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STAR TREK - YahooEntertainment: Patrick Stewart gives a few detail on his upcoming "Star Trek" series for the streaming CBS All Access.
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COMICS-FILM - From THR: James Gunn in talks to direct the Warner Bros./DC Comics film, "Suicide Squad."
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MOVIES - From Collider: Zendaya is being considered to play Timothy Chalamet's love interest in the "Dune" film reboot.
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STREAMING - From BloodyDisgusting: Jordan Peele's reboot of "The Twilight Zone" will debut on CBS All Access in April.
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COMICS-FILM - From THR: Writer-director Matt Reeves says his film, "The Batman" (due in 2021), will focus on Batman's detective roots and feature multiple villains from Batman's "Rogue's Gallery."
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STREAMING - From THR: Zack Snyder has signed on to direct Netflix's "Army of the Dead," a zombie thriller movie.
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MOVIES - From THR: Ryan Reynolds to star in action-comedy, "Shotgun Wedding," for director Jason Moore ("Pitch Perfect").
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MUSIC-GRAMMYS - From YahooEntertainment: Brandi Carlile, the most nominated woman at the 2019 Grammys, talks to Yahoo about Joni Mitchell, President Barack Obama and "internalized and institutionalized misogyny."
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CELEBRITY-CRIME - From Variety: Jussie Smollett, one of the stars of FOX's "Empire," was hospitalized early Tuesday (Jan. 29th), following an assault in Chicago in what has been described as a "possible hate crime."
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MOVIES - From ThePlaylist: Lakeith Stanfield will star in Jordan Peele's "Candyman" reboot.
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MOVIES - From Variety: Oscar Isaac joins Timothy Chalamet in the film reboot of the "Dune," based on Frank Herbert's legendary novel.
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TELEVISION - From TheWrap: David Mancini and David Kirschner, the creators of the "Child's Play" and "Chuck" film franchise are developing a Chucky TV series for Syfy.
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STREAMING - From Deadline: NEON and Hulu land Lupita Nyong'o's zombie comedy, "Little Monsters."
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OSCARS - From TheCut: What growing up in Hollywood and around the Academy Awards taught actress Amber Tamblyn about the "boys' club." Tamblyn is the daughter of the Oscar-nominated actor, Russ Tamblyn.
MOVIES - From BleedingCool: Universal's "Dark Universe" may be retitled "Undead Dark Universe." This may happen via the "Invisible Man" (1933) remake produced by Jason Blum and his Blumhouse Productions.
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MOVIES - From Newsarama: Release dates for upcoming science fiction, fantasy, and genre films.
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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 1/25 to 1/27/2019 weekend box office is "Glass" with an estimated take of $19 million.
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AWARDS - From People: Alan Alda is the "2019 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award" winner. "People" magazine provides this life in pictures.
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AWARDS - From THR: Here is a complete list of winners at the 2019 / 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards winners. Disney/Marvel's "Black Panther" wins the tops honor.
The 25th Annual SAG Awards ceremony will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS tonight (Jan. 27, 2019 at 8 p.m. ET/PT). Four-time SAG Award-winner, Megan Mullaly, will host tonight's ceremony.
