Spot provides the basics with foot-tapping, head-bobbing flamboyance, providing the viewer with a serious helping of heart, soul, and scorching basketball action blended up into a taut, explosive documentary.
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10/28/08
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Gunnin' for That #1 Spot (2008)
74 %
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Reviews Counted: 39
Fresh: 29
Rotten:10
Average Rating: 6.3/10
Consensus: Beastie Boy Adam Yauch proves his worth as a director with Gunnin' for That #1 Spot, a fun-filled chronicle of the top high school hoopsters of 2006.
Theatrical Release: Jun 27, 2008 Limited
Synopsis: On the corner of 155th and Frederick Douglas Boulevard in Harlem lies Rucker Park. By appearances, the concrete pavement, anchored on one side by its run down slab bleachers, is no different than any other basketball court in the city, but... [More]
Director: Adam Yauch
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Reviews for Gunnin' for That #1 Spot
Although this is never less than watchable, you can't help feeling that it would have been a better film if they'd waited a year or so and actually included details of the players' futures.
10/10/08
To concentrate on the film you have to be a basketball fan, or just a basket case.
10/10/08
Unlike the 1994 basketball doc Hoop Dreams, which investigated collateral issues of education, race and money, this merely sets a twitchy hip-hop soundtrack to an unenlightening parade of eager sporting wannabes.
10/10/08
OK, so it’s not quite as searching as Hoop Dreams, but it’s hugely enjoyable all the same and boasts – as you’d expect – a terrific soundtrack.
10/10/08
Beastie Boy Adam Yauch’s basketball diary is of limited general appeal.
10/10/08
The slow-motion footage of these athletes showing off their macho skills is generously underpinned by rumbling hip-hop. Great nightclub wallpaper.
10/10/08
At the heart of everything there's Yauch, directing with remarkable authority for someone who's pretty new to the director's chair.
10/10/08
A spunky, impassioned and resourceful doc on the cutthroat world of US college basketball made for a pittance by Adam Yauch.
10/10/08
As a tribute to the game and its accessibility to all, Gunnin’ is hard to beat.
10/10/08
In the opening section of the film, we get to know them through interviews, game footage and scenes of family life. It's here where the film shines, giving us a glimpse into what it's like for young athletes being groomed for the NBA.
07/11/08
It's a fly-on-the-wall look at eight prodigiously talented kids hooking up to play ball in the big city, and as such, it's a great deal of fun.
07/11/08
Top Critic A funkier, shallower version of 1994's Hoop Dreams, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch's doc follows eight high school basketball phenoms as they head to Harlem's asphalt mecca, Rucker Park, to take part in 2006's Elite 24 tournament.
07/03/08
Top Critic Gunnin’ is everything the fatuous, condescending Hoop Dreams was not.
07/02/08
Shining a light on eight of the brightest stars in American high school basketball, Gunnin' for That #1 Spot is a refreshing and thrilling reminder of why we watch and why they play.
06/30/08
I daresay the results would inspire Eisenstein himself to proffer an affirming nod from the great beyond.
06/28/08
Gunnin' for That #1 Spot is a basketball documentary where the climactic game looks like a Hong Kong wire-fu epic.
06/27/08
The film is well shot and edited, backed with a bouncy hip-hop soundtrack and full of pep.
06/27/08
Top CriticLatest News for Gunnin' for That #1 Spot
June 30, 2008:
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June 15, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review 
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Related Forums for Gunnin' for That #1 Spot
(2008 release/Docu/Rated PG-13 )-GUNNIN FOR THAT #1 SPOT is set to open on June 27th!
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