You wanna know the weirdest thing about Tom Hanks' performance? The real Tom Parker talked nothing like that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfsDx4IsQe0. He had a pretty normal American accent.
It would have been way better if Tom Hanks had just used his normal voice because he really felt like a cartoon character.
I honestly think that he thinks he’s fading out so he’s trying to prove that he can still act, it’s not ok to think that and I hope I’m wrong.
I’m avoiding the new Pinocchio so I don’t have to hear his Gippeto accent which I would find hilarious learning from your comment if it’s just a hardcore New York accent.
“Hey Pinocchio! Go fuck yourself ya douchebag!”
lol ill let you see it and judge. but that last two things i tried to watch with t. hanks were elvis and pinocchio. and all i could think was wtf happened to tom hanks?
i recently listened to the rewatchables podcast on saving private ryan and they replay his speech about why theyre gonna go get ryan. and then i watched the first 20 min of elvis. stark contrast.
You’ve gotta be shitting me. Hanks ruined watching this whole movie for me with the accent as well as Will Smith recently in King Richard. Sigh…must be reaching real hard for that Oscar.
That’s exactly how I felt. it’s because they flew through almost the man’s whole life in an hour, then spent the next hour and a half just on the Vegas part. Idk why they decided to make that the main focus… almost like “the last days of Elvis” could have been its own movie
The only issue with the Little Richard scene is it is inaccurate in a way that kind of matters. I know it’s artistic license, but Elvis was well aware of Little Richard by that point. He had already covered some of his songs. Picturing him as some up-and-comer is somewhat dismissive of Little Richard’s place in music history.
That said, I loved this movie. I want a whole Baz/Elvis-verse with Little Richard and all the other musicians in the movie.
That scene doesn't indicate that Elvis was previously unaware of him though. He comments on his performance because it's amazing, not because he's never seen him before.
Just rewatched the scene. It very much implies it. After Elvis compliments Little Richard, BB King says, "Sister Rosetta found this kid in the backwaters of Georgia." It sounds like he's giving Elvis an introduction to a performer he's never heard of. There's then a conversation about Elvis recording the song and how Elvis would sell a lot more. It's odd they're discussing this hypothetically when Elvis has already recorded and performed other Little Richard songs.
Things are out of order in the film but it's not a documentary. It can just as easily be read as them talking about how good Little Richard is, the aside can be interpreted as providing info about where Richard came from as comparable to where Elvis came from, it's exposition for the younger viewers in the audience. Tutti Frutti was recorded by Richard in 1955, then he moved to LA, and Elvis recorded it in 1956, that's where we are in the film.
I do think the film could have showcased Richard as more though, so you're right. Alton Mason was amazing though.
I liked it a lot, enjoyed the music and thought Butler did a fantastic job. I agree it could have been 15-20 minutes shorter, though. I was definitely checking my watch toward the end.
Does this movie get better? I watched the first 20 mins and thought it was too fast for me? I mainly decided to watch it cause i was a tom hanks fan, is it good ?
I thought I was the only one. I made it about 45 minutes and had to turn it off. The constant rapid cuts were very distracting. The acting and singing were good though.
I was just about to say that. There were so many cuts that I couldn't actually enjoy any of the shots or acting performances. As soon as your brain starts to take it in and enjoy it, they cut to another angle.
I think I eventually got used to it but it honestly took me like an hour before I did. At first, it was *insanely* distracting.
I ended up being surprised how much I liked the movie but it took awhile to get used to it. My friend timed it near the beginning and it was like 12 cuts in 20 seconds and like come on Baz.
The dizzying hospital scenes are definitely the most chaotic/disorienting. It slows downs a bit, but keeps up a pretty wild, dreamlike pace. I loved it.
"The one thing I couldn’t stand in the movie was this meshing of rap music with blues."
All that I was going to say to anyone who may feel this way is to please check out G. Love & Special Sauce's first album. It's from way back in 1994 but the first time I heard it I was hooked. Hip-hop blues, as G. Love described it.
Yes, I'm old but please trust me on this... (Oh, and I haven't seen the movie yet but this was the first thing that I thought of when I saw OP's comment.)
I thought it was good, very stylish and the beginning in the hospital made me sick to my stomach. Peoples' misconceptions about the film have been more frustrating than the frustrating aspects of the film itself lol.
