EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert: Blu Ray Review

Cast: Elvis Presley

Director: Baz Luhrmann

There's no denying the electricity of Elvis Presley in director Baz Luhrmann's latest attempt to continue the King's legacy.

It's clear he's not left the building as Luhrmann mines some 50 hours worth of footage of Presley playing a series of concerts in Las Vegas in what feels like the perfect companion piece to the 2022 biopic which starred Austin Butler.

Cross-cutting performances, throwing together backstage rehearsals and just generally mining the 1970s popularity of Elvis works wonders - up to a point.

Beginning with a quick run-through of where the King came from, the energetic doco format seems to be the traditional winner at the start of this. Elvis is decried by those who believe he's Satan in a jumpsuit because of his dance moves, he narrates his own boredom at the tedium of his Hollywood career that became a cookie-cutter version of his first-ever success and he promises to shake up his career with his Vegas residency in the 1970s.

It's all very familiar fare - and yet, when Luhrmann simply lets the camera capture the sheer charisma and presence of Presley, it becomes something that's a singular concert experience - even if it does appear to want to be spliced together by modern technology, close-ups and cross-cutting between some 10 concerts that were recorded for posterity - and then lost.

Granted, there's a technical adeptness in the way Luhrmann switches effortlessly between appearances, and he even gives the backing band time to shine, but he can't help himself from some editorialising, which detracts from the overall feeling.

The first mention of Colonel Parker, Presley's handler, is a voiceover that stands atop footage of someone holding a gun to Elvis' head in a film; and footage of his wife Priscilla is set to a live rendition of Always On My Mind. There's a clear bias here, which isn't really needed.

And yet, cynicism aside, this is a very real, very impressive and just a joyous musical experience that seems in keeping with what the King would have wanted. Along with comedic asides and genuine banter backstage and on stage itself, Presley proves here why he still has the power and sway.

From the white-jumpsuit version of Suspicious Minds that's become infamous to the speeded-up Hound Dog and plenty of other hits like Burning Love, you'd have to be dead to not tap your toes to this.

EPiC is an enjoyable enough experience; and if you're a King fan, it's essential viewing. But Luhrmann's desire to be a little too clever occasionally takes you away from the spotlight of the King - and that's a crying shame.

Lee Cronin's The Mummy: HBO Max Review

Cast: Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, with Veronica Falcón.
Director: Lee Cronin

The latest iteration of the horror franchise takes on new meaning with the director of Evil Dead Rise at the helm.

The young daughter Katie of a journalist disappears into the Egyptian desert without a trace. Eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she is returned to them, as what should be a joyful reunion turns into a living nightmare.

There's a vicious nastiness in Lee Cronin's vision for the return of The Mummy and its something that's as insidious as it is upsetting.

But Cronin deploys a devilishly slow build-up to events that uses a plethora of nightmarish imagery, tropes and ancient mythology to create an atmosphere of extreme unease throughout.

From child-catcher grooming to Exorcist moments and Evil Dead homages, the film revels in its horror edges and its desire to take things seriously and studiously pays off in swathes.

Creaking, cracking sounds, a teeth-chattering husk of a seemingly locked-in child - this is a movie that employs a soundscape that's at another level in setting you om edge.

Yet once again Cronin uses the fracture between sisters (as he did in Evil Dead Rise) to make for truly upsetting moments and tensions throughout.

With dry, arid vistas and an oppressive palette mixing with extreme close-ups, there's no way to escape the claustrophobia of what's on screen. And thankfully, the film stays away from the camera excesses of the Brendan Fraser boys' own style romps that spawned a swathe of nostalgia.

It's not all perfect - a wake teeters very closely on going OTT rather than using chills and Jack Reynor's performance as the dad who was the last to see his daughter isn't quite as compelling as it could be.

But for the large part, the 'We need to talk about Katie' mentality works terrifically well and the idea of how a family curse manifests is fascinating and horrifying to behold.

Dark, disgusting and devilish, Lee Cronin's The Mummy is an absolute frightfest that will haunt your early morning hours long after you've seen it - whether you want it to or not.

Project Hail Mary lands on Prime Video on July 3

After a record-breaking run in cinemas and with audiences, the Ryan Gosling-led Project Hail Mary finally lands on streaming on Prime Video from July 3.

Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.

 

Directed by: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller

Screenplay by: Drew Goddard

Based on the novel by: Andy Weir

Produced by: Amy Pascal, p.g.a., Ryan Gosling, p.g.a., Phil Lord, p.g.a., Christopher Miller, p.g.a., Aditya Sood, p.g.a., Rachel O’Connor, p.g.a., Andy Weir

Executive Producers: Patricia Whitcher, Lucy Winn Kitada, Nikki Baida, Ken Kao, Drew Goddard, Sarah Esberg

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, Milana Vayntrub, Priya Kansara

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come: Disney+ Movie Review

Cast: Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Elijah Wood, Nestor Carbonell
Director: Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

The 2019 original Ready Or Not was a bloody blast.

A fresh idea on the horror genre that also satirised the idea of in-laws and marriage, it offered a wave of originality and gore while delivering a complete story about Samara Weaving's Grace and her descent into hell.

So a second film faced a problem from the start - with everything wrapped up, there was only the lore to expand and the gore quotient to be upped to ensure that this feels like something different from the first.

