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    Cheapskate's Guide to the Finer Things in Life

    Elvis Fest at Miller Outdoor Theatre features three of the King's most popularmovies

    Joe Leydon
    Aug 10, 2010 | 12:23 pm
    • Elvis in "Blue Hawaii
    • Elvis & Ann-Margret in "Viva Las Vegas"
    • Elvis in "Jailhouse Rock"
    • Photo courtesy of Elvis Presley Estate

    What’s this? Three Elvis Presley movies and a live performance by an acclaimed Presley impersonator? Well, why not? Because, hey, if you’re a true-blue fan of the gone-but-not-forgotten King of Rock 'n' Roll, you can’t ever really have too much Elvis. Right?

    It’s way past late to observe the 75th anniversary of his birth (Jan. 8) and a tad early to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of his (alleged) demise (Aug. 16), but the folks at Miller Outdoor Theatre are going ahead anyway and celebrating Elvis Week by hosting what’s billed as “an incredibly authentic tribute” to The King by premier impersonator Donny Edwards (8 p.m. Friday) and screening three of his most popular star vehicles:

    Jailhouse Rock (Tuesday 8:15 p.m.)

    In sharp if not shocking contrast to most of The King’s later flicks, this 1957 musical melodrama actually attempts to package Presley as a semi-sensitive anti-hero with pronounced tendencies toward badassedness. After beating a man to death with his bare hands in a barroom brawl (which, to be fair, he didn’t start), construction worker Vincent Everett (Presley) spends a year behind bars as the cellmate of a washed-up country singer (Mickey Shaughnessy) who teaches him how to strum a guitar and carry a tune.

    Once released, Vincent romances a record company talent scout (Judy Tyler), becomes a chart-topping recording star, signs a contract to make Hollywood movies, and devolves into an unpleasantly selfish lout until his former cellmate shows up to give him a shot at redemption by punching him in the larynx. (Don’t worry: There’s no permanent damage.)

    Presley occasionally strains while doing some of the heavy dramatic lifting, but he makes all the right moves while tearing through the title song – in a classically campy, irresistibly exuberant production number that’s arguably his greatest ever on-screen moment – and confidently crooning such signature tunes as “Treat Me Nice” and “(You’re So Square) I Don’t Care.” (8:15 pm Tuesday)

    Blue Hawaii (Wednesday 8:15 p.m.)

    Between 1956 and 1972, Presley made a total of 33 films, almost all them scrupulously formulaic, thinly plotted confections produced with assembly-line efficiency and regularity – sometimes, as many as three per year – and designed primarily to delight diehard fans and sell zillions of soundtrack albums. (Only the final two, 1970’s Elvis: That’s The Way It Is and 1972’s Elvis on Tour were concert documentaries.)

    He already had seven features to his credit by the time he made Blue Hawaii, but this 1961 musical comedy more or less set the mold for what most folks now think of as “an Elvis movie” – lightweight fun and frolic, often in an exotic locale, involving a lovable hunk who sings and sways his way through minimally daunting challenges while encountering only temporary impediments to happily-ever-aftering with a young lovely.

    Here, Presley plays Chad Gates, an ex-G.I. who, upon returning home to Hawaii, rejects a job with his father’s fruit company in order to hang with his beach buddies, surf and swim, and work as a tour guide in partnership with his curvy sweetie (Joan Blackman). It’s one of The King’s most ingratiating performances, in one of his most undemandingly pleasant movies, with (except for the title song and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”) some of his most forgettable songs. As his shrill, Southern-accented mother, Angela Lansbury – who, at the time, was scarcely ten years older than Presley – is almost as scary as she would be the following year as Laurence Harvey’s manipulative mom in The Manchurian Candidate. (8:15 pm Wednesday)

    Viva Las Vegas (Thursday 8:15 p.m.)

    Elvis Presley’s best movie? Maybe. His sexiest leading lady? Definitely.

    One year after gobsmacking hormonally inflamed adolescent boys (and their fathers and grandfathers) with her slinky-sexy breakout performance in Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Ann-Margret reunited with director George Sidney to co-star with The King as Rusty Martin, a Las Vegas hotel swimming instructor who falls for Lucky Jackson (Presley), a race-car driver who unluckily loses the money he needs for a new engine, and seeks employment as a hotel waiter while hoping to romance Rusty as a fringe benefit.

