Extremely Boring

Rating: 6/10 (30 December 2004)

I went to see this movie with very high expectations. It was supposed to be a certain Best Picture nominee that would finally get Scorcese his Best Director Oscar, and possibly the best picture Oscar too. Given the history of the Oscars, it will not surprise me if Scorcese wins the Oscar for his not so good effort. IMO neither the movie nor the direction lives upto the hype. Half way through the movie, I was bored to death. When it finally ended, with DiCaprio saying the same sentence 20+ times (it was quite irritating), I heaved a sigh of relief. There is too much detail, not enough pace, and the screenplay is nothing to write home about. There is some good acting, which may be the only saving grace of this movie. Dicaprio brings out the eccentricity of the main character quite well, but the story never really takes off. One good scene in the movie is when the Howard Hughes character has to defend himself. Leo carried that scene well. Overall, a HUGE disappointment.