Strong and Moving!

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

What so many reviewers are missing is the fact that the two DNA tests that proved inconclusive on the 75 people tested to be Elvis' illegitimate sons (according to the movie), were the characters played with gusto by Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner- they were the possible sons. We never learn where Kurt Russell got that amazing red '57 Cadillac, but it was there for him when he got out of prison. He said his dad died and left him a boat. At the end of the movie, we find out the boat was named Graceland. The license plate on the Caddie read 1KING. The son was Kurt Russell, and possibly Kevin Costner. The two didn't meet in jail but during the DNA testing. This is all stuff the viewer must figure out for themselves, but the clues are there!

Criminals Thomas J. Murphy and Michael Zane lead a gang of five disguising as Elvis impersonators, to rob the Riviera Casino. The others get eliminated either during the heist or fighting over the way to divide the loot and launder it. Zane returns to the 'last Chance' diner run by Cybil, who makes a second income of seducing and robbing men with and for her son Jesse. Once she knows about the loot, Cybil tries to hook up with Zane, so she can steal it, but Murphy is hot on their trail, leaving a bloody mess on his way.....There is no doubt that this film is a huge mess, and you will find out within five minutes if you are going to go with it, thanks to some bizarre fight at the beginning with CGI scorpions. From there on in,MIT goes from bizarre to totally nuts, and this is why it failed in my opinion, it really doesn't make sense,yet its a very simple premise.There's no real back story for any of the characters, we know Zane and Murphy were friends at some point, that's it, and that Murphy claims to be the son of Elvis. Major support are just threw at us, with no rationale, and as soon as they come, they go, like Arquette, Woodbine, and Slater.It does seem that the writers have been watching a lot of Tarantinoesque movies, because they try to recapture his electric ways with dialogue, but it falls flat.So it's confusing, plodding, overlong, with poor dialogue, so why have I rated it so highly?Simple, Kevin Costner. This has to be one of his most underrated performances, and he should play more bad guys, because here he couldn't care less about anything, he's just having such fun as psychotic Murphy, and whenever he's on screen (thankfully almost all the time), the film sparkles.Russell is good, but he's not playing against type, he's just playing his comfort zone role, a little Plisskin, a little Cash, but Costner, absolutely nuts, right up until the final shot.So it's definitely flawed, but if your a fan of Costner, see it.

Michael Zane (Kurt Russell) meets Cybil (Courteney Cox) and his thieving kid at a desolate motel. He sleeps with her after 5 1/2 years behind bars. Elvis fanatic Thomas Murphy (Kevin Costner), Hanson (Christian Slater), Gus (David Arquette) and Franklin (Bokeem Woodbine) come to pick him up for a job. They set off to rob the Riviera Casino as Elvis impersonators.The movie tries so hard to be an edgy crime drama. It starts from the beginning with the CG scorpion battle. It looks cheesy and bad. There is some shoot em up action but not done that well. Too much slow motion is used. Everything is done aggressively that none of it is that compelling. Demian Lichtenstein is simply not at the upper echelon of directors that this movie needs. The kid is so annoying. Some of the characters act stupidly. None of them are likable and there is no rooting interest. It's a slick crime drama but the style doesn't work.

3000 Miles to Graceland (2001) This is a tricky film to rate and review. Do I rate it based off of how entertaining it was or do I rate it based on how terrible it is. I guess I'll meet them somewhere in the middle.To start with the positives, 3000 Miles to Graceland is very entertaining and keeps you watching. It has a lot of cool effects and great action sequences, and a relatively decent storyline, though ridiculous in many ways. One other thing I have good to say about it is that it has some pretty good cinematography, not always, but often. With an all star cast like they have (personally I love Costner's character) its hard not give it a chance and I think it deserves people watching it, at least fans of action films.On the other hand, the film is actually pretty terrible. Very bad acting by most of the cast, and a lot of generic and stupid dialog. As I mentioned, it does have a good root idea for the storyline. However, trying to be cool, and more action packed weakened the plot and made the film get worse as it progresses. Top all this off with an obvious and yet unfitting ending and you have 3000 Miles to Graceland.I think a lot of people will like this film if they are going into it looking for a hardcore action film and not looking for an overall good film. It will keep you entertained but I think whether you like it or not you will probably agree that the action is the only thing holding the film together and making it watchable.6/10