KING RICHARD

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THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN REMOVED DUE TO WILL SMITH'S INEXCUSABLE BEHAVIOR AT THE OSCARS.

To the ever-professional Chris Rock — Respect Lion.

WILL SMITH SHOULD NEVER WORK IN HOLLYWOOD AGAIN.

PERSONA NON GRATA IN PERPETUITY.

UNHINGED NARCISSIST AT LARGE.

Will Smith ruined the 2022 Oscars for everyone involved, and for the millions of people watching it all over the world.

As for the negligent security team at the Oscars, Carrot Top has better stage security.

The Academy security should have escorted Will Smith off of the premises immediately after he assaulted Chris Rock, and Smith should have been arrested and hauled off to the pokey.

What the fuck. (That's not a question).

The least the Academy can do now is to strip Will Smith of his Best Actor trophy.

As for every reprobate in the audience who participated in giving Will Smith a slap-condoning standing ovation after Smith won the Best Actor Oscar, and "slapped the shit out of Chris Rock," remember this, "awards are like hemorrhoids, sooner or later every asshole gets one."

You are all accountable. Where are your apologies?

Personally, I vow to never watch or review another Will Smith movie in the future.

FAT CITY

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John Huston's 1972 boxing drama, based on screenwriter Leonard Gardner's novel, is a bruiser. 

"Fat City" fits right alongside "Night Moves," "Atlantic City" and "The King of Marvin Gardens" for its bleak depiction of a '70s era America falling apart at the seams.

No one has any money.

Romance is a down and dirty business.

Boxing serves as an apt metaphor about fighting for survival under Capitalism with few resources or any real sense of hope.

Stacey Keach, Jeff Bridges, and Susan Tyrrell dish out the pain.

FORD V FERRARI

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Exhilarating, hilarious, and soulful to the bone, this fast car rollercoaster of a drama runs like a legendary Shelby Cobra hitting top speed.

Power plays between strong-willed men pitted at diametrically opposed angles, provides brutally funny depictions of ego, determination, and one-upmanship. Audience laughs come fast and often.

The racing sequences are stunning. The 1966 Le Mans makes for one hell of a centerpiece. You really get a feel for how fast these guys were driving in supremely unsafe conditions.

Catching on fire is no joke regardless of how fireproof the driver’s suits are. For many fast car lovers Ford v Ferrari will be be a must-own Blu-ray.

This is one fun thrill ride of a movie that commands repeated viewings. Emotional and physical gravity tear out like rubber peeling on hot asphalt.  

Here is an addictively entertaining true-life drama that focuses on how gifted and less-gifted men communicate and jockey for position. What takes place on the racetrack comes down from corporate orders above.

We love the drivers, the corporate bean-counters not so much. Multiple antagonists loom large over races that send your heart racing.

Caitriona Balfe steals the movie as auto engineer Ken Miles’s (Bale) super cool wife Mollie. For his part Christian Bale chews up every beat and line with a romantic sense of purpose.

Christian Bale playing a hot tempered race car driver and mechanic, sign me up.

Matt Damon carries his ineffable charm with such humility that you almost feel sorry for him having to balance intention and motivation with such ease.

“Ford v Ferrari” is an example of Hollywood living up to half of its promise. It might not be a perfect movie, but it is a pretty damn good one.  

Rated PG-13. 152 mins.