ELVIS 

I watched Elvis (2022) on DVD the other day and I remembered why I would never go to a theater to see it. It is waaayyyy tooo looonnnngggg! Two hours and thirty-nine minutes. It’s actually not that bad if it didn’t wear you out. Unknown Austin Butler is just right as The King. (He does his own singing and dancing). And Tom Hanks proves he can play despicable.  I’m sure a lot of his fans love that much of Elvis, but it’s sort of like ten pounds of chocolate all at once. Nevertheless I have heard from Elvis fans wanting some guidance through his 30-plus movies. Not all of them are terrible. Just most. So here goes.

Elvis’ filmography is contained in 10 short years- 1957-1967. And in that time span the studios frantically rushed to cash in on his popularity. The results are some truly awful movies and a few that aren’t so bad. 

I’ll begin with King Creole (1958). It is based on a Harold Robbins story, A Stone For Danny Fisher and in addition to Elvis, has Walter Matthau and Carolyn Jones. It is directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) and was a commercial and critical success. Elvis later said his role as Danny Fisher was his favorite. Danny drops out of high school and works to support his family. They move to New Oreans and Danny winds up singing at the King Creole club. After several fight scenes and several songs, it all ends  pretty well. 

Flaming Star (1960) stars Elvis as the son of a Kiowa mother and a Texas rancher father. He happily works at the ranch until the Kiowa indians start raiding settlers in the area. He is caught between two worlds and the film is about his determination to find his way between. At Elvis’ insistence, two of the four songs were cut from the film as he wanted to be taken more seriously as an actor. Though not a great commercial success by Elvis standards, the film was well received by most critics and audiences. 

Viva Las Vegas (1964) has Elvis as a Formula 1 race car driver intent on winning the Las Vegas Gran Prix but needing money to buy a new engine for his car. The beautiful and famous Ann-Margaret is on board as the love interest and there are ten song and dance numbers to rev up the film. 

Jailhouse Rock (1957) was Elvis’ first film and one of his best. This film, together with his legendary appearance on the Ed Sullivan show (from the waist up!), sealed his place as the number one rock and roll star of his time. Okay, maybe all time! The movie stars Elvis and nobody else you ever heard of. It begins with him doing time for manslaughter and developing his singing and dancing. The famous scene in the prison was one of his best. The songs were recorded later and dubbed into the film. Elvis lip-synched them! 

Well, Elvis fans, it’s pretty much downhill from here. There are 27 more Elvis films and none of them are very good. All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. And all are fine for all ages. 

                                                        2021 Sleepers

                                                     Part 4

        Here is the fourth and last handful of films from last year that disappeared unmourned and which I thought were pretty good.

    Passing is about a light-skinned black woman who did exactly that- pass. She has made it into the white world, including a beneficial marriage, when she encounters an old friend who is decidedly black. The effects of this reversal on each of the friends is eye-opening. Ruth Negga plays the passer and Tessa Thompson plays her friend. 

The wretched Bakkers- Jim and Tammy Faye- have had their share of trouble. In the 60's they became internationally famous preachers with mega congregations and donations to match. The flimsy walls came tumbling down. Jail for him, unending comic portrayals of her. The Eyes Of Tammy Faye uses as a title the trademark makeup mishap of Mrs. Bakker to tell her side of the story. Jessica Chastain is excellent as Tammy Faye and Andrew Garfield plays Jim to a tee. The film portrays her as a clueless blonde caught up in a tsunami of trouble. Not sure you’ll believe in her innocence, but it’s a good movie. 

Would you like to retire to a place where no children are allowed, where everyone is well-off and about your age and everything is furnished for your enjoyment? Then pack your bags for The Villages in central Florida, a “Disney World for Retirees”. Some Kind of Heaven is Lawrence Oppenheim’s unflinching documentary about four different people who live there. All is not sunshine and oranges, but see for yourself. 

What to make of India? We read of the rape and murder of women going unpunished and yet they had a female prime minister. Writing With Fire is a fascinating documentary about a small corner of that huge country- Khabar Lahariya is the only news agency in India run entirely by lower caste women. Their dogged determination to get at the truth and get it out is a stunning portrayal of journalism at its best. 

Nightmare Alley features Bradley Cooper as a grifter who begins at a decidedly lower rung carnival and with his native cunning works his way up to be a headlining psychic. He stuns rapt audiences with his ability to tell things about them though they are strangers. Rooney Mara is his helper and stooge and Cate Blanchett is the psychiatrist determined to expose him. It’s quite a ride!

