Five Thirteen

Five Thirteen is similar in concept to Crash and Babel in which several people's lives unexpectedly intersect. That may be a weakness to some people, but nevertheless the film held my attention well.

However, this is not the best of films, either. It got a little weak toward the end with how they did the big tie-up, and the Taryn Manning story was the weakest part of it, but there's some solid acting here (some of the cast, anyway) and some surprises along the way too.

I had never heard of Kader Ayd before this and he hasn't directed very many films (none in over 3 years either, so who knows if/when he will) but this is an admirable effort. I will probably watch it again sometime soon.

A strange bird of a movie. Brilliant in some of the work, really bad in others. Difficult to give a grade, but it ends up somewhere from mediocre to quite bad. It starts up very good, but goes down from there. Still it's in a way not entirely without interest.

The film starts off with a great tension, when a police man stops by a car where a man is sitting besides a lot of empty bear cans. We understand that there's more to it, because then tension is high, helped our with both the dramatized acting as well as the music. Then with the opening credits we get a stunning birds eye look over the big city, with big sentimental music. Loved the opening. When it starts off like this, it's very promising. But then it's like someone lost it completely.

A nice script idea, though it should maybe have been cut 15-20 minutes, to make it more tight. The film is slow paced, both in rhythm and dialog. It's quite bad-ass In a gangster' way. Maybe the film is trying to be too much? Too many stories in one? Strange ways of using retrospective techniques, as you never knows when it's happening. I think writer, editor and director Kader Ayd should have had some qualified help here, with tidying up the script and some of the other, because with good guidance this could have been a great story.

Tom Sizemore and Danny Trejo are both good psychopaths, as well as James Russo is showing their talents, and knows what to do with their roles. Some if the actors are lesser known, and they are struggling big time under the direction. Not enough to ruin all the tension, though in the beginning, because you hope you'll be able to see through it, but half way you realize it's more than enough to ruin the overall impression.

The film takes on a big job, and the ideas are close to what could have been a very effective thriller, but ending up in an awful mess.

Well, to sum it up, it ends all over the scale:

10) Surprises, and end credits song "Never been in love" by David A Stewart (of Eurythmics) and Charlotte Carter Allen. 9) Idea and inspiration. 8) Talented focused filming, and the panoramas. 7) Opening tension and opening credits. 6) The known actors' acting. 5) The music and overall score. 4) Make up, believability and the incoherent storytelling. 3) Script and the casting of the unknown actors, and their acting. 2) Rhythm, pace and ending pathos. 1) instruction, slow dialog and the overall direction.

Overall score: 3, due to the small parts which made me intrigued, in what is really an unfinished and crappy movie.

Watch if you have 2 hours to waste. Do not expect anything and you will possibly enjoy it. Slow paced. Weak story line. Just okay soap opera.

This Movie is DOPE! People who doesn't liked it, are just H.A.T.E.R.S! I loved it so much that I recommended it to my friends and family and guess what? They loved it! This is powerful! You should also find out about the back story behind this film! The filmmakers had to fight so hard to get this done. That's why the movie has something different. I loved the characters (Bokeem Woodbine was perfect/Steven Bauer/Tom Sizemore/James Russo/Danny Trejo/Taryn Manning), the back stories (Tre/Sticky, Mike/Pablo), the opening shots are strong! LA is a character in the movie. The director knows his things. He controls his art! OK, the editing missed something but it's still good! It's coming out in theaters on June 11th! Get ready! Peace out!! 10/10

Nothing worth to mention, except for the first five minutes. The actors seem to be playing a "lame role", unconvincing and soap opera like, the music is over melodramatic adding to the lack of talent. Not even Tom Sizemore, (whom I had the chance to meet in LA in 2002, on 22nd street and Union Ave, while he filmed Robbery Homicide Division), adds anything to this movie. The scenes of the bank Robbery , taken straight out from "HEAT" and Sizemore fixation on playing a mix if DeNiro and Pacino while being on antidepressants, or maybe trying to remember his lines. The clichés, close-ups, and photography another let down, so far this movie seemed to be financed and acted by a bunch of guys who had too much time in their hands and not a single bright idea! The only one who is up for the job is Steven Bauer, on the other side of the coin I would said that the worse of all is the "actor" Malik Barnhardt, I wish that he has been shot instead of the cop! Seriously, if I were you I would pass on this one, and reinvest my time watching again HEAT, or THE TOWN or THE Italian JOB, heck I would settle down for Disney's Robin Hood for a better time!