since we decided not to go to either of the two museums in town, we went to the cinema and watched "the aviator". i didn't know much about it other than it was long and made good use of color, holding true to the period. so i was on the lookout for the stylistic aspects of the film and they were pretty good. the film was pretty good as well. the cast did a good job. hard to find a word other than good at the moment. at some points, i lost interest because it is a rather long film and it can't have your full on-the-edge-of-your-seat attention the entire time.

the cast of ladies that portrayed the great actresses of the past did a good job, but no one can take the place of those actresses. it is so hard to cast and portray someone to play a famous actor/actress of the past. i mean, who else but katherine hepburn can be katherine hepburn? cate blanchett did a wonderful job though and i enjoyed her performance but you sir are no katherine hepburn. i was laughing the first 5-10 minutes she was on screen just because it was a wonderful tribute to hepburn and i haven't seen a hepburn film or a good imitation (dana carvey!) in a long time. damn it if jude law didn't play errol flynn better than he plays jude law. he's a good actor but i'm getting tired of him. also getting tired is the scowl of dicaprio. when the film is on dvd, take a shot every time he scowls!

one thing that i liked about the film was simply that it took place in los angeles. and more to my liking was the scene in long beach. a salute to home. a bit of homesickness i suppose. let's not also forget the mention of santa cruz. the other subtle thing i liked was the use of lighting. i especially liked it when elements were hidden or heightened by being lit or unlit. it helped scenes unfold and to focus on the main character.

being a film major, i very much enjoyed the historic elements. i don't think everything was explained enough for those unaware (seal of approval and all that nonsense) but that's ok because then it would be a history lesson! (and because the mpaa of today is just as ridiculous) and films that over-explain are very boring.

overall a good effort and i think i'll rent some of howard hughes's films when i return to america. the three films of his that are referenced heavily in "the aviator" are, ashamedly on my part, ones i have not yet seen. ("hell's angels", "scarface", "the outlaw") i should familiarize myself more with katherine hepburn's films.