Photo ©Warner Bros. Entertainment
Elvis 2022 movie
Austin Butler as Elvis
The Black Phone
(In Theaters June 24)
Adapted from a horror story written by Stephen King’s son, Joe Hill, the setting is a Colorado suburb in 1978. Insecure Finney (Mason Thames) is an every-kid when he falls prey to a murderous clown who locks the lad in a dank basement. Known only as “The Grabber” (Ethan Hawke), the captor promises “I won’t hurt you,” but Finney believes that eventually he will. He’s told he’ll be killed by the spirits of two previous victims that call Finney on a black phone hooked to a disconnected landline. They offer tips to escape the homegrown fortress, but the Grabber is vigilant and his efforts come to naught.
Meanwhile, Finney’s sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) has psychic visions that might lead cops to Finney, if they’d listen. Max (James Ransone) listens. He’s a cokehead and wild card but manages some valuable insights. Jeremy Davies does a credible turn as the kids’ abusive dad. Hawke’s performance is creatively creepy, helping earn this R-Rated movie a 100% fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating. (Lisa Miller)
Fear
(Film Movement DVD)
Refugees are massing at the border, some of them are “murderers”—and who’s going to pay for their upkeep when taxes are already high? “It’s a war between two worlds,” proclaims a TV talking head, eager to stir up resentment and fear.
Sounds a bit like America but the setting is Bulgaria and the star, Svetlana Yancheva as Svetla, will remind many viewers of Frances McDormand. Svetla is a widow and a teacher whose school was closed for lack of funding. She’s unemployed and at loose ends when—hunting for rabbits in the woods—she finds a refugee from Mali. Bamba (Michael Fleming) speaks perfect English; she barely understands a word and although she initially plans to hold him for the border patrol, she begrudgingly comes to respect him.
Director Ivaylo Hristov filmed Fear in black and white, beautifully magnifying the bleak small-town setting. The composition is superb throughout and moments of comedy brighten the tragedy of a world on the move from famine and war. (David Luhrssen)
Elvis
(In Theaters June 24)
This visually dazzling, 2-1/2-hour biopic chronicles Elvis Presley’s life. The point-of-view is frequently filtered through Col. Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), the singer’s Mephistophelean manager. Hanks’s effectiveness (under layers of prosthetics and a fat suit), is testified by critics who complain of his ghastly presence.
Portraying Elvis, 30-year-old Austin Butler eventually also dons a fat suit during Elvis’s heavyweight Vegas years. Director/co-writer Baz Luhrmann carefully chronicles the people and musical experiences bringing gospel, rock, blues and country music into Elvis’s orbit. Luhrmann dispenses with the ’60s, and the singer’s fan-girl movies, in a two-minute montage. Visually stunning during its first half, the film skirts Elvis’s inner life until the second half that depicts his drug use and downward spiral. Throughout, Butler performs Presley’s memorable hits, but the film’s soundtrack is peppered with contemporary music. Some poor secretary is going to be reading unhappy letters for a long time. (Lisa Miller)
