The Aviator review

 Number 835 on the top 1000 films of all time is Martin Scorsesee's biographical drama film 'The Aviator.'

'The Aviator' tells the true story of film and aviation titan Howard Hughes (Leonardo Dicaprio) from his childhood to his rise to a successful film producer and pioneer of the aviation industry, all while documenting his later struggles with severe OCD and germaphobia. 'The Aviator' also explores his relationships with famed actresses Katherine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) and Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale.) Rounding out the cast are notable heavyweights like Ian Holm, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Gwen Stefani and Willem Dafoe.

I've never been a fan of period-dramas. I find them overly-long, boring and lacking in drama and tension. This also extends to biopics and historical dramas. The Aviator was no exception. Objectively, I can understand why this would be fascinating subject-matter to some audiences. It is effectively about one of the early cinema pioneers. He produced some of the biggest films of the twenties and thirties including Scarface, the Racket and Hell's Angels. In fact, Hell's Angels and its the ground-breaking practices feature heavily within the Aviator.

Leonardo Dicaprio was Leonardo Dicaprio. He was charismatic enough, as the maverick and eccentric film mogul. He did earn the second of six Oscar nods for his portrayal, ultimately losing to Jamie Foxx who played Ray Charles. Honestly, I did think Jamie Foxx gave a better performance. However, where Leo didn't win an Oscar, Cate Blanchett did. She won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Katherine Hepburn. Again, she was good as far as the role went, but I'm not sure whether it was really Oscar-worthy. The portrayal felt very surface-level. Katherine Hepburn features heavily earlier on, before disappearing for much of the second-act to appear at the end as a Deux-ex-machina figure.

I also didn't think much of Kate Beckinsale who was pretty insipid as Ava Gardner or perhaps that's because she didn't have the best material. She didn't have that much to do throughout the film except be the target of Hughes' paranoid delusions.

Don't get me wrong, there were some great sequences in this film: Hughes catastrophically crashing his plane was heart-pounding, edge-of-the-seat stuff, while the portrayal of his declining mental health was well-directed and acted out. Dicaprio and Scorsesee worked extensively with UCLA's Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz aiming to portray OCD and germaphobia as accurately as possible ... although I may argue that Hughes recovered from this nadir a little too easily. Surely, it would take more than just a pep-talk from your old flames. But I guess that's just Hollywood.

The Aviator was entertaining enough, but, personally I don't much care for biopics or period-dramas. And that's more to do with me than any criticism of Scoresee or the Aviator itself.

Catch me if you Can review

 Number 371 on the top 1000 films of all time is Steven Spielberg's biographical comedy-drama 'Catch me if you Can.'

Based on a true story, Frank Abagnale Jr (Leonardo Dicaprio) was one of the most successful con-men and check forgers in history. All before his 19th birthday, he claimed to pose as a Pan-Am pilot, a doctor and a lawyer. Tom Hanks plays Carl Hanratty - the FBI agent tasked with tracking him down. Christopher Walken plays Frank Abagnale Sr and Amy Adams stars as Frank's girlfriend and later wife Brenda Strong.

This is a film that left very little impression on me. And that's surprising considering that it has serious star power. For one it's directed by Steven Spielberg. But it also stars Leonardo Dicaprio and Tom Hanks. By 2002, Spielberg had already built up a pretty impressive resume with hard-hitting dramas like Schindler's List or the Color Purple, but arguably he was best known for his blockbusters like Jaws, Indiana Jones or Jurassic Park. And in comparison, Catch me if you Can just fell flat. There was never the same sense of dramatic tension or immediacy. 

Perhaps that's through the way the story was structured. The film opens with Carl Hanratty arriving in a Marseille prison to collect Frank Abagnale Jr in order to extradite him back to the US to face punishment. I guess anybody who knows the true story would already know how everything ends, but for viewers like me, it felt like they were unnecessarily giving the game away. Any narrative tension had immediately dissipated, because we know that somewhere down the line Carl does catch Frank. Considering how brash and brazen Frank's schemes become, it only makes sense that he would be caught, but it would have been more exciting if there was a possibility that Frank might escape. I know that the thrill is in the chase and not the capture, but the chase wasn't that thrilling.

And none of the lead cast were that electrifying either. Dicaprio, Walken and Tom Hanks have four acting Oscars between them. Amy Adams has been nominated for six Oscars. We all know that they're great actors, but I wouldn't say any of them particularly shone. It just seemed like they were all just turning up, even Dicaprio wasn't as good as I thought he would be.

Catch me if you Can is by no means a bad film or one of the worst films I've seen on this list, but it wasn't nearly as memorable as I thought it would be. 

What's eating Gilbert Grape review

Number 525 on the top 1000 films of all time is Lasse Hallstrom's coming of age drama 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape?'

Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) is a grocery store clerk working in a small Iowa town. When he isn't taking care of his morbidly obese mother Bonnie (Darlene Cates) or intellectually disabled younger brother Arnie (Leonardo Dicaprio,) he is navigating all the obstacles of his life.

One of the biggest running jokes of the millennium was how Leonardo Dicaprio, despite being nominated multiple times, has never won an Oscar. You could argue this is where it all starts. At nineteen-years old, he was nominated for the Best Supporting Oscar for the role of Arnie. He became the seventh-youngest nominee. True, he was up against stiff competition like Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List or Pete Poselthwaite in the Name of the Father, but he would have been well-deserving of the Oscar. Dicaprio was great in this film. He played Arnie with humanity and vulnerability. He wasn't a cliche or a caricature, but a  real, breathing human being. Many of the character's trademark tics were all Dicaprio's choice. Reportedly he was so convincing as Arnie that at the film's premiere many people were surprised to find out that he wasn't intellectually disabled in real life.

However, Dicaprio can't take all the credit. All the cast were great. Let's start with Johnny Depp who wasn't even nominated for the Best Acting Oscar. And he would have been a very deserving winner. He takes Gilbert Grape through a great story arc. His inner conflict is so clear. Despite caring deeply for his mother and brother, the pressures of being a carer soon get the best of him. At Arnie's birthday party, he ruins things by eating his cake early. Gilbert snaps and hits him. The guilt of this sends him soul searching until he finally returns home and apologises. Depp played this role with great sensitivity. Having been a carer, I am fully aware of how stressful it is.

And lastly we come to Darlene Cates, as Bonnie Grape, who was a little bit of a dark horse. This was her first acting role and she received critical acclaim and rightly so. Just like with Arnie, there was the danger of making this character a cliche or a joke, but she portrayed Bonnie brilliantly. She was such a tragic character, but never a pathetic or pitiful one.

This was a great film. I really enjoyed watching it. Yes, it kickstarted Leonardo Dicaprio's career, but let's not forget Johnny Depp as well. He might be best-known for eccentric characters like Edward Scissorhands, Captain Jack Sparrow and Sweeney Todd, but this film proved  that he can play more conventional roles roles just as well too.