King Richard is based on the true story of Richard Williams, the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. Two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness, Ali), does an excellent job portraying the at times stubborn, not necessarily likeable, and hard to understand Williams. The film was directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (Joe Bell), and written by Zach Baylin.
Richard Williams is married to Oracene “Brandy”, played by two-time Emmy nominee Aunjanue Ellis (Lovecraft Country, When They See Us). They live with their five daughters in Compton, though there is reference that Richard has other children from prior relationships. Both parents work hard to provide for their family. Richard works at night as a security guard and Brandy works during the day as a nurse. As parents they put their daughters’ future success first, be it in sports or otherwise. They make sure the girls do their homework and get excellent grades and the family is involved in the Kingdom Hall as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Continue reading →
Aladdin is an enjoyable live action remake of the 1992 animated Disney film that starred Robin Williams as the Genie. The new film is directed by Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes), and the screenplay is written by Ritchie and John August (Big Fish). The film includes songs from the original version written by eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid), and two-time Oscar winner Howard Ashman (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid). The film had a budget of approximately $183 million, and runs two hours and eight minutes, or thirty-eight minutes longer than the original.
The film opens with Will Smith as a mariner on a boat in the ocean telling his two young children the story of Aladdin and the Genie. It then takes us to the city of Agrabah, where Aladdin, a poor “street rat” thief, played by Mena Massoud and his small monkey Abu, are walking through the marketplace looking for items to steal. Continue reading →
This film is directed by Peter Landesman, who wrote the script based in part on a 2009 GQ magazine article “Game Brain” written by Jeanne Marie Laskas. The film stars Will Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist with an impressive resume in the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania coroner’s office. Smith delivers a very strong performance. He has been nominated by the Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, and should receive some Oscar consideration for Best Actor.
Mike Webster (powerfully played by David Morse) is a former Pittsburgh Steelers center, who is well-loved in the city of Pittsburgh; they love their Steelers. In 2002, he died in his pickup truck, homeless, divorced and confused. Dr. Omalu, a Catholic immigrant from Nigeria who doesn’t know anything about football is assigned to do his autopsy. He doesn’t know anything about football. Dr. Omalu talks to each person before beginning his work on their body. Webster died of a cardiac arrest, but Dr. Omalu doesn’t know why he died. His CT scan is normal. He wants to do additional tests, but due to budget restrictions, can only do them at his own expense, which is approved by his supervisor Dr. Cyril Wecht (Albert Brooks). What he finds is that Webster died of a brain disorder, which Dr. Omalu will name Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. CTE is a disorder caused by repeated blows to the head. Dr. Omalu estimates that in his years playing football Mike sustained approximately 70,000 such blows to his head.
Dr. Omalu is assisted by former Steelers team doctor Julian Bailes (portrayed by Alec Baldwin), who will try to build a bridge between Dr. Omalu and the National Football League (NFL), and County Coroner Cyril Wecht. Eventually, he will co-author a paper detailing his findings in a medical journal, which is dismissed by the NFL. Over the next few years, Dr. Omalu discovers that three other former NFL players – Terry Long, Justin Strzelczyk and Andre Waters – also had CTE. Still, the powerful NFL does nothing about the problem.
Dr. Omalu initially meets the attractive Prema Mutiso (played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who starred in 2013’s Belle), when his priest asks if she could stay with him as she has no other place to stay. Their relationship would continue to grow until they marry.
We see that Dr. Omalu is subjected to criticism and harassment for taking on the NFL on this issue. Only after four-time Pro Bowler Dave Duerson commits suicide and is diagnosed with CTE does the NFL Players’ Association begin to take Dr. Omalu’s findings seriously.
The film is rated PG-13 for some adult language, including several abuses of God’s name, implied pre-marital sex, and football violence. On the plus side, the faith of Dr. Omalu and Prema is shown in a positive manner throughout the film.
King Richard, rated PG-13 
Aladdin, rated PG
Concussion, rated PG-13