Film Yap: More Than a Game

2009 was a weaker year for documentaries, sadly. The previous year had provocative films like Man on Wire and Encounters at the End of the World. There was only one documentary last year that was worth becoming emotionally invested in and that was More Than a Game.

It is the story of five kids who were possibly the best high school basketball team of all time. They were kids who found each other by chance with a Salvation Army team who became best friends and decided to go to high school together in a smaller college in Ohio. They won an unprecedented amount of games and became nationally known. One of the players was LeBron James, who you may have heard of.

The movie succeeds for it tries to live up to its title and become more than just winning games. Real emotion comes from wanting these boys to succeed. It’s not because they are necessarily the underdogs, but because there was truly something special with them. The experts of basketball (Sports Illustrated, etc) are critically invested in this team but that means nothing if the audience isn’t. The jaw-dropping moments of the film are the raw footage of their games. Seeing the amazing dunks and the incredible passes sold me in realizing that they were unlike most teams.

The flaws of the movie come from it being too ambitious. There are six men in focus: The “Fab Five” players and their coach, Dru Joyce II. The movie tries to let the audience get to know each of them, but I only felt I understood four of the six. LeBron James was a fascinating subject because he’s perceived as the “Chosen One,” but still seemed like a likable guy who was never full of himself. Dru Joyce III and his father were great character studies as the unlikely basketball star and the passionate coach. Romeo Travis had a bit of coverage, but they never broke through her personal barrier. Unfortunately Sian Cotton and Willie McGee got the short stick because they were only able to be seen as good friends, not individuals.

For a first time documentarian Kristopher Belman does a good job using a lot of techniques to tell a story. Belman often uses still photographs in original, flashy ways. The real gem is all of the footage he was able to find. As alluded to earlier, seeing the footage of their games made me excited to watch basketball, which never happens. The glossy recreations are reminiscent of ESPN documentaries, but that is no way an insult. Belman takes the emotion of those shorts and expands them into a proper big-screen coverage.

There aren’t many bonus features, but they are worth watching. The best of the three featurettes is entitled “More Than a Film,” which is the sort of short that should be on every documentary DVD. Often while I’m watching documentaries, I start to wonder how did the documentarian became part of these stories. More Than a Film” answers the origin stories of the movie and shows how certain coverage was captured. The other two shorts examined the importance of basketball philosophy and highlight the uniqueness of the score of the film.

More Than a Film is one easily worth renting for it is not the “LeBron James Story” and it is not necessarily a tribute to basketball. It is a story that a lot of people can relate to and is a remarkable story worth telling.

Movie: 4 Yaps

Extras: 3 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2010/02/08/more-than-a-game/

Words Words Words: Whatever Happened to Walking?

Whatever happened to walking? I don’t mean to get nostalgic, but walking used to mean something! People say they walk, but they don’t really walk. It’s like reading; reading a stop sign does not count as “reading.” Nowadays people walk for exercise or to appreciate nature. That’s stupid. I walk to get somewhere. Being a college student, I walk all over campus in order to get to class. Since it seems that I will never get a parking spot next to the building I live in, I actually have to walk ten minutes to get to my car in order to drive five more minutes to get to work.

It didn’t used to be this way. When I was a sophomore in high school, I didn’t have a car. Or a license. Or a simple understanding of how global economics works. Now I have two of those, I can look back with appreciation. I worked to a bookstore called The Mystery Company, which used to be located two miles from my high school. Sometimes I got a ride from a reluctant friend, but most of the time I walked that perilous journey alone. This is what I discovered during these months of walking: Nobody actually does it. Yes, there are sidewalks and, yes, there are traffic signals but most people forget it’s there like parsley. I received so many strange looks from passing cars. “Look at that boy. Is he homeless? I didn’t know sidewalks were open this late. Oh dear, he doesn’t even have an iPod. Honey, do we have any change to throw at him?”

I enjoy walking. It’s simple and relaxing. I have time to listen to various podcasts. No, I don’t like running. Running is pretentious. Running to get somewhere is like making business decisions on a cell phone loudly in an elevator. We get it! You’re important! This goes for exercisers too. Stop making me look bad.

Walking can also be an adventure. Oh yes, you doubting hypothetical readers.
As a youth walking to The Mystery Company, I walked through a blizzard and a thunderstorm, which according to the weather reports was the very tail end of Hurricane Katrina. (My kids are going to hate me.) Those were all fine and dandy, but didn’t properly prepare me for Ball State. I was under the impression that when it rains while cold, institutions would put salt on the ground to avoid icy paths. I am a fool. Today, the hike to my car was a bit hysterical. The entire campus was one giant sheet of ice. Everyone was slipping and sliding, but not in the fun summertime way. I tried to walk on the mulch to experience some traction, but even that was iced over. Ultimately I couldn’t even use my car because I couldn’t get out of the parking lot. There was a cop stationed in the parking lot writing up people who were accidently playing bumper car. Sure the campus could have used its resources to prevent accidents instead of reporting them, but we all know that’s silly.

I fear we only have a little bit of time left to walk. If Back to the Future Part II is as accurate as it seems, it’ll only be a few more years until we all have hoverboards. Then a few years later we’ll have the WALL-E hoverchairs. So you better walk now, while walking is what it is: uninviting and unpopular.

http://livemuncie.com/?p=61

Live Muncie

So I'm now writing for another publication. I know, I know. I'm repetitive. This is a really cool thing, though. It's called Live Muncie. It's a new magazine of sorts that is about to print its first edition. A lot of articles are available on its website right now (livemuncie.com). It's full of articles showing the value of life and the opportunities around us. So many of them are really fascinating and inspiration. Just take a look at the very well written article by Jama Kehoe Bigger entitled "A Desire to Be Happy": http://livemuncie.com/?p=67

So every once in awhile I'll be posting an article I've written. They won't be reviews but just fun comedy pieces about random topics. The name of my column will be called Words Words Words, because I am a nerd. I hope you enjoy them.