• 'Elvis' focuses on the complicated relationship between Elvis Presley and Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks. Photo: YouTube / Warner Bros Pictures
    'Elvis' focuses on the complicated relationship between Elvis Presley and Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks. Photo: YouTube / Warner Bros Pictures
  • Austin Butler in character as Elvis Presley in 'Elvis'. Photo: YouTube / Warner Bros Pictures
    Austin Butler in character as Elvis Presley in 'Elvis'. Photo: YouTube / Warner Bros Pictures
  • The film depicts Elvis Presley's early performances where he won over legions of female fans. Photo: YouTube / Warner Bros Pictures
    The film depicts Elvis Presley's early performances where he won over legions of female fans. Photo: YouTube / Warner Bros Pictures
  • The film then charts Elvis Presley's later years, before he died at age 42. Photo: YouTube / Warner Bros Pictures
    The film then charts Elvis Presley's later years, before he died at age 42. Photo: YouTube / Warner Bros Pictures
  • Austin Butler in character as a young Elvis Presley. Photo: YouTube / Warner Bros Pictures
    Austin Butler in character as a young Elvis Presley. Photo: YouTube / Warner Bros Pictures
  • 'Elvis' looks set to be a rock 'n' roll rollercoaster of emotions. Photo: YouTube / Warner Bros Pictures
    'Elvis' looks set to be a rock 'n' roll rollercoaster of emotions. Photo: YouTube / Warner Bros Pictures
  • Austin Butler and Elvis Presley, who he plays in the biopic 'Elvis'. Getty Images / AFP
    Austin Butler and Elvis Presley, who he plays in the biopic 'Elvis'. Getty Images / AFP
  • Olivia DeJonge, left, plays a young Priscilla Presley. Alamy Stock Photo / Getty Images
    Olivia DeJonge, left, plays a young Priscilla Presley. Alamy Stock Photo / Getty Images
  • Tom Hanks, left, plays Col Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager of more than 20 years. AFP / Getty Images
    Tom Hanks, left, plays Col Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager of more than 20 years. AFP / Getty Images
  • Kelvin Harrison Jr, left, plays blues singer BB King. AFP / Getty Images
    Kelvin Harrison Jr, left, plays blues singer BB King. AFP / Getty Images
  • David Wenham, left, plays country music artist Hank Snow. Getty Images / AFP
    David Wenham, left, plays country music artist Hank Snow. Getty Images / AFP
  • Richard Roxburgh, left, as Vernon Presley, Elvis's father. Getty Images / Studios
    Richard Roxburgh, left, as Vernon Presley, Elvis's father. Getty Images / Studios

'Elvis' review: Austin Butler hip-shakes his way to Oscars 2023 contention


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Baz Luhrmann and Elvis Presley were always going to be a match made in showbiz heaven. The Australian director of Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge! seems tailor-made to bring the life story of the king of rock’n’roll to the big screen.

Elvis
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Premiering out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Elvis is a dazzling, sometimes overwhelming, biopic that throws everything at the wall. Rising star Austin Butler must surely have blasted his way in contention in next year’s Oscar race with a titanic performance as Elvis, brimming with vim and vigour.

Narrating the film is Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), the mysterious impresario who became Elvis’s manager, craftily sending this boy from Memphis to stratospheric heights. While Luhrmann, who penned the script with Sam Bromell and Craig Pearce, takes a largely chronological approach — the film starts with an ageing Parker in a hospital bed in Las Vegas. “Without me, there would be no Elvis Presley,” he grouses, and there’s an immediate sense that the film’s narrator, a man who truly understands showmanship, is crafting his own biography here.

The film’s early stages are about Parker discovering Elvis, watching agog as his on-stage charisma and pelvic movements — the “wiggle”, as one of his bandmates quaintly puts it — sends girls wild. Touring alongside the more wholesome Hank Snow (David Wenham) and Jimmie Rodgers (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Elvis is soon outgrowing them. Parker shrewdly invites Elvis’s god-fearing family into the fold, making his father Vernon (Richard Roxburgh) the business manager, but without involving him in any real decisions.

