Recently in Martin Scorsese Category

Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Alan Alda, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Ian Holm, Kate Beckinsale, Jude Law. Drama/Biographical. Synopsis: A dramatized story of the real life billionaire Howard Hughes, focusing on his youth spent in aviation and movie making.

Its pretty hard not to have a good flick when its directed by Martin Scorsese (Gangs of New York) and since this film is about, arguably, one of the more fascinating figures of the 20th century, you've got all of the ingredients of a good movie when you throw in a top notch cast.

The Aviator is the story of  billionaire Howard Hughes and focuses on his young professional life and especially the contributions he made to the field of aviation when that industry is in its infancy. Some of you of a certain age will probably remember hearing of Hughes as a total recluse who lived in solitude in one of the Las Vegas casinos he had bought, effectively ending Mob ownership of that town and beginning the transformation to the corporate mecca that it is today.

But, The Aviator's Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio The Departed) is young, fresh off of inheriting millions from his late father and out to conquer the industries of aviation and film making. We see Hughes' genius and vision in making the first multi million dollar movie as well as his love of aviation, being a pilot who sets speed records in addition to financing and eventually buying T.W.A. airlines.

Hughes was allegedly a playboy, despite being married twice for long periods of time. Cate Blanchett (The Gift) does a wonderful job as Katherine Hepburn, with whom Hughes had a long term affair prior to her involvement with Spencer Tracy. Kate Beckinsale (Van Helsing Fragments) takes a turn as the seductive Ava Gardner, who had her affair with Hughes prior to hooking up with Frank Sinatra.

The rest of the cast is very solid, too, with Alan Alda (Mash) stepping up to the plate-he was Oscar nominated- as the corrupt Senator who goes head to head with Hughes on behalf of his benefactor and Hughes rival, played by Alec Baldwin (Minis First Time/ Glengarry, Glen Ross).

But, the prize in this exceptional cast might just have to go to John C. Reilly (Boogie Nights  The Perfect Storm) who portrays Noah, Hughes' real life right hand man who was there through Hughes ascent and the beginning of his descent into madness. Along those lines, the film does touch on, but not dwell on, Hughes mental degeneration and places his obsession with cleanliness and fear of germs on an obsessive compulsive disorder, something that was not readily identified and treated in those days.

In fact, the excellent special features disc of the DVD does a good job of telling us a lot about this and Hughes himself, including a discussion panel that included DiCaprio, Scorsese, and Hughes' surviving widow.

This is a very good flick, but you probably already knew that.  

Directed by Martin Scorsese.  Starring  Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Liam Neeson, John C. Reilly. Drama/Historical. Synopsis: An epic drama of the real life gangs that inhabited the Five Points area of New York City in the middle of the 19th century, focusing on the corruption in thew local political machine, the emergence of the Irish as a powerful group in the city, and the ultimate chaos and tragedy of the draft riots in 1863, still one of the deadliest civil disturbances in  U.S. history. Oscar for Best Picture. 

Took me a few years to get around to watching this one on DVD. Sorry I waited. Gangs of New York is not only a great film, but a film about a very important and relatively forgotten part of United States history. The large influx of immigrants in the 19th century made the City a hodge podge of neighborhoods, with the recently arrived-and arriving-large number of Irish immigrants living along side newly freed slaves and disapproving  "natives" (American born Protestant Anglos) in the most destitute, over crowded and filthy part of the City, called the Five Points.

And who runs the Five Points in this era of rampant corruption and before things we take for granted today (local government providing police protection, fireman, etc.) were regulated? Well, that is the big question and it was usually settled-at least on a temporary basis-by violence between the gangs. We see from the film that the gangs were not necessarily what we think of when we hear the word today, but a vital social unit that, in its own way, provided services unavailable elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, Scorsese (The Departed) pulls no punches in showing the brutal, corrupt, and criminal nature of these groups. (You've got to love a gang named "The Plug Uglies" for example)

The main character of the film is Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio The Basketball Diaries, The Aviator) a young Irishman who sees his father (Liam Neeson Kinsey) slain on the battlefield by the leader of the natives, Bill Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis). Raised in an orphanage, Amesterdam returns to the Five Points as a young man to find things much as they were before...only worse as the Civil war is raging and its unpopularity is rising with the institution of the draft, disproportionately affecting poor immigrants. His identity unknown to Cutting, Amesterdam looks to make his mark in the Five Points and become what his father was.

