The Heart of the Game
"The Heart of the Game" captures the passion and energy of a Seattle high school girls' basketball team, the eccentricity of their unorthodox coach, and the incredible true story of one player's fight to play the game she loves and scores a B...
The key factor of a documentary that is chronicling a current, real time event is one really doesn't know what you'll get or how long it will take to complete. Director Ward Serrill, making his feature film debut, didn't plan on spending seven years with the Seattle Roosevelt High School girls basketball team called the Roughriders. As real time events developed, changing and adding to the basic premise he started out to follow, perseverance paid off. 7 years with the team is covered in a dynamic 106 minutes, which documents the changes in every single life of the team, the coach, and women's basketball...
Bill Resler is tax professor with a usual dark sense of humor, and a big challenge: turn the Roosevelt High School girls' basketball team into a winner. The girls on the basketball instantly get a feel for this new kind of coach. With mantras like "Draw blood. Have fun," are a sample of what Coach Resler says to his players before games and during timeouts. He uses nature themes as well. One season Coach Resler tells the Roughriders "Play like a pack of wolves", or; "You're a tropical storm, wreaking havoc". Resler is also animate on the finer points of basketball like physical play, tenacious defense, and out running the opponent.
One player who is mentored by Coach Resler is Darnellia Russell, a high school basketball-playing phenomenon with a lot of baggage and a lot of talent. By the end of the film, they're trusted friends. With the story of Darnellia Russell, the Roughriders' star player, interwoven throughout the documentary, a milieu of issues, and subplots involving race, fairness, gender, and loyalty to the team, make a very compelling true story. With Darnellia trying to finish school, dealing with single parenthood, and the right to play basketball, the real in 'being real' couldn't be more gripping.
"The Heart of the Game" also gives us a look at the difference between men and women's basketball. The Roughriders, as the cliché goes, leave it all on the court when they play. When they lose, the tears pouring out. When they win, you feel their elation! Capturing the true-life games and emotions draws one right into the lives of the documentary.
"The Heart of the Game" is narrated by Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, the Atlanta, Georgia rapper and actor who adds a sense of reality, not the traditional, polished 'readers' often used for documentaries. "The Heart of the Game" is a documentary with a lot of heart and soul, and it's a true story. How much more real can it get...
Grade B
A documentary on a legend, "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man", captures the time, the man, and scores a B...
A great deal of deserved attention focused on the devastation brought on by Hurricane Katrina around the Gulf Coast in 2005. It wasn't the only major storm of the year and New Orleans is one of many parts of the country destroyed by hurricane winds and flooding. The Florida Keys were hit by Hurricane Wilma during October 2005 completely submerging some of the islands in ocean water for several hours. Longtime reader of this site, Paul Hansen, was on hand during Hurricane Wilma, standing by as a paramedic on the islands and documenting what he expected to be a much less severe storm. Paul was in for a surprise as Hurricane Wilma ultimately hit Category 5 levels trapping his family in their home. Throughout the gathering storm and during the worst of the weather, Paul recorded video footage of winds, rain, ocean swells and the general wreckage of everything around his home. The resulting footage was later used for the local community college to receive disaster relief funding. More recently, Paul released a DVD of his footage combined with images shot by two other Florida Keys videographers. The DVD both documents the events as they transpire and provides something of a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to survive a hurricane in a way Anderson Cooper simply can't begin to imagine.
The theatrical release of Hollywood's polished version of the Z-boys story may have better effects than real life and a more attractive cast of characters, but I'm still partial to this documentary. I'm too young to have experienced any of the skateboarding revolution first hand, so I can't speak for the accuracy of this documentary's portrayal of the Santa Monica Z-boys and their influence on skating as it has evolved today, at the same time I'm certain this is closer to the truth than the current 
I was listening to NPR waiting for a colleague to finish with a chiropractic appointment when I heard that Joey Ramone had passed away. I'm not sure why I remember that, but it came back to me as I was watching End of the Century. The Ramones are likely as much responsible for the music I listened to throughout my adolescence and into my adult life as legends like The Beatles, Johnny Cash and Miles Davis, inspiring pop acts, metal bands and several decades of punk rockers, without ever achieving the commercial success that typically signifies musical achievement. In the true spirit of punk rock, The Ramones demonstrate the potential for a long lasting career in music without the need to break through top 40 radio and become the darlings of MTV and Clear Channel, representing a model for the post-Napster era of free downloads and unlimited access to worldwide marketing via the Internet. End of the Century celebrates their career in rather tragic form, playing out the rise and fall of The Ramones through a chronological tale that looks back through the eyes of surviving members, close friends and family. In modern documentary style, End of the Century finds the tension points between the band members and uses human conflict to move the story to it's logical conclusion. Addiction, jealousy, egos and creative differences all fueled the band and made their songs vital while emotionally ripping four close friends apart. If you're a fan of rock music, this is a documentary that should be part of your collection because you either already know The Ramones or you've been indirectly touched by their influence.
At a mere 30 minutes in length, the title of this DVD would seem to convey more about the runtime than the content. What's packed into the half hour set is some of the greatest footage of the history of modern propulsion systems. From bicycles, to funny cars, to super sonic jets, the cinematography is simply amazing. I'm of course referring to the WMVHD version contained in this double disk set. Don't get me wrong, listening to the engines roar in 5.1 surround is certainly a thrill in any format, but seeing the clarity of the images projected in high definition is a site to behold. No HD ready television is required to cruise this visual thrill ride; the WMHD version plays in your Windows Media 9 Series Player. If you haven't found a reason to get excited about the potential of HD content; this DVD will win you over.
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