basketball

CHICAGO – “Champions” is a predictable and formulaic, but it’s ultimately a good natured trip into a world of sports comedy clichés. It’s never particularly laugh out loud funny, but its heart is in the right place, which makes it hard to root against the film.

CHICAGO – The road to athletic success is littered with the clichés of “might have been” and “never was,” but rarely does it contain a success story that is despite the person who achieved that success. In the early 1990s, a journeyman broke into the National Basketball Association, the first time in its history that a player that never graduated from high school made it to the big show. That man is Lloyd Daniels, and his story is in the documentary “The Legend of Swee’ Pea,” by filmmaker Benjamin May. The director will appear – with his cinematographer Daniel Levin – on behalf of his film at its Chicago premiere, presented by the Midwest Independent Film Festival on Tuesday, March 7th, 2017 (details below).

CHICAGO – It has been 22 years since one of the greatest documentaries in film history was released, and it was created right here in Chicago by Kartemquin Films. “Hoop Dreams,” produced by Gordon Quinn (among others) and directed by Steve James, was a turning point for Kartemquin, which had at the time been making socially focused docs for over 30 years. As part of the film company’s 50th anniversary, Gordon Quinn revisits the groundbreaking film.

CHICAGO – “NBA 2K12” is tough. And I mean that in the most complimentary way. I’m old enough to remember basketball games that were all about the timing of a button press but 2K Sports has revolutionized the way we simulate the game in the comfort of our own homes. The detailed controls along with the best audio/video presentation yet produced for this award-winning series make this a strong contender for the best sports game of the year.

CHICAGO – “More Than a Game” has to be one of the luckiest documentaries ever made. Director Kristopher Belman began taping a some freshman high school basketball players in 1998. One of those players was future NBA superstar LeBron James.