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults. 

                                                              NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand is the site of some wonderful films. Almost all of Lord of the Rings was shot there; the scenery is simply breathtaking. But that trilogy is science fiction; let’s look at films not only in, but about, this little-known country.

Hunt For The Wilderpeople (2016) is billed as a New Zealand adventure comedy-drama. I could not have said it any better. Left an orphan, Ricky goes to live with foster mother Bella and her taciturn husband Hec. Bella dies, and the child welfare people want Ricky back. Neither he nor Hec are keen on this, so they take to the woods and for most of the movie hide out from the authorities and meet interesting people. Aussie Sam Neill is good as Hec and newcomer Julian Dennison is just fine as Ricky. Oh, by the way: Who or what are the Wilderpeople? I have no idea. 

Whale Rider (2003) is a terrific film that was in my top 10 for 2003. It is the life-affirming story of a young girl growing up in the Maori culture, which does not allow girls much room to grow. The young heroine fights back with courage and elan. It is a heart-warming film that should be seen by every young (and not-so-young) woman (and man!) 

Once Were Warriors (1994) is a devastating look at what increasing urbanization has done to the Maori culture and New Zealanders in general. The father’s traditional role as unquestioned head of the house has to give a little when he’s not making the living. With universal application, this fine little film gives us enough to think about for weeks. 

Heavenly Creatures (1994) is directed by Ring Cycle’s Peter Jackson and is based on a true story. Two young girls form a perilous friendship including a dangerous private world inhabited only by them. When separation is threatened by their parents, they take extreme measures. Melanie Lynskey and the better-known Kate Winslett (Titanic) are superb as the two girls. Trivia note: One of these girls grew up to be British mystery writer Anne Perry!

Angel At My Table (1990) is director Jane Campion’s affecting study of New Zealand poet and author Janet Frame, a quiet child misdiagnosed as mentally ill and sent to an institution for eight years! The fact it is a true story only adds to the emotional wallop of this excellent movie. 

Finally, there is the intriguing and utterly weird The Piano (1993), also directed by Jane Campion. Sam Neill and Harvey Keitel join Oscar winners Anna Paquin and Holly Hunter in the story of a mail-order bride (Hunter) who is apparently mute by choice and who loves only her piano and her daughter (probably in that order). 

All of the films in this article(including the whole Lord of the Rings cycle) are available on DVD. The Ring cycle and Whale Rider are fine for 8 and up.  The rest are for adults only.

                                                 DOWN UNDER THE RADAR (3)

Here’s another handful of really good films from Down Under, none of which had much of an impact here.

Among her many talents, Meryl Streep does accents better than anyone. So this very American lady seems right at home as the mysterious mom in A Cry In The Dark (1988). Her baby may or may not have been carried off by dingoes (wild dogs), but she stands trial for murder. Did she or didn’t she? Sam Neill (an Aussie) is quite good as her husband, and we find out that trial by sensation goes on somewhere besides the U.S.

Another very American actor, Kirk Douglas, is the grizzled old rancher in The Man From Snowy River (1982). This fun movie is as classic a western as John Ford ever made, and features the best horse action ever captured on film. And without computer tricks.

In The Getting of Wisdom (1997), a young girl from the outback is determined to get an education and rise above her somewhat rustic background. Most of the story takes place at a snooty girls school, and you will pull hard for this spunky young lady. The American frontier would have been just as good a setting for this story, and we identify with it wholeheartedly. 

Innocence (2000) with a largely unknown Australian cast, is about a widowed man and married woman, both well into middle age, who rediscover each other after many years of going their separate ways. Both tender and sensuous, it approaches the subject of love among the not-so-young about as well as anything since Queen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975) or Brief Encounter (1945).

Mel Gibson was not always a household word, either on these shores or in his native Australia. What put him on their map, and ours, is a series of outlandish films about the world in the distant future. In these exciting films, gasoline and goodness are in equally short supply. The new world order consists of a few daring policemen and crazed androidal bikers. Doesn’t sound like much, does it? But Mel is a decent, resourceful cop whose family is killed by crazies. He vows revenge. The stunts are amazing, and the look is like nothing ever seen before or since. Mad Max (1979) is the best, followed closely by The Road Warrior  (1981), and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). The last one is even more of a stretch but does feature as a dominatrix Tina Turner (of all people!)

All of the movies in this column are available in DVD. All are for mature audiences.