paulhoughton

First and foremost, Tim's story is heartbreaking and he certainly was and remains a musical genius. I've now seen both documentaries (Avicii: True Stories and I'm Tim) and in my opinion, the 'True Stories' documentary is a better overall narrative and composition. Because 'True Stories' captured the progressive discovery of Tim's mental health battle while documenting his journey from another angle, the developing story and narrative was naturally organic and pure. The shift in focus during that documentary helped make it more impactful. Whereas 'I'm Tim' feels like a constructed but purposeful look back at his life. This composition feels untidy and somewhat rushed in places. 'I'm Tim' is clearly supported by family and friends close to Tim, which should absolutely be respected, but 'True Stories' engaged my attention with more depth and emotion. Perhaps because it was first, but certainly because it felt more organic. 'True Stories' appears to have been pulled from BBC Select, and you can't buy it in any format, which makes you wonder if the release of 'I'm Tim' has ultimately played a part in that. Sadly, I think many people will miss out on the better documentary because of this, although they have enough similarities to make I'm Tim worth watching. Regardless, raising awareness regarding the battle for positive mental health and remembering those who have ultimately lost such battles, makes documentaries like 'True Stories' and 'I'm Tim' incredibly worthwhile and worth viewing.

Full disclosure; our girls (9 and 5) stated they loved the film. Which surprised me, as we only heard them laugh once or twice. We saw the 3D version, which provided me with a distraction while I pondered more than usual how the production team designed the 3D story. For me, the story and script were forced, extremely untidy, and due to the attempt to advertise and reference as many games as possible, appeared contrived and incredibly compromised. It were as if the studio's direction to the writer was to create something to solely promote the games, and the writer then had no idea how to deliver a plot based on that direction. For an adult who played the games and appreciates good storytelling and films, it was awful. But for our children, it was fun. And that's the only positive aspect I'll take away from seeing this film.

I've never written a review for an Individual episode within a series, but I wanted to for this 30 for 30 piece on 'The Tuck Rule'. The topic is interesting in itself, but the chemistry, banter and honest humor between Brady and Woodson elevates the entertainment. This, added to the perspectives on the game and the relevant play, the butterfly effect discussions, teammate interviews and historical facts, makes the episode fabulous. Great work all round, and very well done Tom Brady and Charles Woodson.