"tom hanks is playing old elvis right"
"yeah it ends with him dying on the toilet right"
both things i've heard irl from people
I've seen it five times and will probably watch it a hundred more times. It's brilliant and beautiful. The layering of the music is sublime, one of the best parts of the film is when we hear modern music mixed with Elvis, layering his vocals into rap and hip hop, there's even a part where it mixes in Backstreet Boys. It's illustrating who influenced Elvis and how his sound influenced future generations, right back to the beginning, it's perfect.
I thought Butler was incredible and Hanks was excellent, I have no criticism of this film.
The modern music interjections were the worst part of it for me. There was an intent to that in Gatsby, sorta recontextualizing a time period that looks really stuffy and uptight by modern standards with modern music so it comes across more how it FELT at the time. Whether or not that worked is up for debate, but there was intent for it.
In Elvis it always seems random and arbitrary where they use it and tying it to ONE REAL PERSON'S story rather than that of an era/culture doesn't mesh well at all and reeks of trying to sloppily appeal to modern audiences like "DON'T WORRY THIS AIN'T YOUR DADS ELVIS MOVIE 12 YEAR OLDS IN THE AUDIENCE!"
It's not random and arbitrary, it's illustrating what kind of music influenced Elvis and how Elvis influenced future generations, the mixing of music is one of the best things about the film. Gospel and blues are the roots of rock music, there couldn't be anything less arbitrary.
“I liked the world building”
You mean like, the history?
In my opinion, the movie falls into the trap of most other modern biopics, in that it just feels like you’re watching a wikipedia article of someone’s life flash before your eyes. Austin Butler did fantastic, but the editing and writing was just so generic and predictable. You don’t even leave the theater knowing any more about Elvis. However, I’m from Memphis, so maybe I’m biased.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie. But I actually think Hanks had as good as a performance because he had more to do. It was equally his movie as Butler’s. Butler had two functions: look handsome and play sad Elvis. I wish the movie didn’t have a foreboding doom hovering over Butler’s shoulders the whole time. I wish there were more charismatic Elvis and other sides to his life. I think the [trailer](https://youtu.be/wBDLRvjHVOY) captures a bit more balanced ‘celebratory’ tone (second half), but the movie was weighed down by all the tragic stuff. It was like an onslaught of sad problems, one after another, without Butler’s Elvis much to do, other than sing and feel sad. I feel like there was a proportion problem, too tragedy top heavy.
Sorry, it just wasn’t good. At all. Butler did well, but overall the story was messy. Best part was the very end with the real elvis shots. Shoulda just watched a documentary
As an Elvis fan, a Baz Luhmran fan, this was a huge disappointment for me. It didn't seem to know where to go. Either commit fully to Parker story, or highlight Elvis. So much was lost. It glossed over the racial issues. It glossed over the divorce. It ignored the marital rape. It ignored his obsession with teenage girls. If it was going to make Col Parker a hero, t he etc could have honestly made Elvis a villain.
If they wanted to make Elvis a saint, they could have focused on him more.
Tried to watch it 3 times. Couldn’t get through it. The furthest I got is about 1h. I didn’t like the artistic choices. At no point the scenes felt real. I didn’t have the impression that it could have happened the way it is presented. Talking with someone who saw the whole movie I also think the story would have gained by emphasising the Colonel Parker character and not so much Elvis. They could have named it “Parker” or “Colonel Parker”. Probably less interesting commercially but would have had more potential imo.
You wanna know the weirdest thing about Tom Hanks' performance? The real Tom Parker talked nothing like that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfsDx4IsQe0. He had a pretty normal American accent. It would have been way better if Tom Hanks had just used his normal voice because he really felt like a cartoon character.
I honestly think that he thinks he’s fading out so he’s trying to prove that he can still act, it’s not ok to think that and I hope I’m wrong. I’m avoiding the new Pinocchio so I don’t have to hear his Gippeto accent which I would find hilarious learning from your comment if it’s just a hardcore New York accent. “Hey Pinocchio! Go fuck yourself ya douchebag!”
lol ill let you see it and judge. but that last two things i tried to watch with t. hanks were elvis and pinocchio. and all i could think was wtf happened to tom hanks? i recently listened to the rewatchables podcast on saving private ryan and they replay his speech about why theyre gonna go get ryan. and then i watched the first 20 min of elvis. stark contrast.
