ELVIS : His Life And Times As Told By His Manager

ELVIS chronicles the life of the legendary King of Rock n Roll. From his birth, his growing up years as a scrawny kid hanging out with the black community, to his rise to stardom, and eventual death. There are so many grounds to cover, with the film's 2 hours and 39 minutes runtime not even enough. The story is told through the eyes of his business manager, Colonel Tom Parker.   

 

Austin Butler, in his star-making turn, pours his heart and soul to this role of a lifetime. He's at his best when he's onstage performing, giving every bit of his flesh and blood in enthralling his audience. He talks, sings, and moves much like Elvis. It's like he's been  possessed by the King to be able to swing like the music icon. Butler is electrifying !    

 

Tom Hanks, on the other hand, has been criticized for his weird portrayal of the manager. He's like a manipulative comic-book villain, and he's got this accent which is quite distracting. And I must say, it sure takes a lot for a nice guy like Tom Hanks to convince us that he's the bad guy. I still think he did a good job though.    

 

Director Baz Luhrmann's stylized retelling of Elvis' story compliments the King's crazy career and personal life. The film is presented in a frenetic pace editing and it's full of montages, that a regular viewer might feel exhausted after watching the film. So many things to cover, so little time that some story arcs were not given enough room to develop. This doesn't mean that the film is not entertaining. It is an in-depth look at the life and career of the musical icon. After watching the film, casual viewers will likely want to learn more about Elvis, and fans will definitely love to hear and see him come alive again, at least on the silver screen. Millennials will get to know how a poor boy from Tupelo, Mississippi -  his early musical influences, the personal struggles,  his phenomenal rise to stardom,  became the King of Rock and Roll. 

Come awards season, expect Oscar nominations for Best Actor,, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture. Austin Butler's career is going to explode !

  

 

Photos c/o Warner Bros. Pictures

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@WarnerBrosPH 

LIGHTYEAR - Is It Good Or Bad?

 

The story that inspired the making of the toy. The movie that Andy watched in 1995 that made him want to have Buzz Lightyear. Disney and Pixar made an engaging origin story for one of their most popular characters. It's a fun, emotional, visually stunning character study about our favorite space ranger.   

The animation is just gorgeous ! LIGHTYEAR takes us to outer space and to a strange planet where everything feels real, even the dangers that lurks beneath. It pays homage to the best science fiction films. There are shades of Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, Interstellar, The Martian, Wall-E, through-out the movie. 

 

Chris Evans as the human Buzz Lightyear is excellent in his voice acting debut. He brought his superhero persona to his role, making it confident, strong, funny, even silly at times. He sounded a bit like Tim Allen, who voiced the Buzz Lightyear toy, but he managed to make it his own.   

The supporting cast is a mix bag of loyal and odd characters. Alicia Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) and Izzy Hawthorne (Keke Palmer) are both strong female space rangers, while Mo Morrison (Taika Waititi) and Darby Steel (Dale Soules) are misfits who were thrown into the mix to help form Lightyear's team. But the one who really stood out is the robotic cat named Sox (Peter Sohn). He's easily the best part of the movie and stole every scene he's in. Everyone would love to have a Sox toy, myself included.   

 

It's sad that some critics do not gravitate to what Lightyear has to offer, calling it low-tier, boring, the worst of the franchise. Some countries have even banned the movie because of a split-second kiss between two female LGBTQ characters.   

But if you're looking for a movie to take the kids on a weekend, this is something they will truly enjoy. Especially if they love the TOY STORY films. Directed by Angus MacLane. From Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar.   

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JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION - A Meeting Of The Old And The New

 

It's been four years since we last saw the destruction of Isla Nublar. Now dinosaurs live and hunt amongst us humans all over the world. Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) have set up home in a remote cabin with their adopted daughter, the cloned teenager Maisie Lockwood (Isabella Sermon). Later, Maisie and Beta, the newborn child of velociraptor Blue, were abducted by poachers. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Niell) come together to investigate a genetics company, which might be responsible for the giant prehistoric locusts who are wiping the food supply of the world.  They get an insider help from an old friend Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), who is now a consultant in the company. 

 

It is refreshing to see the original cast of the first Jurassic Park, and have them interact with the cast of the Jurassic World. It's like a dream combination of two worlds. There were several references to the classic film. Lots of nostalgia feels. 

However, most of the critics didn't like the way Director and Co-writer Colin Trevorrow made this latest installment. Some even called it a mess of sub-plots, boring, predictable, the worst sequel, etc. 

 

I couldn't disagree more. Although I wouldn't call it a perfect sequel, there were lots of improvements over the look and CGI of the dinosaurs, more action, and impressive VFX. It's such a thrill to watch these creatures go after the humans. That's the reason why I went to the cinema. And that's the same reason why viewers around the world flocked to the box office. 

Growing up as a kid, I've always been fascinated with dinosaurs. I thoroughly enjoyed the first Jurassic Park, which was directed by none other than, Steven Spielberg. Since then, I always looked forward to seeing the next Jurassic film. I've seen and enjoyed all of them. 

 

Jurassic World Dominion is the third chapter of the Jurassic World trilogy. The sixth installment of the Jurassic franchise. The epic conclusion of the Jurassic era. Or is it ? Three out of five, made over a billion dollars. And this one looks like it's on its way. I guess we'll have to wait and see. 

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Photos c/o Universal Pictures