But there's never the sense this is meant to be The LeBron James Show. Granted, this comes with the territory of fact-based movies. With James as one of the authors of the source material, it's natural to question whether we are getting the whole truth where these events are concerned. More importantly, these scenes are a tribute to the players' craftsmanship, the result of their hard work and tireless dedication. Using an ever-snaking camera, low angles and switching from regular speed to slow motion and back again as the group runs down the court, delivers laser-accurate passes and then drives the lane to score, there's a kinetic energy to these sequences that are genuinely thrilling. The chemistry between the five principals is genuine, the camaraderie between them never called into question.Ĭredit Robinson for recreating the excitement the team brought to the court, the basketball sequences as exciting as anything you'll see at any level of play. Kudos to the young actors assembled here, each of them giving the sort of nuanced performances that never veer towards the obvious, all of them aware that less is more when conveying outward emotion and inner turmoil. The film pulls no punches in examining James' youthful arrogance, Joyce's rabid jealousy and McGee's fear of alienation. Winning state championships three of the four seasons they played together, along with fifth man Romeo Travis (Sterling Henderson), they were an unstoppable force on the hard wood, combining a sense of athleticism and showmanship that would put many professional teams to shame. Mary's High School, the quartet took their talents to the private school and immediately had an impact. What with former NCAA coach Keith Dambrot at St. Having already played together for years in community leagues, James (Marquis Mookie Cook), Lil Dru Joyce (Caleb McLaughlin), Sian Cotton (Khalil Everage) and Willie McGee (Avery Serell Wills Jr.) were more than ready to dominate the high school stage. And while James is the selling point, the film devotes as much time to his high school teammates as it does the superstar, underscoring again and again that the support they gave one another was the secret to their success, as each went on to lucrative careers of their own. In theaters.Ĭhris Robinson's Shooting Stars, based on the book by Buzz Bissinger and LeBron James, looks at the formative years of the superstar and sheds some light on how he navigated the minefield of publicity that surrounded him. In the end, Marshall's Mermaid is a mixed bag, an energetic, expensive piece of razzle dazzle that ultimately reveals itself to be nothing but a helping of spiced-up leftovers. Three new songs have been added, the only keeper being "Scuttlebutt," a rousing rat-a-tat number from Scuttle that, while entertaining, is as superfluous as the other two new tunes. Like every musical ever made, this one is too long, the animated film's brisk 83-minute running time becoming a bloated two-plus-hour affair that ultimately taxes your patience. Unlike the other characters, little has been done with her to find the proper balance between the human performer and their pixeled extensions, the result being a sore thumb in this well-crafted aesthetic. With her hundreds of neon suckers, constantly moving tentacles and the way in which the octo-woman slides around the screen, this Ursula is a distracting construct. The special effects do overshadow her, but I doubt anyone would have been able to make an impression in the face of this creation. Javier Bardem supplies the perfect amount of gravitas and humor as King Triton, while David Diggs and Akwafina's voice work as Sebastian the crab and Scuttle the seagull, respectively, supply these CGI constructs with enough whimsy that you're able to look past their odd physical appearance.Īs for Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, she does the best she can with the one-note character. If these remakes have gotten one thing right, it's in the casting, and Mermaid is no exception. I couldn't help thinking that once Ariel gets familiar with her new world, she'd be leaving him in the dust for someone new. Hauer-King lacks the presence of his co-star, and they end up being a mismatched pair. The poor kid simply hasn't got the musical chops to pull it off, and he has about as much charisma as a jar of paste. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Jonah Hauer-King, who's tasked with bringing Ariel's true love, Prince Eric, to life. That she is able to make us hear "A Whole New World" as if it was the first time speaks to the honesty and power she uses to great effect throughout. The sincerity and humanity she brings to the role is never lost amidst all of the computer-generated artifice on display, which is no small feat. Also a marvel is Halle Bailey, the young woman a charming talent whose clarion voice brings all of Ariel's hopes, fears and longing to vivid life.
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