Forever 16 (2013)

I'll tell you why so serious

Excellent but underrated film

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Oh my. Oh my. Watching this film, I was astonished to realize that I have scribbled almost 400 contributions to the IMDb database so far, yet never actually launched into my favourite topic -- the paradox, the oxymoron, that is Canadian film-making.Because to understand why this film rates only a 6.0 (yes, the IMDb members pretty much nailed it) you need to understand what passes for craftsmanship and artistic triumph in the frozen north.In the 1970s there was no Canadian film industry. Seriously. Look it up. Lots of great documentaries and hockey games. Period. End of story. Then about 1972 the government commissioned a White Paper on film, wondering if perhaps messing with the Tax Code could generate a real industry..? The report was favourable, and by the mid-80s dozens of "major productions" were green-lighted in Canada, sponsored by investors who believed that glamour of the biz combined with a nice tax break was worth the risk.It wasn't. You, kind reader, have likely never heard of the first 50 or 75 films produced at the dawn of the Canadian film revolution -- and for this you should be grateful. Produced by lawyers and accountants, crewed by whatever talent was available to hold the cameras and bash out product, scripts often written in crayon, and starring the leftovers of the Canadian TV industry, with accents so thick you lose an ocean liner in them -- these films were universally wretched. (With a few exceptions, like MEATBALLS).But even sad stories can have happy endings, and what happened was the Hollywood producers, fed up beyond measure with paying union rates, realized that the cheaper Canadian dollar could be "parlayed" into a cheaper production cost. Wisely, they brought as much mobile talent with them as the Canadian law allowed (ie, both in front and behind the lens) and used 100% Canadian talent very sparingly.Thusly did the Canadian industry, now suddenly a "bedroom community" of the Hollywood players in spite of itself, mature anyway until, by the end of the first decade in the 21st century, it was possible (BUT NOT ALWAYS LIKELY) to produce films in Canada which could pass for American.Well, this ain't one of them.Astonishingly uneven, with clever ideas that never actually go anywhere, this lack of control over the creative end of the film is itself a hallmark of the Canuck industry. The other reviewers were quite right: all dressed up, and nowhere to go. Great opening, great concept, but by the second hour the energy and the budget seemed used up, and the production quality (acting, editing, direction, writing) all start to look and feel like a bad after-school special.BTW, Tiera Skovbye's bio is very emphatic about her natural beauty and tremendous potential, but there are far too many scenes where her uncertainty about her character and awkward delivery are painfully obvious. Worse, pairing her against Andrea Roth (the "known" name) was a huge error, because even though Roth is twice Tiera's age (give or take?), and is not consciously trying to steal scenes, Roth's natural charisma is so much higher than the younger actress' that the eye naturally follows her anyway.Passable entertainment, but, oh my, it could have been so much better.

Great movie but the end sucked, when she was handed an the name of her maker and then it just cuts out. Come on there had to do a better ending than that, just letting us hanging there wanting to know what she is going to or if she is going continue working for the police. Are they going to make more firms or are the writes and Lifetime setting the scene for a new original TV series because that is something that i would watch every week because for me at would be a little veronica mars meets Buffy meets vampire diaries. But apart of the cliff hanging of an ending the movies was great just the right amount of horror, action and romance to be great watch that anyone who into vampires would watch.

As far as this movie standing on it's own, It was OK and a nice bit of diversion for a boring rainy Saturday afternoon. unfortunately there are many holes and missing points to the story such as the romance that Raven finds her self in seem to come out of nowhere as there is little to support it. In the beginning Roth confronts Raven about being a Vampire and blocks her from leaving by slapping her hand away as Raven tries to grab Roth's wrist, it just didn't seem authentic. Then there is the fight in the warehouse with the drug dealer where Raven is pushed into a pile of boxes, where's her Vampire strength. the relationship between the 2 leading ladies seems to get better with no explanation as to how it happens and there is the fact that Raven is almost 92 and treated like a teen with being threatened with being grounded, it just wasn't explained properly. These and the other missing pieces make it pretty obvious that some one wanted this to be a series and had several episode of scripts but had to condense them to a movie instead. There could be others to follow this but I doubt it.Suitable for young girls at a slumber party, they will appreciate this movie more than there brothers.

The made for TV movie "Forever 16" runs smoothly on a par as the Lost Girl/Supernatural series' but more tastefully done. That is to say without all the sex scenes the producers seem to think we need. It has great suspense and moves along quitewell. Andrea Roth plays Raven the vampire very well and she has greatfacial expressions and actions that are believable of a teenage girl. She has made her mark as an actress with other parts but has done very well with this one. I would actually love to see this made into a series, tho, it would take at least (2) shows for each new school she visits for the drama and suspense to be effective. The plot is established as the new street drug "Sugar" is becoming deadly for some students and others will kill over it. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars as a fantasy/sci-fi type show, compared to others airing on TV right now. Some series on TV right now only deserve a 3 or 4 star rating. I would love to see more shows that are so well written and put together like this one. I hope others can see the potential of this becoming a series, so let's hear it.