Unfortunately, despite an extremely strong performance from Weaving as the clearly traumatised Grace, Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come never quite gains the pace of the first film - or the smarts.

Picking up just moments after Grace has burnt down her past encounter and survived the game of hide and seek until dawn, she's reunited with her sister Faith (Newton) whom she abandoned seven years ago. Bitter about each other's treatment, the pair is kidnapped by a group of Satanists who want to seize the power vacuum left by Grace's murderously protective spree and take control of the High Seat, which Grace's in-laws previously controlled.

It's all a McGuffin really for six new families to try and hunt Grace and Faith down, while the two sisters bicker and quarrel their way through their issues.

The problem with Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come is that after the first 30 minutes or so, the movie loses steam and becomes repetitive, hitting the same beats and delivering the same human blood-sack explosions that the first did. But this becomes a case of diminishing returns, given how predictable the story devolves and how tiresome it gets.

One sole sequence that shines involves a wronged bride, a wedding reception and pepper spray. That, coupled with Bonnie Tyler's anthem, marks the film's only moment of originality - a brutal, funny and cleverly executed set-piece in among a sea of indifference.

And there's an incredible amount of uncomfortable brutality against the women in this film. Every punch they receive, every kick they're given - they all land with painful edges and feel a little like the filmmakers are overegging their desire to inflict pain. Netwon alone receives such a beating at one point that it feels like a flashback to Maddie Palmer's death in Twin Peaks in its nastiness.

None of this is to detract from Weaving's performance throughout. Despite the sisters-reunited subplot never really hanging together, she's fierce, frightened, broken and occasionally hopeful as she wearily accepts what's going on and how to survive it.

A lack of real villains in the piece - other than Gellar and Hatosy's twins, most of the menace feels like an amorphous blob waiting to be punctuated by a bloody self-explosion - also cripples proceedings with the well-defined antagonists of the first film feeling like an afterthought.

When it comes down to it, Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come struggles for a true raison d'etre. Viewed simply as a sequel that's become necessary because of the cult success of the first, it struggles to get out of its own circle of hell - and because of that, at times, this feels like an unwelcome visit to cinematic hell.

Doctor Who: The Collection: Season 21: Blu Ray Review

Released by BBC Studios
Published by Madman

A generous 10-disc collection, the 21st season of Doctor Who: The Collection sees Peter Davison's softer avuncular Doctor bowing out in style before the brash Colin Baker incarnation kicks in. 

Packing in a range of quality of stories which go from the ludicrous in Warriors of the Deep (famous for its pantomime beast The Myrka) to the sublime in his farewell Caves of Androzani, the set manages to cover the entire gamut of 1980s Doctor Who.

Central to it all, and as is usual with these Collections, is the wealth of extras that come packed within - and once again, the 21st season doesn't disappoint - even if some of the AI upscaling causes a few viewing issues here and there.

A new commentary for two-parter The Awakening and special editions of other stories are included, as is three new In Conversations with companions Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson and Matthew Waterhouse. Docos include Look Who's Boating as Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton head to the waters for another outing and Toby Hadoke spending 48 hours with Janet Fielding.

For fans, these sets represent the pinnacle of what's on offer - even if the AI upscaling that impacted Doctor Who The Collection Season 13 makes it feel at times like it's a step too far in preservation.

With seven classic stories and hours of deep dive documentaries and insights, this really is unmissable TV fare presented in largely the best quality available.

Good Boy: Blu Ray Review

Cast: Indy the dog, Shane Jensen
Director: Ben Leonberg

Pushing a concept as far as it can go works wonders for indie horror Good Boy.

But if you're averse to open-ended films that are reliant on your own interpretation, perhaps this won't be the film for you.

Told from a dog's-eye level (not a point of view or perspective), it follows a dog who accompanies his owner to a cabin in the woods after his owner's unspecified medical issues and an apparent rift in his owner's relationship.

However, once the pair arrives at the cabin, the pup begins to see and hear things, and fears his owner's life is in danger from something other than illness.

Good Boy is an incredible piece of film-making thanks to its lead performance of Indy. For a creature that can have no direct understanding that it's in a movie, the work done by the dog is just second to none, and utterly intuitive.

At its heart, the film appears to be an exploration of the impact of illness, dressed up in a supernatural elements story. As his owner is consumed by sickness, the house becomes more active and the supernatural jolts more pronounced. And while some will complain there are only so many times you can show a dog upset by a bump in the night, with a lean 72 minute run time, director Leonberg more than delivers.

Wtih themes of loyalty and friendship, and some genuinely terrifying moments thanks to a carefully constructed delve into fear (at one point, the dog wets itself), Good Boy has an interesting trajectory at heart - what if the person you care most about can't be saved?

It's perhaps pertinent that by setting the film at a dog level and also by hearing things that humans can't, the film gets more out of the haunted house premise than a simple fright-night flick may have done. Plus, making the hero a dog immediately brings audiences on side and emotionally invested.

However, director Ben Leonberg isn't interested in throwing that care and commitment away with just easy and cheap thrills. There's a real heart here that's given beating life by Indy's performance and a human story that cries out for exploration.

If you buy into the premise and the exploration of an animal's loyalty, plus the very real fear of losing that, Good Boy is an utterly compelling and original film that demands to be seen. It's a singular experience given life by its main actor - a very, very good boy.

Good Boy is now streaming on Shudder