Viva Las Vegas.

Review #983: Viva Las Vegas.

Cast: 
Elvis Presley (Lucky Jackson), Ann-Margret (Rusty Martin), Cesare Danova (Count Elmo Mancini), William Demarest (Mr. Martin), Nicky Blair (Shorty Fansworth), Jack Carter (Himself), and Teri Garr (Showgirl) Directed by George Sidney.

Review: 
Ah, Elvis Presley. I've covered two films in which he had a starring role (Jailhouse Rock, It Happened at the World's Fair), with the former being a fine experience and the latter being pretty forgettable. In any case, Viva Las Vegas is a spectacle released in the middle of Presley's career (with this being his 15th film out of the 31 he did from 1956-1969). It has an exotic location, a young woman for Elvis to encounter (and inevitably romance) and a bunch of musical numbers. For the most part, the film excels as entertainment, and it is due to the chemistry between Presley and Ann-Margret. They simply match well on screen together, having a charm and energy that is present in most of the scenes they share on screen, with one of the highlights being their singing of "The Lady Loves Me" in the first half of the film; one of my other favorite highlights is his medley of "The Yellow Rose of Texas" and "The Eyes of Texas", complete with Elvis wearing a big hat. The other parts of the film don't have as much charisma, but the rest of the cast do decent jobs in their roles. The music numbers are fairly good, showcasing its star in the way you'd expect. The story is a simple one (with a short but fine length of 85 minutes), but it doesn't come off as harmful to the goal of the film, which is to have some fun in Vegas with Elvis, which it achieves handily enough.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

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Movie Night: It Happened at the World's Fair.

Review #523: It Happened at the World's Fair.

Cast
Elvis Presley (Mike Edwards), Joan O'Brien (Diane Warren), Gary Lockwood (Danny Burke), Vicky Tiu (Sue-Lin), Yvonne Craig (Dorothy Johnson), H. M. Wynant (Vince Bradley), and Kam Tong (Walter Ling) Directed by Norman Taurog.

Review
To begin with, today is what would've been Elvis Presley's 79th Birthday, so I decided to watch one of his movies. And...here it is. It's hard to say much about this film. Why? It's just not...interesting to talk about. Granted, the fact it was filmed in Seattle on the site of the Century 21 Exposition is certainly noteworthy (to me anyways), and the film at least takes some of its time to show off Seattle (Such as the Seattle Center, the Monorail and my favorite, the Space Needle), which is nice. Then...there's the film itself. The story isn't really interesting and while Elvis tries to spruce up the film, he can't save the movie, neither can his supporting cast. It's a mediocre film that seems to distract you more with Elvis' singing (and Elvis does at least try to sing well) then entertain with story. Is it a bad film? No, but it isn't any good either. If you really want to see some Elvis films, I'd probably stick to Jailhouse Rock (#327) instead. Happy Birthday, Elvis.

Overall, I give it 5 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Jailhouse Rock.

Review #327: Jailhouse Rock.

Cast
Elvis Presley (Vince Everett), Judy Tyler (Peggy Van Alden), Mickey Shaughnessy (Hunk Houghton), Vaughn Taylor (Mr. Shores), Jennifer Holden (Sherry Wilson), and Dean Jones (Teddy Talbot) Directed by Richard Thorpe.

Review
Sometimes, it's just a weird choice for the end of the year, for December 31, 2011, I reviewed Duck Soup (#085), and a year later, I wonder if this would be as good a choice like last year. In a way, I was kinda right. And who else to end the year, but...Elvis. Yeah, I hadn't mentioned him or even watched a film with him until today (On the eve of some sort of new year), but I had heard about his film roles and...their varying success. Elvis Presley appeared in 31 films (and two concert documentaries) in his lifetime, this being released 55 years ago. Presley does a decent job, not exactly a great persona, but he does have a commanding presence, and his singing (Have I mentioned singing ever before here?) is excellent, including the Jailhouse Rock sequence which is one of the most memorable music sequences in film. The rest of the film isn't as commanding or great, but Tyler does a great job, it's a shame that this was sadly her last performance (she died after production). The film doesn't have much story per say, but it does have entertainment value.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.