Here is the full list of nominations:
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role:
Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody” - WINNER
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”
John David Washington, “BlacKkKlansman”
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role:
Emily Blunt, “Mary Poppins Returns”
Glenn Close, “The Wife” - WINNER
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role:
Mahershala Ali, “Green Book” - WINNER
Timothee Chalamet, “Beautiful Boy”
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role:
Amy Adams, “Vice”
Emily Blunt, “A Quiet Place” - WINNER
Margot Robbie, “Mary Queen of Scots”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:
“A Star Is Born”
“Black Panther” - WINNER
The cast for "Black Panther" – Angela Bassett, Chadwick Boseman, Sterling K. Brown, Winston Duke, Martin Freeman, Danai Gurira, Michael B. Jordan, Daniel Kaluuya, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Forest Whitaker, and Letitia Wright
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Crazy Rich Asians”
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries:
Antonio Banderas, “Genius: Picasso”
Darren Criss, “Assassination of Gianni Versace” - WINNER
Hugh Grant, “A Very English Scandal”
Anthony Hopkins, “King Lear”
Bill Pullman, “The Sinner”
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries:
Amy Adams, “Sharp Objects”
Patricia Arquette, “Escape at Dannemora” - WINNER
Patricia Clarkson, “Sharp Objects”
Penelope Cruz, “Assassination of Gianni Versace”
Emma Stone, “Maniac”
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series:
Jason Bateman, “Ozark” - WINNER
Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”
Joseph Fiennes, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
John Krasinski, “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”
Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series:
Julia Garner, “Ozark”
Laura Linney, “Ozark”
Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Sandra Oh, “Killing Eve” - WINNER
Robin Wright, “House of Cards”
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series:
Alan Arkin, “The Kominsky Method”
Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”
Bill Hader, “Barry”
Tony Shalhoub, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” - WINNER
Henry Winkler, “Barry”
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series:
Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Alison Brie, “GLOW”
Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” - WINNER
Jane Fonda, “Grace and Frankie”
Lily Tomlin, “Grace and Frankie”
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series:
“The Americans”
“Better Call Saul”
“The Handmaid’s Tale”
“Ozark”
“This Is Us” - WINNER
Cast of "This Is Us" – Eris Baker, Sterling K. Brown, Niles Fitch, Mackenzie Hancsicsak, Justin Hartley, Faithe Herman, Jon Huertas, Melanie Liburd, Chrissy Metz, Mandy Moore, Lyric Ross, Chris Sullivan, Milo Ventimiglia, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Hannah Zeile
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series:
“Atlanta”
“Barry”
“GLOW”
“The Kominsky Method”
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” - WINNER
Cast of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" – Caroline Aaron, Alex Borstein, Rachel Brosnahan, Marin Hinkle, Zachary Levi, Kevin Pollak, Tony Shalhoub, Brian Tarantina, and Michael Zegen
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series:
“Glow” - WINNER
“Marvel’s: Daredevil”
“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”
“The Walking Dead”
“Westworld”
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture:
“Ant-Man and the Wasp”
“Avengers: Infinity War”
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
“Black Panther” - WINNER
“Mission: Impossible – Fallout”
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MOVIES - From Polygon: Polygon is at Sundance to discover movies you should know about
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PIXAR - From BleedingCool: Did you know that Keanu Reeves has a character in "Toy Story 4?"
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COMICS-FILM - From Deadline: Warner Bros. and director James Wan has begin developing a sequel to the hit film, "Aquaman." Wan is seeking a "seaworthy script."
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POLITICS-CRIME - From MediaMatters: A comprehensive guide to indicted President Trump ally Roger Stone, the racist, sexist conspiracy theorist.
OBITS:
From Variety: The prolific actor, Dick Miller, has died at the age of 90, Wednesday, January 30, 2019. If you saw a picture of Miller, you would know that you have seen him in film or on TV. He appeared in every film directed by Joe Dante, including "Gremlins" and "Gremlins 2." He also appeared in "The Terminator," among his over 180 acting credits.
From ConsequenceofSound: Grammy-winning R&B singer and songwriter, James Ingram, has died at the age of 66, Tuesday, January 29, 2019. Ingram, known for hits like "Baby, Come to Me" and "I Don't Have the Heart," won two Grammys for his vocal performances. He was nominated twice for Oscars for his songwriting.
Showing posts with label Alan Alda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alan Alda. Show all posts
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Monday, February 6, 2017
Review: Tom Hanks is Magnificent in "Bridge of Spies"
Bridge of Spies (2015)
Running time: 141 minutes (2 hours, 21 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some violence and brief strong language
DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg
WRITERS: Matt Charman and Ethan Coen and Joel Coen
PRODUCERS: Kristie Macosko Krieger, Marc Platt, and Steven Spielberg
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Janusz Kaminski
EDITOR: Michael Kahn
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman
Academy Award winner
DRAMA/HISTORICAL/THRILLER
Starring: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Amy Ryan, Alan Alda, Austin Stowell, Will Rogers, Sebastian Koch, Jillian Lebling, Noah Schnapp, Eve Hewson, and Jesse Plemons
Bridge of Spies is a 2015 historical drama from director Steve Spielberg. This American-German co-production is based on the true story of lawyer James B. Donovan, who negotiated the exchange of a Soviet KGB spy, who was captured and convicted in the United States, for an American U-2 pilot, who was captured and imprisoned in the Soviet Union. The film's title apparently refers to the place, Glienicke Bridge, where the exchange of prisoners took place.
