Youth Movement

 

KING RICHARD (B+) - This one comes as a pleasant surprise, along the lines of 2017's "Battle of the Sexes," buoyed by fine performances to tell the story of Richard Williams, the father of tennis phenoms Venus and Serena, as they burst on the scene in the 1990s. Special credit goes to rookie screenwriter Zach Baylin for penning a smart, nuanced script that pays attention to small details and subtle interpersonal interactions to ground this is in reality.

Do know that it can be a challenge to get through the first 20 minutes. You have to accept Will Smith with a New Orleans accent and a few short-hand, caricatured depictions of Compton contrasted with the world of white privilege. But once it gets its bearings, "King Richard" wins you over by sheer determination. The girls who portray the sisters -- Saniyya Sidney as Venus and Demi Singleton as Serena -- are impeccable in their characterizations, and it truly looks like they know how to play tennis. Apparently they took intensive lessons, and it appears that there is limited use of doubles or CGI tricks to make the tennis action completely believable. That makes a difference.

With a feel-good attitude akin to 1989's inner-city underdog parable "Lean on Me," this origin story of the Williams sisters slowly gains momentum under the sure hand of director Reinaldo Marcus Green ("Monsters and Men"). Smith's Richard Williams is pushy and positive minded -- he mapped out tennis stardom for his daughters before they were born -- and the film shows him, if not warts and all, at least blemishes and all. 

After an early stumble of caricaturing all the white parents on the juniors circuit as immoral child abusers and their kids as petulant cheaters, the movie introduces the girls' first tennis coach, Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn), as an even-handed task master. Williams eventually steers the girls -- along with their mother, Oracene (Aunjanue Ellis) and three sisters from Oracene's previous marriage -- to the prestigious tennis camp in Florida run by Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal), who also is portrayed with nuance -- a man with the girls needs foremost in mind while also looking out for his end of the business deal.

You know this will end well (with Venus making her pro-circuit debut on the brink of breaking the bank), but the fun is watching Richard Williams, a task master himself when it came to pushing all of his girls to not only survive the ghetto but thrive as their best selves, work his folksy hustle and engage in backseat coaching, day in and day out. Nothing will knock him off his mission. The only person who can match him is Oracene, especially in a pivotal scene in which she calls him on some of his excesses and reminds him that she, too, has sacrificed for these future superstars. This is an old-fashioned feel-good movie that avoids any Hallmark cliches. An ace all-around.

DUNE (C) - I'll never be a fan of sci-fi or fantasy, so don't go by me here. Hardcore adherents of Frank Herbert's classic '60s novel will appreciate the dedicated fan service, and casual viewers will likely fall for the sappy soap-opera style enhanced by Timothee Chalamet's long eyelashes and by cool helicopters that mimic dragonflies. 

Otherwise, director Dennis Villeneuve, who has gone from indie noodling ("Incendies") to big-screen bloat ("Arrival," "Blade Runner 2049"), shows a sufficient command of the screen and the screenplay as he navigates a complicated story. He leans on muted colors as well as muted dialogue -- there was so much whispering that, watching at home, I turned on the subtitles, which also helped keep track of all the made-up words in this make-believe world. The most laryngitic of the lot is Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica. She is the consort of Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) and mother of young heir Paul Atreides (Chalamet), who takes over for his father and the mission to the inhospitable sandy planet Arrakis, which harbors the valuable mineral known as spice. Leto and Paul are being set up by the evil house of Harkennen, led by Vladimir (Stellan Skarsgard).

The story that unfolds (over two and a half plodding hours) is yet another variation on a theme that has played out countless times onscreen. Herbert may gotten in early with his novel, but George Lucas got to Hollywood first, and little of this latest film expands on a tired genre.  There is never a doubt that Paul will overcome whatever obstacles befall his hero's journey. Early in the film he is trained by Leto's venerable henchmen, including Gurney Halleck (the naming of people and things is randomly silly throughout), played by an off-tune Josh Brolin, and the bear of a man Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa), the subject of Paul's boy-crush.  Paul has visions of the future -- rather bland ones -- which invariably come around to the rapturous sight of an Arrakis Fremen warrior played by the lithe model Zendaya, who is mostly around as an attractive representation of good vs. evil and to tease part two, coming in 2023.

This might play better in Imax, but Villeneuve's visuals are often dim and unimaginative. A lot of sand blows around but the characters/actors are often immune to the annoyances usually faced by your average beachgoer; it's all just a neat CGI trick. And 8,000 years into the future, fashions haven't evolved much beyond those in "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century." Chalamet lacks the gravitas to carry a movie like this on his slim shoulders. And the supporting cast is scattershot. What we end up with is just another table-setter for a sci-fi/fantasy series of big-budget exercises in big-screen bloat.