up

A raw fable about looking up instead of feeling down, “Bird” shows writer-director Andrea Arnold back in a familiar milieu of cramped youth on the periphery, making do with what little is available, seesawing between explosive anger and playful respite.

It’s the humans, though, that you’ll remember from the ground up: Adams’ camera-friendly energy and hard-won serenity; Keoghan’s cockeyed warmth, just this side of menacing; Rogowski’s strange, commanding woundedness.

“They wake up in the morning, they wanna compete. And the games count for the regular season. We all recognize how difficult the Western Conference is. And every game is gonna matter.”

Actually, the prize pool ticked up slightly this season with all players on the winning team now collecting $514,970.

It also opens the Lakers’ defense of their NBA Cup in-season tournament championship — something James admitted Wednesday he hadn’t even thought about before a reporter brought it up.