Above the Rim

This movie is definitely a memorable hood movie, don't know why it's not up their with the others.

The thing that stood out the most in this movie was that it is not a basketball movie. It's a hood movie. I was expecting it to be a basketball movie set that just happens to be in the hood, but no. Still, it's got a lot of action packed exciting basketball scenes in it. While it's not a basketball movie, any fan of basketball should enjoy it.

Overall it's a good movie. Should be a good watch for fans of hood movies, fans of basketball, or both.

This movie has a real street feel to it,and it shows the meaning of true friends and how difficult some kids have growing up in world with drugs and crime. One of my favorit movies in this genre,and this movie also contains some real cool basketball scenes.

When i read some of comments that have been posted on this movie i felt as though something was missing. Someone needed to comment on this film who was actually a part of the culture that is being shown in this film. I am a black male who went to see this movie the weekend that it was released. As far as the hood is concerned, this is a classic movie. The cast was perfect, especially for the time of it's release. It was a movie set in the East Coast, but Tupac was a stand out star, and the entire soundtrack was done by Death Row. Shakur gave a great performance through out, along with Dwayne Martin. Leon was also featured in another film celebrated by the black community more than anywhere else, The Five Heartbeats. Not to mention Marlon Wayans doing what he always does. Wood Harris, who later goes on to "The Wire" fame, portrays a very aggressive character. The comedic legend Bernie Mac is featured in a good role also. I know that movies aren't black or white. They are just movies, but it is evident that there are a slew of movies that are celebrated a lot more in the black community than anywhere else. Menace II Society, Juice, New Jersey Drive, Above the Rim, Belly, Paid in Full, and this film are "Hood" classics. If you want to even begin to understand the logic behind some of the themes of this genre, then this is a very good movie to start with.

Kyle Lee Watson is a cocky high school basketball star. Bugaloo (Marlon Wayans) is his loudmouth friend. Flip Johnson (Bernie Mac) is a local homeless guy. Tommy Shepard (Leon) is a high school security guard who secretly used to be a star player. His brother Birdie (Tupac Shakur) is a local drug lord. Shep starts going out with Kyle's mother. Kyle falls under Birdie's influence.

This movie starts with a ridiculous scene. Shep and his friend are playing basketball on the roof of a building. There's no fence. The friend tries to dunk and smash through the backboard falling to his death. The setup is stupid to begin with but it also looks stupid. It takes awhile for the movie to regain its credibility. It helps that there are some good acting going on here. I especially like Leon and Tupac. They are compelling brothers. I really like their story and their chemistry. The rest are solid. I just wish they redo that opening scene.

This is one of my guilty obsession type films. Most of the young actors (at the time), gave their best performances. The film is a bout a young basketball player who goes through a lot of trouble in his last year as a high school star point guard. Duane Martin shines in this role, perfectly casted, nice performance by the young actor. Tupac Shakur gives his best performance ever, better than his over-the-top Juice in which he was also impressive. Marlon Wayans, also gives one of his best early performances, not doing too much, didn't annoy me here. Leon's performance wasn't that great, hes not the best actor. I also liked Bernie Mac in a very hilarious role. The film is not perfectly acted, but Martin and Shakur carry it. Its a good screenplay, directed well, with great basketball scenes as well. great film 9/10