The Popkorn Junkie :: Catch Me If You Can

[insert catchy pun of the movie's title]: from this point on, I will never ridicule Leo DiCaprio, ever again. He has been pardoned from my wrath of him being associated with a movie called "The Beach". I had the privilege to see his brilliant performance in "Gangs of New York" last weekend, and not even a week later, I get to see another. He could (and should) be nominated for Best Actor twice at the Oscars. But let's forget about him for a second and talk about The Man.

Tom Hanks. Can he do wrong? He just rolls off each great performance with another great performance. I just got thru saying how Leo could double dip at the Oscars, but so could Tom! He was brilliant in "Road to Perdition", which in my opinion, is the best film of 2002. I'll release my top ten list shortly, the year's almost up! But yes, could we see two double dippers at the Oscars in a few months? I can't wait...and I don't really care about those award shows.

DiCaprio and Hanks star as Frank Abagnale Jr and FBI agent Carl Hanratty, respectively. You probably already know the story, but in case you don't, I will just briefly go over the basics. 16 year old kid + Get's a checkbook + Doesn't like his life + Wants to get his family back on top = Impersonation of a pilot, doctor, lawyer, and best of all, it's all true. Spieberg stays very true to the facts, even keeping the names of all the people the same.

And that's another thing, you would have to be blind, to not know this is a Spieberg movie. He directed it. He produced it. John Williams composed it. Janusz Kaminski shot it. I wouldn't be surprised if Spielberg uses the exact same crew as well. He's been using the same composer and director of photography since Hook or something, I'm not sure, but it's been about a decade, maybe more that he has used the same crew.

Is the movie perfect? I wouldn't say so. But then again, it's based on a true story so you can't go saying the plot is bad, because if they had changed things around to make the plot better, there would be people complaining that it wasn't true to the book. You can't have it both ways! So, sure, there are some parts that in a fictitious story, I would want to do differently, but that's not the case, and I am happy at the decision Spielberg made.

Now, I know some people (even me) don't like to see movies that are about true criminals. For example, I REFUSE to see "Dahmer", I think it's sick to make money off of other people's misfortunes. But this case is a bit different. Frank Abagnale Jr "kissed and made up" by working for the FBI to stop the skill he perfected. It's not really surprising, hackers have gotten IT jobs all over the place. So Abagnale Jr really isn't that bad. He never killed anybody, and he has given back to the community from which he stole millions, by helping to stop check fraud. And I don't think he ever intended to do harm, he did what he did, because he could.

Go see the movie. I swear, it's no Rob Schneider movie! It's a Leonardo DiCaprio movie!.

-- James ( 4 pops out of 4 pops )

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Billy Ray ( 4 out of 4 pops )

"Catch Me If You Can"? Watch this if you can. This may not be the best movie of the year, but it was certainly the most entertaining. I found myself smiling all the way through this whimsical tale of cat and mouse from the impeccable Steven Spielberg. Leonardo DiCaprio gives a fantastic performance as the young con-artist, and Tom Hanks shines once again as an uptight FBI agent hot on his trail. I especially liked the relationship between DiCaprio and his father, played by the great Christopher Walken. Their relationship is what drives this picture. Alas, this film is not all smiles. There are a couple of heartbreaking scenes, as when DiCaprio is forced to decide which parent he wants to live with, or when Hanks delivers him a bit of bad news on the plane back to the states. Spielberg found the perfect balance between humor and sadness and has delivered a quite marvelous little film that shows us how effortlessly he can create quality cinema. This isn't going to be the film he is most remembered for, but it is a sterling example of how director's have to take risks. Steven Soderberg took one with "Ocean's Eleven" and Spielberg took one with this film. I applaud his efforts and I encourage each and every one of you to check this film out. Also, look for a hilarious Martin Sheen as a Southern prosecutor.