    Given the potent chemistry generated by the two stars, it’s very, very easy to believe all the rumors about an off-screen romance during the movie’s production. Presley is at the top of his game here, striking the perfect balance of smirk and sincerity while placating drunken Texas tourists with a medley of “The Yellow Rose of Texas” and “The Eyes of Texas,” and rambunctiously blowtorching his way through the title song in a low-concept, high-impact production number filmed in one continuous, swaggering take.

    Ann-Margret sings and dances with appropriate sizzle, and somehow manages to maintain a scintilla of wholesomeness even while the camera ogles her gams and backside. Sidney – who also directed Gene Kelly in Anchors Aweigh (1945), Judy Garland in The Harvey Girls (1946) and Frank Sinatra in Pal Joey (1957) – gives Viva Las Vegas much flashier visual pizzazz than most other directors ever attempted in Presley vehicles, and brings out the moody-bluesy best in his star during the latter’s soulful rendition of “I Need Somebody to Lean On.”

    It’s worth noting, however, that the veteran filmmaker remained unimpressed by The King. Indeed, when I interviewed him in 2000, Sidney dismissed Presley as “a very well-schooled puppet. He was well-trained. And he sold what he had.” And, mind you, he meant that as a criticism.

    By the way: Admission is free to each of these Elvis Week attractions at Miller Outdoor Theatre. For that, all we can say is: Thank you very much, thank you very much.

    unspecified
    news/entertainment

    Movie Review

    28 Years Later: The Bone Temple enhances the zombie franchise

    Alex Bentley
    Jan 15, 2026 | 4:30 pm
    Ralph Fiennes in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
    Photo by Miya Mizuno
    Ralph Fiennes in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

    It’s not often that a return to a franchise after years of no activity results in an actual good movie, but 2025’s 28 Years Later proved successful by reuniting director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, who made the original 28 Days Later. Another sequel, The Bone Temple, was filmed back-to-back with last year’s film, with Nia DaCosta taking over for Boyle in the directing chair.

    The movie picks up soon after the end of the first film, with the young Spike (Alfie Williams) now an unwilling member of a group called the Jimmies, which are led by a man who calls himself Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell). Unlike the main group in the first film that was just looking to survive the zombie apocalypse, the Jimmies are a bloodthirsty bunch who gleefully attack any zombies they find and brutalize other survivors they come across.

    The story also returns to Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), whose solitary time at his self-built bone temple is interrupted by a massive zombie he has dubbed Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). Against the odds — and with the help of some morphine — Kelson is able to bond with Samson, giving Kelson some strange but welcome companionship. But with the Jimmies lurking nearby, any peace he’s found may soon be shattered.

    DaCosta, working from a script by Garland, ably steps into Boyle’s shoes, putting the emphasis on the story rather than trying for lots of stylistic flourishes. That’s not to say that she doesn’t do great work, however. The creepiness and sadistic nature of the Jimmies comes through loud and clear under her direction, and she brings out the campy comedy that comes from the unexpected pairing of Kelson and Samson.

    Like the first 28 Years Later, the story is somewhat of a slow burn. The film doesn’t have many plot developments over its 109 minutes, and so DaCosta must get by on mood rather than action for the most part. But when things do get ramped up, they can get very uncomfortable as the film does not shy away from extreme gore. The damage inflicted by Samson and other zombies is one thing, but when it’s sentient humans going savage, it becomes even more difficult to look at the screen.

    The juxtaposition between the chaos of the Jimmies and the quiet existence of Dr. Kelson works well for the film. Their separation for the bulk of the story gives them plenty of time to have the characters come into their own. Sir Jimmy Crystal is the ringleader, but Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman) gets her own showcase. Samson was already a (literally) big presence from the first film, but this film gives him a degree of humanity that gives the story more depth.

    O’Connell made a big impression as the lead vampire in Sinners, and he’s just as interesting/intimidating here. Fiennes plays a character where being over-the-top is the natural reaction, and yet he keeps Kelson grounded in a number of ways that make him much more than one-note. Lewis-Parry was likely cast for his physique, but he brings out more from a zombie than you’d ever expect. Williams fades into the background a bit after his starring role in the first film, but he’s still strong.

    Releasing The Bone Temple in January was not a great sign given the month’s reputation as a dumping ground for bad movies, but it actually proves to be a great choice. With most other releases being Oscar hopefuls or truly awful films, it stands out for being another compelling entry for the franchise, one that will make anticipation high for whenever the third film in the 28 Years Later series comes out.

    ---

    28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opens in theaters on January 16.

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