By Steve Crum

Elvis should be renamed Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. Like Luhrmann’s previous movies Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby, the distinctive film auteur (director/producer/screenwriter) showcases Elvis in a dazzling opulence of color, set design, and musical presentations. How appropriate for the story of Elvis Presley, himself a socko entertainer, arguably the greatest of all-time.

In some ways, Elvis is the most accurate movie musical biography ever produced. First, it covers Presley’s life—from birth to death (1935-77). Jamie Foxx’s incredible performance as Ray Charles in 2004’s Ray should be mentioned in the same breath. That is because both Foxx and Austin Butler (who portrays Elvis) are both near soundalikes via their respective voices and body language.

Lesser breadth is found in two other popular movie bios about great showbiz stars—Fanny Brice (1968’s Funny Girl & 1975’s Funny Lady); and Al Jolson (1946’s The Jolson Story and 1949’s Jolson Sings Again). In both the Brice and Jolson movies, the chronological order of their lives as well as factual accuracy are often revised or entirely absent.

Brice is played by Barbra Streisand, who does not look or sound at all like Brice. Larry Parks as Jolson has the performance movement down quite well, but has to lip sync Jolson’s previously recorded songs. Correction: He perfectly lip syncs. And he does not even come close to Jolie in facial look.

That ALL said, Austin Butler actually sings, resembles, and moves like Presley. And he is a fine actor to boot. Uncanny is the appropriate description.

Contrasting to Butler’s super performance, there is Tom Hanks. The jury is mixed on Hanks’ performance. As Presley’s long-time manager Col. Tom Parker, Hanks has had facial prosthetics and body padding added to make him look somewhat like Parker. And he appropriately speaks with a heavy Dutch accent, trying to emulate. The result is a mixed bag. I could not entirely get past the fact that it is really Hanks. Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

I suppose it is appropriate that Luhrmann repeatedly pictures Parker lurking in the shadows or peeking around a curtain—to spy on Elvis. No subtlety here.

Luhrmann’s Elvis saga (159 minutes) begins long after Elvis’ death as the elderly Col. Parker is on his own deathbed. As he struggles to breathe, he begins recalling how he discovered Elvis. Flash back to the youthful Elvis is growing up with his beloved Mama (Helen Thomson) and Daddy (Richard Roxburgh) as among the poor in Mississippi. Elvis is greatly influenced by his African-American friends and neighbors via attending their church and gospel singing.

Flip to Col. Parker who is honing his huckster talents as a carnival sideshow barker. While Presley is growing up and partnered with Hank Snow (David Wenham), he is breaking out with his own style adapted from friend B. B. King (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and others. By the way, there are several terrific musical performances by imitators Gary Clark Jr. (as Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup), Yola (Sister Rosette Tharpe), Alton Mason (Little Richard), and Shonka Dukureh (Big Mama Thornton).

Throughout the film, 36 Presley hits are sung (via Butler)…from “That’s All Right” to “Hound Dog” to “Can’t Help Falling in Love” to “Heartbreak Hotel” and on and on.

Recreations of landmark Presley performances cover The King in Las Vegas; on TV as a guest (The Steve Allen Show and others); in his many movies as shown in snippets (a collage of his Paramount musicals); and during his TV Specials. The most humorous recreation is a Christmas Special wherein Elvis famously defies his advertisers and his manager, the not-so-good Colonel.

Elvis’ personal life includes virtually every aspect from his love for his mother, his marriage to Priscilla, his tenure in the Army, his buddies who travel and live with him at Graceland, and finally his tenure at The International in Vegas. Throughout, Col. Parker wheels, deals, and manipulates Elvis’ professional and personal life.

This is an epic story told against a backdrop of wealth, tragedy, rhinestones and showbiz. Certainly, Elvis is among the best musical biographies ever produced.

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GRADE on an A-F Scale: A-

By Steve Crum

Thirty minutes into the documentary, Good Night Oppy…and I am sobbing. The true story of a NASA mechanical land rover affects one’s tear ducts? Indeed so.