Opportunity is there, with the corrupt Tamany Hall machine looking at the huge block of potential Irish votes as a way of permanently securing its power and patronage, much to the chagrin of the natives.

Thus, we have the fictional plot based on real life events, though Day-Lewis' character is loosely based on a real life individual, as is Jenny (Cameron Diaz Something About Mary, Any Given Sunday) . Some of the scenes depicted are simply awesome, such as New York itself, and the lines of immigrants pouring into the City, some of whom were drafted into the Union Army right off the boat.

Likewise, the scenes involving the riots, which lasted for days until put down by the Army, were incredible, with good use of a voice over with the background sound of a contemporary telegraph. I don't know for certain how many Oscar nominations this film got, but it was a lot and well deserved. You can see from this film alone why many people felt that Scorsese's subsequent Oscar win for best director should not have been his first. And, I will be brief on this point: Daniel Day-Lewis is a phenomenal actor when the mood strikes him, as it evidently did in this flick.

The special features are extensive and informative, telling you everything about the making of the film itself along with deep background on the real story of the draft riots, gangs of this time, Tamany Hall, and characters depicted in the film. Its worth the full price itself apart from the film.

I guess you could say I kinda liked it. 

Directed by Martin Scorsese.  Drama/Action. Starring Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson.Oscar winner: Best Picture. Best Director. 

Synopsis: The world of high level law enforcement and high level organized crime become inseparable when an undercover state police officer who infiltrates the premier organzed crime family in Boston finds that the target of his work has a law enforcement  source in the same police unit that placed him undercover. 

I've seen this one both in the theater and on DVD and by the time you read this, you will know it has won a well deserved Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director. (Martin Scorsese The Aviator). This, as you may have heard, is an intricate story of the sometimes too close relationship between organized crime and elite law enforcement. Set in Boston, the story traces the reign of mob boss Costello (Jack Nicholson The Pledge, Anger Management) over his South Boston neighborhood and eventually, the city itself. One of the children in the neighborhood that grew up to respect Costello is a young man, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon Courage Under Fire, Bourne Supremacy)  who has just finished his training with the elite Massachusetts State Police (know locally as "the Staties") who remains on the good side of Costello by providing him information even as he moves into the highest level of the State Police investigative department.

Another young man with ties to the neighborhood, Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio Gangs of New York, The Basketball Diaries) also goes into the  State Police, only to be recruited into a top secret undercover role in which he is so deep that he is "kicked out" of the State police, sent to prison, and then put into the old neighborhood to get close to Costello. Only two of his superiors know his identity and assignment, his Captain (Martin Sheen The American President, Apocalypse Now)  and Sgt, Dignam (Mark Wahlberg Four Brothers, Boogie Nights) .

So, there you have it, a situation where there is an undercover cop in with the big crime family at the same time the big crime family has a rat in the state police. Scorsese does a wonderful job of giving the characters depth while not slowing down the story at all. The supporting cast is awesome, with the likes of Alec Baldwin (Running with Scissors) and Anthony Anderson (Malibu's Most Wanted) doing turns as cops in the investigative unit.

The standout supporting role, however, goes to Vera Farmiga (Running Scared Down to the Bone) who is the only significant female character who plays the psychologist who is dating Colin Sullivan at the same time she is getting to know her rambuntious patient who is attending his court ordered psychology treatment...you gussed it, Billy Costigan.

No short review can do justice to this film, there is action and twists, believable romance that does not distract from the plot. I won't waste any time or blog space telling you that one of the best actors of all time, Jack Nicholson, was superb.

The only drawback to picking this up on DVD ia that there are, unbelievably, no special features, not even a director's commentary. A shame. But, this flick is more than great enough to make up for that faux pas.  

Add this to your collection as soon as you can.