12 and Holding

Nice production, good script, outstanding casting, great young actors and well chosen music makes this a gem. One can complain about some of the extremes of the plot, but forgive the excesses and farcical elements for the sake of a well woven story. It begins with four kids, friends growing up in a middle-class neighborhood. A significant event splits the initial single thread into three, each following a child: the precocious Malee making her first amorous exploration; Leonard and his struggle with obesity, not only his but also of his immediate family; and the conflicted Jacob. While the film would classify as a drama, there is a good deal of humor to counterbalance the tension that is maintained throughout. The editing is superb in how it moves nimbly among the threads, keeping us always interested and curious about what will happen to the characters. The young actors deliver their parts with aplomb which combined with excellent directing should make this a success.

This movie touches on a series of issues troubling America today seen thru the eyes of it's youth. The film shows us that problems in areas such as violence, guns, race issues and obesity are no longer limited to adults but play an active part amongst young people as well. The film centers around a group of 12 year old friends and their families. All with different problems which reflect on their parents short comings. The script is very well written and the acting is quite extraordinary throughout the entire film. The only real problem is that the movie feels a little too short, but perhaps it's better to quit while ones ahead. I'd recommend this film to anyone with an interest in human nature and all it's flaws.

The minute this film started playing, I was hooked. The story follows three 12 year olds who are the normal kind of kids you expect to bump into in your neighbourhood. Each has their own issues, as do all 12 year olds, and it is not till an immensely tragic death amongst them occurs, that they start confronting their issues and start trying to deal with them in their own way. Each very different. The story unravels beautifully and there are times you feel like you need to look away, and start squirming with unease and shock, and times you literally burst out laughing and then cry as well.. Well, I did anyway. I would highly recommend this to pretty much everyone I know, I cant believe it slipped through the net, and I have only just seen it. An absolute gem. To say it is like Stand By Me is a bold statement, but a deserved one. Its of the same calibre. Watch it.

One night, I was on the couch, looking through my "TMN on demand" movie selections, movies A-Z. Looking for good movies to watch on the movie network is tough, considering you don't know what ones are good/recommended and what ones you should entirely stay away from. I watched all of the ones that fit my taste, and one night, I decided to view the movie "Twelve and Holding", hardly knowing anything about it. I'm not really a fan of dramas at all, the "Family Channel" Disney, pretty much ruined them for me, with these lame drama-comedy's such as MVP and cheap independent cartoon type ones. I decided to give it a chance, because I wasn't really in the mood for any action or horror or Comedy's like I usually was. As soon as it passed the dramatic scenes about a brother tragically loosing his life to a Molotov cocktail, I was absorbed into the fascinating character study and couldn't wait to see what happened next in the tale. Many characters with completely different problems are examined in this story, and it ties together nicely with the main plot. Inspiring and heartbreaking moments with truly remarkable well-acted sequences.

The actors often seemed way to real, to me, and instead of feeling like a total wordplay, the writing style was original and refreshing. There is a good amount of subplots in this coming-of-age story and they are studied with well-written dialog, awkward or funny moments and significant captivating motivational characters. This movie isn't nearly as highly acclaimed as I proposed it was going to be, only one nomination? No Oscar nominations? Nothing!? Surely it deserves more observation on a critical side. Consideration, understanding, the dealing of problems, and temptations are pretty much the four key aspects this movie is tackling and trying to make the viewer take into consideration, but people aren't giving it a fighting chance. Speaking of characters, five strong characters are highlighted in this film. Jeremy Renner, who plays Gus, a mislead need-no-sympathy pathetic man who tries to be a clean role model to a little girl, Zoe Weizenbaum who happens to be one of the other lead characters, playing Malee. Jesse Camacho playing Leonard, who has to deal with his overweight family, one of the more motivational and inspirational characters of the film. He is also overweight, but actually is the one who is trying to take action and loose weight. Conor Donovan, another powerful actor from the film, plays two characters, himself and his much more unapproachable and risk-taking brother. Two strong roles too fill, and he does the job. This film tops off with one of the most emotionally charged and satisfying endings I've seen in a drama since a long time.

Highly recommended.

3/4 Stars

This movie is done very well and definitely engaging to watch, but perhaps not quite to my taste.

This is a movie about a tight group of 4 children -- a precocious girl, an overweight boy, and twin brothers, the more out-going who is killed in an accident. The funeral starts the journey of understanding the lives of the remaining 3 -- not only how the family deals with the murdered son/brother, but how the overweight boy deals with his obesity, and how the young girl deals with her mother and absent father.

The heart of the movie really revolves around these near teenagers, and as a result, the coming-of-age experiences are highlighted. At times, I laughed awkwardly, probably out of embarrassment for one of the characters. Nothing wrong with this -- in fact, it's probably what the director was trying to achieve. I was also pulled into the bizarre logic the brother was going through -- through talks with his parents, and even more poignant, some of the very personal kid-to-kid conversations. The visual clues and the inter-actions to parents were all well chosen to create characters that were believable, 3-dimensional and full of conflict. Kudos to the director and actors on this fine work. In particular, the precocious young girl (Zoe Weizenbaum) was well-cast in a very strong, conflicted and convincing performance.

Overall -- well done. This is one of the best 'pre-teen-angst' movies I've seen in a long time.