King Richard Cert: 12A, 2hrs 18mins
Rating: 
Ghostbusters: Afterlife Cert: 12A, 2hrs 4mins
Rating:
The Power Of The Dog Cert: 12A, 2hrs 6mins
Rating:
Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, making her one of the great female tennis players.
Venus’ older sibling Venus has seven Grand Slam singles titles including five victories at Wimbledon.
You need to have a strong front in order for Hollywood, which is crying out to see more films about women, particularly black women, not just to refuse to make a film on Venus and Serena. But instead, focus your attention on Richard.
Will Smith, King Richard (above), is the incomparable Williams Snr. He turned his two daughters into exceptional tennis champions.
Hold the front page, it’s another film about a bloke.
However, fairness is important. King Richard is a pretty good one, and there will be plenty of time to make films about his daughters once they eventually retire and we gain a little historical perspective.
Borg and McEnroe was one of the greatest tennis films made in recent years. This film came 37 years after it was so famously depicted at the Wimbledon final.
Here’s the rest of Williams Snr’s story: how he made his two daughters the remarkable champions that they are today.
Their remarkable athletic longevity is key to the film’s impact, because it will surely strike everyone who sees it that the maverick Williams’s unorthodox techniques – which involved taking his already talented daughters out of junior tournaments altogether – might just be the right ones.
It’s a great film, but I’m already looking forward to hearing it from Venus and Serena’s (portrayed by Demi Singleton and Saniyya Sidney, above) viewpoint in years to come
In spite of others falling by the wayside he created champions that would stand the test of time.
Will Smith is already garnering awards speculation for his performance as Richard, who came up with his ‘plan’ for his daughters before they were born (and, somewhat frustratingly, before the film begins) and drove them to the local municipal courts in Compton, California every day to practise, despite the vocal abuse and physical attacks he endured from local gangs.
Yes, there’s a big chunk of impersonation, but Smith lends Williams enough charisma and paternal sparkle to get us through what might otherwise be a rather linear story, with an ending we all know.
It’s a great film, but I’m already looking forward to hearing it from Venus and Serena’s viewpoint in film-making years to come.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is directed and co-written by Jason Reitman, the first sign that this latest reboot has little to do with Paul Feig’s female-led version of 2016, and everything to do with the much loved original Ghostbusters films from the 1980s that Jason’s father, the great Ivan Reitman, directed.
It does so in an enjoyable and lighthearted way that is both entertaining and ultimately quite moving. The film is what ties Ghostbusters’ past and present together; Stay Puft marshmallow people included.
Two locations are used to present a slightly ambitious first premise.
Ghostbusters Afterlife: A beautifully cast film, well-acted, and with Reitman back in the chair, a huge affectionate tribute to the original is made.
One shows a mother-of-two facing expulsion from her apartment in a city block. The other is a man who is being attacked by familiar supernatural forces from his Oklahoma farm.
And so it is that Callie (Carrie Coon) and her children – 12-year-old Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and 15-year-old Trevor (Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard) – find themselves moving into that run-down Oklahoma farm and beginning a new life.
It is despite all the strange earthquakes and other strange happenings and the rusty equipment found in the basement and barn.
It is beautifully shot, well acted, and with Reitman again in the lead, the film shows a great deal of affection for the original. Children accompanying their parents may need to help them through the final moments.
Many times, arthouse movies end abruptly. Not so Jane Campion’sThe Power of the DogThis beautiful-looking image is unquestionably at the artier side of the west spectrum.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons (above) star in The Power Of The Dog, a gorgeous-looking picture undoubtedly at the artier end of the western spectrum
Everything falls into place, and it’s finally over with.
Benedict Cumberbatch is cast productively against type as a charismatic but mean-spirited and intolerant rancher, while Jesse Plemons is the quieter brother who unexpectedly brings home a new wife (an excellent Kirsten Dunst) and somewhat ‘different’ stepson (Kodi Smit-McPhee).
Just don’t ask me about the dog…