King Richard

Movie: King Richard

Nominated for: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song

How I watched: Apple TV

When I fell asleep: I don't think I did

When it had me: When their home court was gang territory

When it lost me: Too much arguing about competing

What I have to say:

This, movie, like CODA, was a solid, enjoyable movie that I don't think I would have considered an Oscar pick. Good story, good acting, nice structure for a biopic kind of piece.

What was jaw dropping was to realize the sheer audacity of Richard Williams to break his daughters in to a predominantly white sport. To seek to become elite in tennis is bold but to also seek that from an inner city LA starting point with all tradition against you is straight up crazy. To be that crazy and achieve it anyway, well, I guess that's the kind of story that makes you Oscar-worthy. I enjoyed really seeing that part of the journey and gaining even more respect for Venus and Serena Williams than I already had.

Where I got lost was in one too many arguments about when Venus would compete. I know we were witnessing the stubborn persistence of "King Richard" but it was also too many scenes of the exact same argument with no forward progress for me. I got antsy and just wanted the film to get somewhere.

I'm glad I saw this movie and I also don't think it is a serious contender.