10th & Wolf

A decent story, good acting, but for a good number of people who have spent any time in Philly and/or Pittsburgh, ... you can't pull off calling Pittsburgh 'Philadelphia' (anymore then you can call Philadelphia 'Pittsburgh'). Both cities are great locations for movies... but just because they both happen to be in Pennsylvania, you can't interchange them -- geographically, architecturally they are distinctively unique (even if you leave the "Youse Guys" and the "Younse" accents out of it). Had South Philly's "Rocky" been filmed in Pittsburgh but pawned off as Philly it wouldn't be the classic it became, (nor conversely would the "Deer Hunter") it would have been ruined. I don't know how much better "10th & Wolf" would have been if the geography matched the story, but for me it would have been more believable.

Robert Moresco ('Crash') is proving to be a fine storyteller with a definite style of his own. 10TH & WOLF, written by both Moresco and Allan Steele and directed by Moresco appears on the shelves of DVDs as one of those films that makes us wonder why it didn't do well on the theater screens: it is well written, beautifully directed, has a cast that is consistently fine, and unravels a family involved in organized crime theme as well as any movie out there.

Moresco very wisely starts his story in the burning oil fields of Kuwait during Desert Storm where Marine sargeant Tommy (James Marsden, doing his finest work since his brilliant portrayal in THE 24TH HOUR) drives his Hummer through the desert, coming to grips with the absurdity of war, a key turn in his personality causing him to be dishonorably discharged for his refusal to take part in that ridiculous war game. He is given a deal: FBI agents Horvath (Brian Dennehy) and Thornton (Leo Rossi) visit his cell stateside and offer him clemency if he helps them capture a big drug dealer Reggio (Francesco Salvi) in Tommy's hometown of Philadelphia. Tommy had escaped the organized crime scene by joining the Marines, but is suddenly returned to his family occupation as an undercover agent with a wire. Tommy's brother Vincent (Brad Renfro) and his cousin Joey (Giovanni Ribisi) welcome his return and begin plotting ways to off Reggio. Beatings and murders begin to occur: Joey is a bit on the mad side and plunges his boys into messes that become like quicksand. How the family bonds over losses to big crime and vendettas, and how that lifestyle affects parents (Lesley Ann Warren) and victims turned girlfriends (Piper Perabo) leaving the drive to survive as the paramount goal is the run of the plot.

There are plenty of cameos (Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Dash Mihok etc) to round out the dark atmosphere, but the strength of the film lies strongly on the shoulders of Marsden, Ribisi and Renfro and they handle their roles exceptionally well. This is yet another big crime story but one that grips the audience's attention and holds it to the final twisted end. Strong violence and language, but a testy and tightly woven story with many unspoken metaphors. Grady Harp

It was a mediocre movie with a good cast and lots of clichés. Plot was nice, but predictable and unoriginal. Val Kilmer and Dennis Hopper were simply there for BIG NAME billing and a waste of time. It was also funny to see Tommy Lee in a cameo. James Marsden, Giovanni Ribisi, and Brad Renfro were all excellent and were believable. I don't know, but I think Rocco was played by The Tony Luke, Jr. His roast pork sandwiches are fantastic.

My main problem with the movie is that it was not filmed at 10th & Wolf. I grew up in Philadelphia and it looks nothing like the scenes in the movie. Well, maybe they got a few street shots. There were too many bridges, streets too wide and too clean, and the properties were too wide to name a few examples. Even the scenes on 9th street (outside the butcher shop scenes) were not filmed on the market that I know. It was not just a mediocre movie, but it was a sham.

What an awful film. I caught a screening of it last night in Irvine, CA. I think the filmmakers would be lucky if it made it straight to USA or FX. It's not even good enough for Showtime. Seriously though. Every cliché in existence is thrown in, combined with REALLY bad acting and REALLY bad cameos from Val Kilmer and Dennis Hopper. What a waste of time. The worst performance in the film probably comes from Lesley Ann Warren, who acts all Jennifer Coolidge-esquire in an over-the-top role. After seeing this movie, everyone will know that Paul Haggis is the real brains behind "Crash," because what Bobby Moresco wrote here comes straight from the lame examples you would find in a book on how to write a screenplay. Trust me, and don't waste your time on this movie if it ever ends up coming to a theater near you, which it probably won't. This was pure trash.

I was not at the special screening in Orange County but got to see this movie under special circumstances. To me, this movie was about five elements from being great. Having said that, though, I would definitely recommend other people to see it because the project as a whole is worth it and it pays off in the end. James Marsden was excellent. Giovanni Ribisi was near excellent. Some of the other actors did very good jobs with their parts. The story itself was also compelling. What didn't ring true to me were Warren's performance. . .totally miscast and an average performance, the cameos of Tommy Lee and Val Kilmer were distracting and unneeded, Brad Renfro was good in any one scene but from scene to scene his character was not consistent. . .one scene he seemed normal and the next he seemed like Rain Man, the dialogue had a few too many clichés, and the movie did not completely capture the period of the early 1990's or, in flashbacks, the mid-80's. Had all of these things been just a little better a 9 out of 10 would have been easily attained. Still I plan to recommend it to other people because this movie will emotionally move you.