According to Parker, he invents the idea of merchandise — Elvis’s name and image plastered on hats, T-shirts, cushions, you name it. He even manufactures "I Hate Elvis" pin-badges. The haters will always hate, he reasons, so better to profit from them than not. Then comes hostilities from the authorities, shocked by Elvis’s on-stage “lewd gyrations”, as Snow puts it. “Crimes of lust and perversions” scream the headlines, with the singer facing jail time.

When he heads to Germany for a two-year stint in the army to avoid imprisonment, he meets Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge), the love of his life and, eventually, mother of his child, Lisa Marie. The Australian-born DeJonge (recently seen in HBO show The Staircase) initially struggles to find any oxygen in the film — no surprise, given Butler’s show-stopping turn and a corpulent-looking Hanks with his faux European accent taking centre stage. But as their relationship experiences lows, with Elvis increasingly popping prescription drugs, she makes her mark with a couple of killer scenes.

Scroll through the gallery below to see the 'Elvis' premiere in Cannes:

  • From left, Australian actress Natasha Bassett, producer Jerry Schilling, Priscilla Presley, Australian actress Olivia DeJonge, Australian director Baz Luhrmann, US actor Austin Butler, actor Alton Mason and US actor Tom Hanks leave the Festival Palace following the screening of the film 'Elvis' during the 75th Cannes Film Festival. AFP
    From left, Australian actress Natasha Bassett, producer Jerry Schilling, Priscilla Presley, Australian actress Olivia DeJonge, Australian director Baz Luhrmann, US actor Austin Butler, actor Alton Mason and US actor Tom Hanks leave the Festival Palace following the screening of the film 'Elvis' during the 75th Cannes Film Festival. AFP
  • Priscilla Presley, left, and Baz Luhrmann at the screening of 'Elvis' at Cannes Film Festival. EPA
    Priscilla Presley, left, and Baz Luhrmann at the screening of 'Elvis' at Cannes Film Festival. EPA
  • (6L-R) Priscilla Presley, Olivia DeJonge, Austin Butler, Baz Luhrmann, Alton Mason, Tom Hanks, Steve Binder, Catherine Martin, and Patrick McCormick. EPA
    (6L-R) Priscilla Presley, Olivia DeJonge, Austin Butler, Baz Luhrmann, Alton Mason, Tom Hanks, Steve Binder, Catherine Martin, and Patrick McCormick. EPA
  • From left, Austin Butler, Baz Luhrmann, Tom Hanks, Natasha Bassett and Alton Mason. EPA
    From left, Austin Butler, Baz Luhrmann, Tom Hanks, Natasha Bassett and Alton Mason. EPA
  • From left, Tzef Montana, Smaragda Karydi, Director Panos H Koutras, Natasa Exintaveloni and Mariella Savvides. EPA
    From left, Tzef Montana, Smaragda Karydi, Director Panos H Koutras, Natasa Exintaveloni and Mariella Savvides. EPA
  • Olivia DeJonge. Getty Images
    Olivia DeJonge. Getty Images
  • Members of Italian band Maneskin, from left, Ethan Torchio, Damiano David, Victoria De Angelis and Thomas Raggi. EPA
    Members of Italian band Maneskin, from left, Ethan Torchio, Damiano David, Victoria De Angelis and Thomas Raggi. EPA
  • From left, Australian director Baz Luhrmann, US actor Austin Butler and actor Alton Mason. AFP
    From left, Australian director Baz Luhrmann, US actor Austin Butler and actor Alton Mason. AFP
  • Caylee Cowan and Casey Affleck. Getty Images
    Caylee Cowan and Casey Affleck. Getty Images
  • Winnie Harlow. AP
    Winnie Harlow. AP
  • Olivia Culpo. AP
    Olivia Culpo. AP
  • Shakira poses for photographers. AP
    Shakira poses for photographers. AP
  • Jeremy O Harris, left, and Kaia Gerber. AP
    Jeremy O Harris, left, and Kaia Gerber. AP
  • Belgian model Stella Maxwell. AFP
    Belgian model Stella Maxwell. AFP
  • Ukrainian entrepreneur Sasha Ray (C) arrives for the screening of 'Elvis'. EPA
    Ukrainian entrepreneur Sasha Ray (C) arrives for the screening of 'Elvis'. EPA
  • Princess Maria Chiara and Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon. EPA
    Princess Maria Chiara and Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon. EPA
  • Indian actress Urvashi Rautela arrives for the screening of the film 'Elvis'. AFP
    Indian actress Urvashi Rautela arrives for the screening of the film 'Elvis'. AFP
  • Ricky Martin. EPA
    Ricky Martin. EPA
  • Noomi Rapace. Getty Images
    Noomi Rapace. Getty Images
  • Tom Hanks is seen departing the premiere of the film 'Elvis' at the 75th international film festival. AP
    Tom Hanks is seen departing the premiere of the film 'Elvis' at the 75th international film festival. AP
  • Conor McGregor and Kylie Minogue attend the 'Elvis' after party at Stephanie Beach. Getty Images
    Conor McGregor and Kylie Minogue attend the 'Elvis' after party at Stephanie Beach. Getty Images
  • US DJ Diplo (C) leaves after attending a party. AFP
    US DJ Diplo (C) leaves after attending a party. AFP

