Movie Review - Elvis & Nixon

Elvis & Nixon (2016)

Starring Michael Shannon, Kevin Spacey, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Knoxville, Colin Hanks, Evan Peters, Sky Ferreira, Tracy Letts, Tate Donovan, and Ashley Benson

Directed by Liza Johnson

***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

Unbeknown to me, there is apparently some famous picture of Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon shaking hands in the Oval Office.  Elvis & Nixon is a cleverly retro-stylized film by Liza Johnson that depicts the late December 1970 day when the King (Michael Shannon) demanded a meeting with the President (Kevin Spacey) in order to detail his concerns with the rising drug and hippie culture in the United States.  The stodgy President wants nothing to do with the hip-shaking singer, but he eventually obliges in part due to the urging of his aides (Colin Hanks and Evan Peters) and he ends up discovering that he may have an affinity for the pop star.

The briskly paced flick humorously depicts the obviously quirky "Odd Couple" dichotomy between Presley and Nixon with director Liza Johnson keenly mining the absurdity of the situation for all its worth.  Yet, at the same time, Johnson respects the positions of both famous men, never playing them for fools or suckers, mining laughs from the situation as opposed to at their expense.  Michael Shannon's Elvis gets the majority of the focus and he does a nice job of creating a well-rounded character as opposed to simply an impression of the famous singer.  While Spacey's Nixon is perhaps the opposite -- more of an impression than a fully-realized character -- I found his Nixon spot-on and amusingly engaging.  

I will admit that I wasn't particularly expecting much from Elvis & Nixon and perhaps that's why I enjoyed it so much.  While the trailers certainly depicted humor, I was expecting this to be some sort of history lesson (albeit an odd one) and it's nothing like that at all.  Instead, it's a pleasantly eccentric light-hearted flick that is worthy of a watch.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Magic Mike

Magic Mike (2012)

Starring Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Cody Horn, Olivia Munn, and Alex Pettyfer 

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Unexpectedly good reviews and throngs of horny women greeted Magic Mike upon arrival in theaters in Summer 2012.  Like most straight men, there was simply no reason for me to check this out despite the fact that Steven Soderbergh has proven a solid (or at least an interesting) director whom I've certainly appreciated in the past.  Somehow, what was sold as a female fantasy flick about male strippers has managed to already garner awards this season with Matthew McConaughey being named Best Supporting Actor by the New York Film Critics' Association.  Time had come to check it out, throw any uncomfortableness and awkwardness aside, and find out if this thing really was any good.  The answer to that, plain and simple, is that Magic Mike is okay.  It certainly isn't the unabashed raunchfest its trailers made it out to be, but it tells a story that's been told a hundred times before and, despite the addition of male posteriors on display, it doesn't bring a whole lot new to the table.

Supposedly somewhat autobiographical for star Channing Tatum, Magic Mike is the story of the title character (played by Tatum), a man of many trades -- construction worker and furniture designer by day, stripper by night -- who befriends the young nineteen year-old Adam (Alex Pettyfer) while on a roofing job together.  Adam eventually discovers the truth about Mike's late-night source of income and finds himself thrust on stage one evening gyrating his junk in front of a bunch of crazy ladies.  Unable to pass up the nice income, Adam begins to blossom into his own on the nightclub's stage much to his sister's (Cody Horn) chagrin who worries (perhaps rightly so) that this career choice may lead her brother down seedier paths.

The biggest problem with Magic Mike is that the story is far from original despite the fact that director Steven Soderbergh attempts to liven things up with what I can only assume is improvised dialog and creative lensing.  Soderbergh also gets a fun performance out of Matthew McConaughey as Dallas, the owner of the strip club where Mike and Adam work.  Over-the-top and certainly charismatic, McConaughey is a strong presence, but I'm not sold on the fact that he's awards-worthy.  Also of note, Mr. Tatum and Mr. Pettyfer offer up what is likely their best work yet, despite the fact that neither character goes on any semblance of an original arc.

Ultimately, though, Magic Mike suffers from blandness in the story department.  While the horny women may have been able to overlook that because of the chiseled abs and asses, this reviewer wasn't moved by such displays.  Color me surprised that this one was so lauded by the critics.  I think they were just surprised by the fact that Soderbergh had delivered something that wasn't as jokey and hokey as Showgirls.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four (2011)

Starring Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron, and Teresa Palmer

Directed by D.J. Caruso

Unlike the Stars both Trek and War, the aliens in I Am Number Four are more reminiscent of supermodels than freakish-looking creatures.  Of course, this allows for a much easier ability to fall in love with Earthlings than if one were a long-eared Spock lookalike.  And, in this movie, it's the frivolous love story that takes center stage.

Without getting into the silly names of both alien races involved in I Am Number Four (which make the made-up words in Harry Potter flicks seem normal), the basic story boils down to this -- an alien race was all but obliterated by another.  Nine kids from the massacred race landed on Earth and the "evil" aliens are after them.  So far, they've killed three of the nine and now they're after Number Four, a blond-haired kid who goes by the clever alias of John Smith (Alex Pettyfer).  With the help of his protector (Timothy Olyphant) and alien teen Number Six (Teresa Palmer), John fights the scary aliens all the while going through the typical trails and tribulations of a typical high schooler, including falling in love with the cute girl (Dianna Agron).

As is obvious by the summary above, there's nothing remotely fresh in I Am Number Four.  There's much too much focus on the high school melodrama and unfortunately the alien action stuff doesn't work in the slightest either.  In the end, there's simply nothing in this film that works.

The RyMickey Rating:  D