Air

I managed to watch this at an early screening and I was pleasantly surprised.

Of course most people know Michael Jordan and how he arguably is the best basketball player of all time and potentially best athlete of all time. But I bet a fair few people don't know the behind the doors story of how the most popular sneaker came into creation. This is where Air comes in.

Right from the very start, the movie brings you along for the journey, engaging at every possible moment instead of just telling it to your face. The script was really well written to achieve this.

The acting was too notch, particularly from Damon and Davis. At times you forget they are portraying real people.

It was surprisingly funny at times and whilst you know the end of the story, the movie still gets you routing for everything to work out.

For me, this is the first Oscar worthy film of the year (primarily for acting and screenplay) but credit should also be given to Afflecks direction. Just like Argo, he's got another directorial hit and his hands.

Really, really loved this movie. I know it's become a bit of an overused adage nowadays but this feels like the kind of movie we just don't get anymore.

I've missed Ben Affleck as a director so much. I've liked every movie he's directed so far (even Live By Night) and this movie shows just how capable he is behind the camera. His directing is a big part of the reason why this film is as captivating as it is. He never just reverts to simple shot/reverse shot between actors during these long dialogue scenes but instead keeps the characters moving and energetic and it keeps the scenes visually interesting. Its also extremely well edited with the film being kept at a brisk pace with a runtime that feels just right for this story.

But the dialogue here is unbelievable. It's consistently sharp and witty throughout and it keeps the conversations engaging without ever being showy or overwritten. As much as I love Aaron Sorkin dialogue his scenes can often come across as words written by a professional screenwriter rather than genuine interactions between characters but that's not the case here at all. But Air does what Sorkin scripts like the Social Network and Moneyball do extremely successfully and take very non-cinematic subject matters and makes them riveting, captivating watches.

I was a bit mixed on Affleck's choice to never directly show Michael Jordan on screen. I understand the creative choice but the attempts to hide Jordan on screen often came across as more distracting than I think it would've been had Jordan just been portrayed as an actual character by an actor giving a performance.

But overall this was a great watch. I'm so glad Amazon are giving this a full theatrical release because it deserves to be seen on the big screen and I sincerely hope this is a sign of things to come not just from Amazon but streamers as a whole.

Nike are now synonymous with sports and sportswear, and Adidas's great rivals, however it wasn't always that way and this little film explains how they did it.

This film started off as a made for streaming movie, small(ish) in scale and with a decent but not spectacular budget. However the casting of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (both in front of and behind the camera) really brought it up to another level. Whilst the final result still feels like a glorified TV movie, Damon is excellent as usual and for once Affleck doesn't seem to be punching above his weight as an actor. This is actually a very well made and acted film, although the slight story may not be to everyone's taste.

Viola Davis and Julius Tannon also turn in a good performances as Michael Jordan's devoted parents. There are also solid turns from Chris Tucker (looking a few pounds heavier than the last time I saw him in anything worthwhile) and Jason Bateman amongst others.

It's an interesting subject matter and I enjoyed the soundtrack too (many 80s songs of my youth) although it does have a lot of swearing so may not be appropriate for all. Ben Affleck is a very capable director and this is another good movie from him. If you enjoyed more recent biopic films like 'The Founder' and 'Steve Jobs' then you should enjoy this.

We need more films like this right now. No agenda. No politics. Just an interesting (and true) story that entertains us. Write some dialogue, grab some cameras, get solid actors, and go to work. There's nothing complicated in this film. There no mystery to solve, no giant set pieces, just a fantastic time on the screen. The 80s are shown a ton of love in every aspect of the film. I am liking Matt Damon more as an actor as his career moves on. He's not above setting his star power aside and concentrate on being an actor and it works so well here. Too much can never be said about Ben Affleck as a director. He's one of the best working right now. As solid a movie as you will ever watch.

After finishing this film, I couldn't shake the idea that there was a better film in there. I'm not 100% sure, having seen it so recently, what would be needed to bring out that better film, but I suspect it may have to do with the choice not only to NOT center Michael jordan, but to have him as an incidental fringe character in the film altogether. It's an interesting choice to include his mother and her perspective, but it still feels like this is a story about the wrong people. Not that all of these people shouldn't have been included in this story, but that the exclusion of Jordan and his perspective leaves a little bit of a hole. All of that said, it was an enjoyable enough watch and if you live through this period of time or have a passion for the shoes now, you'll probably find it interesting. Viola Davis is of course, amazing.