Magic Baskets

This is by no means, an awful film. I recently downloaded a copy of the film for my sister and she thoroughly enjoyed. She actually enjoyed it so much, she watched in 3 times in the next week! She told me it was a great film and I began to watch it.

I must admit, at first the film seemed a little weird but very soon the film introduces you to Kalvin, Reg and Murph and the bully leader Ox. That was one particular strength for the film. Also, when the coach gives Kalvin the tickets, you can start to connect with the character and understand what his life as an orphan must be like. The film got my attention and I began to enjoy it. It had, to be fair, not many laughs but the story was good, closely resembling the story 'Holes' in many ways.

Tracy Renalds was a brilliant addition to the film and he really connected well with Kalvin. This was, in my opinion, the biggest strength of this film.

Brenda Song does a great job as playing Reg. I'm a big fan of 'Suite Life of Zack and Cody' where she does an amazing job and I thought her performance was great in this film. Bow Wow did a very good job in the film.

Overall, definitely ignore IMDb on this circumstance and watch this film. However, note that this film is not for all ages and its mainly for little children but I myself being a 16 year old liked it.

Like just about every other recent pop star before him, Lil' Bow Wow has landed the starring role in a major motion picture. Unlike the rest of them, he has managed to carry a good, clean family film. There's nothing too offensive here and kids of all ages (at least from the test screening) seemed to eat it up. While it's not terribly original (see "Rookie of the Year"), it's not trying to re-invent kids' movies, it's just trying to entertain in a fun, safe way, which it does.

Bow (Mr. Wow?) has enough boyish charm and enough charisma to show what could be a promising acting career in addition to his duties as a rapper. Morris Chestnut ("The Brothers") does well as an unwilling mentor who becomes a father figure to the orphaned boy. Crispin Glover is pretty creepy as the greedy "caretaker" of the boy, and Robert Forester and Eugune Levy both have humorous bit parts. Funny cameos by famous basketball players with obviously little acting skills give it an authentic feel.

While this probably won't do too well with critics, that's not who it was made for. The target audience is young kids and it will work for them. Parents won't have to worry about anything objective, except a questionable scene where Bow climbs an electrical wire in a rainstorm to recover his shoes. It's entertaining for kids and passable for adults taking their children. If this sounds good to you, you'll probably like it. If not, it wasn't made for you anyway.

I just finished watching "Like Mike" with my 7 year old son and he loved it. On a scale from 1-10 I gave it an 8. I must admit I was partial on the vote because it reflected my son's enjoyment. I think some should remember that this was a kid's movie and shouldn't take it so seriously. I enjoyed the flow and even though it was obviously very predictable let's not forget the target audience for this film. "Like Mike" was enjoyable and warm and perfect for your FAMILY film night, as it was intended in the first place.

I am not saying this movie is perfect as it isn't. The story is very predictable, the ending is a little too silly for my liking and the villain is disappointing, more to do with how he was written than how he was acted. That said, the cinematography, scenery and music are cool and the film is snappily written and directed. The pacing is also brisk, and the chemistry between the two leads is believable. I was impressed with Bow Wow in his debut, he makes for quite an appealing lead and makes the most of what he has. So all in all, this is far from perfect family entertainment but for some harmless fun I actually recommend it. However, for a sophisticated plot or a milestone of a villain, this may disappoint. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This is a formulaic kinds movie in all senses where you can see every script movie coming a mile away but still manages to be harmless fun. Little Bow Wow plays an orphan who is given a pair of basketball shoes that he believes belonged to Michael Jordan and in turn give him unbelievable skills that he ends up getting signed by the LA Knights NBA team. There are the Normal lesson s of morality and family values you would expect from this kind of movie which thankfully the child actors do not lay on to thick. Moris Chestnut does well in the father figure role and there is able support from Crispin Glover (I bet he regrets asking for so much money that he got written out of 'Back to the Future 2) and Robert Forster (thank god QT saved him), which all results in the inevitable bit not disappointing ending. Would I watch it again? Only with kids present.