He Got Game

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

In class this week we viewed the film He Got Game, a 1998 sports-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee. The cast feature Denzel Washington, Milla Jovovich, Rosario Dawson, and Ray Allen in film debut. This film was the third of four films that featured collaborations with Lee and Washington. The budget of the film was 25 million and only brought in around 21 million. The score was done by Aaron Copland and songs in the film were created by Public Enemy. 

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content.  

The article I found on He Got Game was a article on Spike Lee. It was entitled, Courtside superfan Spike Lee makes a Basketball film with little Basketball. It talked about how the film had no real athletic competition. Many said that the film was more then Jesus picking a school to play at, its how he could get him and sister out of Coney Island and secure their future. The article as spoke about how the film was slightly off too, the idea of having a convicted criminal leave jail to better the governor was just off putting but again its a Spike Lee film. The article also spoke about the actors as well. Before Washington was the box office attraction that he is today he gave a great performance in He Got Game, Ray Allen having no acting training also held his own against the others and Rosario Dawson also had a great showing. They also discussed the removal that Lee gave Basketball and brought it back to ground level and not in a huge stadium. 

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.  

The article at first gave me a vibe that it was review on how bad the film was but it turn out to actually praise the film and the actors and actress in it. The film it self, had no type of actually playing basketball except the 3 hour long opening that took 4 years to get through and the 20 minute father and son match that no on knew what the score was. The article was right in the sense of how was it possible that Denzel Washington character was able to leave jail for a week and get away with that. The article also spoke about Ray Allen and his film debut and how he is now NBA star. Spike Lee wanted a NBA star to play Jesus in the film and Ray was open to play the role. Spike Lee's He Got Game was one of his less well know films but the story had a great plot and emotional ending. 

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

What was going on in this film? I was so lost and had no idea what was going on. The film was about Basketball but seem to be more about sex and drugs then the actually sport. For the people that are praising the performance of Ray Allen; or you blind? 8 weeks of acting training? He needed so much more then 8 weeks. When you are acting along Denzel Washington, you need to bring it. Overall, the film felt very lackluster and stale. It felt to dark and the ending to me made no type of sense. I dislike this film so much I was about to not do a Blog because I felt the film wasn't important to film history or film cinema. 

http://www.avclub.com/article/courtside-superfan-spike-lee-makes-basketball-film-216647

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 Name: _Antonio Amorim______ Date: ________4/08/2015