In any case, I would certainly love to have the confidence of the series’ producer, Ng Kin-hung, who started shooting this third film – reuniting with The Brotherhood of Rebel’s director, screenwriters and lead actors and even recycling its narrative framework – before the latter was released in cinemas.

As in that film, The Unwavering Brotherhood tells the story of three mid-level gangsters – Wah (Bosco Wong Chung-chak), Fei (Louis Cheung Kai-chung) and Kwok (Carlos Chan Ka-lok) – who make some very bad decisions for themselves and inadvertently bring about the downfall of their beloved triad faction leader.

Returning director Terry Ng Ka-wai’s engaging, if familiar movie again boils down to a test of loyalty for the trio, this time after they are ambushed on a money transfer assignment; the conflicts here stem primarily from Fei’s need to pay for surgery for his severely ill sister (Angel Lam Chin-ting) and Kwok’s gambling in the stock market.

Next to the leading trio of blood brothers it is, surprisingly, their boss, the honourable Fa Kam, and his fiercest rival for leadership inside the syndicate, Kwan (played respectively by Mark Cheng Ho-nam and Michael Tao Dai-yu in eye-catching supporting roles), who prove the most watchable.

Cheng, who was in both Young and Dangerous 5 (1998) and Election 2 (2006), is hugely charismatic as the endlessly amiable father figure to the protagonists. Meanwhile Tao, who is not at all known for nuanced acting in spite of his range of TV drama leading roles, is suitably despicable as the villain.

The Unwavering Brotherhood offers the kind of comfort watch that long-time aficionados of Hong Kong gangster movies should readily seek out. Instead of wasting time reinventing the wheel, the film simply adopts the same old genre formula and briskly shuffles its tragic heroes to their predictably bitter end.

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE is a sports drama based on the inspiring true story of a Little League team from Dallas, Texas who defy the odds. The movie tells the team’s journey through the eyes of Robert, the first baseman, whose father, Bobby, has terminal cancer. The boys rally around their teammate and dedicate their season to Bobby. Coach Jon begins to take coaching the boys seriously, and the team’s underdog story begins. Eventually, the team has a chance to prove themselves at the Little League World Series.

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE is a fantastic addition to the sports drama genre. It has a heartfelt story of perseverance, team camaraderie, and never giving up. The movie is based on the true story of Robert, his father’s battle with cancer, and their amazing Little League run in 2002. YOU GOTTA BELIEVE tells an inspiring, well-structured story with some phenomenal acting. The movie isn’t explicitly faith-based, but it has a brief moment of prayer. However, YOU GOTTA BELIEVE also has several relatively light obscenities and one light humorous innuendo. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for younger audiences, especially pre-teen children.

(BB, CC, L, V, S, A, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong moral worldview, with a strong father and son relationship, stresses the importance of never giving up, sticking together as a family and as a team, and perseverance through hardships, plus a man prays to God in one scene;

Foul Language:

Six or seven obscenities (including one BS word, a crude reference to male anatomy, and four or five “d” words), plus there’s a use of “mother-sucker” and a man ill with cancer throws up throughout the movie;

Violence:

A player gets injured, and his ankle is swollen, a man in the movie has cancer, and players get into a brawl, but no blood or gore is shown;

Sex:

No sex scenes, but there’s a quick light joke/innuendo about sex or lovemaking that’s easily missed (someone jokes that a woman should put her husband on a “schedule”);

Nudity:

No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

Man drinks a beer, and someone asks for a drink as a joke;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

A younger brother has a rabbit’s foot that he hopes will allow his brother to run fast, but it doesn’t work, and he throws it away, plus the boys on the Little League team are fond of calling each other and opponents names (none of the names are very graphic or obscene, but this continues throughout the movie).

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE is a sports drama about the true story of a Little League baseball team in Dallas, Texas that banded together and dedicated their inspiring, underdog season in 2002 to their coach, Bobby, who has terminal cancer and is the father of the first baseman, Robert. YOU OTTA BELIEVE is an incredibly well-told story, with loads of heart and inspiring moments, about an underdog team that defies all odds, and the movie promotes family, perseverance, looking out for other people, and prayer, but there is some foul language and name-calling.

Bobby and Jon coach a little league team in Dallas Fort Worth, Texas. Their regular season comes to an end after a tough loss in their final game of the season. Bobby tries to encourage Jon to take the team more seriously next year.

Jon and the team are offered to represent their district as an All-Star team. However, Jon is reluctant to say yes after their difficult season.

Meanwhile, Bobby passes out one day while throwing to his son, Robert, at home. He learns he has terminal cancer. While Bobby begins treatment, Jon agrees to take on coaching the Little League team to represent their district.

Competition is high, but Jon and other people begin to seriously coach the team. As the underdogs, they dedicate their season to Bobby, and their inspiring run to the 2002 Little League World Championship begins.

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE is a great sports drama about an underdog team that defies all odds. It also has a heartfelt story about a father’s love for his son and perseverance in the face of terminal cancer. YOU GOTTA BELIEVE stresses the importance of family, never giving up and sticking together as a family and as a team.

There is a scene where Bobby asks God to not take him away from his family, but the movie doesn’t have an explicitly Christian worldview. “You Gotta Believe” becomes their mantra in the movie, but that belief is directed inward toward themselves, or outwards toward their teammates, not toward God or faith. YOU GOTTA BELIEVE also has a brief scene where Robert’s younger brother has a rabbit’s foot charm that he hopes will allow his brother to run fast. It doesn’t work, however, and he throws it away.

