MOVIE REVIEW: BLONDE

 

A look at the rise to fame and the epic demise of actress Marilyn Monroe, one of the biggest stars in the world.

Director: Andrew Dominik

Cast: Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Xavier Samuel, Julianne Nicholson

Release Date: September 16, 2022

Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance

Rated NC-17 for some sexual content

Runtime: 2h 46m

Review:

Marilyn Monroe is one of those cultural icons whose story has been told ad nauseam by this point.  Tackling this subject matter requires that a director makes the well worn material feel fresh and interesting.  Andrew Dominik's film Blonde does this by delivering a glossy, visually impressive horror show that feels more like Passion of the Christ than Baz Luhrmann's Elvis.  Dominick's film relishes in delivering scene after scene of pain and torture to it's central subject.  There's nary a sequence that doesn't involve some sort of degradation, trauma or abuse piled on.  Its a disquieting and unsettling exploration of the starlets life which leaves the character with very little agency or depth outside of her PSTD as she's beat around like a platinum pinball.  Ana de Armas, for her part, is fully committed to the role and delivers an impressive performance even with the razor thin characterization she's given.  Armas captures the breathy woman child persona with relative ease even though her Cuban accent does manage to  peak thru a handful of times.  The script gives her painfully few moments for Armas to delve deeper into the character's inner turmoil much less any semblance of happiness.  The character is written and played as a gorgeous punching bag beaten to a bloody pulp on multiple levels by the time the film ends.  Blonde isn't the biopic for fans of the iconic actress, instead it's more like an arthouse horror show.  

D

Cindy Prascik's Review of Elvis

 

My dear reader(s), this weekend I finally had the opportunity to catch up with Baz Luhrmann's Elvis (2022).

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

The very stylized life and times of the King of Rock n' Roll.

So...I didn't set out to compare Elvis to my beloved Rocketman, but almost instantly the comparisons started making themselves. I'm reasonably certain the comparison isn't why I wasn't head over heels for Elvis, but...full and fair disclosure and all.

Elvis plays like a fantasy, even though it seems largely true to life. That probably can be chalked up to Luhrmann's flashy style and the King's bigger-than-life persona, but it immediately gives the film a brassy feel that was a bit jarring sometimes.

Austin Butler aces the dramatic scenes and proves an able Elvis impersonator during musical sequences, even if he's missing the spark that makes the King the King. The always reliable Tom Hanks is rightly unsympathetic as Col. Tom Parker to Butler's Elvis. While the story is told from Parker's point of view, he's never painted its hero. Costumes, hair, and makeup are beautifully done, but the story never quite earns its bloated runtime.

Orson Welles once said, "If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story." While Rocketman had the benefit of wrapping up its fantastical tale with Sir Elton enjoying personal and professional success, perhaps it was always going to work against Elvis that we know the story doesn't have a happy ending. Perhaps my expectations for the movie were just too high. Or perhaps no telling could have done this magical human justice. Whatever the reason, this movie definitely fell flatter for me than it seemed to for most.

Elvis clocks in at 159 minutes and is rated PG13 for "substance abuse, strong language, suggestive material, and smoking."

While Elvis the movie never quite matches the glory of Elvis the legend, it's an entertaining enough film featuring some great performances and magnificent costumes.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Elvis gets seven.

Elvis is now streaming on HBO Max.

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: ELVIS

 

From his rise to fame to his unprecedented superstardom, rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley maintains a complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker, over the course of 20 years. Central to Presley's journey and happiness is one of the most influential people in his life -- Priscilla.

Director: Baz Luhrmann

Cast: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, Olivia DeJonge, Luke Bracey, Natasha Bassett, David Wenham, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Xavier Samuel, and Kodi Smit-McPhee

Release Date: June 24, 2022

Genre: Biography, Drama, Music

Rated PG-13 for substance abuse, strong language, suggestive material and smoking

Runtime: 2h 39m

Review:

Baz Luhrmann's Elvis is a frenetic carnival ride of a biopic that shakes up the formula enough to make the genre feel fresh.  Luhrmann's garish style is perfectly suited for Elvis, something that shines through during the film's energetic and meticulously crafted stage sequences.  These moments pulsate with an engaging sense of verve that's hard to resist.  The opening introduction is masterfully played as Luhrmann slowly reveals the fresh faced star in the form of an electric Austin Butler.  Butler simply dissolves into the role, capturing the soulfulness and playfulness of his real life counter part.  Its a fascinating turn for multiple reasons especially since Elvis' persona has been parodied and mimicked excessively by now but he manages to play him with a tangible sense of humanity in the film's quieter moments.  The film uses Colonel Tom Parker deathbed memories as the film’s framing device but it keeps the audience at arm’s length from Elvis’ state of mind especially in his later days which seems like a missed opportunity.  Tom Hanks, under heavy make up, plays Parker like a carnival conman opportunist who latches onto Elvis.  Its a solid performance but you get the sense that Hanks is limited by the prosthetics and cartoonish accent leaving the character as more of a caricature than a fully formed person.  That being said, Hanks and Butler do share some strong sequences together where the script lays bare how the conman kept his grips on the star.  Baz Luhrmann and Jeremy Doner penned the script and its less interested with factual accuracy than it is in capturing those singular moments in his life.  It smartly engages on the issues of musical appropriation never shying away from pointing out where Elvis' inspiration came from.  It would have been easy to gloss over that and focus solely on the spectacle which Luhrmann still does in spades.  There is a sense that Baz cares deeply about his central subject even though he still can't help himself and over indulge in his showmanship, particularly in the final act where attrition starts to dull the effect, but he still manages to deliver a Elvis biopic that will leave plenty of people happy.

A-