GrimPrecise I'll tell you why so serious

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

cinephile-27690 This is in my top 10 and along with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel I think this is 1994's best movie! It's 172 minutes long but it's worth your time. The movie follows 2 boys who want to become NBA basketball players. This is limited to see(though as I write this it's free on Demand) and it needs more attention! Fun Fact: Steve James, the director, appreciated Roger's acclaim so much that he directed his biography! If you can't see it on Demand, you can get it for $30 at Barnes and Noble on DVD(that's how I own it.) This is very much worth your time- so please see it!

Omer Osman I strongly believe that the documentary, Hoop Dreams, was very effective in showing its point, while following the lives of two high school basketball players. It was excellent due to the great interviews, and effective cross cutting between both stories. There was great pacing between the shots and each character was equally as important. But aside from the editing, the content of the film was very eye opening. What I was surprised to notice was that I didn't see much mention in other reviews of the school reforms required to make this a better country, If colleges required a higher GPA, SAT/ACT score in order to receive a sports scholarship that way players will be able to gain a good education and not be thrown out on the streets the second they get injured. Currently students are willing to not go to classes in hopes of reaching professional sports, but they need something to fall back on just in case they don't make it. And in the small chances that they do make it to professional sports, what happens if they get injured, they have no career to fall back on. This movie was very effective and inspiring.

Michael_Elliott Hoop Dreams (1994)**** (out of 4)Wonderful documentary from Steve James who spent nearly five years with teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee, two kids dreaming of making it up through the ranks of basketball and getting into the NBA one day. HOOP DREAMS is one of the most respected documentaries ever made and I hadn't seen it since it was originally released but this second viewer really made it clear how well this thing has held up over the years and what a remarkable piece of work it actually is. Obviously, since I was just fourteen when I originally viewed the film the entire thing really didn't hit home as well as it did today, when I'm older and understand the ups and downs of life. It's just so strange to see a documentary on people you don't know that can hold your attention for nearly three hours. Throughout that time we follow their careers through high school where both struggle with their grades and this impacts what their future might hold because of needing to reach a certain level to be eligible to get into college. We also get to see their home lives, which aren't always the best due to being in poor incomes where we even learn that their power and gas has been turned off. What works so well with this film is that it really gives you a clear portrait of life in general. I don't see how anyone could watch this film and not feel or understand what these two kids are going through and at the same time you really cheer for them even if you see some of the paint on the wall saying that things aren't going to turn out as planned. It's rare for a film to be insightful, heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time but HOOP DREAMS is quite a remarkable little gem.

gcd70 Strong, incisive docu-drama that follows the aspirations and misfortunes of two very talented teenage sensations from basketball crazy Chicago.Film gets inside the minds and lives of both these boys as they race toward adulthood and hopeful stardom. Steve James and Peter Gilbert do a great job in giving us an expose on both the youngster's psyche's and less fortunate African-American families in Harlem.Especially good is our journey into the lives of the Agee family. Perhaps basketball fans will get more out of it than most, but all audiences are sure to gain something from this quality documentary which is as much a social study as it is a sports commentary.Monday, August 31, 1998 - Hoyts Croydon