High Flying Bird (2019)

Believe more stories like this need to be told. Netflix is starting to look really smart in the decision to put out quality instead of quantity. This gives a cool insight of what it's like to be a pro in a capitalistic society. Mixed with social media when used in the smart way is leverage for the underdog. Andre Holland was brilliant as a humble & smart sports agent. Being a NBA fan it was a treat to see and bravo to everyone involved. Also Zazie Beetz was amazing, look forward to seeing her in more roles.

Fmovies: There are obviously parts and scenes where you can see Steven Soderberghs technical virtuosity, the stale camera angles, or the slowly moving wide shots. It feels like a very professional movie, ironically shot on an iPhone. The acting itself also is quite convincing.

But I could not get anything out of this movie. It's a movie about basketball, that has no basketball in it. It has an idea but it does not have characters. You don't care about the characters because they simply aren't engaging. They don't have organic character arcs, or come to a satisfying conclusion. The script is fine, but mostly doesn't help the movie become compelling or interesting in any way. It just.. moves along.

There is one main message. Basketball leagues are controlled by white capitalists, although black people are the main players. The idea behind "beating" this game over the game may be interesting in itself. I left this movie with nothing, except the feeling of having seen some clever shots and some politics. But it should have been more of a documentary instead of a 90-minute drama.

Netflix movies are continuing to disappoint.

-You remind him his mortality!

It's a very smart movie, visually captivating (even though it's shooted by an iPhone 8), with a hilarious take on race and politics in basketball + shows the potential of players/agents to change the balance of power. I HIGHLY recommend it!

High Flying Bird fmovies. Current events in the NBA are prophetically laid out in this concise film that extracts a lot out of it in a run time of 90 minutes. I won't go into spoiler detail but the construction of the plot is unique in many ways and I can't think of another film like it.

Some viewers will find it boring because there really isn't any basketball being played. I liked it because of that, because the plot doesn't need it. There is much relevancy on how the media landscape is changing and in turn changing the dynamics of the NBA (owner/GM vs players). I'm a big sports fan and I've noticed this from a long way out. That's the real point of this movie in my opinion.

It'll get mixed reviews and probably some 1 votes. That's okay, the message is right on and empowering, and the acting helps convey that. There are some religious plot lines too but it doesn't take away from anything and will add to the story for some viewers. Enjoy!

Steven Soderbergh has always been interested in the commercial exploitation of the body (MAGIC MIKE, THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE) and by the dreamers who attack the system (OCEAN'S ELEVEN, ERIN BROCKOVICH). We can easily see what could have interested him in this mordant exploration of racism in the sports industry. Especially since this film is based on a scenario well documented and astute, written by the coscenarist MOONLIGHT. Far from being a drama on the world of sport, HIGH FLYING BIRD is rather an acidic comedy on its dark side, which takes here sometimes the appearance of modern slavery. The particular parameters of the project (filming in 13 days with $ 2 million and an iPhone 7) have undoubtedly helped to boost the staging of this series of sharp verbal jousting, carried by the energetic André Holland ("The Knick" ), irresistible as an improvised reformer of a rotten system. Lastly, there is the periodic use of interviews with real athletes, which frequently gives credibility to the story.

Popping up on Netflix with their usual amount of pre-publicity (ie, virtually none), it's strange to think that a Steven Soderbergh movie can be dropped on the masses with little fanfare. But this is the streaming world we live in now. Styled somewhat as the basketball version of Moneyball, this fast-talking drama delves into the big-money business side of the sport - "the game on top of the game" - during a patience-testing lockout. Heavy on dialogue and light on explanation, Tarell Alvin McCraney's script is frustratingly oblique and borderline pretentious. The passion is clearly there, especially about bringing the sport back to its roots, but when everyone talks in riddles it becomes hard to care who wins and who loses. Soderbergh directs with minimal fuss, the entire film being shot on an iPhone (albeit with a relatively hefty post-production budget). He injects a few panning shots and scene transition effects, but otherwise lets his actors do most of the heavy lifting. Andre Holland (Moonlight) is decent as next-level agent Ray Burke and Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2) is charismatic as his eager offsider, however it's Hollywood veteran Bill Duke (Predator) who shines brightest as an aging, old-school youth basketball coach who is endearingly stubborn. Unfortunately those on the other side of the equation, such as Kyle MacLachlan's team owner and Zachary Quinto's corporate higher-up, are one-dimensional stereotypes; disappointingly low-hanging fruit for the movie to target. There's a great movie - or better yet, a stage play - in here somewhere, but in its current form High Flying Bird is exasperatingly inaccessible.