ELVIS : Tuesday 28th June 2022.

I saw the M Rated 'ELVIS' at my local multiplex this week, and this Australian and US Co-Produced biographical musical drama film is Co-Written for the screen, based on a story, Directed and Co-Produced by Baz Luhrmann whose previous film making credits take in his debut 'Strictly Ballroom' in 1992, 'Romeo + Juliet' in 1996, 'Moulin Rouge!' in 2001, 'Australia' in 2008 and 'The Great Gatsby' in 2013. The film had its World Premier screening at the Cannes Film Festival on 25th May where it received a twelve minute standing ovation. Released in Australia and worldwide last week, it was originally scheduled to be released in early October 2021, before being delayed to early November 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then later to last week. It cost US$85M to produce, has so far grossed US$52M from its opening weekend and a further US$13M since for a worldwide total so far of US$65M, and has garnered generally positive critical acclaim.

The film opens up in 1997 with Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) on his death bed recalling his memories of how he first discovered Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) and how he led him on the path to worldwide superstardom as his manager, mentor, guardian and custodian. The film then takes us back to the late 1940's and a young Elvis (Chaydon Jay) had a largely poverty driven upbringing in Tupelo, Mississippi with his parents Vernon (Richard Roxburgh), who had served jail time, and Gladys (Helen Thomson). Elvis finds his personal means of escape and his own lifeline in music, and in particular gospel music, which he falls under the spell off as a young boy. In his late teens he is often ridiculed by his peer group because of his strong leaning towards African American music to be heard bellowing out from the clubs and bars on Memphis' Beale Street where the likes of B.B. King (Kelvin Harrison Jnr.) and Little Richard (Alton Mason) hang out at 'Club Handy'.

Parker grew up around the carnivals and travelling fair's turning a dollar on the gullibility on his audience night after night. He is also managing Hank Snow (David Wenham) and his son Jimmie Snow (Kodi Smit-McPhee) but as soon as Parker hears Elvis belting out his debut song on the radio he becomes determined to track the singer down and manage his affairs from here on in. Parker eventually meets and persuades Elvis to let him take control of his career by having Vernon and Gladys sign a contract with Vernon appointed as Elvis' Business Manager which begins a meteoric ascent. 

However, not all of the public is impressed with the young entertainer, labelling him 'Elvis the Pelvis' because of his trademark hips and legs wiggle. Many parents fear that his music is corrupting their children, especially the young and impressionable daughters, and racist politicians also attack him. He is asked to downplay the wiggle and stand up straight, not gyrate his hips, and wear a suit with tails onstage, which he does once under the guise of 'The New Elvis', but his fans rebel against this demanding they want 'The Old Elvis' back. After a violent incident at a stadium concert, Elvis finds himself facing a possible jail term because he gave the fans what they wanted to hear and see. However, it is suggested that Parker persuades the government to draft Elvis into the US Army in 1958 as a way of avoiding any further legal proceedings. During his time in the Army on a posting to Germany, Elvis learns that Gladys has died of alcoholism. He is distraught by the news and almost inconsolable. Parker comforts Elvis and Vernon in their hour of need and says to Elvis that while he is overseas seeing out his Army service that he will take care of all of his affairs and need not worry about a thing. 

While stationed in Germany, Elvis meets Priscilla Beaulieu (Olivia DeJonge), and upon his discharge, he resumes his career-making concert tours and Hollywood feature films while Parker's control of his life takes on an even stronger grip. Elvis is devastated by the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 and Robert Kennedy also in 1968, and wishes to become more politically outspoken in his music while Parker merely wants him to sing family friendly frivolous songs that will be No.1 best sellers. He hires Jerry Schilling (Luke Bracey) and Steve Binder (Dacre Montgomery) to resurrect his ailing career (which they described as being 'in the toilet'), much to Parker's disliking. Schilling and Binder orchestrate Elvis' 1968 Comeback Tour which has massive television success and reestablishes the singer right back to his former glory years. 

