Elvis Has Left The Movies

We've reached the logical conclusion of this podcast. A biopic of Elvis? In 2022? It's just crazy enough to work. We loved it. Baz's Elvis delivered pretty much everything we wanted. We hope this episode will deliver all that you'll want. The usual tangents abound but we do get around to talking about the film's plot, the cast, the fantastic costumes and all kinds of other stuff.  It's a little wild (both the movie and this podcast) but we wouldn't have it any other way.   Thank you very much.

Baz Luhrmann's Elvis is almost here! So we've emerged from our hiatus to finally give you the wrap-up episode we promised. We spend the first 15 minutes ranking all those Elvis character names and then engage in some TV talk. Matt finished Murder, She Wrote and Morgan is watching Twin Peaks. We rank the 31 films based on whether they're worth watching and also discuss the new West Side Story and Dune. Plus of course we chat about Baz's Elvis premiering at Cannes and the reviews from the fest.

We took some time while doing the Change of Habit episode to talk about the recently released trailer for the flashy big budget Elvis biopic coming later this year. We marvel at how it's taken this long for a film about Elvis on this scale. We're in agreement that the cinematography's great and no doubt the music will deliver. Morgan's got thoughts on Austin Butler's look while Matt shares his opinion on his voice. No matter how it turns out you can bet we'll make sure to catch it upon release.

Elvis is leaving the movies and he's taking one last big swing for the fences but he's not looking where he's swinging and there's damage galore. They really tried to cram all the heavy topics into this one.  Elsewhere there's tangents for Morgan's love of electronic music and we get to the bottom of what the heck a noodle ring is all about. Also it's worth repeating how much we appreciate you, our audience, taking the time out of your lives to listen to all this blathering about Elvis movies.

Oh boy. The penultimate film. The last one adapted from a book and they tried to fit so much of the sprawling novel Chautauqua into this here motion picture. It is jam packed. So much so that we don't really do a front to back of the plot. Instead we focus on the myriad performers of this film. These discussions leading to tangents about Scooby-Doo and Dolly Parton. Matt also did some extra homework this time to determine whether this film truly has the least amount of Elvis screen time or not.

A belated Happy New Year! We're back and feeling refreshed as we tackle the home stretch of Elvis' filmography. This time we watched the one where Elvis doesn't sing. It's just like a regular movie. The only tune is a title track over the credits. Also Elvis has a beard. It's a pretty simple film so we go off on a bevy of tangents as we usually do. We mention Solaris and Matt has a wild tale about a 1993 French TV Movie. Morgan talks of her life goal of selling out. It's great to be back folks.

Merry Christmas folks! As a special bonus gift from us, here's another heaping helping of bloopers and outtakes from previous episodes. All the stuff left on the cutting room floor is now restored for your listening pleasure. We end with the biggest tangent and it's about the Criterion Collection and includes talk of a Christmas gift for Morgan so it's especially timely. Also featured are discussions on: The history of I Am Legend, Hawaiian pizza, Speed Racer (2008), Adam Sandler and much more.

The time has come to finish up the films of 1968 and close out this year as well. We'll be taking a few weeks off for the holidays. It's another movie based on a book so Matt read the source material again to offer comparisons. We say farewell to Norman Taurog and Morgan has strong feelings about dogs. We conclude by telling you that Charro! (1969) is readily available to stream for free in many places so if you so wish you can get ready for next year when we'll kick things off with that film.

It's a return to a discussion we really wish we didn't have to do again. Indigenous representation in film. It's back with a vengeance because if we thought Flaming Star had its issues, hoo boy, Stay Away Joe is another beast altogether. Morgan whips out the scalpel and cuts this bloated carcass of a film with precision. We close things out in cathartic fashion by Matt reading out reviews of the day that further tear this film apart. Surely we'll now be able to move on with the worst behind us.

Matt's birthday wish was to not talk about Stay Away, Joe. Luckily for him his big day marks the anniversary of the '68 Comeback Special so that's the focus this week. Elvis returns to the stage and it's a rousing success. With the director's other work, Matt brings up The Star Wars Holiday Special. Morgan speaks of a black velvet Elvis she was fascinated by growing up and also gives insight into the finer points of Singer sewing machines. It's a pretty chill time, just like the special itself.

