fpw Wrote:....But toward the end of the film I was greatly saddened because it’s ultimately tragic. Here was an innovator, a dreamer, a driving force in films and aviation, brought down by his neurotransmitters. By the time he died in 1976 – attended by Mormons, the only people he would hire because their blood was “untainted” – he was unrecognizable. Had to be fingerprinted to be identified. If we’d had SSRIs like Prozac and Paxil available back in the 1940s, the second half of his life might have been completely different.

Maggers Wrote:About Hughes and your comments above, do you think he would have taken the medication were it available? Did he trust physicians enough to listen to them? Of course, the lack of trust is a manifestation of the illness. Intersesting line of thought.

fpw Wrote:Mary and I will often go to the movies and see different films. Yesterday I wanted to see Constantine and she wanted to see Sideways. We compromised on The Aviator (which promised to be more a big-screen film than Sideways).

I wasn’t expecting to hate it, but I sure as hell didn’t expect to be blown away.

It’s a somewhat (okay, more than somewhat) sanitized version of roughly the first half of Howard Hughes’s life. I’m amazed at what he accomplished in those 42 years. The film also shows his growing paranoia and the obsessive-compulsive tendencies that would turn him into a mad recluse toward the end of his life.

I’m also amazed at the performances. If DiCaprio wins an Oscar for it, he well deserves it. (Pace, Maggers – I haven’t seen Ray yet.)

But what adds to the film are the supporting star turns by the two Kates: Blanchett and Beckinsale. Blanchett’s portrayal of another Kate – Hepburn – is so dead on it’s scary. As if she were channeling Hepburn. I’ve always considered Kate Beckinsale just another pretty face, but she does a wonderful job as Ava Gardner.

I’ve rarely seen a movie I didn’t consider too long and this was no exception. A good 15 minutes could have been easily cut – especially from Hughes’s prolonged breakdown as Pan Am and Senator Brewster (great smarmy portrayal by Alan Alda) were conspiring to put him out of business.

But Hughes gets his act together and you want to cheer at his in-your-face testimony during Brewster’s trumped-up hearings.

Worth seeing.

But toward the end of the film I was greatly saddened because it’s ultimately tragic. Here was an innovator, a dreamer, a driving force in films and aviation, brought down by his neurotransmitters. By the time he died in 1976 – attended by Mormons, the only people he would hire because their blood was “untainted” – he was unrecognizable. Had to be fingerprinted to be identified. If we’d had SSRIs like Prozac and Paxil available back in the 1940s, the second half of his life might have been completely different.

Maggers Wrote:Well, I saw "The Aviator" today and was very disappointed.

I literally had a hard time staying awake, which is unlike me at a movie. It acted as a soporific and nearly lulled me to sleep. The movie began at noon and seemed so long that I thought for sure it would be dark outside by the time I left the theater.

DiCaprio was terrific, but he is still so young, so youthful in his demeanor and appearance, that I have a hard time seeing him as a 40 year old.

I was most let down by Kate Blanchett, whom I absolutely adore. This is the first movie in which I was aware that I was watching Kate Blanchett acting. Unlike Jamie Foxx in "Ray," where I completely forgot about Jamie Foxx and was thoroughly entranced watching Ray Charles, I had to keep reminding myself that the red-headed character on screen was supposed to be Katherine Hepburn.

And Alan Alda was SO BROOKLYN! He schmoozed his way through this part; no way was he a senator from Maine.

Interestingly, Scorsese's use of the color blue was striking. In nearly every scene, there was a gorgeous splash of sky blue, whether in DiCaprio's eyes or Ava Gardener's dress. Blue skies nothing but blue skies....

The art direction was great and the costumes were beautiful. Betcha it wins Oscars for both of those categories. But please, not best film. No way.

Fiddlesticks! I was really looking forward to this movie, and I was let down on all accounts.

I know that few people agree with me on this movie, except the friends with whom I saw the film. It was crowded and we wound up not sitting together. When we met at the end of the movie, we were each of us embarrassed to acknowledge that we nearly feel asleep. Then we realized we all did the same thing! One of us actually did drop off and woke to to find Alan Alda on screen with no idea how he got there.

Ahh well, to each his own, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it takes all kinds....What would this world be if we all agreed on everything. Boring, that's what!

Susan Wrote:I have to agree that the first 30 minutes was terribly boring. John and I almost left. But the middle and ending made up for it, in my opinion.

susan Wrote:I thought Kate Blanchett's first few minutes of screen time as Katherine Hepburn were WAY over the top. It felt so false, but by the end she seemed to fall more into the character very well.

susan Wrote:DiCaprio was terrific, even though he is very young. I also really liked Alan Alda and didn't notice the accent discrepancies.

Maggers Wrote:And I hope Morgan Freeman gets it, if not necessarily for his work in "Million Dollar Baby," which was great as Morgan Freeman always is, then for his entire career. You know how they do that with Oscars - it becomes the We-should-have-given-it-to-him-for-"Driving-Miss-Daisy" award. But that's OK by me. I love Morgan Freeman and would love to see him win an Oscar, I don't care for what.