Elvis (2022)

This dizzying film is so many things all at once - manic, colorful, intense, grandiose, poignant, and always moving… which is pretty fitting considering the larger-than-life subject matter. Told by his dying, jowly, exploitative slave driver of a manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), the story of rock and roll’s indisputable King (a spectacular Austin Butler) begins with Elvis’ impoverished childhood (heavily marked by his dad’s stint in prison), and goes through his obsession with Beale Street, his launch at Sun Records, and early carnival tours to his skyrocketing fame with hits like “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Hound Dog,” and “Jailhouse Rock,” his movie career, his marriage to Priscilla, up to his epic Las Vegas residency and subsequent death. And while we only get a wee bit of shirtless Austin, the erotic energy he exudes as the man who spawned an historic sexual awakening with a shake of his hips is undeniable. Elvis will get you all shook up and then some!