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Elvis & Nixon Review

Good

This movie is based on a real meeting between Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon in the White House in December 1970. The only details about this collision of two icons come from a few eyewitness accounts, as well as the photograph they took together. So the screenwriters have some fun with it, weaving in quite a bit of comedy that encourages actors to chomp merrily on the scenery. It's entertaining to watch, but the script misses the chance to add meaning on the situation.

Elvis (Michael Shannon) is the one who initiates this meeting, concerned about the growing protests on the streets of Washington, DC. So he flies to Los Angeles to collect his long-time friend Jerry (Alex Pettyfer) then heads to the capital to meet with his nutty colleague Sonny (Johnny Knoxville) and pitch himself to President Nixon (Kevin Spacey) as an undercover FBI agent who can infiltrate the nation's youth. Since it's obvious that all Elvis wants is a federal ID badge, Nixon brushes the whole idea of a meeting aside until his advisors (Colin Hanks and Evan Peters) convince him that it would be a great PR move. So just before Christmas, the two men finally meet up, and they discover that they have more in common than either expected.

Because of the absurdity of the set-up and the wackiness of the period styles, the movie feels rather a lot like an extended sketch comedy that's largely improvised by an up-for-it cast. These two men are both such big personalities that a meeting like this would be hard to believe if it weren't for the photographic evidence. The conversation between Presley and Nixon is surreal and hilariously random (and largely fictionalised). Shannon and Spacey are having a great time prowling around each other, pouncing with a punchline at every opportunity, so watching them is riveting. Mercifully, they underplay the impersonations, capturing the men with tiny details of movement and vocal inflection rather than relying on lots of make-up. Although Shannon does have that hair and costume.

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Reach Me Trailer


When reclusive former football coach, Teddy Raymond (Tom Berenger) releases a self-help book entitled 'Reach Me' it is picked up by millions of people. Collette (Kyra Sedgwick) is a former inmate who reads the book and uses it to try to start her life anew. Hip hop star E-Ruption (Cornell 'Nelly' Haynes) finds that the book has completely reinvigorated his personal image. Wolfie (Thomas Jane), a gun-slinging policeman uses it to justify his actions in the face of right and wrong. Dominic (David O'Hare) is a career thief who annoys his partner by preaching the book, until deciding that he no longer wants to take part in this life of crime. And then there's Roger (Kevin Connolly) , a journalist who has been tasked with finding the mysterious Teddy Raymond by his editor Gerald (Sylvester Stallone). In the end, it turns out the actions of one man have the power to unite many.

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Behaving Badly Review


Weak

For a comedy that so desperately wants to be rude and sexy, this movie is remarkably timid. It does a great job putting up a front as an anarchic laugh riot, but the genuinely funny moments are few and far between. And it seems to have been written by sniggering teenage boys who can only imagine what it's like to experience sex, drugs and romance, but they haven't a clue, really. Thankfully, the starry cast makes it just about watchable.

With a drunken mom (Mary-Louise Parker) and a deadbeat dad (Cary Elwes), 17-year-old Rick (Nat Wolff) pretty much has to grow up on his own. Then over two fateful weeks everything starts going wrong. Just as he seems to be making progress with hot good-girl Nina (Selena Gomez), he gets caught in a drug deal with a strip-club manager (Dylan McDermott), the cops find a dead mobster in his car, and then everyone is arrested when a house party he throws turns into a drug-fuelled sex romp. Even more precarious for Rick is the fact that he has just lost his virginity to Pamela (Elisabeth Shue), who is both his mother's best friend and the mother of his best friend Billy (Lachlan Buchanan).

Yes, the script wallows in sex and drugs, but never seems quite sure what to do with them, shying away whenever anything remotely grown-up threatens to happen. Instead, scenes degenerate into corny broad comedy that feels more than a little desperate. Director Tim Garrick throws everything he can think of at the screen, so naturally a few gags stick. Even if the plot is paper-thin, and several of the jokes are beyond offensive (including gags hinging on both statutory and prison rape), there are also several witty zingers that elicit outright laughter. Such as when Nina remarks casually that her parents are away from home attending a pro-life gun rally in Dallas.

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The Princess Bride Quotes Remembered (Pictures)


Robin Wright Chris Sarandon Mandy Patinkin Andre the Giant Wallace Shawn Cary Elwes Rob Reiner William Goldman

The Princess Bride 25th anniversary has arrived and with it, a Blu-ray special edition featuring loads of brand new extras including interviews, behind the scenes action and much more.

This cult classic fairytale movie arrived on our screens in 1988 featuring a hilarious ensemble cast that has kept us gripped for a quarter of a century of watching. It is the story of how a beautiful young woman named Buttercup (Robin Wright) is forced into almost marrying the deceitful Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), before being captured by a group of not so bright but not so evil crooks; a Spanish fencer named Inigo (Mandy Patinkin), a Turkish giant named Fezzik (André the Giant) and their Sicilian boos Vizzini (Wallace Shawn). However, along the way she is reunited with her former love Westley (Cary Elwes) who she believed to be dead until then, and they all go about attempting to bring down Buttercup's fiancé, the future King of Florin.

Although it was never a major success at the box office, this classic Oscar nominated film was well-received by critics on its release and it has remained a family favourite ever since, being especially regarded as one of the most quotable films of all time. Some of the best The Princess Bride quotes are worth bringing up again: 

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The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn Trailer


Tintin is a young and passionate journalist who is always accompanied on his adventures with his faithful terrier, Snowy. One day, while out browsing a market place, Tintin comes across a rare model of a boat called 'The Unicorn'. He buys it and almost immediately has to ward off other potential buyers interested in the boat.