Before delving into the why, what and where, please do not confuse Good Night Oppy with the 2005 Pixar animated WALL-E. I initially DID confuse them. Both films feature a central robot that are similar enough in looks that they could be mechanical brothers. And both are essentially stranded on a planet. Although “Oppy” (a nickname for the rover) is definitely a non-emotional machine, WALL-E has feelings.

Oh, and WALL-E is relegated to a futuristic, devastated Earth. Oppy ’s beat is Mars.

During director Ryan White’s work, which runs 105 minutes, we follow NASA’s early plans to create two land rovers with the capability of being rocketed to Mars, safely landing, and triggered to begin moving around the planet’s landscape to photograph Mars. Soil, rock and atmospheric readings would then be sent back to earth for study.

With a two-year deadline to a 2003 blast-off from earth, scientists are pressured to construct, test and re-test both rovers. The Viking mission will require two rockets with one rover each. Christened Opportunity and Spirit, the identical units are built to somewhat resemble human beings.

Each flight lasted approximately six months, and each successfully landed the rover cargo. Meant to last 90 days each, the two Mars rovers surprised NASA engineers by exceeding that time. In Opportunity’s case, it was able to rove and send data to earth for an incredible 15 years!

This beautifully imagined film includes both archival footage as well as realistic computerized re-creations via Industrial Light & Magic. The latter, particularly when we follow Oppy’s trek across rough Martian terrain to find water, make up the breadth of Good Night Oppy’s awesome imagery.

Over the course of this film, it is impossible not to join NASA scientists as they become increasingly emotionally involved with Oppy and its/his amazing abilities.

The story, by Helen Kearns and Ryan White, is narrated by Angela Bassett. The Blake Neely score is peppered with pop recordings by The Beatles, Wham, ABBA, and more—songs played each morning by NASA to “wake up” their land rovers.

Oppy’s journey is never-to-be-forgotten…thanks in large part to the remarkable Good Night Oppy.   

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Grade on an A-F Scale: A

By Steve Crum

There is good reason Brendan Fraser received a six-minute standing ovation by the Venice International Film Festival audience. They had just witnessed his incredible, Oscar worthy performance in The Whale. 

Based on the Off-Broadway play of the same name by Samuel Hunter, this film version is adapted by Hunter. The title has double/triple meanings. First, there is an obvious reference to central character Charlie (Fraser)—since he is a morbidly obese (600 pounds) English professor. Secondly, Charlie has an affection for Melville’s novel, Moby-Dick—featuring the killer white whale. It’s not a stretch to include a third element, that Charlie has spent the last years as a recluse in his house—perhaps a “beached whale.” Per se, of course. 

Director Darren Aronofsky veered little from the 2012 play, essentially containing most of his movie within Charlie’s living room and kitchen area. (A couple of other rooms are briefly shown.) In a flashback there is a beach scene with Charlie. However, most of the time Charlie sits in his easy chair, near a computer. He teaches a college writing class by ZOOM—with his square purposely dark so no one can see him as he talks. 

Kudos to the makeup gurus who created what appears to be hundreds of pounds to Brendan Fraser’s appearance.

As for in-person human interaction, Charlie does have a caregiver-nurse, Liz (Hong Chau), who is concerned about both his physical and mental health. As the story proceeds, we learn that Charlie’s overeating was triggered when his gay lover suddenly died. We also learn of the wife and child Charlie abandoned years ago when he moved in with his partner.

After his bitter teenaged daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink) decides to show up at Charlie’s door, following years of separation, the two are faced with unanswered questions. This will soon lead to Charlie’s angry ex-wife Mary (Samantha Morton) joining the two. Their encounters are both tearful and explosive. All the time, Charlie’s health (congestive heart failure) is declining. 

Add to the mix a major player named Thomas (Ty Simpkins), a door-to-door, teenaged Christian missionary. What a great acting ensemble overall. 

While the focus on Charlie’s physical challenge is important to the overall plot, Aronofsky does not exploit it. We are shown enough to surely be shocked and saddened, but we are also shown Charlie’s sweetness and desperation. 

