Monday, June 30, 2008

Gunnin For That #1 Spot

I took in Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot last weekend. The film follows eight top high school basketball talents that have been selected to play in an All Star game held at Rucker Park. Oregon people will like that home state folks Kevin Love and Kyle Singler are both among the players profiled. Blazer fans may be interested in paying special attention to Portland point guard-to-be Jarryd Bayless, who is also featured.

This isn’t meant to be a review, but I liked the movie. It keeps it simple and entertains. Bayless comes off as a charismatic hardworking young talent. (He is anointed “Pay-Up” by game MC Bobbito Garcia). We get to see even more examples of why Beasley is a freak, with his talent and personality dominating any other players/buildings/laws of physics that happen to be around.

The movie affirmed to me that I am in love with basketball documentaries. The Hollywood stuff not so much, there are some gems but I rarely feel engrossed like I am during a documentary.

My favorite of course is Heart of the Game, with favorite #1A being Hoop Dreams. Through the Fire is also well worth your time, with those insights into that insane world of young basketball talents you get by following Bassy around. Gunnin For That #1 Spot doesn’t approach any of those movies in terms of being moving or providing some social commentary, but it doesn’t try to. It is about fun, the foundational component of why we enjoy this game so much. Crap this turned into a review.

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