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Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

You know, this movie was actually not that bad. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but it's watchable. I'm not a fan of Kristen Steward, but she was well-suited for the role. I would even go as far as to say that it is her performance that "carries" the movie.I haven't read the book, so I'm just judging this as a stand-alone movie, and, as such, it's not half as bad I thought it was going to be. Maybe it's because my expectations weren't very high to begin with...I do, however, believe that the current IMDb rating of 7.8 is just ridiculous. This movie deserves a solid 6.0, but not over that, honestly.A good movie. Definitely worth watching, but a bit overrated if you ask me.

This film encompasses the essence of high school life, and though not all high schools are like this, it was generalized without being overly stereotypic. I like how simplistic this film is, and how they showed the series of events by juxtaposing the present with bits of the past. The title itself, "Speak" is so direct and just hits the mark. Personally, I like one word titles.The acting was great too. We all know of the bashing Kristen Stewart gets from people for her stoic acting (and to be honest I myself have commented on it), but it works great for her character. The rest of the cast was good too, though I don't get what the character Mr. Neck (Robert John Burke) was all about. He acted prejudiced in the beginning of the film and I thought maybe he was joking, but he wasn't, which just made me think that he was a horrible teacher.Another thing that felt a bit off to me, was her hiding spot in the school. It seems to be a janitor room but no-one finds her there and she just claims the space.The directing, editing and screenplay enhanced the story of the film and made it very raw. They did a good job of bringing it to life and it felt real. This isn't an easy topic to handle and though the movie did not have the dark almost ominous feel that some have when this topic is involved, it showed how an ordinary high school girl might experience it. This was based on a book of the same name by Laurie Halse Anderson, and I'm not sure how closely it followed it, but the film was pretty well done.Read more movie reviews at: championangels.wordpress.com

Wow! I just found out that today, January 20, 2014 is the 10th year anniversary of the release of this fine movie by Showtime. I really love this movie and have watched it numerous times.The actress Kristen Stewart shines in it.The main character is a young teenage girl named Melinda Sordino. Sordino is Italian for " mute," and Melinda can mean, among other things,a Linden tree. Ironically, the quasi "mute" Melinda is the very person doing all the narrating throughout the movie.Many other character's in the movie have similar type names, for example; Heather is a friend that unfriends Melinda because Melinda is too depressed. And Ivy who unfriends her because of a misunderstanding. In fact, Melinda refers to cliques as "clans" which is from the Latin for sprout.And the author Nathaniel Hawthorne is mentioned in her English class and Hawthorne is a hedge bush of the rose family.Hawthorne's book, The Scarlet Letter is mentioned as being full of symbolism.Which this story seems to also be full of.I can't figure out why the author,Laurie Hals Anderson, of Speak uses so many horticultural references.But interestingly enough,right after Melinda is sexually assaulted by Andy,who is a popular teen, Melinda stays in his Jeep Wrangler after he leaves her. She looks through the windshield as she's weeping and sees a large majestic tree. Is the tree a " mute witness" to the crime?" We see the rape in a series of flashbacks by Melinda. Later on, when she begins her freshman year at Merryweather High, her lovable bohemian art teacher, Mr. Freeman, instructs the class to pick a slip of paper out of a damaged globe that will have their year long art project on it. Melinda picks one that has the word " tree." She tries to put it back but Mr Freeman says not to because that is her " destiny."Also, she turns inwards and starts to cut class and hideout in a utility room at her school.And then she, like the trees and shrubs around her, starts to recover after the cold winter and she finally begins to regain her strength and courage. This may explain why the author used the tree as a symbol for Melinda.The story line does not suffer from several plots interweaving like we see so much of but rather all the focus is on this young teen and her nearly year long recovery from her trauma.She befriends a very nice classmate named Dave Petrakis. Perhaps more symbolism here because the name Petrakis refers to a rock or maybe even a bedrock. And he is supportive of her while never really knowing what happened to her.The cast is finely tuned and hums like (fill in your favorite set of wheels). Kudos to the composer Christopher Libertino for a fantastic musical score. His use of a chamber orchestra and piano near the end when Melinda and her mom are driving back home after Melinda was put through another ordeal by Andy, the teen who raped her the previous summer, takes that scene to lofty heights. Happy 10th Year Anniversary, Speak.

I just watched the movie and it compelled me to write my first review.It itself says much about the movie.This is my 4th movie of Kristen Stewart and i should say she's gonna be the leading lady of the Hollywood in few years. The movie is about a teen who was assaulted in a party and kept the fact with her, leading her into a state of loneliness and lack of confidence to share her views with anyone.The subject was very hard to be dealt with but credit should be given to the director Jessica sharzer and of course to Kristen Stewart for a performance that will be remembered throughout her career.Kristen did a fantabulous portrayal of a traumatized teen with an ease.Its very difficult to let the other person know your feelings when you have few words to say but Kristen's expressions and body language did it all effortlessly. The direction of the movie is superb dealing more with expressions and behavior than dialogs. Even dealing with such a subject the movie is engrossing and does not let you go anywhere.I highly recommend this movie to every high school guys/gals and to everyone in their 20s or 30s.