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Directed by |
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Starring |
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Specs |
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- 16:9 Enhanced
- Dual Layer ( )
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Languages |
- English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
- Commentary - English: Dolby Digital Stereo
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Subtitles |
Hebrew, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Portuguese, English - Hearing Impaired, Turkish, Icelandic, Croatian, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Commentary - English |
Extras |
- Deleted scenes - 3 Montages
- Audio commentary - Director John Schultz, Lil Bow Wow, Jonathan Lipnicki
- Featurette - Making of
- Music video - 'Basketball' - Lil Bow Wow
- TV spot - Soundtrack promo
- Documentaries - Off the Hook and On the Set
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Like Mike |
20th Century Fox/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment .
R4 . COLOR . 96 mins .
G . PAL |
Feature |
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Contract |
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I gotta admit, I had my trepidation watching this film. Not being a big basketball fan, nor an enthusiast of teenage rap recording artists, I didn’t feel it had much appeal for me. And I was right. This is a fun film with some fairly decent performances from Lil Bow Wow and Jonathan Lipnicki, but it’s aimed at someone I’m not. Orphan Calvin gets pushed around a lot at his orphanarium, and all he wants is to have a family. When a pair of used basketball shoes fall into his possession (that were apparently owned by ‘some tall bald dude who was good at basketball when he was a kid’) he has them thrown onto high voltage electricity wires by the bully of the month. Rescuing them by night, they take a shock from lightning and suddenly Calvin Cambridge (Lil Bow Wow) can play basketball ‘like Mike’ (that’s Michael Jordan for the rest of us). "Wow! You’re like some weird basketball Cinderella!" |
So, now he gets granted a spot on the Knights team and begins a rocky relationship with Tracy Reynolds (Morris Chestnut) the star of the team. Calvin’s inimitable charm finally wins over Tracy’s exterior gruffness and, before long, the two are hangin’ together all the time. But, the evil orphanage owner Mr Bittleman (Crispin Glover at his menacing best) knows about the shoes and puts them in his safe so he can win big when the Knights lose. Now, with just minutes to spare they have to get rid of Bittleman, get the shoes and win the game! There’s nothing new in this script, and what’s funny is this guy is practically fresh out of scriptwriter’s school. Imagine every childhood cliché you can, and it should turn up here somewhere. Be it all the room service you can eat, motorised scooters or tying up the baddie with duct tape, we got it all (not to mention a kid playing in the NBA). Seemingly created with sales and promotion of the sport/merchandise as a priority, this film is even made in association with NBA Entertainment. There’s plenty of product placement about, and seemingly a great opportunity for that old storyline It-was-never-the-shoes-it-was-you, but thankfully that’s one cliché that doesn’t show itself. However, grumpy 30-something reviewer’s jadedness aside, the kids will no doubt go for this in a big way. There's plenty of stuff to keep them laughing or imagining how good it would be or even just recognising the tons of player cameos throughout (if they’re that into basketball anyway). It’s harmless enough, with a deliciously campy Crispin Glover preformance and a host of other supporting talent that seem to be having fun with their roles. Parents could enjoy it with the littler gang if need be and there are even a couple of subtle gags for them thrown in as well.
Video |
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Contract |
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Coming out just last year, this Fox transfer is naturally immaculate. Full crisp colours and sharp definition give us a wonderfully clear picture. Sometimes the transfer is so good it betrays the dodgy computer animation, which is unfortunate, but otherwise the film looks great. Shadows are richly detailed, the night shots are clear and there are no film artefacts that I could see. About a zillion different skin tones are in this film and they all look natural and even, while there is also no evidence of compression trouble either, giving the whole thing a very nice look overall.
Audio |
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Contract |
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Gold old Dolby Digital Surround 5.1 rounds out the mostly clear dialogue of this film. There are some instances of characters mumbling or slurring words that may be harder to pick up, but for the most part it’s all well spoken. Sound effects are Stock Town with basketball swishes and swooshes all over the place. The thrumming of motorised scooters sound pretty familiar too, but they aren’t around long. Musically the film is dynamite. Lil Bow Wow himself performs the leading track Basketball (big stretch there) and it sounds sensational. Like I said, I’m not a big fan of the young fella’s work, but it suits the film perfectly with its phat beats and, erm... such.
Extras |
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Contract |
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Overall |
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Contract |
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Kids into basketball will find lots to keep them entertained on this DVD, with the film itself being more suitable to someone a bit younger than myself. A mostly worthy collection of extras and a perfectly transferred film create a fairly good value DVD with some memorable rewatchable moments for the younger fans.
LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=2694
Send to a friend.
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And I quote... |
"Lil Bow Wow’s debut acting feature shows this kid can do anything he sets his mind to. Pity the storyline's a bit of a gimme..." - Jules Faber |
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Review Equipment |
- DVD Player:
Nintaus DVD-N9901
- TV:
Sony 51cm
- Receiver:
Diamond
- Speakers:
Diamond
- Surrounds:
No Name
- Audio Cables:
Standard Optical
- Video Cables:
Standard Component RCA
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