Ray, it is not. Walk the Line, it is not. Straight Out of Compton, it is not. Bohemian Rhapsody it is not. Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis (Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby) is slightly better than the disappointing Rocketman. The highly-anticipated Austin Butler-led (Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, The Bling Ring) biopic had lofty expectations, considering that it was the one that the Presley family agreed was the true reckoning of Elvis’s life and legacy. While engaging for its lengthy 159-minute run-time, the film often felt disjointed and needed direction. With its shifting narrative, viewers often wondered if this movie was about Elvis Presley or more about Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks –Captain Phillips, Sully), his deceitful, longtime manager.
Category Archives: Olivia DeJonge
The Visit (2015)
M. Night Shyamalan (Signs, The Sixth Sense) is no longer the master of terror. He seems to get progressively worse with each film. There are exceptions for some people, I think. For example, I liked The Village more than I did Unbreakable, and while other people panned The Happening, I thought it was okay. However, there is no denying that the man is a fraction of his former self. While he no longer deems it necessary to have a twist in every movie, his last few movies, especially Lady in the Water, The Last Airbender, and After Earth, have been dreadful. With The Visit, a film he both wrote and directed, he tries something new. It fails. Miserably. At least for me, it did. There is an audience for it, evidenced by its $25 million in its opening weekend alone and a 59% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But those who remember the masterful Shyamalan from 1999-2002 are not the same people who will enjoy this. The Visit seems to be a mixture between The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, Funny Games, The Strangers, and Goosebumps. I’ll admit that this was the second movie of a Bryan Buser double and that it was the only movie that matched up when my first movie ended. I saw the film by default, and I was prepared to walk out at any point. I anticipated it. However, there was something about it early on that kept me interested. And then, when I looked at my watch, and I was already 30 minutes into a 90-minute movie, I knew I would stick it out.
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