Archive for November, 2021

King Richard

Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green

Cast: Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Jon Bernthal, Dylan McDermott, Noah Bean, Demi Singleton, Kevin Dunn, Tony Goldwyn, Dylan McDermott

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Running Time: 2 hours and 24 minutes

Oscar nominee Will Smith (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness) portrays the overbearing and protective father of the tennis prodigies Venus and Serena Williams in the oddly titled film King Richard directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green.

Initially set in Compton in South Central Los Angeles in the early 1990’s Richard Williams is determined to turn his daughters into world class tennis stars but lacking the resources to do so, he often takes Venus and Serena to more plush parts of the city for them to practice in affluent country clubs.

As a father he sees the potential in Venus played by Saniyya Sidney and Serena played by Demi Singleton while also contending with three other daughters and a sceptical yet supportive wife Brandy played by Aunjanue Ellis (If Beale Street Could Talk, Ray).

As a biopic about the inspiration behind the phenomenal success of the Venus sisters in the World Tennis circuit, King Richard is an oddly dysfunctional film, lacking in a smooth directorial style by Reinaldo Marcus Green and at over two hours, the film could have been edited more efficiently, especially in the drawn out first half.

Will Smith is brilliant as Richard Williams, the pushy and controlling father who sees the sporting potential in his daughters yet is often at odds with the snobbish attitudes of the tennis circuit and its country club and also frequently fights with the smooth talking eager tennis coach Rick Macci superbly played by Jon Bernthal (The Wolf of Wall Street, Baby Driver, Fury) in one of his best on screen performances.

It’s only in the second half, when the Williams family moves to Florida, does the film find its footing. Unlike such flashy films as Ron Howard’s Rush or Bennett Miller’s contemplative Moneyball, director Reinaldo Marcus Green’s King Richard is an uneven film held together by an excellent performance by Will Smith, who along with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith were also producers on the film.

With the exception of Jon Bernthal, Tony Goldwyn and Dylan McDermott have hardly any screen time and not enough emphasis is placed on the actual success of the now international tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. Even the actresses that play the younger versions of themselves have limited exposure in the narrative.

It’s only in the second half of King Richard that their determined characters shine through. Unfortunately at times, Will Smith takes over too many scenes as the overbearing father Richard Williams, which was probably intentional. Whether his performance will get recognised during the 2022 Oscar season remains to be seen.

King Richard gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is an interesting film about the origin story of two unbelievably talented tennis stars: Serena and Venus Williams, who become an inspiration for many and achieved international fame.

Recommended viewing for those that enjoy a fascinating biopic and of course tennis.

Palm d’Or:  Titane, directed by Julia Ducournau

Best Director: Leos Carax for Annette starring Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver

Best Actor: Caleb Landry Jones – Nitram

Best Actress: Renate Reinsve – The Worst Person in the World

Best Screenplay: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe – Drive my Car

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Director: Andy Serkis

Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Woody Harrelson, Naomie Harris, Scott Reid, Stephen Graham

Film Rating: 7 out of 10

Running Time: 97 minutes

Oscar nominee Tom Hardy (The Revenant) reprises his role as struggling San Francisco journalist Eddie Brock aka Venom in the sequel to the 2018 film Venom, now called Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Directed with a sort of Gothic efficiency by fellow actor Andy Serkis, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a fun-filled monster flick about Brock who is fighting with his dark alter ego Venom who continuously wants to eat anything in sight, while trying to maintain a semblance of a routine existence.

Venom is soon drawn into the world of insane serial killers when he is asked to interview Cletus Kassidy aka Carnage wonderfully played with a crazy attitude by Oscar nominee Woody Harrelson (The People versus Larry Flynt; Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri) who is incarcerated in an insane asylum and longs to be reunited with his one true love, the equally devilish Frances Barron played by Oscar nominee Naomie Harris (Moonlight).

Soon Cletus Kassidy and Frances Barron break out of their respective institutions and are ready to infect chaos in the life of Eddie Brock including his gorgeous ex-girlfriend Anne Weying played by Oscar nominee Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain, Blue Valentine, My Week with Marilyn) and her new boyfriendm, the straight laced Dr Dan Lewis played by Reid Scott.

But Eddie firstly has to find Venom who escapes his body and goes on a gaudy Halloween jaunty only to discover that Brock’s body is the best place to host this symbiosis.

The four main actors made this film savagely enjoyable and director Andy Serkis fortunately did not make an overly cluttered production of this sequel and kept the running time to about 97 minutes while successfully linking Venom into the greater Sony/ Marvel Cinematic Universe as seen by the hilarious end scene in the closing credits. It’s definitely worth staying in your cinema seat for as the film ends.

Venom: Let There be Carnage does not pretend to be high-brow but it is loads of fun particularly for fans of the first film and Tom Hardy relishes in playing the role of Eddie Brock, a struggling journalist who has a hard time reconciling with his inner demon in this case the increasingly ravenous Venom.

Hardy’s body language throughout the film is amazing and so is Woody Harrelson and the final showdown in a dark Cathedral outside San Francisco is dripping with murky B-Grade Horror film references particularly the attempted marriage scene between Cletus Kassidy and Frances Barron.

Audiences should also look out for the clever animation sequence inserted in the middle of the film.

So relax and go watch Venom: Let There Be Carnage, it’s a fun-filled crazy superhero film which does not take itself or the entire caper scenario very seriously.

Efficiently directed by Andy Serkis, Venom: Let There be Carnage gets a film rating of 7 out of 10 and is not brilliant but a worthy sequel to the 2018 original.