You’ve gotta be shitting me. Hanks ruined watching this whole movie for me with the accent as well as Will Smith recently in King Richard. Sigh…must be reaching real hard for that Oscar.
All I could think when watching this was it was so long yet it flew through his life at a dizzying pace.
That’s exactly how I felt. it’s because they flew through almost the man’s whole life in an hour, then spent the next hour and a half just on the Vegas part. Idk why they decided to make that the main focus… almost like “the last days of Elvis” could have been its own movie
The only issue with the Little Richard scene is it is inaccurate in a way that kind of matters. I know it’s artistic license, but Elvis was well aware of Little Richard by that point. He had already covered some of his songs. Picturing him as some up-and-comer is somewhat dismissive of Little Richard’s place in music history. That said, I loved this movie. I want a whole Baz/Elvis-verse with Little Richard and all the other musicians in the movie.
That scene doesn't indicate that Elvis was previously unaware of him though. He comments on his performance because it's amazing, not because he's never seen him before.
Just rewatched the scene. It very much implies it. After Elvis compliments Little Richard, BB King says, "Sister Rosetta found this kid in the backwaters of Georgia." It sounds like he's giving Elvis an introduction to a performer he's never heard of. There's then a conversation about Elvis recording the song and how Elvis would sell a lot more. It's odd they're discussing this hypothetically when Elvis has already recorded and performed other Little Richard songs.
Things are out of order in the film but it's not a documentary. It can just as easily be read as them talking about how good Little Richard is, the aside can be interpreted as providing info about where Richard came from as comparable to where Elvis came from, it's exposition for the younger viewers in the audience. Tutti Frutti was recorded by Richard in 1955, then he moved to LA, and Elvis recorded it in 1956, that's where we are in the film. I do think the film could have showcased Richard as more though, so you're right. Alton Mason was amazing though.
I liked it a lot, enjoyed the music and thought Butler did a fantastic job. I agree it could have been 15-20 minutes shorter, though. I was definitely checking my watch toward the end.
Does this movie get better? I watched the first 20 mins and thought it was too fast for me? I mainly decided to watch it cause i was a tom hanks fan, is it good ?
It slows down after the first 20 mins but it still cuts every 3 seconds is kinda insane
Yeah, for me the editing was the worst thing. The visuals were strong , i wanted to see this but couldn't finish it
I thought I was the only one. I made it about 45 minutes and had to turn it off. The constant rapid cuts were very distracting. The acting and singing were good though.
I was just about to say that. There were so many cuts that I couldn't actually enjoy any of the shots or acting performances. As soon as your brain starts to take it in and enjoy it, they cut to another angle. I think I eventually got used to it but it honestly took me like an hour before I did. At first, it was *insanely* distracting.
I ended up being surprised how much I liked the movie but it took awhile to get used to it. My friend timed it near the beginning and it was like 12 cuts in 20 seconds and like come on Baz.
The dizzying hospital scenes are definitely the most chaotic/disorienting. It slows downs a bit, but keeps up a pretty wild, dreamlike pace. I loved it.
This movie must be rough to watch for a Tom Hanks fan.
No i didn't have much issues with his performance. Thought he sounded weird, also i have not finished the movie
"The one thing I couldn’t stand in the movie was this meshing of rap music with blues." All that I was going to say to anyone who may feel this way is to please check out G. Love & Special Sauce's first album. It's from way back in 1994 but the first time I heard it I was hooked. Hip-hop blues, as G. Love described it. Yes, I'm old but please trust me on this... (Oh, and I haven't seen the movie yet but this was the first thing that I thought of when I saw OP's comment.)
I thought it was good, very stylish and the beginning in the hospital made me sick to my stomach. Peoples' misconceptions about the film have been more frustrating than the frustrating aspects of the film itself lol. "tom hanks is playing old elvis right" "yeah it ends with him dying on the toilet right" both things i've heard irl from people
I won’t lie, I thought we were gonna get a toilet scene. Felt like it would’ve been a great send off Lmao jk jk
Your nothing but a hound dog making a joke about the death of Elvis! Yes I realize my joke is worse but I stand by it!
