10th & Wolf (2006)

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

10th & Wolf is the kind of film that I always liked, in fact year back I may have given this a much higher rating.This is a drama about loyalty,friendships, honour, family. What is different here is that all the characters are not very nice people, in fact some are downright vicious. This being said,the all were at least interesting,. The script by Howard Moresco & Alan Steele is well written & told, Howard Moresco also directed it.The cast is large comprised of newer actors & older veteran performers. James Marsden, Giovanni Ribisi & Brad Renfro have the leads, they are first rate especially Ribisi. Piper Perabo is the main actress in this film, & soon will have starring roles,Leslie Ann Warren, Brian Dennahy,Dennis Hopper all have good scenes, Val Kilmer has a small cameo, (I did not recognize him .For some reason, the story location is Philadelphia BUT was made in Pittsburgh.There is lots of violence & many people die. What would you expect from a gangster movie.. As I said this is a guilty pleasure film.Ratings: *** (out of 4) 86 points (out of 100)IMDB 8 (out of 10)

I gave this film an 8. Maybe it's just because I happen to think Giovanni Ribisi is an exceptional actor, but I really did find this to be a surprisingly good film. The one thing that didn't sit well with me was the idea that James Marsden is the star. That's simply a misnomer. He is a decent actor and does give a professional effort, but I just do not see him as the street-tough Philly kid he's supposed to be. Maybe this is a bit cynical, but there really wouldn't be much reason for a woman to watch this movie if not for somebody with good looks like Marsden playing the lead character and gracing the cover of the DVD. Hey, don't get me wrong, Piper Perabo has made me watch a movie or two that I regret, so it definitely goes both ways. Still, I could have done without the forced romance angle that they really tried to pull off between the two of them. But overall I definitely would recommend seeing this film for Ribisi's performance if nothing else. As he ages he's beginning to play some much darker, grittier characters which suits him very well. His versatility is astounding, especially his ability to maintain a level of sympathy no matter how many misdeeds he commits. Check this one out if you're a fan of the genre, it will hold your attention and may surprise you a bit as it's much more than just the former Marine forced to return home in order save his family from a couple of corrupt cops trying to extort him.

It had a legitimate cast, though I was a little disappointed in the screen time of some of the actors and you can figure out which ones I'm referring to if you have also watched the film. It seemed to take some time in getting around to the heart of the story, particularly at the beginning. And there may have been some parts that did not need to be included, but it was still more than watchable, notably in large part to Giovanni Ribisi. He is more believable in this role than most people including myself would give him credit for. It is Ribisi, in fact, who is the star of this film, not Madsen. Madsen just has the "central character" role. Yet Madsen I felt did not screw up his part. He just wasn't interesting. His character screamed one-dimensional and static just like most "good guy" roles do. He wasn't even a good guy. There weren't any good guys here. Not him, not La Cosa Nostra, not the Sicilian and his Mafia, and certainly not the FBI agents. The Feds were, after the Sicilian Riggio naturally, the worst lying backstabbing scum of the show. And you know what? I didn't mind the fact that they were all evil. Because 90 percent of the human race is and the other 10 percent don't care enough to do anything about that fact. Now that's realism on the silver screen. The ending left me feeling satisfied and even a little sad which is not a bad thing. It must mean I actually cared about the characters. And yes, I'm buying this one. My only gripe is that it didn't get some large financial backing behind it and go wide release. But from Lion's Gate, that isn't too surprising. They lacked the bankroll to make "10th & Wolf" into a "Godfather" and that is a true pity. That being said, it is a decent picture.

I just rented the DVD and was looking forward to seeing it after the preview. It had to be the directing because it was almost good. Renfro was a victim of multiple personalities and Ribisi , although I wanted him to do well, was just over the top ridiculous. And yes the cameos by Kilmer and others were so short that it felt forced and just dropped in because they were available for a few hours. I should have known it was a stinker because there really wasn't any buzz about this film. I don't know what film these other people were watching but this was pretty bad . there were just to many things wrong with this film to name. Maybe a division of Wal-Mart started making movies. Its the only way to explain the decent cast and terrible outcome.I'm sure you will agree.