Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Arthur), Ellen Page (Ariadne), Tom Hardy (Eames), Ken Watanabe (Saito), Dileep Rao (Yusuf), Cillian Murphy (Robert Fischer, Jr.)
For complete info, see IMDb's Inception page.
What an interesting movie! I really enjoyed Inception and I'm glad it was the first movie I saw with a D-Box motion seat synchronized with the movie. There were some scenes the seat definitely improved for me.
I did have one HUGE continuity problem with this movie, which I won't mention, since I don't want to give anything away, but I think they really dropped the ball with the ending scene. If you'd like to know more after you've seen it, contact me and I'll explain.
For the most part, I liked that Inception was a fairly complex movie that entertained and surprised me quite a bit. It's a pretty long movie (2:20), but I think most of that is necessary for setting up the story and going deep enough into the complexity of the plot. I didn't sit there wondering when the movie would end and probably wouldn't have realized how long Inception took if I didn't know it was long heading into the movie.
If you like Sci-Fi action movies, Inception is one you should definitely see in a theatre. I'd suggest going for a theatre with perfect digital clarity and D-Box motion seats or the closest IMAX theatre. I'm sure both will enhance the experience of Inception greatly.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2010, action, Cillian Murphy, Dileep Rao, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Leonardo DiCaprio, movie, mystery, sci-fi, thriller, Tom Hardy
Reviewed by Kat at the 10:00 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Danny Archer), Djimon Hounsou (Solomon Vandy), Jennifer Connelly (Maddy Bowen)
For complete info, see IMDb's Blood Diamond page.
Blood Diamond is definitely not your typical action/adventure movie. The story behind the movie is very moving. The conflict in Africa is depicted very well. The acting is amazing and the story is very well done. Blood Diamond is definitely not a movie for anyone who's looking for an uplifting or light movie. You have to be in the mood for a serious movie with depressing themes when you watch this film.
DiCaprio's accent slipped at a couple points, which bothered me. He shouldn't have been nominated for best actor for his role in Blood Diamond. He did much better in The Departed.
If you missed Blood Diamond in theatres, it's definitely worth renting when you're ready for a serious movie.
Grade: B
Labels: 2006, action, adventure, drama, Jennifer Connelly, Leonardo DiCaprio, movie, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Billy Costigan), Matt Damon (Colin Sullivan), Jack Nicholson (Frank Costello), Mark Wahlberg (Dignam), Martin Sheen (Captain Queenan), Vera Farmiga (Madolyn)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Departed page.
I've only seen three of the films nominated for best picture, but I'm pretty sure even after seeing the other two I'll still be happy that The Departed won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Although many people told me Leonardo DiCaprio did a great job in this movie and might have gotten the Best Actor Oscar if he'd been nominated for the right movie, I had serious doubts. (I've never been a fan of DiCaprio's work.) Leonardo DiCaprio did do a great job in The Departed. So did everyone else in this amazing cast.
The story of The Departed is very well thought out. It overlaps in many ways, making the movie interesting until the very last second. If you somehow managed to miss this movie in theatres, as I did, I highly recommend adding it to your Netflix list! The Departed is one of those must see movies that deserved every award it received.
Grade: A
Labels: 2006, Best Picture, Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Matt Damon, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Howard Hughes), Cate Blanchett (Katharine Hepburn)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's The Aviator page.
Considering the cast and director, I really expected more from The Aviator. After seeing it, all I can say is that it's very good, but I hope it doesn't win best picture.
Cate Blanchett was remarkable as Katharine Hepburn and the movie was very well done, but The Aviator definitely didn't live up to the hype. I haven't seen the rest of the movies that will be nominated yet, but from all the Oscar buzz about The Aviator, I'm already hoping that it doesn't win.
Grade: B
Labels: 2004, Cate Blanchett, drama, Leonardo DiCaprio, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 3:50 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Frank Abagnale Jr.), Tom Hanks (Carl Hanratty), Christopher Walken (Frank Abagnale, Sr.), Martin Sheen (Roger Strong)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Catch Me If You Can page.
Don't let Leonardo DiCaprio scare you away from seeing this movie based on a true story about a man who conned millions of dollars as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, & lawyer. He and the rest of the cast do a great job in Catch Me If You Can. It's a very interesting movie, made more interesting by the fact that it's all based on a real story. The idea that someone could get away with everything Frank Abagnale Jr. managed to pull is amazing!
Security at airports is much more strict now, but even at that time, one would think you couldn't just pretend to be a pilot. Really blows my mind that someone could get away with so much. I definitely recommend this interesting movie.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2002, 2003, Christopher Walken, comedy, crime, drama, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Sheen, movie, Tom Hanks
Reviewed by Kat at the 1:45 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Amsterdam Vallon), Daniel Day-Lewis (Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting), Cameron Diaz (Jenny Everdeane), Jim Broadbent (Boss Tweed), John C. Reilly (Happy Jack), Liam Neeson ('Priest' Vallon)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Gangs of New York page.
With Liam Neeson and other great actors in the cast, I thought this would be a great movie about the early days of my home town and the gangs that ruled the city. Unfortunately, I just found it lacking. Not a fan of DiCaprio in generaly, but I thought it'd work out okay in such an ensemble piece. The movie just seemed to really drag on. Not the best pick for the first movie we see in the year, but I wanted to see it before the awards. It was nominated for 10 of them. Of course, at the time, I didn't know it wouldn't win any or that I'd be glad it didn't.
Grade: C-
Labels: 2003, Cameron Diaz, crime, drama, history, Leonardo DiCaprio, Liam Neeson, movie, New York
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:20 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson), Kate Winslet (Rose DeWitt Bukater), Billy Zane (Caledon 'Cal' Hockley), Kathy Bates (Molly Brown)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Titanic page.
Although I don't think Titanic could ever live up to the hype, I thought this fictional account of what might have happened in the ship's last hours was very interesting and that most of the special effects were very well done.
I think Titanic is worth seeing for the special effects or the love story. When you combine the two, it really is a great movie. The idea of giving up everything for love is such a romantic notion, that it makes the movie very worth while.
Forget what really happened and remember this is a movie. A romanticized notion of the events is presented with fictional characters added in with the historical characters to create a combintion of fact and fiction.
Grade: A
Labels: 1997, Best Picture, drama, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Leonardo DiCaprio, movie, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 1:50 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Meryl Streep (Lee Lacker), Leonardo DiCaprio (Hank), Diane Keaton (Bessie Greenfield), Robert DeNiro (Dr. Wally), Hume Cronyn (Marvin), Gwen Verdon (Ruth)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Marvin's Room page.
I loved the play, so the movie interested me immediately. Perhaps I didn't properly describe the play to my family, since they all thought it was well done, but hated it, since it was so sad... What's funny is that there's probably more humor in the movie than the play.
I think that they did a great job with Marvin's Room on the big screen. They used the fact that they could film in various locations to take you to the places you couldn't really see in the play. The cast was wonderful. Leonardo DiCaprio, who normally doesn't impress me, did a great job, too.
I highly recommend Marvin's Room. Just be aware that it is not a happy movie and you'll love it.
Grade: B+
Labels: 1996, comedy, drama, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, movie, play, Robert DeNiro
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:10 PM show | 0 screams