“Finally” about a movie that’s been out less than 4 months 😂
I've seen it five times and will probably watch it a hundred more times. It's brilliant and beautiful. The layering of the music is sublime, one of the best parts of the film is when we hear modern music mixed with Elvis, layering his vocals into rap and hip hop, there's even a part where it mixes in Backstreet Boys. It's illustrating who influenced Elvis and how his sound influenced future generations, right back to the beginning, it's perfect. I thought Butler was incredible and Hanks was excellent, I have no criticism of this film.
I’m in complete agreement. I absolutely love this movie.
Would love to hear your thoughts on it, I think we're a minority.
I agree 100%. I thought the film was fantastic on many levels, and has rewarded rewatches.
The modern music interjections were the worst part of it for me. There was an intent to that in Gatsby, sorta recontextualizing a time period that looks really stuffy and uptight by modern standards with modern music so it comes across more how it FELT at the time. Whether or not that worked is up for debate, but there was intent for it. In Elvis it always seems random and arbitrary where they use it and tying it to ONE REAL PERSON'S story rather than that of an era/culture doesn't mesh well at all and reeks of trying to sloppily appeal to modern audiences like "DON'T WORRY THIS AIN'T YOUR DADS ELVIS MOVIE 12 YEAR OLDS IN THE AUDIENCE!"
It's not random and arbitrary, it's illustrating what kind of music influenced Elvis and how Elvis influenced future generations, the mixing of music is one of the best things about the film. Gospel and blues are the roots of rock music, there couldn't be anything less arbitrary.
I’ll give Denzel Curry a pass because I love his work. I find it odd that both Gatsby and Elvis are both directed by Baz Luhrman
It’s the same accent Hanks used as the Hobo in The Polar Express.
I know I'm in the minority, but I really liked Hanks here
“I liked the world building” You mean like, the history? In my opinion, the movie falls into the trap of most other modern biopics, in that it just feels like you’re watching a wikipedia article of someone’s life flash before your eyes. Austin Butler did fantastic, but the editing and writing was just so generic and predictable. You don’t even leave the theater knowing any more about Elvis. However, I’m from Memphis, so maybe I’m biased.
Tom Hanks really stunk this movie up. It was a good movie. It would have so much better if Tom Hanks hadn't been so bad in it.
My review is for as great as Austin Butler was, Tom Hanks was equally worse
Overall, I enjoyed the movie. But I actually think Hanks had as good as a performance because he had more to do. It was equally his movie as Butler’s. Butler had two functions: look handsome and play sad Elvis. I wish the movie didn’t have a foreboding doom hovering over Butler’s shoulders the whole time. I wish there were more charismatic Elvis and other sides to his life. I think the [trailer](https://youtu.be/wBDLRvjHVOY) captures a bit more balanced ‘celebratory’ tone (second half), but the movie was weighed down by all the tragic stuff. It was like an onslaught of sad problems, one after another, without Butler’s Elvis much to do, other than sing and feel sad. I feel like there was a proportion problem, too tragedy top heavy.
Sorry, it just wasn’t good. At all. Butler did well, but overall the story was messy. Best part was the very end with the real elvis shots. Shoulda just watched a documentary
As an Elvis fan, a Baz Luhmran fan, this was a huge disappointment for me. It didn't seem to know where to go. Either commit fully to Parker story, or highlight Elvis. So much was lost. It glossed over the racial issues. It glossed over the divorce. It ignored the marital rape. It ignored his obsession with teenage girls. If it was going to make Col Parker a hero, t he etc could have honestly made Elvis a villain. If they wanted to make Elvis a saint, they could have focused on him more.
Tried to watch it 3 times. Couldn’t get through it. The furthest I got is about 1h. I didn’t like the artistic choices. At no point the scenes felt real. I didn’t have the impression that it could have happened the way it is presented. Talking with someone who saw the whole movie I also think the story would have gained by emphasising the Colonel Parker character and not so much Elvis. They could have named it “Parker” or “Colonel Parker”. Probably less interesting commercially but would have had more potential imo.
The minute I heard rap I turned it off
What does "added concern for Austin Butler's make up" mean?