The Aviator (2004)- Page 2

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 12/29/04 at 1:02am

Oh, my friend, I have written about a dozen posts about Finding Neverland.

To sum it all up, I found the dialogue cliched and weak as hell, the score an irritating rehash of so many afterschool specials, the themes about "believing" and "giving in to childlike impulses" overly simplistic, and the pacing really slow. It also severely underused Kate Winslet, which is like a sin to me because I love her so much. As far as my seemingly bizarre appreciation for The Aviator goes... well, some dull moments aside, it's a film about OCD, Old Hollywood, early film and aviation technology, and other topics that just interest me much more than Finding Neverland's dialogue on dying and rekindling youth (which really didn't amount to much for me since I've been forced to deal with those issues on much more complex terms this year). I guess it's ultimately just a matter of personal taste. I can see why others would like it.

Kinsey, IMO, is brilliant and amazing... but for some reason I've encountered more detractors for it than I have for any other film released this fall. Sideways is also very intelligently written and left me with the feeling that I had just experienced something special. This hasn't been a bad year at the cineplex for me.

Unfortunately, I've never seen Being Julia so I can't say whether or not Annette Benning should win the Oscar. She was terrific in American Beauty. It'll be a slap in the face for her if she's nominated and loses to Hilary Swank, AGAIN! :-P

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 12/29/04 at 1:07am

I understand why you didn't like NEVERLAND now, I can see what you mean.

Your post reminded me of another thing - THE AVIATOR and OCD. I felt like too early in the movie I was getting the message of "see this? this is early ocd. remember this. we'll show something else in 5 minutes - he has ocd." It was like OCD overkill in the beginning and I just didn't buy it.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 12/29/04 at 1:23am

Right. I'm a real turn of the century fanatic (which perhaps calls into question my dislike of Finding Neverland even more, lol) so I wouldn't have minded if more time had been spent portraying Hughes' childhood as it related to the rest of the film's events. Obviously that one incident with his mother couldn't have fully defined the rest of his life. What we don't get from that scene is a sense of why he chose aviation. Why was the man afraid of germs but not of something more deadly?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 12/29/04 at 1:26am

I thought the first scene was completely unnecessary - it just confused me. There's no way one meticulous bath would cause OCD. I'm no expert on the topic, but I'm pretty sure you're born with OCD - you don't develop it and you can't be taught it. I might be wrong.

Also - doesn't this movie take place over a 20 year span? Why did not one single person in the entire film age?

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 12/29/04 at 2:16am

Those are good questions. And in all likelihood, Scorsese has good answers for them. He's so educated about every period film he makes that what ends up on the screen is in some ways more appropriate for viewing by the cognoscenti than the rest of us. No doubt about it, he's an intellectual filmmaker.

We've come along way in understanding OCD since the first half of the 20th century. My guess is that the first scene was reflective of how Hughes understood his disorder - as something that emerged in his childhood - rather than how modern science would understand it.

That's a good point about no one appearing to have physically aged (beside Hughes with his facial hair and new haircut). Kinsey does a better job of this. Updated On: 12/29/04 at 02:16 AM

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 12/29/04 at 2:32am

I'm sure he does have answers - he's not a dumb guy, they just weren't clear to me. So you said you HAVEN'T seen PHANTOM yet, correct?

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 12/29/04 at 2:36am

As tempted as I am to see Phantom just for the costumes, sets and Minnie Driver - who costarred in some of the best Will & Grace episodes - I'm backing out unless I can sneak into a screening for free. The music isn't my type. I prefer the more eclectic scores for Chicago, Rent and Ragtime.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 12/29/04 at 2:42am

You would call CHICAGO eclectic?

I would say definitely go see PHANTOM - what's the harm? You've seen almost everything else. It's not as bad as people make it out to seem. Minnie DRiver is HYSTERICAL in the movie.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 12/29/04 at 2:55am

Sure it's all jazz but there's great tone variation between All That Jazz and We Both Reached for the Gun, to name only the two best examples.

I will see Phantom eventually but Bad Education, Hotel Rwanda and The Incredibles are top priority. Apparently I haven't seen almost everything that's worth seeing. The Motorcycle Diaries was one of my most anticipated films of the year, but now it's practically left theaters and I never got around to seeing it!

[Jon]

Posted: 12/29/04 at 7:21am

I thought they did a good, subtle job with the aging of the characters. I believed Hughes was a kid in his 20's when working on HELL'S ANGELS, and I believed he was in his 40's when ap[pearing before Congress. They also ages John C. O'Reilly nicely, giving him a full head of hair at the beginning and having him balding later.

[broadway86]

Posted: 12/29/04 at 9:39am

I saw "The Assassination of Richard Nixon" last night. While the movie was very good, Sean Penn delivered one of the most stunning performances I have seen in years. I doubt he'll get any recognition for it, but he deserves it.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 3:07pm

I saw The Aviator over the weekend and I liked it. I think it needs about 30 minutes of trimming, but it was ok. Leo does a good job, but as usual, I credit the director for his performance. Outside Gilbert Grape, I have not seen anything especially noteworthy in his performances. He's been in some very good movies, but I haven't seen anything as genuine as his work in Gilbert Grape. In Aviator, he never really became Hughes for me and, especially for a Scorsese film, I thought the eentire film was pretty "safe" in its treatment. Blanchett was ok, but I really didn't consider it an award-winning performance and I actually thought the Hepburn sequence was much too long and detracted from the essence of the story. It certainly does have the sweeping romantic feel of a safe, if not ill-deserved, Best Picture win much like that of A Beautiful Mind, The English Patient or Out of Africa. All of them were pretty, warm, lush, romantic films, but not necessarily the best, or even most memorable, films of their respective years.

Updated On: 1/5/05 at 03:07 PM

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 7:25pm

I pretty much agree with you 100%. Although I would give Leo his Oscar, and maybe even Scorcesse, it doesn't deserve much else.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 1/4/05 at 8:00pm

Blanchett's performance is so entertaining that when she was off the screen, I kept asking myself, "Where is she???" That said, it really was a comical imitation more than a sincere interpretation of Hepburn. I think Laura Linney should win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Kinsey. I also think that Kinsey should win Best Picture... Updated On: 1/4/05 at 08:00 PM