Matt Adcock Meets Will Smith

Just sorting some files and found this... my first 'Hollywood Star' interview back from August '04...
Slightly star struck and still buzzing from having just watched iRobot for the first time (of many) here it is...

Matt Adcock Meets Will Smith

It’s not everyday that you get to interview a Hollywood star like Will Smith, and possibly even less likely that you find you have something absolutely in common. In the flesh he is every bit as cool, sexy, funny and full of energy as I’d imagined, so, obviously we’re very much alike (OK, so at least we both cite Star Wars as our favourite sci fi film). And Will is a big sci fi fan as he explains “I love it, as a kid growing up, science fiction was my genre. I loved the imagination of science fiction. I think at heart, I'm really an idealist and there's nowhere for me in entertainment that you can really stretch the bounds of human possibility more than science fiction. I just love it. Star Wars was almost spiritual to me, when I make films – my aim is make people get the feeling I got when I first saw Star Wars”. That must explain his fondness for roles in films like Independence Day and Men in Black and now I ROBOT which has certainly come the closest of any Will Smith film to giving me that illusive ‘Star Wars’ feeling…

Talking of Star Wars, Will was keen to point out that he does like robots really – especially R2 D2 who he describes as the one that the “chicks dig”, but that “you can forget that C3PO guy”. In I ROBOT you see, Smith plays a ‘robo-phobic’ detective who hates the robots that have been integrated into our society. He explained about shooting the robot scenes. “We used a process on this film that was similar to the process they used for Golem on Lord of the Rings. Alan Tyduck played Sonny who is the main robot and they've used all of his facial expressions, they've used his body language, and they've used his voice. So, there's a real human quality to the robots that are really fun for me, but I think will be chilling for people watching the movie. It's scary, icky, kind of human-y!” (Laughs)

One reason a lot of women may want to check out I ROBOT is the controversy around the shower scene…
“The nakedness was important,” Will says, “that wasn’t gratuitous, it was ‘deep character nakedness’ because my character has a condition called ‘Survivor's Guilt’ – he survived a crash and is deeply paranoid. That’s why I didn’t have the door shut or the shower curtain across… in case somebody tried to attack me!”

Err OK then, so how would he describe I ROBOT overall? “This movie is a wonderful, blend of genres and it's smart when it's supposed to be smart, it's funny when it's supposed to be funny. The special effects are incredible but it doesn't depend on the special effects. I ROBOT, is what I think will be the future of action movies in that it's a character driven story, where the action sequences and explosions are extra.” Finally – now that his wifeJada Pinkett-Smith is also staring in blockbusters – how does that work out at home? ”Hey, she beat me last year. She beat me last year with The Matrix sequels. She has a good shot at me this year with Collateral – it’s ridiculous!! Collateral is really, really good. It's just fun for us. We both know that our priorities don't lie in this business. We just have a little fun with it, and extra enjoyment of the time we spend together. It gives us something else to talk about. It's definitely not an issue.”

Click here to read: Matt Adcock's Film Reviews

Elektra - Rob Bowman Interview

So, Elektra wasn't the great film it could have been (Matt's Review) and it wasn't a patch on the (graphic novel), but there are some interesting things to be learnt from a recent interview with the director - Rob Bowman:

Did you want to make an even darker film?
The film is not as severe as in the comics, because that would be X rated. I’m making a PG-13. As a matter of fact, the director's cut was rated R. I knew I was making an R-rated movie, and that I would just have to edit to soften some of the moments. The good thing is that the studio will get their PG-13, but the DVD will be an R. I'll put all the hard-edged stuff back in.

Elektra's costume is very similar to the books – was that important?
Absolutely. We didn’t do it verbatim from the comics, because she looks like a hooker, but we definitely wanted to be as close to that as we could. I approached the costume from a personality point of view. I think that Elektra, while making the costume, wouldn’t have made it about vanity. It’s about the ability to move. But she’s also brash, and highly confident. And she does look really hot. (Laughs).

