You guys liked my last movie review so much I’m posting another one.

Elvis. HBO. Baz Luhrman, part of a trifecta that includes Moulin Rouge and Romeo/Juliet.

Starts off gangbusters. Award worthy in several categories and will likely be nominated. Loses steam about halfway through, unfortunately. Quirky.

Two things to watch:

Watch the makeup. Elvis is Adam Lambert, Enrique Iglasias, Michael Jackson, Rocky, Ricky Nelson, John Travolta, and maybe others I didn’t recognize. Too obvious to be accidental.

Everyone in the movie ages but Elvis never does. That says something, but I couldn’t say what.

Bottom line? Elvis was a great singer but he wasn’t real bright.

I used to love Elvis when I was a little kid, I think I saw all those movies and music shows from when he was young and that was my image of him.

Where is this movie playing? I mean, is it on a cable channel, in theaters?

HBO.

Ahh. Too bad. -_-

quote:

Loses steam about halfway through

So did Elvis.

Was in Memphis frequently when I lived in Missouri.
In late high school the gates of his home became a good place to meet girls.
Would go to Memphis for a lunch or a haircut or whatever whim.
Elvis was central to life in that region.
I became sick of him long ago.

I think the production was better than the story but I watch movies weird like that.

If you have Xfinity cable, HBO is free from Sept 6 through 10..

I tend to agree with your review, Steve. We watched the first hour or so last night. (Warning: it runs 2.5 hours)

I really liked the art design in the front half (the "Baz Luhrman" stuff). I really liked how they showed the influence of Beale St/blues/Black musicians on him. I thought the explanation that he had to move in order to "feel" the music, because that was what he learned as a kid attending revivals, was kind of hokey--though it might have been true. Tom Hanks' accent faded in and out.

I totally agree with you about the makeup and aging. Why was Elvis able to keep his hair long and Elvis-like when he was in the Army? It made no sense, and I can only hope it was a conscious , artistic decision that went over my head.

That said, I'll definitely finish it, which is more than I can say for a lot of things I've tried to watch.