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Ronald_49
Reviews
Elvis (2022)
Elvis is back!
Are you ready to fly?
"I'm ready, ready to fly," Elvis replied, and with these words a legend was born. Elvis (2022) tells the story of Elvis Presley's life and shows the relationship between Elvis and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
First off, Austin Butler's portrayal of Elvis Presley was absolutely fantastic. Not only did he manage to mimic Elvis' look, voice, and accent, but he also captured Elvis' mannerisms to an astonishing level of detail. It was in the looks he gave, in the way he walked or just stood somewhere, and in the way he smiled that I recognized Elvis. None of these mannerisms seemed "forced" or "acted" at all but looked completely natural to me. If you should compare, for instance, Elvis' performance of Jailhouse Rock during his 1968 comeback special to Austin Butler's version it becomes clear how close Butler is to the real thing.
Tom Hanks was absolutely brilliant in his portrayal of Tom Parker. His appearance had been significantly altered: his hair was cut to resemble that of a balding man, his nose was lengthened, and he wore a fat suit to simulate Parker's protruding gut. The result was a hideous looking character who clearly was not to be trusted. Hanks adopted a Dutch accent which, contrary to others, I actually believe to be Dutch and not German. I'm Dutch myself. Hanks swore at one time and I could understand him perfectly. Hanks' brilliance also showed when Parker manipulated people (including Elvis), because eventhough I knew Parker's intentions were less than honorable, the looks Hanks gave and the emotion with which he delivered his lines would have persuaded me, too.
I think other actors were also well cast. I could point my finger at the screen and immediately identify Vernon and Gladys Presley, Elvis' grandmother Minnie Mae, Jerry Schilling, and later, Lisa Marie Presley, to name a few. I would like to specially commend Alton Mason for the way he played Little Richard. His portrayal bore a striking resemblance to Little Richard by more than looks alone; Mason's performance was as energetic and electrifying as that of Little Richard himself, in my honest opinion.
The movie, Elvis (2022), has succeeded on every level. The storyline, cast and characters, and of course the timeless music all come together very well. The only area in which the movie could be improved is in its pacing. I thought the initial part of the movie was too fast-paced for my liking, but this is understandable since fitting a man's life in a two-hour movie is a formiddable task.
Elvis feared he might one day be forgotten. He feared his name would become a faded memory and his music would no longer be heard. This movie however, which came out (roughly) 45 years after his passing, is evidence of quite the contrary: Elvis continues to live on in our hearts and minds, and everyone who has seen this movie will surely appreciate him, his music, and remember.
Eureka: Do You See What I See (2011)
Terribad
I absolutely love the show and think it's great, but this one is the worst I've come across. The fact that it gets turned into a cartoon made me cringe so badly that I skipped this one after 9 minutes and even felt the need to write this review to warn others.
Eureka is a great show and its episodes are normally very good and fun. This just isn't one of them.
Move along, move along...