Rez Ball

For what they spent and all the hype building it up, I expected better.

In the end, it's just another forgettable Netflix film not worth a repeat viewing. Some average cinematography, choppy editing... nothing stands out, except the countless times they have to show Shiprock in the background with a long lens. This is such a native/New Mexican movie cliche that its lost its caché.

Hoosiers this ain't! Don't expect to see Gene Hackman, or really anyone mildly recognizable in this mediocre digital file. Glory Road was even better than this! I won't discourage others from watching, but I will say don't expect much.

Sydney Freeland's 2024 film "Rez Ball" is a potent sports drama based on true events that rocked a small Native American town. The movie deftly addresses difficult subjects like suicide, pain, and loss while emphasizing the resiliency, optimism, and solidarity that arise after tragedy. The Chuska Warriors, a high school basketball team on the Navajo Reservation, must unite under the new coach Jimmy Holiday (Kauchani Bratt) after their top player Nataanii committed suicide. What might have been a tale of hopelessness turns into one of resilience and healing as basketball becomes the motivating factor for their group's recovery.

Through a deft blending of themes of coming-of-age, bereavement, and community, Freeland's directing crafts an emotionally charged and inspiring story. The movie manages to find a fine balance between exploring the painful nature of loss and being a pure sports story, using basketball as a metaphor for the community's tenacity. With the help of a formidable ensemble cast that includes Jessica Matten and Julia Jones, "Rez Ball" depicts Native American resiliency in addition to highlighting the emotional hardships of its characters. The breathtaking New Mexico vistas are used to provide depth to the tale in this masterfully shot movie. "Rez Ball" delves profoundly into the themes of optimism, loss, and cultural pride.

This deserves way more credit. 6.3/10 is not doing this movie justice. If you like a good bball movie it's definitely one! I'd want to see a bit more background on the coach but really loved the WNBA/lgbtq trope, which off course you see coming when you hear WNBA! I liked the highs and the lows and it was all in all really entertaining.

I don't often write reviews but damn, this is worth it. You can always count on female creators for recommendations! In this case Lily Gladstone and Erica Tremblay came through for the indigenous community and hyped this up! (And no, it's not just about community, this movie was a good one)

Highly recommend for a family movie night or like in my case...a singly single pop corn/wine all alone Saturday movie night 😂

This reviewer loves "underdog" stories because they resonate with each one of us who has tried to do something big, and failed the first time. As a new entry in this genre, REZ BALL 2024 is rock solid. The script is good, the young players give it their all, and the direction is a lot like the game of B-ball itself -- constantly moving forward, constantly looking to capture your attention. Also nice to see Jessica Matten again in a starring role -- she was instrumental in making the DARK WINDS series a streaming hit. What this film has, however, to make it stand out, is an "existential" foe seldom encountered in a teen sports film. Most of us grow up in a culture where anything is possible. Rez kids do not know that culture. They are fighting not only the opposing teams, but also the dread that their life goals are going to be as hard-won as their game goals. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

This is a story about a Navajo basketball team, so I wonder why the writers who write the description blurbs on streaming sites and IMBD can't be bothered to state that the team is Navajo, instead of "Native American". OK, that was my one quibble with the way the film is marketed.

The film itself is well produced and has a good cast. The story is, for the most part, believable. It does seem to be aimed at ticking as many boxes as possible for woke points. What's good is the number of relatively new faces in the cast as well as some familiar actors such as Ryan Begay, Kiowa Gordon, Morningstar Angeline and Amber Midthunder. None of the cast did bad jobs with their roles, IMO, all good work.