The International Hotel is set to open on the Las Vegas strip, and while Elvis has plans to tour Europe Parker has other ideas. He downplays touring Europe based on the cost involved that would heavily eat into any profits made and the security risks associated with travelling to foreign lands. Instead, Parker suggests that The International Hotel would offer Elvis a six week residency at no cost, because they need a big name act to help establish the new hotel as a gaming and entertainment destination, and quickly. Afterwards, Parker says, he can tour overseas. But afterwards never comes, as Parker who is now heavily in debt to a casino for his gambling addiction, secretly and without any consultation with Elvis commits the singer to a residency term of five years in exchange for US$5M for Elvis, plus an unlimited line of credit and the waiving of all debts owed by Parker. 

Elvis puts his all into his sell out stage shows at The International Hotel, but eventually grows tired of Parker and attempts to fire him, only to be sued by the latter for more than US$8M for expenses incurred since day one of their relationship. Elvis chides Vernon as his Business Manager saying that he was supposed to oversee all of his finances, but Vernon only responds with the fact that he will have to sell Graceland and that sum will leave him broke and destitute. A vicious argument ensues between Elvis and Parker as he is about to leave for the airport and embark on a European Tour, but afterwards Elvis has to concede that he has no choice but to maintain his management from Parker, and instead embark on a fifteen city tour of the US instead. Ultimately, they grow apart and rarely see each other afterwards.

Following this, Elvis's life spirals on a seemingly ever downward trajectory as Priscilla takes their daughter Lisa Marie and leaves him over his prescription drug addiction, which grows even stronger after she is gone. They divorce in 1973. Later, as Elvis is about to board his private plane and bidding farewell to Lisa Marie at the airport, Priscilla jumps in the back of the limo and the pair share a private and tender moment. Elvis says to his former wife that he is approaching his fortieth birthday and that no one will remember him when he is gone. As the pair part company and Elvis boards his plane he mouths the words 'I will always love you' to Priscilla. Elvis died from a heart attack on 16th August 1977 at the age of 42. 

The final scene is one of Elvis's last shows which depicts him as being bloated and pale looking, while singing 'Unchained Melody' at the piano, with real footage from the concert as key moments from his life are shown, with Parker passing away old and alone in 1997. The closing credits reveal that Parker's financial and contractual abuse of Elvis was the subject of litigation by the Presley Estate after Elvis' death. Parker spent his last years gambling away his money on casino slot machines, while Elvis remains the best-selling solo artist of all-time and one of the most beloved entertainers in music history.

I sat in a packed out cinema theatre half full of baby boomers who would have been around in the '60's and '70's to see the real events unfold, with the other half being millennials who would have been there for the entertainment and education factors and to see the legendary King of Rock 'n' Roll writ large on the silver screen. What was unusual was the applause this film garnered from the gathered audience when the end credits rolled, which is telling in its own right! Unlike his previous 'The Great Gatsby' which for me was all style with little substance, in 'Elvis' Luhrmann has delivered an extravagant spectacular biopic that has style and substance in equal measure and that will keep you glued to the screen for all of its 160 minute run time. Austin Butler lives and breathes EP and his performance is near perfect in terms of his looks, his singing, his gyrating, his dancing and his persona in a role that we are unlikely to find as convincing this year. As for Tom Hanks in his fat suit and prosthetic face and nose made up to resemble Col. Tom Parker in all his manipulative, controlling illegal alien personality, it was at times hard for me to see behind the Mr. Nice Guy image that Hanks more often than not portrays in his film roles. That said though, I learned a lot about EP's Manager and their 20+ year relationship that turned toxic towards the end, even though Elvis kept coming back to him time after time like a lost puppy no matter how harshly he was treated. 'Elvis' is a brash film that will keep you pondering the King's life, and all of its twists and turns, ups and downs long after the credits have rolled. It's memorable for a whole bunch of reasons and has Luhrmann's trademark glitz and glamour written all over it while attempting to explain how a little kid growing up poor in Tupelo came to become the most successful solo music artist of all time and as popular still today some 45 years after his death, as he was when he was alive. 

'ELVIS' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

DANGER CLOSE : THE BATTLE OF LONG TAN - Tuesday 13th August 2019.