Bridge of Spies opens in Brooklyn, New York in 1957. The FBI is watching suspected Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), who lives alone as a painter of portraits. Believing that he has recently retrieved a secret message, the FBI agents arrest him. Because he refuses to cooperate, the FBI tries Abel, but the U.S. government wants Abel to get a “fair trial” as counter-propaganda to any Soviet propaganda and also to show the world that America is true to its ideals. [Yeah, segregation and Jim Crow: I get the irony.]
The bar association chooses insurance attorney James B. “Jim” Donovan (Tom Hanks) to defend Abel. Donovan, who had previously worked on the prosecutions of Nazi war crimes in the Nuremberg trials, takes his work as Abel's attorney seriously. However, his firm, the prosecuting attorneys, and the judge want Donovan only to go through the motions. When he refuses and puts all his efforts into saving Abel's life, his professional and social position, as well as his family, suffer for it.
Some time after these events, military pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell) flies a U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union, where he is shot down and captured. The USSR proposes a prisoner exchange: Powers for Abel, and Donovan agrees to handle the negotiations. After he arrives in communist East Germany where the exchange is to take place, Donovan finds numerous complications and competing interests – on all sides. If he is to complete his mission, Donovan will have to decide what is the best deal, but his life and freedom will be on the line.
Tom Hanks has been one of the world's best English-speaking actors of the last four decades. If he painted his house, he could make that look like a major moment in another Oscar-worthy performance. Hanks is a true movie star, not a faker like those young white male actors who are treated like A-list talent only because they have appeared in a hit action or superhero movie.
Hanks can carry a movie, and so, he carries Bridge of Spies, and not because this is a mediocre movie that needs to be propped up. Bridge of Spies is a superbly written period piece that deftly balances the social and political arguments and points of contention of the late 1950s and early 1960s with riveting spy drama and international intrigue.
Of course, director Steven Spielberg makes Bridge of Spies a historical drama with bite in two ways. First, he draws out excellent performances from his cast by allowing veteran actors to do what they do best – fashion the characters on the page of a script into characters on the screen that genuinely feel like real people (as is the case with Mark Rylance as “Rudolf Abel”). Secondly, Spielberg captures the tensions of the time and recreates the Cold War as a moody film that evokes classic Hollywood Film-Noir with the gravitas of a muscular stage drama.
Still, the script, the directing, and the supporting actors are satellites drawn to the gravity and brilliance of Bridge of Spies' sun, Tom Hanks. The best of America is exemplified in Hanks' Jim Donovan, and Hanks is up to the task of making this character an exemplar, rather than a caricature spouting corny bromides. When Donovan tells a CIA agent tailing him what the Constitution of the United States means to a country full of people from a multitude of backgrounds, his words ring out from film and become a beacon – the true shining light on a hill.
Bridge of Spies is an excellent movie, but what makes it exceptional is Tom Hanks giving one of the best performances of his career. That Hanks did not receive an Oscar, BAFTA, or Golden Globe nomination for this performance speaks to the fact that we have come to take a great American film star for granted.
9 of 10
A+
Sunday, May 22, 2016
NOTES:
2016 Academy Awards, USA: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Mark Rylance); 5 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt, and Kristie Macosko Krieger), “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, and Joel Coen), “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score” (Thomas Newman), “Best Achievement in Sound Mixing” (Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, and Drew Kunin), and “Best Achievement in Production Design” (Adam Stockhausen-production design, Rena DeAngelo-set decoration, and Bernhard Henrich-set decoration)
2016 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Mark Rylance)
2016 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Supporting Actor” (Mark Rylance); 8 nominations: “Best Film” (Kristie Macosko Krieger, Marc Platt, and Steven Spielberg), “David Lean Award for Direction “ (Steven Spielberg), “Best Original Screenplay” (Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, and Joel Coen), “Best Cinematography” (Janusz Kaminski), “Best Editing” (Michael Kahn), “Best Production Design” (Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo, and Bernhard Henrich), “Best Original Music” (Thomas Newman), and “Best Sound” (Drew Kunin, Richard Hymns, Andy Nelson, and Gary Rydstrom)
The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
Monday, January 30, 2017
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Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Review "Murder at 1600" Surprises (Happy B'day, Diane Lane)
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 10 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux
Murder at 1600 (1997)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – R for sexuality, violence and some language
DIRECTOR: Dwight H. Little
WRITERS: Wayne Beach and David Hodgin
PRODUCERS: Arnold Kopelson and Arnon Milchan
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Steven Bernstein (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Leslie Jones and Billy Weber
COMPOSER: Christopher Young
DRAMA/CRIME/THRILLER with elements of action
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Diane Lane, Daniel Benzali, Dennis Miller, Alan Alda, Ronny Cox, Diane Baker, Tate Donovan, and Harris Yulin
The subject of this movie review is Murder at 1600, a 1997 crime and detective thriller from director Dwight H. Little and starring Wesley Snipes and Diane Lane. The film follows a homicide detective and a secret service agent as they try to unravel the conspiracy surrounding a young female staffer found dead in a White House wash room.
