As a critic who spends as much time wading through streaming sludge as I do luxuriating in cinema's grand theatrical releases, I often find myself looking for that spark – that initial five to ten minutes that Tommy Morgan, our esteemed showrunner, often reminds me is all we've got to grab an audience. This week, I found a couple of absolute must-sees that nail that spark, and one perplexing misfire that couldn't even manage ten.

EPIC — Elvis Presley In Concert

Let's start with a genuine revelation: EPIC — Elvis Presley In Concert. When Tommy first flagged this one, he spoke of seeing a side of Elvis most of us had never encountered, and he was absolutely right. This isn’t a concert film in the traditional sense; it’s a portal to the man behind the myth, packed with rehearsals and outtakes that strip away decades of manufactured image. We’ve all seen the dazzling stage presence, the pelvis-shaking icon, but here, we see a human being – sometimes bored, sometimes playful, always electric. The clips of him clowning around, even mocking some of his own hits with half-serious medleys, speak volumes. It exposes a performer craving more, a real musician with an intuitive grasp of his craft, not just the puppet of Colonel Parker's PR machine. Critics who dismissed Elvis as an untalented showman were flat-out wrong, and this film proves it.

What fascinated me most was the raw, unpolished humanity. In an era where every celebrity persona is meticulously curated, watching EPIC felt like catching a glimpse of a different time, before the sanitization of public figures became an art form. It reminds me of the recent wave of 'backstage' docs like Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back, which likewise pulls back the curtain on legendary artists. It's a masterclass in how to reframe an icon without uttering a single judgmental word, simply by letting the footage speak for itself. You truly feel like you’re rediscovering him.

Outcome

Then there's the other end of the spectrum: Outcome. My take here aligns pretty perfectly with Tommy’s verdict – this one is a skip. It’s hard to watch a film with such a formidable cast – Keanu Reeves! – completely lose its way. The premise itself, a Hollywood bigwig having to reckon with his past, isn't inherently flawed, but the execution here is deeply muddled. It never finds its footing; there’s no opening hook, no compelling reason to invest. Reeves, typically so compelling even when he’s just, well, being Keanu, felt strangely adrift. To see him in a role so devoid of his usual kinetic energy or stoic grace was jarring, almost as if he were trying to shake off every expectation we have of him – and not successfully.

And then there's Jonah Hill. I'm often here to champion performances, to understand the choices actors make, but his turn as a jaded insider felt like a cliché, a performance that actively pushes the audience away. It's the kind of cynical, self-aware portrayal that wants you to know it’s above the material, and that simply doesn't fly. I'm all for actors pushing boundaries and transforming, but the 'Ozempic version of Jonah Hill,' as Tommy put it, brought a performative disconnect that made it impossible for me to engage. I checked out after nine minutes, and frankly, I felt generous for even giving it that long. A waste of talent and potential, full stop.

Paul McCartney: Man on the Run

But let's pivot back to something genuinely good, another deep dive into a musical legend: Paul McCartney: Man on the Run, now streaming on Prime Video. This documentary is a fantastic addition to the growing canon of candid artist backstories, offering a more intimate look at one of music's most enduring figures. For anyone who devoured The Beatles: Get Back or Martin Scorsese’s Beatles '64, this film provides yet another layer to the man who gave us so much. Like EPIC, it succeeds by letting us see the raw moments, the creative process, and the sheer resilience it takes to sustain a career of that magnitude.

It’s the antithesis of the carefully constructed celebrity image, much like the restored The Beatles: Let It Be or even the sprawling The Beatles Anthology. What strikes me about these kinds of documentaries is the courage required by these artists to lay bare their process, their vulnerabilities, and their genius. As Tommy Morgan, our showrunner, often reminds us: "I'm always in awe of writers, directors, musicians, performers and actors. It takes unusual fortitude to do what they do — in front of a camera, for the world to judge, and be constantly in a place of competition and judgement for every performance. This takes a special kind of resilience and internal fortitude that makes them exceptional. To risk being made a fool as an actor — this is one of life's riskiest ventures and not for the timid. My critiques — just another guy's opinion; keep doing what you do!" That quote perfectly captures why films like Man on the Run resonate: they pull back the curtain on that fortitude. If you loved seeing Elvis unmasked, you’ll find a similar kind of joy watching McCartney.

So, whether you're looking to rediscover a legend or dig deeper into the minds behind the music, there's plenty worth your time this week. Just be sure to give Outcome a wide berth. Sometimes, even with the biggest names, a pick is simply a pass.