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE has some truly inspiring and heartfelt moments. However, due to brief foul language, and adult themes of cancer and death, Movieguide® advises caution for children and young teenagers.

Billionaire entertainment executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. has bowed out of his long-shot bid to gain control of Paramount Global, clearing the way for David Ellison’s Skydance Media to claim the prize.

Late Monday, Paramount’s lead independent director announced the auction for the company had ended and the takeover by Skydance would move forward. If Skydance wins the approval of federal regulators, Ellison and his team could take over in about a year.

“Having thoroughly explored actionable opportunities for Paramount over nearly eight months, our Special Committee continues to believe that the transaction we have agreed with Skydance delivers immediate value and the potential for continued participation in value creation in a rapidly evolving industry landscape,” Charles E. Phillips Jr., who is chair of Paramount’s special committee, said in a statement.

The move comes less than a week after Phillips and other independent directors extended a deadline for the “go shop” period to review Bronfman’s $6-billion bid to acquire the Redstone family investment firm, National Amusements Inc., and also provide a $1.5-billion cash infusion to help the struggling media company.

“Tonight, our bidding group informed the special committee that we will be exiting the go-shop process,” Bronfman said in a statement. “It was a privilege to have the opportunity to participate. We continue to believe that Paramount Global is an extraordinary company, with an unrivaled collection of marquee brands, assets and people.”

It wasn’t immediately clear why Bronfman exited in advance of Paramount’s Sept. 5 deadline for Paramount’s independent board members to decide which bidder would come away with the beleaguered media company that owns CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV and the historic Melrose Avenue film studio. The special committee was poised to scrutinize Bronfman’s proposal this week.

But there were indications that Bronfman’s bid wouldn’t measure up to Skydance Media’s $8.4-billion proposal, which controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and Paramount’s board had approved in July.

The bid from Ellison’s Skydance had several advantages.

Not only were the financial terms larger, Ellison had a big head start over other interested bidders. The tech scion initially reached out to Redstone last summer to pitch his interest in buying out her family and investing in the company her father had managed for decades when it was known as Viacom. Paramount board members first began debating Ellison’s deal in December.

By exiting before the special committee formally reached its decision, Bronfman may have wanted to spare himself and fellow investors the embarrassment of being rejected in the high-profile auction.

“On behalf of the Special Committee we thank Mr. Bronfman and his investor group for their interest and efforts,” Phillips said.

Paramount executives declined to comment late Monday. But last week, the special committee said that Bronfman’s bid would be the only offer beyond Skydance’s that the board was willing to consider. The bidding window closed for all other bidders on Aug. 21.

Bronfman’s decision also removes some friction in the process for Paramount.

Just last week, after the special committee members extended the go-shop deadline for Bronfman, Skydance registered its displeasure.

In a letter to Paramount’s special committee, lawyers for the firm accused the committee of violating the terms of Skydance’s agreement to buy National Amusements and Paramount, according to sources familiar with the situation.

“While there may have been differences, we believe that everyone involved in the sale process is united in the belief that Paramount’s best days are ahead,” Bronfman said in his statement. “We congratulate the Skydance team and thank the special committee and the Redstone family for their engagement during the go-shop process.”

The former top Seagram and Warner Music executive had tried to capitalize on a provision in the Skydance agreement that established a 45-day window for Paramount’s board to solicit offers that were “superior” to that of Skydance.

After weeks of trying to put together a group of investors, Bronfman on Aug. 19 delivered his proposal to Phillips, Paramount’s lead independent director.

Bronfman’s primary pitch was that his group’s takeover would be more straightforward than the deal championed by Ellison, and thus better for Paramount shareholders. It mirrored many of the provisions of the Skydance proposal.

Bronfman said he would match Skydance’s proposal to buy out National Amusements for $2.4 billion. Once the firm’s debts of about $650 million were paid, the Redstone family would come away with $1.75 billion.

Both bids would inject $1.5 billion into Paramount’s battered balance sheet, allowing the firm to pay down debt, when the deal closes. Federal regulators must weigh in, a process that’s expected to take about a year.

But Skydance had the edge on an important ingredient that helped it win the support of Paramount’s board. This past spring, Skydance said it would carve out $4.5 billion to buy shares from Paramount investors, including nonvoting Class B shares at $15 a share.

Bronfman scrambled to identify funds — a proposed $1.7-billion set-aside — to offer Class B investors $16 a share.

His bid also would have covered the $400-million breakup fee that would have been owed to Skydance if Paramount favored Bronfman’s bid.

Bronfman’s proposal aimed to eliminate a controversial step in the Ellison deal, in which Ellison merged his Santa Monica-based Skydance company with Paramount.

Some Paramount shareholders have grumbled over the $4.75-billion valuation of Skydance, alleging the entertainment firm isn’t worth nearly that much. Skydance co-owns some of the Paramount studio’s biggest blockbusters, including “Mission: Impossible,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Star Trek.” Ellison’s company also has been building an animation studio under John Lasseter, former Pixar creative executive.

Several sources speculated that Paramount’s board’s willingness to entertain Bronfman’s proposal stemmed from Redstone’s desire to protect her family from costly shareholder lawsuits.

The sales process already has sparked litigation, and the Paramount directors’ efforts to beat the bushes may have been aimed at demonstrating that Skydance was the only viable bidder.

Skydance Media is backed by Ellison’s father, Larry Ellison, and Redbird Capital Partners.