from Kiefer Sutherland's constant narration throughout. It's a common mantra among screenwriters to "show, not tell," but writer Jordan Melamed decided to throw off those typical conventions and tell every single detail of every single moment through the voice-over narration. This contributed to the other problems of the film, including the stilted dialogue & awkward acting. It's hard to deliver lines well when the actor is being forced to randomly pause mid-sentence to let Kiefer Sutherland explain what is going on in the scene.

Ignoring the issues caused by the overdone narration, it's hard to find much to like about the film. Joel Schumacher's direction is interesting enough, and the cast is nice to look at, but that's about it. The story is nothing special and is easily overshadowed by other "drug-induced youth" films like 'Less Than Zero' and 'Holy Rollers.' For this reason, 'Twelve' will never be more than just a mediocre attempt at something that's been done much better many times before. I'd like to see Schumacher return to what he was able to do in the late '80s with 'St. Elmo's Fire' and 'The Lost Boys,' but it doesn't look that will be happening anytime soon.

Final Verdict: 5/10.

-AP3-

TWELVE is a film that is at first terrifying in its message about the irresponsible, uncontrollable drive for physical gratification among the wealthy youth of New York, and then a film that makes us profoundly sad that this is what we in our permissive, no established behavioral boundaries society have produced. Joel Schumacher knows his game and once again forces us to examine what we have produced in failing to give our younger generation the security for learning guidelines for social interaction. Jordan Melemed adapted Nick McDonell's novel for the screen and the flow of the story is in the form of offscreen narration by Kiefer Sutherland.

'Twelve' is the new play drug in the party circles of New York City and is supplied to the kids by Lionel (50 Cent), all other drugs being the purview of White Mike (Chace Crawford), a lad whose mother's death from cancer has left him aimless, electing to deal drugs rather than join his confreres in going to the 'proper colleges'. White Mike watches as his high-rolling life is dismantled in the wake of his cousin's murder, which sees his best friend arrested for the crime. White Mike believes that his fellow youth don't need anything, they just want everything and the nexus of his philosophy is drugs. A grossly dysfunctional family of boys - Chris (Rory Culkin), Hunter (Phillip Ettinger) and Claude (Billy Magnussen) - have 'famous parties' in their parents' absence especially for the local bedbunny Sara (Esti Ginzburg). Another sad character is Jessica (Emily Meade) who takes 'Twelve' by mistake and then becomes addicted while her floozy mother (Ellen Barkin) and her supplier Lionel alter her life. The murder of White Mike's cousin and the subsequent effect it has on the rest of these young people leads to a disastrous conclusion. Their lives are as empty as their drug-addled brains.

A story of decay and decadence and misplaced ideals, TWELVE is not pretty to watch, but the performances by some of these young actors make it memorable, forcing us to look at what we've done to our youth.

Grady Harp