Washington D. C. Police Homicide Detective Harlan Regis (Wesley Snipes) gets a call that there has been a murder at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the address of the White House. When he arrives, he discovers the body of a slain young woman, and it is obvious that the Secret Service has already tampered with and removed evidence from the crime scene. He immediately suspects a cover up.
Through a lot of effort, he eventually convinces Secret Service Agent Nina Chance (Diane Lane) to join him in the murder investigation. From that point, they operate through a myriad of roadblocks and obstacles. They are constantly on the run from murderous pursuers and others intent on stopping the investigation. Raising the intensity level, the murder occurs during a touchy international incident between the United States and North Korea.
Directed by veteran helmsman Dwight H. Little (episodes of “The Practice” and Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home), Murder at 1600 is a surprisingly intriguing and exciting movie. With elements of suspense, mystery, and drama, it is something of a thriller and an action movie. Little expertly paces them film so that there is never a dull moment. Something’s always just around the corner, and some seemingly nefarious person is always in the next room. Add the element of government paid snipers and assassins, and the result is a nice edge of your seat picture - a chase movie for grown ups.
The writers Wayne Beach and the late David Hodgin do a wonderful job creating a single plot line that neatly divides into other interesting plot lines. Very little is thrown away in this movie. Like a classic whodunit, the suspects and motives pile on, but not like crap on the wall. Rather, it’s like a complex puzzle, with not too many pieces, for the viewer it’s an engaging challenge to put together.
Wesley Snipes has always wanted to be an action movie badass, but his gift is in his untapped acting talent. His rock solid good looks and thespian skills make him a natural leading man in the old Hollywood tradition (Kirk Douglas or Humphrey Bogart). Like them, he is best in dramas that are suspenseful and intriguing. He carries this movie on his strong shoulders even when the movie action becomes implausible.
Diane Lane (“Lonesome Dove”) is also another surprise. She is a natural beauty, more earthy than doll-like without a model’s overdone and artificial looks. She’s a woman’s woman – gritty and determined to do her job. Her Nina Chance is the ideal partner to Snipes' Regis. She isn’t the typical action movie female baggage; she holds her own, and she gets to pull Regis out of the fire a few times.
Ronny Cox as President Jack Neil and Alan Alda as Alvin Jordan, National Security Advisor are very good and quite intense in their parts. Both are seemingly determined and over anxious to “be real” in their parts. Dennis Miller makes a light add-on to the story and manages to serve a function, but nothing, not even his light part, hurts this movie.
Murder at 1600 isn’t by any means great, but it is very good and somewhat smart entertainment. The last fifteen minutes or so is an exercise in the implausible, and is often inadvertently funny. However, there is something to be said for making a movie that could have been bad quite enjoyable.
6 of 10
B
Updated: Wednesday, January 22, 2014
The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.
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Sunday, November 6, 2011
Review: "Tower Heist" Captures Classic Eddie Murphy
Tower Heist (2011)
Running time: 104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for language and sexual content
DIRECTOR: Brett Ratner
WRITERS: Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson; from a story by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, and Ted Griffin
PRODUCERS: Brian Grazer, Eddie Murphy, and Kim Roth
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dante Spinotti
EDITOR: Mark Helfrich
COMPOSER: Christophe Beck
COMEDY/CRIME with elements of a thriller
Starring: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Stephen Henderson, Judd Hirsch, Téa Leoni, Michael Peña, Gabourey Sidibe, Nina Arianda, Marcia Jean Kurtz, and Juan Carlos Hernandez
Tower Heist is a 2011 crime comedy from director Brett Ratner (the Rush Hour franchise). The film follows the misadventures of a gang of working stiffs who plot to rob a Wall Street tycoon who stole their pensions. Tower Heist is a comic caper that lives up to the comedy part, and the film’s actors deliver on their characters, especially Eddie Murphy who returns to the kind of character that made him popular in the 1980s.
