Even the most buzzer beater-obsessed among us sometimes need to take a break from March Madness. And by take a break, we mean watch something basketball-related on DVD. As popular as the NCAA Tournament is, it’s amazing how few really good movies and TV shows focus on the game that inspired it. Still, some quality basketball DVDs are well worth viewing during those key pauses from bracketology. Consider these five suggestions.
Hoosiers
Many consider it the gold standard of basketball movies. It’s strong enough to be included here, based on the presence of the always exceptional Gene Hackman.
The Heart of the Game
It’s tempting to refer to this as “Hoop Dreams” for females. But that would be an insult to this 2005 doc, which follows a Seattle girls high school basketball team through several roller coaster seasons and works just beautifully on its own terms.
White Men Can’t Jump
This con artist comedy lets Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes work their street ball magic, and it gives co-star Rosie Perez the opportunity to become a “Jeopardy” champion by showing off her knowledge of foods that begin with the letter Q.
NCAA March Madness
The Greatest Moments of the NCAA Tournament
This DVD released last month contains 75 minutes of comebacks, buzzer beaters and classic performances by legends, such as Bill Walton and Michael Jordan.
Glory Road
This flick has all the cliche montages and soaring emotional moments one expects from a Disney sports movie. But it deserves credit for compellingly telling the story behind a historical 1966 moment: the first appearance of an all African-American starting five in an NCAA championship game.
Love it
Web clip
Electric Stimulus to Face — Test 4
http://tr.im/hLmd
This video has been viewed only a couple hundred thousand times, so it’s not quite at viral status yet. But we just have to say, it’s so wrong it’s right. You have four dudes who are hooked up to what look like electrodes. Apparently, an electric stimulus to their faces causes them to jiggle in unison — to a beat! It’s weird but kinda cool too. Jim Walsh, RedEye
TV
Little Dorrit
8 p.m. Sunday, WTTW
With times being so tough, you may not want to spend five Sundays watching this timely tale of chronic debt and financial ruin. But this absorbing adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic offers a wonderful romance and riveting whodunit. Seamstress Amy Dorrit (Claire Foy) has lived her whole life in a debtors prison when she is summoned to work for cranky Mrs. Clennam (Judy Parfitt). Her estranged son, Arthur (Matthew Macfadyen), suspects she may have caused the Dorrit clan’s troubles. Curt Wagner, RedEye
Like it
ALBUM
The Decemberists
“The Hazards of Love”
Frontman Colin Meloy initially wrote “The Hazards of Love” (Capitol) to be a Broadway musical, and that explains a lot. “The Hazards of Love” is less an album and more like a book on tape, the story of Margaret and William and their damaged love.
The Decemberists strive for different, but different isn’t always good.
GLENN GAMBOA, NEWSDAY
TV
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
7 p.m Sunday, HBO
For a show involving crime fighting — and airing on HBO — this seven-episode series offers little darkness, instead remaining stubbornly positive as it moves at its own rambling tempo. In a word, it’s precious, like its lead character, Precious Ramotswe (singer Jill Scott), who begins sleuthing in her beloved Botswana. Scott shines, as does Anika Noni Rose as her fussy secretary.
Curt Wagner, RedEye
Loathe it
DVD
Quantum of Solace
Not unlike the global economy, the Bond market takes a dip in this latest installment. Daniel Craig is not the problem. He is the calm in director Marc Forster’s imperfect storm of action, edits, stunts. Craig’s pursed lips and icy gaze insist on the updated franchise notion that Bond isn’t merely a superior agent but also a gifted killer.
Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post
