Austin Butler – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

THE BIKERIDERS – Review by Serena Seghedoni

October 8, 2023October 10, 2023 Serena Seghedoni Austin Butler, Bikeriders, Jeff Nichols, Jodie Comer, Mike Faist, tom hardy

Writer-director Jeff Nichols (Mud) is back, seven years after his last picture, with The Bikeriders, a film that will take the world by storm when it opens in theaters in December. Inspired by Danny Lyon’s 1968 book of the same name, containing a series of photographs and interviews with various member of a 1960s motorcycle club, the film immerses us into said Midwestern club’s world – or rather, that of a fictional one, where we get acquainted with its bikers’ daily routines, desires, and hardships.

Reviews

ELVIS – Review by Susan Kamyab

January 22, 2023January 23, 2023 Susan Kamyab Austin Butler, Baz Luhrmann, biopic, Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis, Elvis Presley, tom hanks

You know his songs, but how well do you the man behind the music? Elvis Presley changed the world of rock and roll, and in Baz Luhrman’s new film, Elvis we get a deeper look at what inspired his sound and moves. Visually, Elvis is breathtaking and with bedazzling effects, but story wise, the film drags. the film is way too long, there were many unnecessary scenes that could have easily been cut to pick up the pace.

Reviews

ELVIS – Review by Susan Granger

June 28, 2022June 28, 2022 Susan Granger Alton Mason, Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, Austin Butler, Baz Luhrmann, Cle Morgan, Col. Tom Parker, Elvis Presley, kelvin harrison jr, Shonka Dukureh, tom hanks, Yola Quartey

Don’t for a minute think this is a bio-pic. It isn’t. Luhrmann discarded historical accuracy in favor of a grotesque carnival of fictionalized glitz and glamour, tracing how Black singers B.B. King (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), Little Richard (Alton Mason), Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Yola Quartey), Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup (Gary Clark Jr.), Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton (Shonka Dukureh) and Mahalia Jackson (Cle Morgan) inspired Elvis.
The deliriously melodramatic story is told by promoter Col. Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), who first spotted Elvis (Austin Butler) in 1954 at the Louisiana Hayride, where the naïve, nervous singer with locomotive hips electrified the audience.

Reviews

ELVIS – Review by T.J. Callahan

June 22, 2022June 22, 2022 T. J. Callahan Austin Butler, Baz Luhrmann, biopic, Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis, Elvis Presley, tom hanks

Elvis is a sensational spectacle meant for the big screen. Even with a runtime of 2 1/2 hours, Luhrmann flashes Presley’s life before our eyes. He keeps things moving as fast as Elvis’ pelvis. Elvis Aaron Presley was unique and irreplaceable and this film shows us why, warts and all. It’s not always good to be The King.

Reviews

ELVIS – Review by Diane Carson

June 14, 2022June 17, 2022 Diane Carson Austin Butler, Baz Luhrmann, biopic, Elvis, tom hanks

We Elvis fans know the story, so the challenge becomes how to avoid merely following this Tupelo native to Memphis and on to iconic status with his early death in 1977 at 42. Wisely, Baz Luhrmann anchors the story in Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’ clever, entrepreneurial manager whose voiceover narration guides and comments on their relationship and Elvis’ affect on audiences, telling their story in flashbacks. In opening scenes, Parker asserts, “Without me, there would be no Elvis Presley” and “Some people make me out to be the villain.” Indeed, ample evidence for both claims accumulates.