Tower Heist focuses on Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller), the building manager of The Tower, a high-rise luxury apartment complex in New York City’s Columbus Circle (Manhattan). The residents are wealthy and are used to being catered to, and the building’s security is no joke. Still, Josh has everything under control until the Tower’s most noteworthy tenant, wealthy businessman, Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), is arrested by the FBI for running a Ponzi scheme. It was Kovacs who suggested that Shaw invest the Tower employees’ pension fund, and now that money is also apparently gone.
When FBI agent Claire Denham (Téa Leoni) tells him that Shaw may get away with his crimes, Josh decides to get revenge on Shaw by breaking into his apartment to steal from him. He gathers fellow coworkers: his brother-in-law, Charlie Gibbs (Casey Affleck); a bankrupt Wall Street investor, Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick); bellhop Enrique Dev’reaux (Michael Peña), and Jamaican-born maid, Odessa Montero (Gabourey Sidibe) as his crew. Josh knows, however, that his crew needs a real criminal, so he recruits his neighbor, a petty crook named Slide (Eddie Murphy), to assist them in the robbery. But as determined as they are, things keep getting in their way.
Tower Heist is not really a heist film like the edgier The Italian Job (either version) or the cool and clever Ocean’s Eleven (2001) and its sequels. Tower Heist is comic fluff – successful comic fluff, but still fluff, and its concepts, ideas, and set pieces are utter fantasy. Things happen in this movie that are so unbelievable that they are often funny; it’s ridiculous stuff, but quite amusing.
The real treasures in Tower Heist are the actors and their characters. The story that is Tower Heist is Josh Kovacs’ story, and Ben Stiller, who has been a successful leading man in big screen comedies for well over a decade, is funny. However, Stiller gives the film a surprising dramatic heft by giving Kovacs a dark and melancholy side that simmers right alongside this movie’s humor – even if many viewers may not see it.
Eddie Murphy, in his role as Slide, has done what many critics (and some fans) have been demanding for over two decades – return to playing the wiseass who makes being rude, confrontational, and streetwise a gold standard. This kind of character, in one form or another, appeared in early Murphy films like 48 Hrs., Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop and at various time during Murphy’s tenure on “Saturday Night Live” (1980-84), yet in this film, that kind of character still seems fresh. The reason for this may be that Murphy plays Slide as a genuine criminal, a confrontational person who may appear comical, but who is actually an opportunistic career criminal and felon that is dangerous and untrustworthy. Slide is a real hood rat and is good for the film’s conflict and tension. He makes you believe that this heist has a better than 50% chance of going really bad.
There are other good supporting performances: Téa Leoni (who should have had a larger role), Matthew Broderick, and Alan Alda (who makes Arthur Shaw seem like a really nasty piece of work). I’ll also give credit for Tower Heist’s success as a comedy to both director Brett Ratner and editor Mark Helfrich. Ratner allows the actors room to play their characters for strong (if not maximum) effect. Helfrich composes a film that makes sure the comic moments are really funny and turns the heist sequence into a surprising thriller. I’d like to be a snob about this sometimes shallow and fluffy movie, but I really enjoyed Tower Heist. So why front?