The Whale is not an easy film to watch, but its concluding payoff scene is a bittersweet gem to say the least. 

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GRADE on an A-F Scale: B

By Steve Crum

Allsion Janney’s literally gritty portrayal is reason enough to see Lou, an action thriller that is also an engaging character study of the title character. It turns out very soon into the story that Lou Adell (Janney) is a cross between a typical Liam Neeson hero and Rambo.

Indeed it is the hard-edged Lou who lives alone in the wilderness of Oscar Island in Washington. It is Lou who reminds her nearby tenant Hannah to pay her due rent. It is Lou whose heroic demeanor kicks in immediately after Hannah’s little girl, Vee, is kidnapped. 

The story, by Maggie Cohn and Jack Stanley, grabs immediately as we get an idea of Lou’s personality—including her despair. Once Vee is taken, the pace for from rapid to breakneck. Aided by Vee’s mother, Hannah Dawson (Jurnee Smollett), the two forge through dense forest and waterways. Lou’s tracking and survival skills are akin to military commando precision (with good reason—but no spoiler from me here!). 

Just to add vim to the vigor, the kidnapper (played by Logan Marshall-Green) is a war criminal and ex-Green Beret. So it becomes mini-Army versus mini-Army, per se. Lou has a secret that greatly adds to her prowess. Perhaps it is needless to say, but the resulting violence is therefore elevated. This movie is definitely “R” for bloodshed. 

Directed by Anna Foerster (Underworld: Blood Wars), the taut film showcases Lou as an imperfect action hero with social and psychological issues. 

Mention should be made of Michael McDonough’s impressive cinematography. The wilderness depiction as well as the climactic lighthouse sequence particularly work well. 

I would also rate Janney’s character a “C” for caked-on dirt, head to feet. 

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GRADE on an A-F Scale: B

By Steve Crum

Samaritan makes for a just vehicle when it comes to an aging (76 year-old) action movie star. Did someone say Sylvester Stallone? He perfectly fits the proverbial bill. (Sly also co-produced Samaritan.) Here is a superhero story told from the point of view of a 13 year-old boy who has idolized a superhero who has actually lived. The boy, Sam Cleary, is well played by Javon “Wanna” Walton. 

Specifically, Sam lives in Granite City (?) wherein decades back, the legendary Samaritan repeatedly clashed with his villainous twin brother, Nemesis. Their climactic battle was catastrophic with both siblings killed. 

This “dark take on superhero movies” is based on the book Samaritan by Bragi Schut, Marc Olivent and Renzo Podesta. Director Julius Avery has fashioned the setting in a seedy part of a large, fictitious city. (NOTE: Superman had Metropolis, Batman—Gotham, and so on.) 

The first third of the 101-minute film centers on Sam as he frets over helping his nearly destitute single mom with finances. In desperation, he accepts a job assisting gang leader Reza (Moises Arias). Soon the boy get personal attention from Reza’s boss, Chris (Pilou Asbaek). Complications arise, triggering Reza to attack Sam. 

Enter Joe Smith (Stallone), the local garbage collector living alone in a modest high rise. Turns out Joe, who wears a hoodie in public, has been spying on Sam from his window for some time. Guess how he reacts when sees Sam physically threatened. Yep, the old recluse comes to the rescue with seemingly super strength. The boy, now safe, recognizes the elder’s power as his long sought Samaritan—which Joe denies. The two bond, reluctantly on Joe’s part. Nonetheless, the rest of the movie is filled with Joe’s keeping Sam safe from gangsters. 

Stallone pulls off the ruse believably enough that the climactic, action-jammed conclusion has its breathtaking moments. 

Special effects are quite good with dazzling pyrotechnics in big time display—a lot of finale explosions and fires. An earlier display of Stallone’s character literally readjusting his twisted limbs is impressive, but would be even more so if Netflix’s Stranger Things had not already essentially included the wowser visual. 

Despite a surprise switch ending, it is doubtful Samaritan will ever prompt a sequel. 

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GRADE on an A-F Scale: C