'DANGER CLOSE : THE BATTLE OF LONG TAN' is an MA15+ Rated Australian Vietnam War film, which I saw earlier this week, and is Directed by Kriv Stenders whose previous film making credits include 'Red Dog', 'Kill Me Three Times', 'Red Dog : True Blue', 'Australia Day' and the made for TV movie remake of 'Wake in Fright' most recently. Made for US$35M the film charts the story of of the Battle of Long Tan on 18th August 1966 which took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tan, in South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. The action was fought between the Viet Cong and People's Army of Viet Cong units and elements of the 1st Australian Task Force, with both sides claiming victory in the aftermath. The operation had ended by 21st August. The film has garnered mixed Reviews since its release last week. The term 'danger close' is a military term which refers to close air, artillery, mortar, and naval gunfire support and is included in the method of engagement of a call for supporting fire from a distance which indicates that friendly forces are within close proximity of the target.

As the film opens up it is mid-August 1966 with career officer Major Harry Smith (Travis Fimmel) of Delta Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, on operation in Nui Dat, Phuoc Tuy Province in South Vietnam. He is distracted from writing a letter presumably to his wife and young family back home somewhere in Australia, by mortar and rocket attacks on his camp in the early hours of the morning. Smith we soon learn is an ex-Special Forces man, and is seemingly done with babysitting green, still wet behind the ears young conscripts from Australia and New Zealand most of whom are no older than twenty-one years of age.

Smith ventures into the tent of his commanding officer Brigadier David Jackson (Richard Roxburgh) seeking a transfer to the frontline and his former regiment but his request is given short shrift and instantly rejected, instead sending him out the next morning to locate enemy positions. Before he goes, Smith calls in to his tent a recently arrived and cocky private, Paul Large (Daniel Webber), and quite literally almost throttles him, for inadvertently firing off a single round from his rifle while on watch that night, and therefore running the risk of revealing their location.

Other soldiers including Sergeant Bob Buick (Luke Bracey) command more respect from Smith than the young Private, and as soon as Smith separates the company into patrolling scouting platoons, Buick finds himself under fierce enemy gunfire and in command, pinned down with a useless shot out radio. Meanwhile, the men on patrol are all mightily hacked off because they're missing out on a concert back at base camp featuring the specially flown in none other than Col Joye (Geoffrey Winter) and Little Pattie (Emmy Dougall) who all have to be flown out pretty damn quick smart when the ensuing exchange of mortar bombs and gunfire gets a little too close for comfort.

The story then goes back and forth tracing the skirmishes between four separated and isolated platoons all coming under intense gunfire from a relentless enemy while attempting to establish radio contact with each other; their HQ base where Brigadier Jackson and his subordinate officer Lieutenant Colonel Colin Townsend (Anthony Hayes) argue over whether to dispatch reinforcements which would potentially leave their HQ base exposed to attack; and a crew of artillery men overseen by Bombadier Ray Ngatai (Uli Latukefu) manning short range mortars and responding to shit scared radio operators in the field with coordinates with which to bomb the advancing enemy forces with pin point accuracy and so preventing our boys from being overwhelmed.

There's an air of disobeying orders that seems to be a recurring theme throughout the film. Tensions between Smith and Private Large come to an apex when Smith calls down an artillery bombardment on Buick's position as they face off against overwhelming Viet Cong odds, and, when the dust has settled and the platoon are all presumed dead Large shoves his commanding officer to the ground, enraged that he could give such an order. Smith, in turn, refuses an order to withdraw from Lt. Col. Townsend because it would mean leaving his men behind and as far as Smith is concerned it's one in, all in! Lt. Col. Townsend in turn refuses a direct order from Brigadier Jackson to remain at the camp and safeguard it against enemy attack, instead making a secret getaway to aid those succumbing to an ever advancing Viet Cong in the final contact. And six men make a swift getaway in two helicopters during a monsoonal downpour while risk getting shot down to deliver much needed back-up ammunition to Smith and his men, much to the chagrin of Townsend and Jackson. 

