Wolves

I was not certain as to what I was about to watch, but I am pleased with having done so. Why such a positive rating? I enjoyed not only the script, but the acting.

Taylor John Smith is excellent as a young and budding actor. His facial expressions are extraordinary, projecting extreme joy to extreme hurt and angst. Of course, the end was predictable. I mean, how could it have ended any other way?

The family challenges, obstacles and dynamics are far more common in America today than some might want or hope to believe. In fact, I surmise that similar family "quakes" have occurred in every generation and will continue well into the future.

I must admit all the main characters are done very well, especially Michael Shannon as the a-hole of a dad. He drinks too much, gambles unwisely, doesn't respect his college writing students, and treats his teen son badly. All this ultimately comes to a head and there really aren't any winners.

The son is the star of the basketball team, the Wolves. He has hopes of a scholarship to Cornell. But he has yet learned to take control in tough situations. Some street basketball in New York with some rough characters helps him grow.

Carla Gugino, one of my favorites, is effective as the mother.

My wife and I were entertained, but watching the family spiral down was difficult to watch. On DVD from our public library.

This is a good movie showing the human element very well. You have a family that isn't perfect, an addiction that causes significant consequences, and enabling. The acting is very well. Someone said it was B or a TV movie, they must have accidentally put a review in the wrong place for the wrong movie. The production is done well. Overall a very good story, I could not stop watching, and it was very entertaining. I would just like to know what happened after the ending...

Saw this on neftlix. It wasn't about murder or serial killers, or dystopia like the rest. Just a family drama, which is refreshing.

A story about an urban white kid who plays basketball is unique unto itself. As was this kid. He was kind of soft and reserved, and he wasn't trying to be "street" like his teammates.

Shannon and Gugino were excellent as the parents, as was the guy playing the high school coach. So plenty to praise here.

But of course as professional reviewers have noted, there were too many clichés. The general metaphor aspect of the title was fine. But injuries, girls, betting, it was just too loaded.

I am always a fan of back-story. We heard that his mom met his uncle first, but we didn't hear from her about what initially attracted her to his dad. HIs confidence and popularity? Let's hear her reflect.

What does the kid want to major in at college? Does he like writing like his father? His dad seemed racist against Asians, but he doesn't say a word about his son's interracial relationship.

It's a Catholic school. Is the kid or his parents religious at all? We never see the dad go to confession, which is a cliché itself, but would still have added an interesting dimension.

The best aspect of the story was the idea that a jock has to be tough and dig deep. That it's very hard to walk a fine line between sensitivity and aggression. To have both. One of the great challenges of young manhood. This could have been explored much better. Clearly he inherited his mom's sensitive side. But everyone else was trying to toughen him up for his own good.

Could he still be a loveable character if he developed a thick skin and a pipeline to adrenaline? Were we supposed to assume that his final howl and chest-pound was indication that he was a new man? That he had learned how to tap into "beast-mode??

I've coached the game at every level. This is what I saw. The only accurate bball scene in the movie is the star actor's/player's shooting form. Defensive movement/agility skills are hard to develop and a sign of having played the game; they looked poorly, acting-staged. Everything else was just misrepresentation, and bad misrepresentation at that. Most notably the confrontation scenes on the playground; in practice and of course in the game. Isolated and small incidents do take place, but statistically would represent less than 1% of such games played. The confrontational language & behaviors of parents and coaches were just as unrealistic. Coaching to instill "rage", sorry, but the best players develop "control" of their emotions. Yes, isolated examples are out there as there are in anything, so what. They are not defining? Scouts don't show up advertising themselves; they try to blend anonymously.