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Elvis, a review by Achim

Elvis (1979/United States) Fremantle Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: John Carpenter (1948) Writing: Anthony Lawrence (Writer) Length: 168 min. Video: Widescreen 1.78:1 Audio: English: PCM: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Mono Subtitles: English

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Stars:
Kurt Russell as Elvis Presley
Shelley Winters as Gladys Presley
Bing Russell as Vernon Presley
Robert Gray as Red West
Season Hubley as Priscilla Presley

Plot:Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Featurettes
• Gallery

After Halloween John Carpenter went on to make two TV movies, this is the second one (after Someone's Watching Me!). Carpenter puts in a strong effort with this one, mostly letting things unfold by themselves and just having the camera observe what is happening with the characters. The film mostly ignores the business side of things, we merely see a few songs during key performances or events so that the audience gets a frame of reference. Instead we get to know the man that shot to fame rather quickly and how he has to deal with the (at the time) unprecedented popularity. Maybe Carpenter was too much of a fan, maybe the Presley estate had a big hand in avoiding controversial material (this was only two years after Elvis' death and the film was apparently allowed to shoot a few scenes at Graceland), maybe there is actually not much to report, but there are only a few scenes showing Elvis' darker side, when he is struggling with the enormous popularity (he is very rich yet a prisoner in his own home), his artistic integrity (when a producer changes the song without consulting him) and the balance between his entourage and his private life with his wife. The film also puts strong emphasis on his relationship with his mother and how her death influenced his music towards religious themes.

I enjoyed this film very much. The rather interesting success story of Elvis, undoubtedly one of the main forefathers of modern rock music, is supported by a great performance by Kurt Russell and an his supporting cast (Pat Hingle, Charles Cyphers). There is a good selection of songs in this, although not original; Kurt Russell is doing good lip-syncing to Ronnie McDowell's cover versions. May the film be rose-tinted or maybe they cut off at the Las Vegas concert especially to avoid the troubled later years, even at three hours length it was a compelling story and I never found myself bored.

Rating:

(From The Movies from Within My Lifetime on July 24th, 2011)

Stardust, a review by Tom

 
Title: Stardust
Year: 2007
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Rating: PG-13
Length: 128 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 , French: Dolby Digital 5.1 , Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Charlie Cox
Claire Danes
Robert De Niro
Michelle Pfeiffer

Plot:
"Scheming princes, wicked witches, flying pirates, celestial love, a pure-hearted hero, all in a magical land. What more do you want?" raves 'Today's' Gene Shalit for 'Stardust', an epic adventure starring Claire Danes with Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro.

In hopes of wooing a beautiful girl (Sienna Miller), Tristan (Charlie Cox) promises to bring her a falling star. But he's in for the adventure of his life when he discovers the star is actually a celestial beauty named Yvaine (Danes).

When an old witch Lamia (Pfeiffer) attempts to steal Yvaine’s youth, Tristan must protect her at all costs. This magical fairytale like no other will make you laugh out loud and believe in love again.

Extras:
Closed Captioned
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Outtakes
Scene Access
Trailers

It was time for a film I know I like to save this marathon. I saw this at the cinema and I really liked it.
I first came to attention of this film when I saw the trailer and saw that Claire Danes is in it. She stars as a star . A role she plays really well.
What I liked about this movie: Though it walks a fine line to being a cheesy fairy tell/fantasy movie, it never crosses the line to it. Most times saved by some wise cracking ghosts

This movie also includes a hilarious supporting role for Robert De Niro and also Rick Gervais has a nice cameo.

If you like Princess Bride, I really recommend to check out this movie.

Rating:

(From Two-Weeks Movie Marathon: Unwatched Movies on August 17th, 2008)

Firefly Marathon, a review by Tom

10. War Stories
Writer: Cheryl Cain (Writer)
Director: James Contner
Cast: Nathan Fillion (Mal), Gina Torres (Zoe), Alan Tudyk (Wash), Morena Baccarin (Inara), Adam Baldwin (Jayne), Jewel Staite (Kaylee), Sean Maher (Simon), Summer Glau (River), Ron Glass (Shepherd Book), Michael Fairman (Adelai Niska), Katherine Kendall (Councillor), Rolando Molina (Bolles), John Dunn (Torturer), Michael A. Bentt (Viktor), Adam Pilver (Vanilla Husband), Johnny Shakespeare (Torture Victim), Jason Van (Man)

A great episode. It's fun how the crew react when Inara brings a female client on board (Jayne: "I'll be in my bunk" )
I have no problems with the sudden appearence of Wash's jealousy. I thought it was fitting. And for the first time we see River in action, which is a great scene.

Rating:

(From Firefly Marathon on March 6th, 2010)