Read until the end for my rating of the film.
Plot: The film follows Christopher "C Dub" Wang a slacker, in his early twenties, who has an unrealistic dream of playing pro basketball. When his mother and brother get into a car accident passing on the family tradition teaching ping pong and playing in the ping pong championship he has to fight for his family name and come to a reality of what is important.
Setting: The film takes place in what seems to be a predominately asian community at various locations including the community center, the Wang household, the Wang family business and the basketball court.
Technical Aspects
Camera Work: The film has two different styles within the movie. The camera style tries to match the personality of the main character. When "C-Dub" is balling up at the basketball court the camera shots are from a low angle to make him look heroic and athletic. When C-Dub is being lazy at home the shots have little to no movement and the shots are long and smooth the mimic the lazy effect. When Christopher steps up and gains responsibily the camera mainly keeps at eye level. The other style of the film is an interview style, although it's used less. Within the movie there are short clips of a reporter interviewing Christopher. So the camera is set in a specific angle of the faces and characters are aware that the cameras are there.
Lighting: The film was surprisingly well light in each location that it was shot. The lighting really did depend on when C-Dub was. In the family ping pong shop, the business was purposely lit a little dim to show that it was a small business that wasn't exactly rich. In the community center it was brighter to show that it was well maintained. In C-Dub's room it's lit dimly to show how cluttered and unkept it is.
Sound: The sound was nothing spectacular but it did work. Something I found interesting was that instead of making this film PG-13 or even a possible R they kept it PG by censoring the curse words with the sound of basketball. That made the film a little more cartoonish or childish. The music really did add to the character because of his personality (it was basically rap or hype music), but I think it failed to add to the build up of the characters heroism. It was pretty much the same throughout. The folly was actually pretty good. The crew did a great job with getting the sound for each ball hitting the table, the floor or the paddle.
Critiques: The film is a bit contradicting in my view. I find it odd that it tries to balance childish and serious at the same time. It just makes for a film that doesn't flow. Also the clips of Christopher being interviewed were very unnecessary and didn't add much to the film. C-Dub's character was fun and relatable but I don't think that there were any characters that helped support him and carry the character along. It was more the event that took place that helped him change. I do thing that film did a great job to gearing toward a specific audience and that there are defiantly people who can relate to the character or the family or even the situation that the character is in. That's pretty much the only praise I have for the film. It was funny but it was mainly bland. If I were to recommend this film to someone it would just be for kicks and for the laughs that the film has to offer. Not really a strong recommendation.
Lighting: The film was surprisingly well light in each location that it was shot. The lighting really did depend on when C-Dub was. In the family ping pong shop, the business was purposely lit a little dim to show that it was a small business that wasn't exactly rich. In the community center it was brighter to show that it was well maintained. In C-Dub's room it's lit dimly to show how cluttered and unkept it is.
Sound: The sound was nothing spectacular but it did work. Something I found interesting was that instead of making this film PG-13 or even a possible R they kept it PG by censoring the curse words with the sound of basketball. That made the film a little more cartoonish or childish. The music really did add to the character because of his personality (it was basically rap or hype music), but I think it failed to add to the build up of the characters heroism. It was pretty much the same throughout. The folly was actually pretty good. The crew did a great job with getting the sound for each ball hitting the table, the floor or the paddle.
Critiques: The film is a bit contradicting in my view. I find it odd that it tries to balance childish and serious at the same time. It just makes for a film that doesn't flow. Also the clips of Christopher being interviewed were very unnecessary and didn't add much to the film. C-Dub's character was fun and relatable but I don't think that there were any characters that helped support him and carry the character along. It was more the event that took place that helped him change. I do thing that film did a great job to gearing toward a specific audience and that there are defiantly people who can relate to the character or the family or even the situation that the character is in. That's pretty much the only praise I have for the film. It was funny but it was mainly bland. If I were to recommend this film to someone it would just be for kicks and for the laughs that the film has to offer. Not really a strong recommendation.