As for Luhrmann, he simply won’t let this film rest. The camera rarely stops moving, whirling up and around Elvis, while the editing by Jonathan Redmond and Matt Villa is utterly dynamic. Costumes and production design, time-travelling you back to the era, are also superlative. But the film doesn’t truly come into its own until the 1968 section. “Is it my fault the world changed?” remarks Parker, as civil rights protests and assassinations of Dr Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy flood the news.

Parker doesn’t want Elvis making political statements — he doesn’t even want him leaving the country to tour internationally for “security” reasons. But there comes a point when the singer needs a rebirth. The so-called ’68 Comeback Special, with Elvis dressed in black leather and rocking out raw versions of songs such as Heartbreak Hotel and Guitar Man, is brilliantly staged — more so, as Luhrmann reminds us that it was supposed to be a sanitised Christmas TV show. Butler pours everything into these scenes, commanding the stage, sweating from every pore.

As Elvis takes up residency in Vegas (a sequence that includes a stunning version of That’s All Right), he suffers from exhaustion and cracks appear in his relations with Priscilla and Parker. With its subject alone and isolated, the final act takes an unsurprisingly more sombre turn.

Luhrmann, who hitherto uses split screen for some moments, takes a breath. Given the singer’s death in 1977 — dying aged 42 from a heart attack — the film brings Elvis’s story to a poignant and dignified close. An Unchained Melody rendition will likely elicit tears, as will real footage of the King cut into the finale.

Does the film get under Elvis’s skin enough? Perhaps not. It’s not the most psychologically probing of films. But Luhrmann is a director who knows how to put on a show, much like Parker, and in that regard Elvis is the greatest show on Earth.

A whirlwind of a movie, filled with light, colour and sound, it captures the 1950s and 1960s with real aplomb, a lavish spectacle on steroids. As the final credits remind us, Elvis was the biggest selling solo recording artist of all time. You can imagine after this, he’ll be selling a few more records.

