Wolves

Shannon was made to play bad guys, which he has done in almost everything I've seen him in. If he's not villainous he's usually in some abstracted area of dubious martyrdom. A notable exception is exemplified by Elvis and Nixon, a straight up comedy, that is a good example of this excellent actors range. Here he is playing a consumate parental monster, and that's what this thing is about, not basketball. The focus is just not centralized on court combat. There are a number of overblown clichés in that regard and an overabundance of mixed racial conflicts and love affairs to sledgehammer us with we are all one big happy family, in love and in war. But this is about Shannon , his wildly out of control gambling. There's the locus of this movie about a one man demolition squad to ruin an entire family. Even after making arrangements , by mortgaging or selling off his long suffering wife's assets to cover a large 6 figure debt, with three full sets of menacing bookies that have already injured him, he then injurs his star player son to keep him out of the action so he can make another huge bet against his kids team. The denouement becomes predictable and is fulfilled. And 'good" triumphs, but it's soured as the bad daddy is led away by his unsavory creditors to an implied ending reminiscent of Lefty in Donnie Brasco, which by the way, in 'real' life was not the one held responsible for the infiltration. I liked this thing because I like M. Shannon's work. He usually plays some variation of himself. That much is inescapable, the intensity , the ferocious looks that move from handsome to terrifying with a blink. He's more then a one trick pony though. But his one major trick, and the first time I saw it was in Until the Devil Knows You're Dead. Is the main propellant that is the wind in his careers sails. It works for me. He has a lot of company in this regard, and since in this era of disease and paranoia and hyper automation and hyperinflation we are all isolated and have nothing left but electronically deployed images to amuse us, these are now are cyber buddies, our remote billionaire pals who wouldn't spit on us if we were on fire, which most of us are. So if you like an actress or actor, keep watching and send them sailing into their mansions and yachts and vast holdings, that's the modern idea of friendship fot the most part.

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.

The reviewer who characterized this film as B- movie entertainment must possess unattainably high standards. Having never coached basketball, I can't honestly rate "Wolves" in terms of what must be a fairly specialized field (as one critic here has done). From my admittedly limited perspective, I found "Wolves" to be an intelligent, and involving melodrama.

Yes, a lot of cliches, Michael Shannon and basketball. And few pathetic scenes. >But a lesson about virtues, maybe too Americans, predictable in its unpredactibility, far to be awful but remembering better films about the same theme and political correct. Not convincing but just nice.

Anthony (Taylor John Smith) attends St. Anthony's diverse school in NYC. He is the star of the basketball team and is looking at attending Cornell. His father is a college professor (Michael Shannon) with minor alcohol and major gambling issues which weighs on Anthony's tuition, etc. Anthony's problems compound as the film goes on until it gets to the point he has to step up and go above and beyond. This is a high school basketball drama. The film uses the N-word in a less than racist, and causal manner, that does not go unnoticed and corrected. I thought Taylor John Smith was less compelling in his star role than his support cast. Michael Shannon provided us with a complex antagonist, a role that sometimes take center court and front of the DVD cover. Guide: F-word. Implied sex. No nudity.

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??