And so as the final battle of Long Tan rages over almost four hours of monsoon drenched blood and guts in a rubber plantation on 18th August as 108 largely inexperienced, Australian infantry men fight for their very existence against almost overwhelming odds, and a 1000+ strong battle hardened and relentless Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers that advance in wave after wave. With their ammunition running out, their casualties mounting and the enemy amassing for a final assault, the whole thing came to an abrupt climax just as night was falling, when a fleet of armoured personnel carriers came barrelling through the woods three hours after the bloody battle had begun and ninety minutes after Smith had requested reinforcements. With their machine guns blazing, the Vietnamese fled, those that didn't perish in the rapid gunfire that is.

The next day, the men are seen clearing the Long Tan battlefield of their dead and wounded and taking a roll call of the survivors. We learn that eighteen Australian soldiers were killed during those intense four hours but casualties on the Vietnamese side ran into the many hundreds, with three taken prisoner. However, both sides claimed victory that day. Smith is told by one of his subordinates that he should head back to HQ for a debrief, but he stoically replies with no, I'm staying . . . to aid in attending to his men - the living, the wounded and the dead.

As the end credits roll, we learn that in May 1968 the members of Delta Platoon were awarded the US Presidential Unit Citation for gallantry by Lyndon B Johnson for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy. South Vietnam awarded them the equivalent. The Australian military hierarchy however, took until 2016 to fully acknowledge the actions of the soldiers by honouring for the first time ten men and upgrading awards for the three previously honoured - an act of vindication lobbied for twenty years by Smith himself.

'Danger Close : The Battle of Long Tan' is probably the most significant Australian battle of the Vietnam War, known by the soldiers who were down in the mud that day clinging to their lives, by their families and loved ones, and by those others serving on the periphery, but to those back home in Australia and watching from much further afield, it has little or no significance in reality. However, don't let this fact detract you from seeing this film, which will no doubt please the veterans from that intense firefight that finally after some fifty years their story has finally been told, and with a high degree of accuracy with the real Major Harry Smith, now aged 86, consulting to the film throughout the production process. Kriv Stenders has here crafted an authentic looking film with Queensland's Gold Coast studios and hinterland towns doubling up as the Vietnamese jungle, the staged battle scenes are intense and effectively realised, and the performances are grounded and believable. This film reflects pure and simply the Australian perspective of Long Tan, and does nothing to portray the faceless yet relentless Vietnamese enemy, the reasons for being there, and the conflicts, disputes and interpretations aired subsequently by the Vietnamese as to their numbers of soldiers who fought and their subsequent body count remains a subject of some conjecture. Some of the dialogue and the emotional heft behind it is by the numbers, and exactly as to be expected from a film such as this, but nonetheless this is a movie that needed to be told and should resonate with audiences as an accurate account of a telling moment in Australian war time history. Also starring Stephen Peacocke, Matt Doran, Alexander England, Nicholas Hamilton, Aaron Glenane and Lasarus Ratuere.

'Danger Close : The Battle of Long Tan' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

POINT BREAK : Friday 1st January 2016.

I went for nostalgic reasons to see 'POINT BREAK' on its 2016 release date with fond memories of  Kathryn Bigelow's action crime thriller of the same name and upon which this retelling is based. Released in 1991 that earlier film starred a young Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Gary Busey, Lori Petty and John C McGinley and would rate as one of this Reviewer's favourite films of all time. I have seen the film more times than I can recall, and still love it after repeated viewings and not because of the stellar performances but because of the dialogue, the action, the energy and the spectacle of the film - it was made for just US$24M and went onto make US$84M in the final analysis. And now in 2015 and released on New Years Day in Australia 'Point Break' has been remade for a whole new audience who probably don't even know of its 'classic' predecessor. This new version was made for US$105M and has so far grossed US$62M following its initial release in China on December 4th.

This retelling Directed by Ericson Core, speaks of a similar story involving Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey in the Keanu Reeves role) as the FBI Agent with a penchant for extreme sports who seven years previously in the opening sequence sees a close friend plunge to his death off a mountain top pinnacle having ridden their dirt bikes along a previously unridden ridge. Fast forward to the present day and Utah is a graduating rookie FBI Agent having put those extreme sports days behind him, until a band of extreme sports crims are on the loose seemingly robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. So its not long before Utah persuades Instructor Hall (Delroy Lindo) to let him go undercover to thwart a bunch of professional criminals who masquerade as extreme sports enthusiasts . . . or is it the other way around?

