I was really pulling for Scorcese for Best Director. Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Gangs Of New York and now The Aviator were all worthy of winning Best Picture and Director awards yet Hollywood sends Marty home empty handed again. Twenty years from now the Academy will toss him a lifetime achievment award as a consolation for all the times they screwed that poor man over.

He's in proud company. Hitchcock and Kubrick went 0-10.

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!

Saw this so very long ago but found myself longing to see the miniseries "The Amazing Howard Hughes" again with Tommy Lee Jones.

I did not understand the fundamental/fascinating aspect/truth of Hughes'life-- his love/passion/obsession with flying and after sitting for 3 hours, this above all else should have been obvious and evident to those who invest their time in coming to see this version of his life. A version truncated at best. As my father said, Hughes was a remarkable man and visionary and to only be given a snapshot of this life was a cheat.

Scorese may be the finest techincal director around but without the resulting emotional investment by the audience, the film can almost be said to play as dress-up. Leo was only believable toward the end of the film as Hughes was slowly discending into his own private hell.

Blanchett was eerie in her evocation of the late Kate Hepburn but I found Beckinsdale to be totally unconvincing as Ava Gardner. As one of the women told me where I work, Beckinsdale did a very poor job when you realize how beautiful Ava Gardner was and how Beckinsdale paled in comparasion and was no match for Blanchett.

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.

Maggers-
Dr Wilson makes some interesting points. As you know, I am a shrink, and OCD is my specialty. That is basically what I treat all day long. For an interesting look into Howard Hughes's OCD, read Tormenting Thoughts and Secret Rituals by Ian Osbourne.
What is sad is that even if SSRI's such as Prozac had been invented back then, there is a good chance he never would have been offered them, much less taken them. Remember, because he was so rich, he was ill, he was 'eccentric'. Also, because of his money, the people around him had good reason to keep him very sick, and to not allow him to get well again. It is ironic, but mental health treatment is one area where the rich often get away with being sick, because they are financially able to be sick. Howie Mandel has OCD, yet he doesn't get treatment. He simply has bought a second house that can remain "uncontaminated" that no one else can go in but him. Regular folk can't afford that, and hence they get treatment.
None of this would be an issue if there was any kind of public understanding of mental illness. Our society continues to remain ignorant of this. Howard hughes suffered from a neurological condition. just because it happens to be a neurological condition treated by psychiatrists, people brush it off and dismiss it, and that is wrong.
Sorry, I'm off my soapbox now.

Maggers-
Dr Wilson makes some interesting points. As you know, I am a shrink, and OCD is my specialty. That is basically what I treat all day long. For an interesting look into Howard Hughes's OCD, read Tormenting Thoughts and Secret Rituals by Ian Osbourne.
What is sad is that even if SSRI's such as Prozac had been invented back then, there is a good chance he never would have been offered them, much less taken them. Remember, because he was so rich, he was ill, he was 'eccentric'. Also, because of his money, the people around him had good reason to keep him very sick, and to not allow him to get well again. It is ironic, but mental health treatment is one area where the rich often get away with being sick, because they are financially able to be sick. Howie Mandel has OCD, yet he doesn't get treatment. He simply has bought a second house that can remain "uncontaminated" that no one else can go in but him. Regular folk can't afford that, and hence they get treatment.
None of this would be an issue if there was any kind of public understanding of mental illness. Our society continues to remain ignorant of this. Howard hughes suffered from a neurological condition. just because it happens to be a neurological condition treated by psychiatrists, people brush it off and dismiss it, and that is wrong.
Sorry, I'm off my soapbox now.

Mr. Falcon,
Hurrah and a big hand shake for you! I am with you 100% on this. Having spent over two decades supporting psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health professionals in their treatment of the mentally ill, my hat is off to those in the profession. I do see how differently the poor are treated as well as how strikingly different the care of the rich can be, not necessarily to their betterment.

Just take a look at how medical insurance treats mental illness, and you will see a vast disparity in the reimbursement for treatment of an illness dealing with the mind vs one that affects the body. Granted, treatment for mental illness is generally greater in length and the outcome may be questionable due to a variety of factors, not the least of which is the patient him/herself. It's complicated, too complicated to go into here.

But I hear you.

Maggers

At last, this evening, I went to see The Aviator to theater. I enjoyed it.


I am Scorsese's movies fan. This is absolutely into his best 10 movies.

1, Taxi Driver
2, Goodfellas
3, Raging Bull
4, Gangs of New York
5, The Aviator
6, Cape Fear
7, King of Comedy
8, After Hours
9, Mean Street
10,Hustler 2

DiCaprio's performance was perfect, and other actors and actress were excellent,too. Especially Kate Blanchett and Alan Alda, they were outstanding.

By the way, when I saw Gwen Stefani's Jean Harlow, I thought "Ah, she was in Dydeetown World!".

But I'm very tired. Three hours were not problem. Cause is too many dialogues. Everybody's speech and talk were too quick. But I know, THAT'S Scorsese's movie.

I want to see "Hells Angels", btw.

I finally watched this movie yesterday and I hated it. I thought it was boring and way too long. I'm don't know much about Howard Hughes beyond what I learned in advance of the movie. I'm also not very familiar with Kathryn Hepburn or Ava Gardner so I can't comment on the actresses playing those parts. The costumes and sets were awesome, but the movie itself just seemed to drag on forever! I really wish I had those 3 hours back.