pwtatl This painful film is mostly head shots of siblings who all look the same and have very peculiar teeth, lips and jaws. I was never quite sure who was doing the navel gazing, eventually couldn't care. The film builds to a screaming need for catharsis which never arrives, even when the antagonist (the father) finally enters. I thought, " Now we are getting some denouement. This is where the film takes off." No. He is anti-climatic and treated lightly as a bumbling drunk who made a few mistakes, then exits the stage. While pretentious enough to garner some good reviews, the film is occasionally well crafted and has a good soundtrack, which props up the wilting, sagging arc of the story. A truly anti-climatic dud that reminded me that my time is precious and should not be wasted.

eddie_baggins While the film around it feels a little to haphazard to truly fly and certain situations are not fully explained, the story at the heart of Crystal Moselle's fascinating documentary is one that is utterly unique and a sometimes scary, sometimes insightful examination on the way in which films play an important part in the lives of the everyday people who here in the Wolfpack happen to be the anything but run of the mill Angulo family.Virtually locked away inside their cramped New York City apartment by their strange and possible quite sinister father, the Angulo family which consists of one solitary sister and a haggle of movie loving boys find solace, entertainment and also in many ways a reason to live in their large collection of movies that they have found joys in recreating and living in through their bizarre early years.Meeting the family at a time where they've become more progressive and less inclined to heed to their fathers strange wishes, Moselle found the family at an ideal time where they were willing to both speak about and showcase their unique set of circumstances and while this is intriguing, Wolfpack truly shines in its presentation of the Angulo's when their movie making mojo is in full swing through an abundance of footage the family shot of their endeavours.Whether it's faithful re-enactments of Reservoir Dogs (Tarantino seems to be a favourite of the clan), scarily good Dark Knight recreations or even original films they've written and developed, it's unlikely that viewers would've seen anything quite like what's shown in Moselle's film and its fascinating to witness the growth in these children as they slowly discover the difference between life in the movies and life as we know it, not to mention the divide between watching the world pass by through a window and walking through it.It's frustrating that the Wolfpack is not a more proficient production but despite its amateurish nature and lack of hard investigation it's still a memorizing watch thanks to its stranger than fiction story and the Wolfpack will provide a buzz to any budding film aficionados as to what can be achieved through effort and a love for the medium.3 Coney Island beach outings out of 5

Laurie A I gave it a 1 star due to believing the filmmaker and the brothers are lying through the film to make us believe their made up story just to get them all to Sundance. I just can't believe that a family with 7 children were locked away in an apartment for 14 years by a father, who is supposed to be the villain but comes off as more of a sad figure, and somehow one of them escapes when the father goes off grocery shopping and no one gets arrested but the son who is dressed like a horror movie figure and walks into a bank of all places. He never states how he escapes, just said he walked out the front door, but if you believe all the stories in their interviews, because the filmmaker doesn't touch on this, the father had the only key and LOCKED the front door every time he left the apartment locking his family in. So how did this boy walk out the front door? They soon all followed suit, but how? Very frustrating to watch a movie that the whole plot revolved around his escape and they never touched on how he actually did it, just kept saying "so then I walked out and kept walking". Yes, but how, your father had the only key and locked you in, remember? Did you bust the lock, did you pull a Mark DeFriest and fashion a key out of a cereal box, what? Our only deduction was in fact, the door was unlocked and he walked out with the mask on to see what kind of reaction he could get, especially walking into a bank, especially if he watched Quentin Tarantino movies and that the father never locked them in the apartment when he left. I think this film was more hype, she had a great publicist, they told their "story" to the press before Sundance so it generated a lot of interest and then they became instant celebrities, which is what they always wanted out of this.I also couldn't help but notice one of the brothers is conveniently missing from all of this but they never talk about why. I get the feeling he has morals and doesn't want to be apart of this scam because it's starting to tug at people's heart strings but that is just my guess, until he speaks, we'll never know. None of them can keep their stories straight and that's bothersome for me. In their interviews, Crystal tells of being welcomed by Oscar, the dad, into their home with open arms, yet she was a "stranger" and these kids were being locked away. How is that possible? No arrests were made another bother, the mother not coming into question, another bother when she was the only one collecting welfare, Social Security and Homeschool Checks. There's also the question about the Twin Towers being in their footage, the graininess of the footage, the "fangan forest" scene. I could go on. So many inconsistencies and questions about this so called documentary that I just couldn't in good conscience recommend it to anyone as a documentary, but perhaps when you're bored and want to know what the hype is about so you can find all the Easter Eggs and or come to your own conclusion.I will say this, the boys were charming, but they came off as actors so they were very likable. That's the only good thing I can say about this film.

westsideschl A happenstance & peculiar doc that in the beginning I thought was a crudely made & self-made storytelling film by mid/high school brothers with a poor budget and low tech gear. But as it unfolds I begin to wonder if what they are saying and what I'm seeing is a not-too-common reality. I have had experiences with home schooled as well as religiously isolated families within isolated communities and soon recognized similar behaviors occurring within this family. Their unusual adaptation as their personalities develop from film & TV as their main sources of exposure. Special feature interviews should be watched.