HavenStar

This is an incredible film. It went straight to the top of my favourite films of all time as soon as I first saw it - and it's easily broken my record for most times I've seen a film at the cinema with 10 viewings. I'd give it every film award there is, even the ones it's not eligible for.

Almost from the opening I knew it was going to be special. From the moment you first see Austin Butler as Elvis singing American Trilogy in Las Vegas (and it takes a few seconds to realise it is Austin Butler and not Elvis, that's how good he is) you realise he's going to be amazing and he is. From the big set pieces of the '68 special and the Vegas shows to little details like how he turfs his friends out of Graceland for dragging mud in the house and how he twists and turns to avoid the pill bottles Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge) hurls at him he totally convinces you that he is Elvis Presley. It's a career-making performance and deserves to win every acting award going next year. He's also supported by a fabulous cast - I must single out Tom Hanks who gives a wonderfully quirky performance as Elvis's manager Tom Parker and Helen Thomson who is dynamic as Elvis's mother Gladys.

Baz Luhrman is the perfect director as well - he pulls the whole story together seamlessly, gets fabulous performances from his cast and makes the whole thing a truly spectacular and theatrical film. It's one of those rare films when you completely forget that you're in a cinema watching a film - it's just like being there and watching everything play out for real right in front of your eyes and ears.

And, it's made me fall in love with Elvis all over again, and I can't be too grateful for that.

Needless to say, I can't recommend it too highly. If it's not too late, I'd really urge you to see it at the cinema. Otherwise see it on the biggest screen you can with the volume turned up to max.

This is a fabulous film documenting Elvis's second residency at the Las Vegas International in 1970. You can tell he's having a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoying himself. His personality comes across really well, especially his sense of fun and playfulness, which, for me, has always been his best characteristic and sets him above every one else - after all, his career really started as a result of him messing around singing and playing That's Alright at the end of his first failed attempt at a professional recording for Sun Records: it really is the essence of him as a person and a performer. And he's at his best, looking gorgeous, in great shape and giving all he's got on stage with that miraculous voice. A real treasure of a film for all Elvis fans.

David Cronenberg had made some extremely good films (e.g. 'The Fly' and 'Eastern Promises') and at least one masterpiece ('Spider') but, with this sorry outing, he's descended into self parody. His attempts in this film to fuse his usual body horror with eroticism are both laughable and dull. Add to that a one-theme storyline, monochrome direction and barely more than adequate acting and I was left wondering why anyone involved in this movie bothered making it: it talks quite a lot but says very little, and if a film does that then it at least needs to be entertaining and this just isn't, unless you're entertained by cruelty and violence. I left the cinema wishing I'd spent my time doing something productive. Best avoided.