THE AVIATOR -- Martin Scorsese, dir

©2004
studio: Warner Home Video
production company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Miramax Films, Initial Entertainment Group (IEG), Forward Pass, Appian Way, Cappa Productions, IMF Internationale Medien und Film GmbH & Co. 3. Produktions KG
director: Martin Scorses
cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Ian Holme, Danny huston, Gwen Stafani, Jude Law, Adam Scott, Matt Ross, Kelli Garner, Frances Conroy, Brent Spiner
screenplay: John Logan

A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career, from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s.

*****

This was an interesting film. I can only assume that much if it is based on historical research.

DiCaprio does a marvelous job as Hughes. My only exception to it would be that I never saw Hughes as a ladies man or lover. He had beautiful Hollywood starlets around, but I never got a sense that women appealed to him. This was emphasized even more considering the most detailed relationship in the movie was with katherine Hepburn, reputed to have lesbian tendencies.

Performances are all quite good as one would expect in a Scorsese movie. The film is too long (2 hr 44min) and there is plenty that could have been trimmed and still kept our interest.

My biggest problem with the film was continuity. This is one of those aspects of a film that you should never notice and when you do, it's hardly good. In more than one scene it bothered me to see someone standing a certain way, speaking or listening, and then have the film cut to another angle in which the person is standing/posing differently, and then back to the first angle again. See the obvious differences took me out of the film and had me thinking about the bad cut/continuity rather than the action of the film. Surprised to see this in a Scorsese film. I'm guessing that the person in charge of continuity was a relative...?

Mostly an okay film. Glad to have seen it. Good performances. Recommend it, but wouldn't watch it a second time, myself.

SHALL WE DANCE? -- Masayuki Suo, dir

©1997
studio: Miramax
production company: Altamira Pictures Inc., Daiei Studios, Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV), Hakuhodo Incorporated, Nihon Shuppan Hanbai
director: Masayuki Suo
cast: Kôji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, Eriko Watanabe, Yu Tokui
screenplay: Masayuki Suo
Japanese - subitled

A successful but unhappy Japanese accountant finds the missing passion in his life when he begins to secretly take ballroom dance lessons. [from IMDb.com]

*****

Ah, what a premise! How many men can identify? I know I can... a man takes up a new sport/hobby/activity just meet a woman that has caught his attention from a distance. And of course she remains distant even when in close proximity, and yet there's just enough eye contact and smiles to keep the man tethered to his new interest.

The acting here is good and the director keeps the balance quite well. i especially like the man's attitude after he has competed in a ballroom dance competition -- a sense of accomplishment and embarassment at the same time.

I wasn't as taken with the young woman as the man was, and in that sense I had a hard time believing in it. Perhaps it was because of her lack of smile. She never seemed happy and never seemed beautiful.

I look forward to comparing this to the US version with Richard Gere.

WEDDING CRASHERS -- David Dobkin, dir

©2005
studio: New Line Home Video
production company: Avery Pix, New Line Cinema, Tapestry Films
director: David Dobkin
cast: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Jane Seymour, Keir O'Donnell, Henry Gibson, Dwight Yoakam, Rebecca De Mornay
screenplay: Steve Faber & Bob Fisher

Two single men who spend their weekends crashing wedding parties in order to meet single women who are hot on romance break their number one rule by falling for a couple of girls.

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This had a few moments that were worth watching, but over-all it's a typical comedy/romance intended for a college-aged crowd. The very premise and the abundance of near-naked and naked women would appeal to the male crowd and the fact that the men in the movie do show a romantic edge would appeal to the women.

Mostly this was forgettable, typical fare that won't be remembered ten years from now.

PAT AND MIKE -- George Cukor, dir

©1952
studio: Warner Home Video
director: George Cukor
cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Aldo Ray, William Ching, Sammy White, George Matthews, Gussie Moran, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Don Budge, Alice Marble, Frank Andrew Parker, Charles Bronson, Frank Richards, Jim Backus, Chuck Connors, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer
screenplay: Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin
B&W

Pat (Katharine Hepburn) is a brilliant athlete in nearly ever sport she chooses to play -- except when her fiancee is around, then she fumbles nearly everything. Spencer Tracy as her agent works hard not only to refine her talents, but to get her to forget her domineering boyfriend.

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I haven't seen a lot of Tracy/Hepburn movies, but I can see the wonderful chemistry the two have on screen.

This film came across as a rather "fluffy" piece of work, not to be taken too seriously, but I doubt it was intended that way. Perhaps it's a sign of changing times, or perhaps it's Cuckor's direction which kept it from getting maudlin. Hard to say.

I enjoyed the movie, but I always had trouble buying into Katharine Hepburn being as submissive as she was around her fiancee, and how modest she was about her incredible athletic talents.

Aldo Ray as the bumbling boxer was a delight to watch, and it was a real kick to see a few other stars making early, minor role appearance here.

Worth watching.