What to Stream: Affleck kicks back in “Air” on Prime Video

May 10, 2023 Updated Thu., May 11, 2023 at 2:52 p.m.

Ben Affleck as Phil Knight in “Air.” (Amazon Prime)

By Katie Walsh Tribune News Service

This Friday, Ben Affleck’s latest directorial effort, “Air,” hits Prime Video after a month in theaters. The affable business dramedy sees Affleck and friend and collaborator Matt Damon donning ‘80s wigs and kicks to play Phil Knight and Sonny Vaccaro, the Nike execs who landed a whale in rookie basketball superstar Michael Jordan, and changed the entire athletic sneaker business with the launch of the Air Jordan. If you have yet to see “Air,” it’s a charming film that puts character actors like Jason Bateman, Chris Messina and Matthew Maher to good use in elevating a story to which we already know the ending. Viola Davis comes out the MVP, however, in her portrayal of Michael’s shrewd and protective mother, Deloris. Stream it starting Friday on Prime Video.

Fittingly, the same day that “Air” streams is also the theatrical release date of the Affleck-starring kidnapping thriller “Hypnotic,” directed by Robert Rodriguez, as well as the Netflix streaming premiere of “The Mother,” a kidnapping thriller starring Affleck’s new wife Jennifer Lopez. Niki Caro directs this high-octane action film in which Lopez plays an assassin who emerges from hiding in order retrieve the daughter she had to leave earlier in life. Gael Garcia Bernal and Joseph Fiennes co-star. Stream it on Netflix starting Friday for a bit of Mother’s Day-appropriate programming.

Available on VOD this week – the new(ish) horror movie “Evil Dead Rise” which just terrorized theaters a few weeks ago. As of Tuesday it’s available for purchase on digital platforms.

Also premiering Friday, on Apple TV+, is the documentary “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”). This intimate portrait of the beloved movie and TV star charts his meteoric rise to Hollywood success, including “Teen Wolf” and “Back to the Future,” and his struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Stream it Friday on Apple TV+.

There are also a trio of international feature films arriving on streaming services this weekend, including France’s Oscar entry this year, “Saint Omer,” which will stream on Hulu starting Friday. Directed and co-written by Alice Diop, “Saint Omer,” based on a true story, follows the trial of a young woman (Guslagie Malanda) accused of abandoning her baby on a beach, and the writer (Kayjie Kagame) who absorbs the powerful testimony of the accused woman on the stand.

On Mubi, check out the French film “The Five Devils,” directed by Léa Mysius and starring Adèle Exarchopoulous as a young mother in a remote alpine ski village. Her preternaturally gifted daughter (Sally Dramé) uses her powerful sense of smell to explore her mother’s complicated past upon the arrival of her mysterious aunt. Vaguely witchy, deeply atmospheric and anchored by Exarchopoulous’ fiercely embodied performance, “The Five Devils” is an utterly riveting and original take on memory, family, and repressed trauma. Stream it Friday on Mubi.

Also available on digital platforms this weekend, Kristoffer Borgli’s pitch-black dark comedy “Sick of Myself,” about narcissism and the lengths people will go to to seek attention. Kristine Kujath Thorp co-stars as a young woman and half of a highly competitive couple who goes to extremes to secure the attention she desires. Rent it on all digital platforms starting Friday.

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.