Morgan takes over the dispensing of facts this episode. Matt takes a back seat and doesn't make enough jokes because switching roles is difficult. As for the film, it's pretty alright. It earns the second spot in our "Elvis as racecar driver" thematic trilogy ranking. There's another Roger Ebert review to read. He's kinder this time around but still gets in some zingers. Also it can't be stressed enough how this movie's centerpiece is an elaborate musical sequence set in the offices of the IRS.

This was Elvis' personal pick for the low point of his career. So you know it's gonna be a doozy. We explain right off the bat what a clambake is and we wish it was as easy to explain this film. There's a discussion about Christopher Columbus and you may experience déjà vu since Matt briefly mentions the original Planet of the Apes sequel again. The order of our talking points is all jumbled and we mostly go into the actual plot more in depth near the end. Then Morgan whips up a turkey analogy.

There's only so many ways we can say a movie is just kinda ok. It's not the worst but it has problems like any late period Elvis film. A subplot involving an artist commune provides the worst scene in the movie followed immediately by its best. So yeah our attention was pretty much easy come, easy go. Morgan still hates go-go dancing. Near the end, Matt reads Roger Ebert's one star review of this picture. Then we finish by poking holes in an IMDB fact claiming Elvis met Jackie Chan. Not likely.

Double Trouble doesn't have a great reputation but we felt the wacky European caper angle was a nice change of pace. However we do agree that this contains perhaps the worst Elvis movie song even if the other tunes were nice. Also with double the trouble comes double the tangents it seems. We discuss, among other things, our preferred tea biscuits. Our love for Saul Bass and Brian De Palma. Morgan recommends the film In Bruges and reveals her hatred of The Animaniacs. We pack a lot in this one.

Elvis never made any horror films but we're not gonna let that stop us from giving you some Halloween content. Matt decided to focus on the actresses who have shared the screen with Elvis and rattles off the horror movies they appeared in while Morgan provides quips. Most of the gals only did one horror picture in their careers. At least four of them got paired up with Vincent Price. If nothing else, tune in for the end in which we deliver on our proposed idea to discuss The Deadly Bees (1966).

Another Elvis movie plot that's all over the place. Another podcast episode where your hosts follow suit. This one might contain our most Canadian discussion yet. It involves Jacob Two-Two and the voice of Leon's furniture ads. Elsewhere, Morgan attempts to guess which state Elvis was born in. We like the one subplot in this film focused on an elderly couple reigniting their love for each other. Wholesomeness buried under all the usual. We end with a few Twitter shoutouts. Our fans are so nice.

The third and final film Elvis made in Hawaii. He tackles the classic adage "Never work with children or animals" and does both while in a helicopter no less. Morgan wasn't a fan. However she was a big fan of James Shigeta and his hot dad energy. Matt gives a mini review of a film which attempted to give Roy Orbison the Elvis star vehicle treatment. It was weird. Also despite what we were led to believe about his career post-Girl Happy, Elvis does in fact briefly appear shirtless in this movie.

With one major hurdle behind us, it's back to pretty alright yet formulaic Elvis pleasantness. This week it's a little ramblin' gamblin' trip down the Mississippi River. It's also a period piece which means for the first time in a while there are interesting costumes to discuss. Pretty standard fare. Near the end we brainstorm a whole psychological thriller movie plot out of one of the minor bits from this film and Matt gives out some free alternate podcast ideas that haven't been utilized yet.

It's the one you've all been waiting for I'm sure. Even most die-hard fans will agree that this is pretty much rock bottom, cinematically, for Elvis. We agree. At least we can put it behind us. Given that we've got yet another movie appropriating a culture, Morgan gets to talkin' about orientalism. Matt discusses the crucial difference between a good bad movie and a movie that's just bad. Also there's a sizeable tangent where we discuss The Thin Man film series and Dashiell Hammett as a writer.

How appropriate that Elvis plays a rodeo cowboy in this one since the movie felt like it was a bucking bull trying to throw us off with its many plots. It made for strange but not unrewarding viewing and at least one scene we deemed the best gag in an Elvis film so far. No new songs were recorded for this film so we talk a bit about the various albums they plucked the tunes from. We also get the return of Matt talking about giallo. It's really an episode as unpredictable as the movie it covers.