Tag Archives: Tennis

Challengers – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Wild, sensual, and captivating. While not all of it works, when it is on fire, it is electric.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) watches the tennis match behind sunglasses.

Challengers Review –

Some films can captivate you just by hearing the name of a director and an idea. Luca Guadagnino’s previous works, like Call Me by Your Name and Bones and All, were not perfect, but they were immensely captivating, sucking you into their worlds. Well, I was interested in seeing where he would go from there when exploring the world of tennis.

So to set the scene, we open in the middle of the 2019 New Rochelle Champions Tournament as Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor) and Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) are facing it out in the finals. A dual for the ages. However, both sets of eyes are not focusing on each other but on someone in the audience, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya). There is a palpable tension the court that can only exist between people with a deep history, which is when we cut back thirteen years.     

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King Richard – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A fascinating picture of a complicated man.    

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

King Richard. Image Credit: Warner Bros.

King Richard Review –

There has been a resurgence in biopics in recent years, mainly in the music space. However, if there is one area where we could see more coverage, it would be in the sporting space. Today, we are looking at just such a case, but instead of a sporting star, today we are looking at one of their parents.

So to set the scene, back in the day, Richard Williams (Will Smith) and his wife Oracene Price (Aunjanue Ellis) are raising their five daughters in a two-bedroom house in Compton, California. Richard works night as a security guard, and Oracene works as a nurse. Still, in all their free moments, they are helping their daughters Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) by coaching them in tennis. But for the girls to take the next step, they need to have more professional support, but Richard has a plan for that.     

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Movie Review – Battle of the Sexes

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TL;DR – When it actually gets to the Battle it is a thrilling film, you just have to get through a lot of setup beforehand, a lot of setup, too much setup.

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Battle of the Sexes. Image Credit: Fox Searchlight.

Review –

This is a really odd film, some aspects of it work amazingly, yet other parts fall flat, so it is both fascinating, yet also hard to recommend. Whatever the case, it was interesting to read up on this real-life event, this is because I was not born when it happened, and until this film came out I didn’t even know it existed. So today we are going to look at what did work and what didn’t of this both frustrating and yet also fascinating film.

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