Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio Movie: ****Catch Me if You Can (2002)

 Leonardo DiCaprio portrays Frank Abegnale Jr. who runs away from home when he has to decide with which parent he wants to live when they go through a divorce.  His father is Frank Abegnale (Christopher Walken) and his mother is Paula (Nathalie Bale).  He decides to go into passing false checks, and discovers the best way to do this is as a pilot.  Everyone trusts a pilot.  So he gets a uniform, and passes himself off as a pilot.  Banks and the airport cash payroll checks for the most, so he makes many counterfeit payroll checks, and cashes them wherever they go.  When the FBI, agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) gets too close he gives up the airport business for a while, and takes up being a doctor.  There he meets a nurse, Brenda Strong (Amy Adams) he he goes to meet her parents (Martin Sheen and Nancy Lenehan) eventually to propose marriage.  He has a very big fraudulent business going, mostly cashing checks--to the tune of over a million dollars.  Over time Hanratty gets closer and closer.  He ever captur4es him on a couple occassions, but he always seems to get away.  However eventually even this comes to an end and he is in a foreign prison and extradited back to the United States.  Even though he is only 17 he is tried as an adult because of the scope and his always getting away, and he goes to prison.  Hanratty then begins using him as a resource for information on checks and forgery.  

Very interesting movie.  It is based on a book Abegnale wrote of his life; however there is some doubt a bout the truthfulness of the book,  He has admitted some of it was exagerated.  Directed by Steven Spielberg.  

Movie Review: ***^Rules Don't Apply (2016)

This is an incredible look at the later life of Howard Hughes.  Warren Beatty portrays Hughes, and gives himself a big task in portraying someone with phobia to germs, and self isolation, worrying about being subjected to psychiatric evaluation and a conservator appointed to steal his company.  Alden Ehrenreich portrays the driver, Frank Forbes who rises up in the Hughes empire to his closest confidant.  And then their is the actress, Marla Mabrey, for whom he falls portrayed by Lily Collins.  There are other famous actors who portray people around Hughes, Alec Baldwin, Matthew Broderick and Martin Sheen.  They cow tail to Hughes' whim, such as banana nut ice cream, and if they cross him they get fired.  They only person who calls out Hughes is Mabrey's mother portrayed by Annette Benning.  She leaves and her daughter stays.  Marla Mabrey is a woman who is determined to not have sex until after marriage, and does not drink.  However she becomes upset one night she is meeting Hughes, and drinks too much and becomes drunk.  In this mood, she flatter Hughes, who takes a ring from a drawer (among several) and puts in on her finger saying with this ring, I thee wed.  They then have sex.  She becomes pregnant.  The next day, following sex, Hughes officially marries someone else. t have a wife who will not let him be committed to an insane asylum.   Hughes does not take responsibility for the child, and Mabrey discovers Hughes' real nature and goes home.  She advises Forbes to do the same, but Forbes stays on.   It isn't until five years later. when Mabrey brings her son to see Hughes, that Forbes finally makes the jump to gain his freedom from Hughes.
This movie has an interesting theme.  To what lengths will we go for success, to leach off of someone who is rich and famous.  It is an interesting dilemma.  Hughes has very strict rules, and often objectifies the women around him, as well as humiliates the men.  But for the most part they stay.  It takes a lot to quit, even when the situation is bad, as the thought of money can overcome many wrongs.
Lily Collins must be complimented for her work in this film.  She is really a fantastic presence on screen.  There is a period after she leaves that the movie drags and I think it is the lack of the energy between she and Ehrenreich.  When she finally comes back, the movie regains its energy for the end.
This movie is a long-term project from Beatty.  He also wrote the screenplay and directed and produced.

Movie Review: ****^The Amazing Spider Man

I have now seen this movie twice, 3-D and regular.  I can't say that 3-D added a lot, except at the end when he is flying around.  I saw another review that said it was good; but not amazing.  I would say it was amazing, but not perfect.  There are plenty of special effects, there is a love story, which doesn't mimic the other Spider Man movies, there is a nerd who becomes Spider Man, there is a different villain.  All of these make for a great movie.  Tony came out of the movie climbing the walls in the restroom.  Now that is great.

Peter (Andrew Garfield) likes Gwen (Emma Stone), who is a fellow scientist at school.  She claims to top of her class.  Peter's father is a former scientist at OsCorp, but hid a secret formula and fled, but he and Peter's mother died in a plane crash.  Peter crashesbreaks into OsCorp, which leads to the famous biting.  Peter designs his own webslingers based on technology of OsCorp.

Peter goes to dinner with Gwen, whose father is a Captain (Denis Leary) on the police force.  The police do not appreciate Spider Man, and have been trying to arrest him.  However he does let Gwen know of his secret

Oh, in the mean time, Peter has inadvertantly given to Dr Conners (Rhys Ifans), his father's ex partner, the formula his father hid.  Dr. Connors uses the formula, and turns himself into a super lizard.  Peter/ Spider Man feels responsible and sets out to stop him.  He tries to warn the police, but they think he is crazy.

I liked the movie--except the crane scene.  I thought that was corny.

Movie Review: ****^Gettysburg (1993)

This movie fascinates and delights me.   I think it is the courage of the people who actually participated in these events that comes through.  It was produced by Ted Turner, and is based on the novel by "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara.  It shows the battle in general, but focuses on the stand on Little Round Top by Colonel Chamberlain (Jeff Bridges) and his men.  However the movie shows all three days of Gettysburg, and the heroics of Little Round Top was day two.  It starts showing how the skirmish got started, with General Buford's (Sam Elliott) cavalry defending Seminary Ridge.  Had that first day ended differently, this battle would have played out differently.  It would have been the Confederates entrenched on the high ground.  The big if of the war, was had General Stonewall Jackson been there, would he have left the Union forces with the high ground, and a night to reinforce and to dig in.
As noted, the battle of the second day focused on the wings, Little Round Top to the South, and Cemetery Hill to the North.
The Confederacy was unable to turn either flank, so the third day saw a full out attack on the middle, Pickett's (Stephen Lang) charge.  General Lee (Martin Short) had hoped the Federals had spread too thin.  He was wrong.  General Longstreet (Tom Beringer) argued for a different strategy all day.  Picket and his forces were ordered to attack.  After they were repulsed, Lee asked Pickett to see to his division.  His response, "I have no division."  They had been beaten, badly.