tone

Bright lights, big stage, same LeBron.

Unmoved by postseason pressure, superstar LeBron James said he doesn’t plan to change his preparation ahead of the Lakers’ playoff opener against the Houston Rockets on Saturday. Approaching his record-tying 19th postseason appearance, James has reason to believe in his well-established routine.

“Nothing changes for me from the regular season to the postseason,” James said, “besides just making even more heightened focus.”

The consistent approach that guided him through 23 regular seasons puts James in position to star in another high-stakes game as the Lakers (53-29) chase the franchise’s 18th NBA championship. James will command almost the entire spotlight with guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves still sidelined.

The 41-year-old, 22-time All-Star has never had a problem with being a leading man.

“I think a lot of the great players, the best players, what they’re addicted to is being the showman,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said, referencing Stephen Curry’s fourth-quarter heroics that pushed the Golden State Warriors over the Clippers in a thrilling play-in game Wednesday night. “And being on the stage and giving a performance. …

“One of the reasons they’re great and they’re able to be the showman so consistently is because they recognize [that] to be the showman, I have to do all the things necessary to then go on stage and perform at my best. And that’s the commitment with LeBron that I’ve talked about so often.”

The stage is set for a star-studded first-round series with James and Houston’s Kevin Durant. The Rockets’ superstar rose to fifth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list this season. He and James, the league’s all-time leading scorer, have 76,037 combined regular-season points, more than the rest of the Lakers’ roster combined (57,341).

“He’s the head of the snake,” James said of Durant. “But it’s the Houston Rockets and they have some damned good players on that team.”

Durant has the support of two-time NBA All-Star center Alperen Sengun, who is averaging 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. James leads the Lakers alone. They’re without Doncic (hamstring) and Reaves (oblique) indefinitely.

Since Doncic and Reaves were injured, James assumed the primary role in the Lakers’ offense and has delivered 25.5 points, 11 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game. Battling the emotional toll of Doncic’s and Reaves’ injuries, James set the tone for the Lakers’ strong finish to the regular season with his vocal leadership and strong play, Redick said. His teammates are falling in line.

“He’s been in the playoffs I don’t know how many times,” Lakers guard Bronny James said. “So he’s won series, won Finals, I think we just need to have our mind open and ears open and listen to whatever he says because he knows the most.”

Lakers star LeBron James and coach JJ Redick discuss strategy during a game against the Clippers this season.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

After years of competing against each other in the NBA and with each other on the international stage, Durant said earlier this season that the Miami Heat version of James was the hardest player he’s ever had to guard. James said every version of Durant feels like an impossible matchup.

The 37-year-old scores in bunches and does it efficiently, Redick said. Durant hasn’t shot worse than 50% from the field in a season since 2011-12. Now in his 18th season, Durant played the second-most total minutes of any player this season, trailing only 23-year-old teammate Amen Thompson.

“He’s a guard in a big man’s body,” Lakers guard Marcus Smart said. “I’m 6-3 and he’s 7-foot so he has that advantage and that’s what makes it tough, because he’ll shoot right over top of you it seems. But playing him the years that I have played him — and last month — it definitely gives you insight of what to expect.”

Durant averaged 18 points, 5.5 rebounds and three assists in two losses to the Lakers in March. He shot 55.6% from the field but had 11 total turnovers. The Lakers, who often double-teamed Durant to take the ball out of his hands, forced 36 turnovers in the two wins.

The Lakers expect the same defensive pressure from the Rockets, who are ranked sixth defensively. Guards Reed Sheppard and Thompson both rank in the top 10 in the league in total steals with 122 and 119, respectively.

Smart and guard Luke Kennard have taken larger ball-handling responsibilities along with James to offset the loss of Doncic and Reaves. Bronny James is in line for rotation minutes in the Lakers’ shorthanded backcourt. The 21-year-old guard has played in 10 consecutive games, the longest stretch of his young NBA career, averaging 6.6 points, two assists and a steal with seven-for-17 shooting from three-point range in the five games since Doncic and Reaves were injured.

Getting to share the court with his son, whether in regular-season games, practice or now the postseason, is “the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my career,” the elder James said.

With his future unknown beyond this season, James pledged all season to stay in the moment. The Lakers hope to make this postseason one last.

“The moment is all we have,” James said. “At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”

It’s clear that “Forbidden Fruits” director and co-writer Meredith Alloway has marinated in plenty of ’90s teen movies and the kitschy pop-culture ephemera of that era. Her directorial debut, written with Lily Houghton and based on Houghton’s play “Of the woman came the beginning of sin and through her we all die,” is essentially a synthesis of “The Craft,” “Mean Girls” and “Clueless,” about a coven of catty witches who work at a boutique in a Texas mall.

But in “Forbidden Fruits,” it’s hard to shake the feeling that Alloway’s movie knowledge is just that — easily identifiable iconography without much innovation or depth.

Our clique comes storming down the mall food court in that classic slow-motion strut, letting us know right away what we’re in for. They’re known as the Fruits because they all happen to be named after them. The leader, Apple (Lili Reinhart), operates in the controlling mode of Regina George or Cher Horowitz; her lackeys are alt queen Fig (Alexandra Shipp) and blond bimbo Cherry (Victoria Pedretti). When they realize that a cute pretzel purveyor is named Pumpkin (Lola Tung), they quickly bring her into their circle as a fourth, seemingly only because her name fits the theme.