7 of 10
A-
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Review: Scorsese, DiCaprio Revived Old Hollywood Style with "The Aviator"
The Aviator (2004)
Running time: 170 minutes (2 hours, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, nudity, language, and a crash sequence
DIRECTOR: Martin Scorsese
WRITER: John Logan
PRODUCERS: Sandy Climan, Charles Evans, Jr., Graham King, and Michael Mann
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Richardson
EDITOR: Thelma Schoonmaker
Academy Award winner
DRAMA
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Ian Holm, Danny Huston, Adam Scott, Matt Ross, Gwen Stefani, Jude Law, Brent Spiner, Willem Dafoe, Kelli Garner, and Frances Conroy
Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator recounts the years of Howard Hughes’ (Leonardo DiCaprio) life from the late 1920’s to the late 1940’s. In that epoch, the eccentric billionaire industrialist was a Hollywood film mogul producing scandalous and infamous films. However, he was best known even in Hollywood as the daring pilot who was test flying innovative aircraft he built and designed. The film begins with Hughes’ four-year odyssey making his war epic film, Hell’s Angels, and ends with him preparing to take the next big steps in aeronautics after the successful flight of his giant wooden plane he called The Hercules, but others derogatorily called the Spruce Goose. In between, the wealthy playboy has passionate but doomed affairs with legendary actress Katherine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) and the no-nonsense, independent starlet, Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale). Hughes, owner of TWA (Trans World Airlines), also has a feud with Juan Trippe (Alec Baldwin), owner of Pan Am Airlines, and Senator Ralph Owen Brewster (Alan Alda), a Maine senator in Trippe’s pocket.
The Aviator has three things going for it. First, it’s a brilliant technical achievement in terms of its special effects and photography (easily the year’s best). Secondly, Martin Scorsese’s directorial effort is spectacular, not in terms of being showy, but because of his choices. For instance, he designed each year in the film to look just like color film from that time period would have looked. The photographic color technique actually drives the film narrative forward. Whereas, his 2002 film Gangs of New York, fell apart by basically tacking on a fourth act, The Aviator almost, but doesn’t fall apart by the end of it’s nearly three-hour running time. The Aviator is lively and energetic, and, at times, seems as if it is actually a film made in the golden age of Hollywood. Only a few moments of weirdness (especially an ending that hints at or suggests Hughes ultimately disintegration) hamper (barely) the film. Still, the good moments, such as the aerial scenes, both flights and crashes, may finally earn Scorsese an Oscar. [It didn't; Clint Eastwood won for Million Dollar Baby.]
The acting more than anything else makes this a special film. It goes without saying that Leonardo DiCaprio gives a great performance. He makes Howard Hughes his own, and turns him into a magnetic presence that stalks the film stage as if he were the king of the world. However, it is Hughes’ mentally unstable side that hamstrings DiCaprio’s performance. That part of the act is more odd and embarrassing than skillful. Although I personally don’t like people imitating Katherine Hepburn, Cate Blanchett does a fine job turning a caricature into an engaging, three-dimensional character. However, Kate Beckinsale’s turn as Ava Gardner is a scene-stealer, and Ms. Beckinsale makes Ms. Gardner an intriguing and appealing figure. Suffice to say, the rest of the supporting cast also go a long way to making this a cinema must-see.
9 of 10
A+
NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 5 wins: “Best Achievement in Art Direction” (Dante Ferretti-art director and Francesca Lo Schiavo-set decorator), “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Robert Richardson), “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Sandy Powell), “Best Achievement in Editing” (Thelma Schoonmaker), and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Cate Blanchett); 6 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Michael Mann and Graham King), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Martin Scorsese), “Best Achievement in Sound Mixing” (Tom Fleischman and Petur Hliddal), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Leonardo DiCaprio), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Alan Alda), and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (John Logan)
2005 BAFTA Awards: 4 wins: “Best Film” (Michael Mann, Sandy Climan, Graham King, and Charles Evans Jr.), “Best Make Up/Hair” (Morag Ross, Kathryn Blondell, and Sian Grigg), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Cate Blanchett), “Best Production Design” (Dante Ferretti); 10 nominations: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Howard Shore), “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Robert Legato, Peter G. Travers, Matthew Gratzner, and R. Bruce Steinheimer), “Best Cinematography” (Robert Richardson), “Best Costume Design” (Sandy Powell), “Best Editing” (Thelma Schoonmaker), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Leonardo DiCaprio), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Alan Alda), “Best Screenplay – Original” (John Logan), “Best Sound” (Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Petur Hliddal, and Tom Fleischman), and “David Lean Award for Direction” (Martin Scorsese)
2005 Golden Globes: 3 wins: “Best Motion Picture – Drama” “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (Howard Shore), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Leonardo DiCaprio); 3 nominations: “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Martin Scorsese), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Cate Blanchett), and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (John Logan)
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