Thomasville Times

Let’s go to the movies



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Well, I went to the picture show last week and I want to tell you about it. When people say they don’t make movies like they used to, they have not seen “Top Gun Maverick” and “Elvis”. Those were two good picture shows! Movies are entertainment. They sell when people want to come see them.

“Top Gun Maverick” has already grossed billions.

Tom Cruise has aged well, or else he has a heck of a plastic surgeon, maybe both. His character doesn’t pretend to be young. It’s his aging that makes the story. That’s interesting to me because as a Baby Boomer, I am doing my share of aging. Maybe this movie was made with people like us in mind. However, as we know, the young people are the ones who buy the tickets, so they must have been engaged, too. I am not going to give away much of the plot but I will say the whole thing is about aging and individuality. The aerial stunts were so spectacular that there was only one man they could find to perform them. He is the most outstanding flyer in the Navy’s Blue Angels. We in Thomasville are well acquainted with them. Magnolia, right up the road is the turning around point for their flight maneuvers. They come crashing overhead and rattle our windows from time to time.

Most of the others with me liked “Top Gun Maverick” better than “Elvis” as a movie. It has a lot more action and excitement for sure but I liked “Elvis” better.

Not because I am a huge Elvis fan because I really grew up more in the Beatles era but Elvis was a very interesting person. The movie is told through the eyes of his manager, Tom Parker, who both made and ultimately destroyed Elvis’s career by enabling Elvis’s increased dependence on the drugs that killed him. Parker, played by Tom Hanks, is sure to be nominated for an Academy Award for his performance. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Austin Butler nominated for his playing “Elvis” either. Until you look right at Butler’s face and see his round eyes, you could mistake him for the young “Elvis”. The way he talks, the way he moves and his profile are very convincing. I liked the movie because it was an indepth look at the motivations and character of Elvis Presley. It follows his career but also gives us some insights into what made him tick. He appeared to be more socially conscious than his publicity as edited by led us to believe. Admittedly, the movie was made in a more socially aware time than the times of the ’50 when Elvis lived and performed and could have been slanted for today’s audience. I know we can’t believe everything we are told on the silver screen but the storyline was convincing.

I like to ask “what if?” and get new insights, so the “Elvis” picture appealed to me. Maybe if I had seen “Top Gun Maverick” first, I would have liked it best. Both the aging Tom Cruise and the young Austin Butler were convincing in their performances and easy on the eyes. Okay, I noticed they were cute, I am not dead yet. I must admit, though, I was more impressed with the performance of the aging seedy Tom Hanks as Parker, than either of the cute ones.

I have never thought of Tom Hanks as cute but he is one heck of an actor.

If you had told me I would be writing movie reviews today, I would have been surprised. I guess I am just urging you to go to the picture one of these hot July days.

Theaters are now comfortable and airconditioned.

When I think back to my teenaged years and going to a theater cooled only with fans in the walls, I wonder how we stood it here in the depths of the deep South. I saw in this very paper that we are about to get our picture show back here in town. Movies are magic, let’s go to the movies!

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