Stars turn out in force for 'Top Gun: Maverick' premiere in Cannes — in pictures

  • Tom Cruise attends the screening of 'Top Gun: Maverick' during the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 18, 2022. Getty Images
    Tom Cruise attends the screening of 'Top Gun: Maverick' during the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 18, 2022. Getty Images
  • Miles Teller and wife Keleigh Sperry. Getty Images
    Miles Teller and wife Keleigh Sperry. Getty Images
  • French Alpha Jets Patrouille de France fly over the venue of the 'Top Gun: Maverick' premiere. AP Photo
    French Alpha Jets Patrouille de France fly over the venue of the 'Top Gun: Maverick' premiere. AP Photo
  • Eva Longoria in a mirrored Cristina Ottaviano gown. Reuters
    Eva Longoria in a mirrored Cristina Ottaviano gown. Reuters
  • Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda. Getty Images
    Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda. Getty Images
  • Jennifer Connelly in Louis Vuitton. AP
    Jennifer Connelly in Louis Vuitton. AP
  • Producer Andre Lemmers and model Adriana Lima, who took pregnancy style inspiration from Rihanna to bare her growing bump on the red carpet. Getty Images
    Producer Andre Lemmers and model Adriana Lima, who took pregnancy style inspiration from Rihanna to bare her growing bump on the red carpet. Getty Images
  • Elle Fanning in Giorgio Armani. Getty Images
    Elle Fanning in Giorgio Armani. Getty Images
  • Actor Greg Tarzan Davis attends. Getty Images
    Actor Greg Tarzan Davis attends. Getty Images
  • Model Chanel Iman attends. Getty Images
    Model Chanel Iman attends. Getty Images
  • Producer and entrepreneur Mohammed Al Turki attends. Getty Images
    Producer and entrepreneur Mohammed Al Turki attends. Getty Images
  • Actress Viola Davis on the red carpet. AP
    Actress Viola Davis on the red carpet. AP
  • Iraqi singer and actress Jwana Karim. Getty Images
    Iraqi singer and actress Jwana Karim. Getty Images
  • TikTok star Elisa Maino. Getty Images
    TikTok star Elisa Maino. Getty Images
  • Actress Blanca Blanco. Getty Images
    Actress Blanca Blanco. Getty Images
  • French model and infleuncer Didi Stone. Getty Images
    French model and infleuncer Didi Stone. Getty Images
  • Danish model Josephine Skriver arrives. AFP
    Danish model Josephine Skriver arrives. AFP
  • French television host Laurie Cholewa. Getty Images
    French television host Laurie Cholewa. Getty Images
  • Influencer and make-up artist Militza Yovanka. Getty Images
    Influencer and make-up artist Militza Yovanka. Getty Images
  • Beauty influencer Malvika Sitlani. Getty Images
    Beauty influencer Malvika Sitlani. Getty Images
  • Social media influencer Leonie Hanne. Getty Images
    Social media influencer Leonie Hanne. Getty Images
  • Chinese social media personality Jessica Wang. AFP
    Chinese social media personality Jessica Wang. AFP
  • Russian model and actress Sasha Luss. Getty Images
    Russian model and actress Sasha Luss. Getty Images
  • UK model and socialite Lady Victoria Hervey. Getty Images
    UK model and socialite Lady Victoria Hervey. Getty Images
  • Italian actress Sveva Alviti and French-American actor Anthony Delon. Getty Images
    Italian actress Sveva Alviti and French-American actor Anthony Delon. Getty Images
  • German model and actress Toni Garrn. Getty Images
    German model and actress Toni Garrn. Getty Images
  • Turkish-German actress and model Meryem Sarah Uzerli. EPA
    Turkish-German actress and model Meryem Sarah Uzerli. EPA
  • French television personality Karine Ferri. EPA
    French television personality Karine Ferri. EPA
  • TikTok star India Sasha. Getty Images
    TikTok star India Sasha. Getty Images
  • Indian actress Tamannaah Bhatia arrives. AFP
    Indian actress Tamannaah Bhatia arrives. AFP
Other must-tries

Tomato and walnut salad

A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.

Badrijani nigvzit

A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.

Pkhali

This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

'The Batman'

Stars:Robert Pattinson

Director:Matt Reeves

Rating: 5/5

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The President's Cake

Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem 

Rating: 4/5

Gully Boy

Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi​​​​​​​
Rating: 4/5 stars

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Leap of Faith

Michael J Mazarr

Public Affairs

Dh67
 

Elvis
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Updated: May 30, 2022, 1:25 PM