These crims are headed by Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez in the Patrick Swayze role) whose sports agenda is to chase the path to enlightenment via 'The Oaski 8' - named after Ono Osaki, an eco-warrior who challenged the extreme sports world to a series of eight ordeals that honour the forces of nature. After a series of 'Robin Hood' type robberies the FBI close in whilst Bodhi and his group strive to complete the eight challenges dragging Utah along to prove himself, with Angelo Pappas (Ray Winston in the Gary Busey role) as the FBI grunt on the ground and Utah's international connection.

What follows is a series of action set pieces that all showcase some beautiful locations, stunning practical stunt work (especially the wing suit dive through the Swiss Alps) and extreme sports that is sure to be any teenage boys wet dream, as Bodhi and his crew chase their 'path' and the '8'. Does this really advance the plot? Well not really, because the plot is verbalised every step of the way in by the numbers dialogue as Utah pieces together the puzzle and Hall and Pappas look on very puzzled thinking WTF is this young upstart rookie talking about with all this Ozaki enlightenment nirvana BS. This naturally is underscored with big wave surfing, extreme snowboarding, wing suit diving, free climbing up a vertical mountain side, and parachuting through the world's deepest sink hole from 40,000 feet up as the '8' are progressively notched up and Utah goes along for the ride as part of his undercover investigations and to win Bodhi's confidence - really all quite predictable.

The action is impressive enough no doubt, but is it enough to carry the film that takes the story off in a different direction whilst retaining one or two touchstones from the original film? These include the end of the epic foot chase sequence where an injured Utah has Bodhi in his gun sights but rolls over and shoots off his final rounds into the air, and the final closing sequence where Bodhi jumps into a once in a decade swell during a big storm for his final surf never to be seen again, by which time all his close buddies also on their 'path' have perished because of it.

This film has a lot more polish than its original predecessor - the locations, the set pieces, and the fact that this bunch are 'sponsored' by a young multi-billionaire with more cash than sense. This is how Bodhi and his cronies have all the equipment they need to jet off to exotic locations around the world at a moments notice to complete their quest and live out their lives fully funded thank-you very much!

Compared to the original however, Bodhi and his rag tag gang of adrenalin junkies needed to fund their own exploits hence they robbed banks, but, there was more grit, rawness, energy and connection between the characters as a result, and the chemistry then between Reeves and Swayze on screen was spot-on whereas here, there is very little. Give me 'The Ex-Presidents' any day of the week!

Worth seeing on the big screen for the action sequences and the stunt work which were all mostly carried out practically in the locations as seen rather than using CGI green screen and Hollywood chicanery, but, that's the only reason.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Friday 1st January 2016.

Well another year has come to an end at the movies that has seen blockbusters aplenty with the likes of 'The Avengers : Age of Ultron', 'Jurassic World' and ending with 'Star Wars : The Force Awakens' that continues to notch-up the mega bucks even as you read this and is sure to become the biggest Box Office hit of this year . . . at least! In between we saw biographical offerings 'Foxcatcher', American Sniper', 'The Imitation Game', 'The Theory of Everything', 'Selma', 'Legend', 'Straight Outta Compton' and 'Bridge of Spies'; further Sci-Fi instalments including 'Mad Max : Fury Road', 'Terminator : Genysis' and the conclusion of the 'Hunger Games' saga; spy drama including the return of Bond in 'Spectre', the return of Hunt in 'Mission Impossible : Rogue Nation', and the enormously entertaining 'Kingsman : The Secret Service'; whilst not forgetting police dramas 'Sicario' and 'Black Mass' with 'The Martian', 'A Most Violent Year', 'Inherent Vice, 'Creed', 'The Gift', 'Ex Machina' and 'Crimson Peak' giving us plenty to like, and two of the more notable foreign language offerings 'Leviathan' and 'Wild Tales' rounding out this Reviewers more memorable movies of the past 12 months. If you missed any of these in the last year, get yourself off to your local DVD store or download when you can - you won't be disappointed . . . promise!

