Surely you’ve heard one of Lizzo’s new songs, seen Amazon Prime’s teaser of “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” or read through “Elvis” commentary on Twitter. But between traveling and catching up with old friends, you might not have had time to see what the hype was all about for yourself. Here’s a breakdown of three of the summer’s top releases. 
“Special”
Hit after hit, Lizzo has proved herself as one of the most formative pop artists of our generation. OK, maybe you’ve heard “Truth Hurts,” “Juice” and “Good as Hell” a few too many times. But ask yourself this: Can you ever stop yourself from singing along? I bet you can’t. That’s what Lizzo does. She is an anthem creator who also happens to be a twerking, flute-playing aficionado.
Her new album “Special” celebrates everything from body acceptance to LGBTQ+ pride. Lizzo’s goal on “Special” was to revive funky drum disco songs like Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls.” Not only can you hear this distinction in songs like “Everybody’s Gay” and “About Damn Time,” you can feel it too. So, stop complaining that you’ve heard too many Lizzo songs on TikTok, and listen to this feel-good album while dancing your little heart out.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty”
Whether you’re Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah, you most likely fell in love with the enchanting vibe of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” The show was an instant summer sensation that had everyone reminiscing about their elementary school fanfiction-reading days.
Belly, the show’s heroine, embodies all the best characteristics of the shy yet alluring main character. Lola Tung portrays Belly with an effortless beauty and heart of gold reminiscent of Drew Barrymore in “The Wedding Singer” or “50 First Dates.” Like Bella in “Twilight,” Belly has a certain clumsy aloofness in addition to two hotties competing for her affection.
Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno), the male leads, give off a TikTok boy aesthetic. The two draw fans in by speaking in an organically poetic way; you can tell the characters were written by a woman, Jenny Han.
The show has a perfect soundtrack complete with iconic Taylor Swift songs in slow-mo dancing scenes and Tyler the Creator’s romantic “Are We Still Friends?” Fans are anxiously awaiting season two, anticipating more dreamy escapism.
“Elvis”
You saw it, you liked it. You saw it again, you fell in love with it. Then, you might have seen it two more times, and it became an obsession. People haven’t been drawn to the movie theaters this much since “Avengers: Endgame.”
Austin Butler’s portrayal of Elvis was utterly mesmerizing. Butler nailed every twitch and jiggle of the side-burned legend, creating a new wave of Elvis fans.
The movie’s director Baz Luhrmann, known for creating artistically boisterous and chaotic movies, encompassed everything from the sexuality to the vulnerability that was Elvis. Much like Luhrmann did with “Romeo + Juliet,” he introduced a modern twist to the film by doing things like remixing Britney Spears’ “Toxic” with the Elvis’ classic “Viva Las Vegas.” While some were slightly confused by the accent choice of Tom Hanks in his portrayal of Tom “The Colonel” Parker, Hanks was heart-wrenching as always.
Expect lots of Priscilla and Elvis costumes this coming Halloween because as Tommy Lee Jones said in “Men in Black,” “Elvis isn’t dead; he just went home!”

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Courtesy of IMDb

Elvis 2022 movie art