Little Birds

This is another one of those movies with a girl that has emotional issues because of superficial problems. And has a friend tagging along. And in movies like this they can be the loyal and righteous friend or the one that is a complete negative influence. In this it's the loyal and righteous friend and the main protagonist Lily Hobart(Juno Temple) is the one that is trying to find acceptance and pleasure. And thus joins up with few troublesome skateboarders. The thing is it's difficult to sympathize with a character like Lily Hobart in this when she has a loving mother and a loyal friend and hasn't been emotionally screwed by other people harming her physically. I can sympathize with Juno Temple's role in "Killer Joe" but not really in this one. Plus after watching "Beasts of the Southern Wild" the problem the protagonist faces is way far from being as bad. She just comes off a uptight selfish girl that uses other people and gets used as well. I don't know but I got kinda numb to these types of movies after a while. These types of movies are watchable in my opinion but just far from being all that entertaining. Some have sorta engaging aspects going for it but not really in this one. Besides certain parts about peer pressure, this one is passable.

5.5/10

Most movies usually aren't realistic. They might be to a point but lots have a happy ending and everything is okay. Little Birds is not like this at all. It doesn't have the happy bright movie feeling. Little birds is realistic and every single event in it could easily happen. This movie also teaches a great lesson and has its shocking surprises. We learn in this movie sometimes trying new things is good, but going too far can end with terrible results. Little Birds isn't just an independent movie, it's the hard cold truth to life and proves bad things do actually happen. Always trying to impress people isn't going to get you anywhere in life except possibly leading up to terrible consequences.

Cool huh?! Lol, no but really this was a a neat lil' story, lil' means a lot packed into a lil' amount of time. I thought the relationship between the girls was nice and the dialogue betwixt the local L.A. hooligan rascal knaves was very witty and fun. I was on the edge my seat during this film. I thought the end came way way way too quick, but then I realized, the whole thing was an end , an end right from the start. In that nasty place, then in L.A. with those dead-beat hooligans and with those dead-beat pervs and with the dead-beat parents and on and on... this seemed to me like a story on trying to start your life when its already over before it began... very queer and odd situation, come and check it out it was really cool!

The good thing about this movie is Juno Temple. She is just incredible in her role. That being said her character is the bad thing about this movie. Your lead character should have something that despite his bad choices and behaviour makes him relateable and likeable. That is not the case here. She is angry at everything and the whole movie she either yelling at her supposedly best friend or insulting her or lauging when other people insult her. If they had a established why she feels so empty early in the movie we could be more on her site. Too bad.

Lily Hobart (Juno Temple) is a restless damaged teen desperate to leave her Salton Sea trailer park. Alison Hoffman (Kay Panabaker) is her more reserved best friend. They run away to LA and follow Jesse (Kyle Gallner) and his boys. They get further and further into trouble as their friendship is put to the test.

This is written/directed by first time Elgin James. It's a very solid debut. Juno Temple has carved out a nice niche in the damaged teenager roles. She is probably one of the best at that role right now. Kay Panabaker is one of the smarter actresses, and she fits this role. She's great at the friend role, and she's great as the wet blanket in LA. Leslie Mann has a great maternal feel. Kyle Gallner is the perfect companion to Juno Temple. Overall, the acting fits perfectly in a fairly lightly written movie. It's a well worn genre. It's not new, but it's well done.