And so to 2016, and raising the curtain on a new cinematic year we have a big action remake of a classic cops & robbers film from the early 90's; a hugely successful and popular super sleuth character reimagined for the 21st Century but still grounded in his 19th Century origins; and a mid 20th Century loveable cartoon strip getting the full 3D CGI animation treatment and his first big screen outing in 35 years. Of course there's also a whole swathe of recently released films still doing the rounds that you can catch at your local multiplex too, and, as Reviewed and Previewed on these pages in previous weeks. Check them out too if you need some inspiration.

Whatever you decide to watch at your local Odeon to kick start your new year, you are once again cordially invited to leave your own feedback in the Comments section below this or any other Post - we'd love to hear from you! Meanwhile, enjoy your film!

POINT BREAK (Rated M) - Kathryn Bigelow's action crime thriller released in 1991starring a young Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Gary Busey, Lori Petty and John C McGinley would rate as one of this Reviewer's favourite films of all time. I have seen the film more times than I can recall, and still love it after repeated viewings and not because of the stellar performances but because of the dialogue, the action, the energy and the spectacle of the film - it was made for just US$24M and went onto make US$84M in the final analysis. And now in 2015, 'Point Break' has been remade for a whole new audience who probably don't even know of its 'classic' predecessor. This new version was made for US$105M and has so far grossed US$55M following its initial release in China on December 4th.

This retelling Directed by Ericson Core, speaks of a similar story involving Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey in the Keanu Reeves role) as the FBI Agent with a penchant for extreme sports who goes undercover to thwart a bunch of professional criminals who masquerade as extreme sports enthusiasts . . . or is it the other way around? These crims are headed by Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez in the Patrick Swayze role) whose sports agenda is to chase the path to enlightenment via 'The Oaski 8' - named after Ono Osaki, an eco-warrior who challenged the extreme sports world to a series of eight ordeals that honours the forces of nature. After a series of 'Robin Hood' type robberies the FBI close in whilst Bodhi and his group strive to complete the eight challenges dragging Utah along to prove himself, with Angelo Pappas (Ray Winston in the Gary Busey role) looking on closely. Watch out too for Bojesse Christopher who played young 'Grommet' in the 1991 film popping up again here as FBI Director Chapman. Delroy Lindo also stars. Featuring some breathtaking scenery and some jaw dropping stunts, will this be enough to live up to the high expectations set for this remake? I'll let you know!

SHERLOCK : THE ABOMINABLE BRIDE (Rated M) - No, this is not the next Guy Ritchie instalment in the Downey Jnr./Law franchise, but a Christmas Special of the hugely successful British television series starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes himself and Martin Freeman as long suffering and fiercely loyal sidekick Watson. This film has a limited release only on the big screen and sees the duo in a 1905 London in what is a stand alone episode and not a continuation from where the last episode left off. All the characters are here from the TV Series that you'll recognise - just the era is different, a little more sinister and a little more conspiratorial with the web of intrigue coming a little closer to home for this dynamic duo.

 SNOOPY AND CHARLIE BROWN : THE PEANUTS MOVIE (Rated G) - The Charles M. Schulz much loved comic strip first appeared in October 1950 and ran for the next fifty years until early 2000 running through 17,897 strips during that time. This animated feature if the first film in 35 years and the fifth full length film in the series history. Directed by Steve Martino and made for US$99M the film has so far grossed US$173M, and stars the voice talents of Noah Schnapp as Charlie Brown and Bill Melendez as both Peanuts and Woodstock through archival recordings given that he died in 2008. Here, lovable beagle Snoopy embarks upon a heroic epic quest to thwart his arch nemesis, The Red Baron while Charlie Brown strives to win the heart and mind of The Little Red Haired Girl voiced by Francesca Capaldi, who has just moved into the neighbourhood and whom he has developed an instant attraction to. The film has already picked up several awards and a string on nominations - what's not to like about these long running lovable characters brought to the big screen in glorious 3D animation! One for all the family!

Three films to tempt you in the new year week ahead, and when you have done so share your thoughts and come back to our readership with your welcome commentary for all to share. In the meantime, best wishes to one and all for 2016, thanks for your ongoing interest in 2015, and keep watching the movies, at the movies.

See you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-