Continue: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn Trailer

A Christmas Carol Review


Excellent
The quintessential Christmas classic gets yet another movie incarnation with this visually impressive version from effects wizard Zemeckis. For most of us, all the surprises here are visual, and it's well worth seeing in 3D.

For seven years after his business partner Marley dies, Ebenezer Scrooge (Carrey) ruthlessly pinches his pennies, underpaying his assistant Bob Cratchit (Oldman) and neglecting the family of his nephew Fred (Firth). Then on Christmas Eve, Marley's ghost informs Scrooge that he will be visited by three ghosts, and that night Scrooge takes a terrifying odyssey through his past, present and future, realising that he has completely missed the point of his life. And of Christmas.

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Cary Elwes and Mel Brooks Friday 24th July 2009 The Academy pays tribute to Academy Award-winning comic legend Mel Brooks held at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills California, USA

Cary Elwes and Mel Brooks

Ella Enchanted Review


OK
Ella Enchanted is a familiar fairytale: a young woman must overcome an extreme set of obstacles to land her prince charming. The telling of this mythical fable, based on the novel by Gail Carson Levine, is a cross between Ever After (or any other Cinderella story) and The Princess Bride. And while there are plenty of elves, ogres, giants and stepsisters to fill a forest of enchantment, the film's lack of originality cripples its attempts to be charming.

At birth, the young Ella (Anne Hathaway) is cursed with a spell that destines her to be obedient. At the drop of a command, she is forced to stop what she is doing and obey orders. Growing up, Ella's curse brings its share of problems, but when an older Ella gains a new stepmother (Joanna Lumley) and two stepsisters, they use Ella's curse to get what they want. They instruct Ella to steal from the local market, hand over her mother's precious locket, and terminate her friendship with an old friend. The stepsisters also have their sights on the soon-to-be-king Prince Charmont (Hugh Dancy), but he fancies Ella. Charmont's uncle, Prince Regent Edgar (Cary Elwes), secretly covets the throne so he can continue the strict governance established by Charmont's father.

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Whisper Of The Heart Review


Good
One of Studio Ghibli's strangest productions has to be this, Whisper of the Heart. Not because of any crazy morphing creatures -- though the film has a few of those -- but because of its subject matter. Here's a movie about teen romance, set largely in a library. There are no rakish adventurers, no ghosts, no forest creatures. Just a boy and a girl and only one magical cat to speak of. The film is generally charming, though its love story is strange to the point of inaccesibility: A girl who writes alternate lyrics to "Take Me Home, Country Roads"? Whoa, now that's weird.

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Robin Hood: Men In Tights Review


Good
Mediocre parody movies are Newton's second law as applied to cinema. For every hit over-the-top drama that paints characters by numbers there's at least one end to end parody that makes the cookie cutters look like Central Park caricatures.

So for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, we have Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Kevin Costner's Hood is aped by Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman's Azeem has turned in Dave Chappelle's Ahchoo. And Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's ice queen Maid Marion is replaced with Amy Yasbeck's mild, cute, and chaste dolt.

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The Cat Returns Review


Good
This rather simplistic entry into the feel-good anime genre comes from Kiroyuki Morita (last seen animating the raunchy Perfect Blue but also responsible for working on the kind-hearted Kiki's Delivery Service). The Cat Returns is Morita's first outing as director, and it's a fair, if ultimately unrealized experience.

The story involves young Haru (voiced for the States by Anne Hathaway), who rescues a helpless cat from an oncoming truck, only to find herself in the debt of a feline kingdom she formerly didn't know existed. Haru is awakened one night by a bizarre procession on her street: It's the king of the cats (Tim Curry), bearing gifts. Before she knows it, she's whisked into the world of the cats, where she is transformed into a half-cat/half-person, and is told she will be marrying the cat she saved, who turns out to be the cat prince.

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Cary Elwes

Cary Elwes Quick Links

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Cary Elwes Movies

Elvis & Nixon Movie Review

Elvis & Nixon Movie Review

This movie is based on a real meeting between Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon in...

Reach Me Trailer

Reach Me Trailer

When reclusive former football coach, Teddy Raymond (Tom Berenger) releases a self-help book entitled 'Reach...

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Behaving Badly Movie Review

Behaving Badly Movie Review

For a comedy that so desperately wants to be rude and sexy, this movie is...

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn Trailer

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn Trailer

Tintin is a young and passionate journalist who is always accompanied on his adventures with...

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn Trailer

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn Trailer

Tintin is a young and enthusiastic journalist who is accompanied on his exploits by his...

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A Christmas Carol Movie Review

A Christmas Carol Movie Review

The quintessential Christmas classic gets yet another movie incarnation with this visually impressive version from...

Disney's A Christmas Carol Trailer

Disney's A Christmas Carol Trailer

Watch the trailer for Disney's A Christmas Carol The classic seasonal tale of Ebenezer Scrooge...

Ella Enchanted Movie Review

Ella Enchanted Movie Review

Ella Enchanted is a familiar fairytale: a young woman must overcome an extreme set of...

Shadow Of The Vampire Movie Review

Shadow Of The Vampire Movie Review

Part homage to one of cinema's best-known silent films, part winkingly nebulous black comedy, and...

The Cat's Meow Movie Review

The Cat's Meow Movie Review

Most film directors dream about making their "Citizen Kane," and while few would have the...

Cradle Will Rock Movie Review

Cradle Will Rock Movie Review

A wonderfully ambitious, old-school ensemble piece, very much in the can-do spirit of the community...

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