Apple runs her high-femme coven out of their store Free Eden with an emphasis on iconic women: The girls confess to their martyr Marilyn Monroe in a dressing room and practice dark magic with their panties and a silver cowboy boot. In the interest of helping each other “shine,” Apple also takes a page from Ann Lee and the Shakers — sex and boys are banned and communication is highly controlled.

It’s only when Pumpkin starts uncovering some of the coven’s secrets, including the existence of a former member named Pickle (Emma Chamberlain), that their controversial personal histories involving hexes, poison, fires and hidden boyfriends come to light, and the situation spirals out of control (literally — the climax happens during a tornado).

Alloway and cinematographer Karim Hussain craft a distinctive and unique aesthetic, a gauzy, highly artificial look that underlines the winky referential tone, but one that also lends “Forbidden Fruits” a strangely dreamlike quality that doesn’t always work for the genre.

While the actors, particularly Reinhart and Pedretti, are locked in with the tone and Reinhart delivers the fierceness required of such a role, the pace of “Forbidden Fruits” is at odds with the performers. The film is weirdly slow and sleepy and at least 20 minutes too long. The convoluted story, peppered with various twists, lacks momentum.

A stronger hand in the edit could have resulted in something more dynamic and engaging, but the plotting is mushy and then rushed. For a witchy horror thriller, it’s heavier on psychological violence than actual scares, and a third-act bloodbath and big reveal can’t save it when we finally get there.

The film’s theatrical provenance reveals itself in long monologues in the Marilyn confessional room and Pedretti delivers one that reveals the depth beyond Cherry’s ditzy exterior. We can see Houghton’s play in these moments, but then Alloway’s cheeky pop sensibility intervenes, the arch artificiality and ironic tone draining the emotional impact.

“Forbidden Fruits” can’t reconcile all of its influences and just ends up as a collection of references and high style without much staying power — it’s essentially the fast fashion of girly pop horror.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

First baseman Freddie Freeman, pausing outside of the Dodgers’ home dugout to talk about the upcoming season, nodded his head toward the right-field foul pole, where just beyond it the Dodgers’ championships signs are displayed.

Eight baseball-shaped signs sported their years — 1955, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, 1988, 2020, 2024 — while a ninth was still shielded by a blue cover, with plenty of room along the stadium’s club level for more.

“You want to just keep putting those banners up,” Freeman said. “That one’s blocked for a reason. You want to do it again. You want to keep doing it over and over and over again. And that’s what’s fun, and then that’s what makes everything else just take care of itself.”

The 2025 championship sign will be revealed as the Dodgers both celebrate last year’s achievements and set the tone for this year.

They’ll receive their World Series ring on Friday, but they’ll also be in the midst of playing three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“Everyone’s different,” Freeman said. “Some people want to move on and get on to the new season and not worry about last year. I’m one of the guys that can appreciate what we did last year, even in the present year.

“It’s hard to win a World Series. I don’t like to just kick it to the side. … Our fans haven’t celebrated it since the parade. We get to celebrate with our fans and open the weekend. It’s going to be a great time.”

Catcher Will Smith was more in the other camp.

“I get my ring, and I put it in the safe, and I don’t really look at it ever again,” he said when asked about the ring ceremony. “It brings back all the emotions from the prior year, you like showing friends and stuff, it’s cool. But no, for me, the motivation is just winning, being with these guys each and every day, and competing with them and working towards that goal.”

On that point, Dodgers players seem to agree.

They don’t need a tangible reminder of their World Series aspirations this year.

“It’ll be one of the few days where we really think about what we did last year, versus what we’re trying to do right now,” veteran third baseman Max Muncy said.

Plenty of teams say their goal is to win the World Series. But the Dodgers have raised their outside expectations, too. Entering Thursday, PECOTA put the Dodgers’ odds of completing a three-peat at 20.8%, by far the highest World Series chances in the majors. PECOTA, Baseball Prospectus’ projection system, listed the Mariners as next most likely to win the World Series, at 14.2%.

While those numbers establish a clear favorite, they also reflect how unpredictable the postseason can be. Even the Dodgers, with their lofty payroll and strong player development track record, will need health, luck, and the right mindset to pull off a third straight championship.

“You know what the goal is every single year, and that’s to be the last team standing at the end,” Mucy said. “But we more so preach, how do you get there, instead of that being the goal. And for us, it’s always been, you have to take it one day at a time.”

The phrase itself isn’t a novel concept. The trick is making that focus a reality, and a team standard.

“I talk about it every day,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I’ve talked about it since I got here. It’s just, let’s win a baseball game. That’s our mantra, and everyone in this building, that’s the goal.”

The veterans on the team preach it too, hoping to pass down that team-first focus to the generation coming behind them.

“When you put on this uniform, you come in here, you see all these superstars working extremely hard every single day — front office, ownership group doing the same thing — that’s the expectation,” Freeman said. “It’s a different standard, and you just want to be part of that standard that keeps the level high.”

After the commotion of the championship banner reveal and the ring presentation the first two days of the season, “let’s win a baseball game,” will continue to be the mantra.

Maybe it will even work well enough, day after day, for the Dodgers to add another sign to their championship display this time next year.