The best aspect of this (HOLY SHIT) two and a half hour (DOUBLE HOLY SHIT) part-ONE marathon is that it’s quite funny at times, especially Ariana Grande’s insufferable, yet very watchable Geeelinda.
But why does everything look so washed out? Why is the blocking insane, bordering on messy? Why must nearly all the songs sound like the same mediocre song? Also…how is Jeff Goldbum this checked out and mumbly as the fucking Wizard of Oz??
I don’t know…a lot of…
Take a shot everytime someone says “Valentines Day” and you’ll be properly drunk enough to watch this movie.
Watching Ralph Fiennes in this is like getting a piece of filet mignon in your happy meal bag. Undercooked, full of empty calories, take your pick of food metaphors, this thing was DOA for me and I was waiting for it to do the next inevitable thing it was clearly going to do, over and over.
I can agree with the chef at the end though…s’mores are an abomination and represent everything that’s wrong about us.
The first Luhrmann film I’ve legitimately enjoyed, this tale really benefits from his sometimes nauseating maximalism and gaudy over-indulgence. More importantly though, it’s the focus on Elvis’ relationship with the Colonel that powers everything else and gives this film it’s earned sense of doom. Hanks and Butler are both fantastic and I could have used with even less of some of the peripheral characters floating around them, as those were the moments when I was reminded that I was watching a biopic, and not a kaleidoscopic free fall.
