Directed by Richard Donner

Written by Valerie Curtain and Berry Levinson

There’s not a lot of basketball played throughout Inside Moves, but every time it is, you know it’s an important scene. John Savage plays a man named Raury, who has had enough of life and decides to try and take his own at the very beginning of the film. When he doesn’t succeed in committing suicide, he quickly becomes a bar regular and eventually bar worker at Max’s after getting out of the hospital. There he meets Jerry, played by David Morse, who is an aspiring basketball player and bartender at Max’s. We spend a lot of time at the bar with the regulars and those scenes are really fun, but Jerry’s dream of playing hoops professionally becomes a possibility when he plays Golden State Warriors guard Alvin Martin in a game of one on one. The road is tough for both leading men in this film and at times the story gets really sad, but overall it’s an uplifting story about dreams and friendship. Alvin Martin is a fictional basketball player, but there are some real Warriors figures in the film, which gives the brief NBA game scenes some weight to them. Inside Moves has an odd pace to it but it also feels pretty fucking real, so I would say it’s worth checking out.

Directed by William Friedkin

Written by Ron Shelton

William Friedkin was a hell of a filmmaker (The French Connection, 1971 and The Exorcist, 1973) and occasionally he would do something really random that still has his incredible touch, causing them to be gems in his wonderful filmography. Blue Chips is one of those random gems. Nick Nolte plays Pete Bell who is the head coach at a fictional college. When coach Bell is not getting the results desired by higher ups at the school, he starts getting proactive and goes to lengths that were very dangerous at the time. Also in the cast are NBA legends, Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway. They give the film some legitimate basketball moments while Bob Cousy plays one of the higher ups that Nick Nolte has to answer to. Blue Chips is one of the rare occasions where real basketball titans enhance the experience of watching the film. Make no mistake, this is one of the most unique and worthwhile watches in the subgenre of basketball films.

Directed by James Toback

Written by James Toback

We have to include this totally bonkers film because there’s a couple basketball scenes that are super important to the story and Ray Allen is in it who is undoubtedly one of the greatest shooting guards to ever live. Adrian Grenier plays Harvard starting point guard Alan Jensen who is dating Cindy Bandolini, daughter of organized crime boss and she is played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. When Alan accepts an offer from Cindy that will change his life at least temporarily, things spin out of control in a really exciting way for the viewer. The off court chaos worked for me even though the editing and lighting are major creative decisions that will turn a lot of people off. I don’t know, it’s just strange enough to keep me engaged the whole time. This is one of those films that’s not very good, but it's “my kind” of not very good and maybe there are other people out there who would agree.

Directed by Jim Strouse

Written by Jim Strouse

The Winning Season is quite a bit better than it probably should be. It’s a pretty typical plot with Sam Rockwell playing Bill Greaves, a deadbeat dad and alcoholic who suddenly gets an offer to go back to his old high school to coach basketball. The kicker is that it’s the girls team and they only have six players. He has to confront his personal issues while also learning how to get back into the sport he has always loved but hasn’t loved him back. I’m not going to call this a must watch film but Rockwell is really engaged and elevates everything like a great actor should. The basketball action is forgettable, but there’s some really endearing stuff from the girls on the team played by Emma Roberts, Rooney Mara, Shareeka Epps, Emily Rios, Meaghan Witri, and Melanie Hinkle. If you’re a film fan then seeing Mara in something like The Winning Season is really strange because she literally went from this to “The Social Network” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” right after. Roberts and Epps are solid, but for me it’s Rios who steals the show. Not a bad film to throw on for a few laughs, some fun performances, and a little bit of inspiration.

Directed by Eddie Huang

Written by Eddie Huang

Boogie is the nickname of Alfred Chin, played by Taylor Takahashi, a Chinese American basketball star living in New York. He oozes with talent, but hits a sort of crossroads as he has to decide what he wants his future to be while also remaining present for formative moments. There’s a handful of basketball scenes that are totally standard in this film with a pretty lazy atmosphere. The jerseys, the crowd, and the lack of a proper outline of the stakes of the games are all glaring problems. The off the court drama feels pretty forced throughout with dialogue that isn’t how real people converse. I feel like the actors were kind of wasted with the screenplay, mainly Taylour Paige, who plays the love interest. Rest in Peace to Pop Smoke, who plays Monk, a local streetball star that Boogie constantly runs into. Really wish he didn’t have to play a super predictable dude who just talks shit and plays very little defense. Overall, Boogie is a frustrating watch because the general idea could be pretty cool with the right person or people in charge. Instead we get a poorly edited and poorly planned out film that doesn’t work.