Obviously you’ve got Typhoid Mary in the movie, who uses her power through kissing. Are you aiming for an MTV best kiss award?
(laughs) We hired this gorgeous woman, and she kisses Elektra halfway through the movie and nearly kills her. So you’ve got Jennifer Garner being kissed by Natassia Malthe in slow motion for about thirty seconds. (Laughs) None of the men who’ve seen the movie have a problem with it!

The set must have had lots of visitors that day.
Surprisingly, we had quite a few! (Laughs) I don’t know, it’s kind of a weird way to kill somebody, and the combination of being poisonous and beautiful is interesting. The fact that the Hand use poison and whispers as your means of murder just seemed cool to me.

How many takes did you do with the kiss, by the way?
There are 7 angles of it, and to do each angle right you’ve got to do it 3 to 5 times. I would say that Natasha and Jennifer kissed, pretty much for a day.

That's dedication to the craft. I’m sure the DVD will have multi angle shots.
It’ll be longer… But both Jennifer and Natasha were very respectful, and their oral hygiene was very high that day. They just were two professionals. It was just another take. But it is quite beautiful.

For those who haven't seen the film, Typhoid Mary is played by Natassia Malthe - who looks like this...

"Hey Jennifer - any time you're ready for a rematch!?"

Alone In The Dark

Uwe Boll - two words that can strike fear into the heart of those who love movies...
This guy directed the ultra loud and dumber than you could possibly imagine 'House Of The Dead' videogame adaptation which is ranked in the bottom 30 movies of all time over at IMDB.
Now he turns his attention to a new movie based on a game... Alone in the Dark

"um, it's behind you"

Alone in the Dark is still perhaps considered by many gamers to be the grandfather of action/adventure games. When it was released in 1993 - I spent many student nights huddled round the PC with friends, fighting monsters and solving puzzles when we quite possibly should have been studying for our marketing degrees.

Let's hope that the movie manages to capture at least some of the games spooky atmosphere...

"no Jehovah's Witnesses are getting in here!"

Film Review (DVD): The Hitcher 2: I've Been Waiting

The Hitcher 2: I've Been Waiting

Dir. Louis Morneau

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Ah The Hitcher back in 1986 eh?

Rutger Hauer in one of his 2 best roles ever, (the other being Blade Runner of course - can he add a third with his Sin City bit part this year?), anyway - there he was, all blonde hair, chilling eyes, charismatic smile and brutal violence. What could be better than a sequel in which C. Thomas Howell reprises his role from the original (Jim Halsey - the young guy who got terrorised by the Hitcher)? Not The Hitcher 2 alas, Hauer obviously couldn't be bothered to come back, so we get Jake 'Starship Troopers' Busey trying to fill the Hitcher's mean boots. I was fully ready and prepared to hate this low budget follow up which isn't a patch on the first film but found myself kind of enjoying in a masochistic way...

There are some competent moments, a nice explosion here and there, and Busey tries his best to be Hauer. Kari Wuhrer (she was Special Agent Tanya Adams from Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2) steps up as a plucky but crap action heroine and the plot is pretty much like the first film.

Is it worth seeing?

Only if you're an undemanding fan of the original or you just like duff sequels...

Darkmatt Rating: öö (poor)

"Kari Wuhrer... you probably would, but you might not want her covering you ass in a fight"

"hey you can almost see my career from the back seat..."

For a far superior tale of 'death in the dust' track down Dust Devil,

this classy little number from 1992 is hard to find these days but

I have fond memories of it!!

SpongeBob SquarePants vs Tsunami

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie hits the UK on the 11 February.
But Unicef have a charity premier in the West End on the 6 February!
How can you not want to see a film that has an all action sponge as the main character, dialogue that includes:
"My pants are on fire!... My underwear is on fire!... I'M ON FIRE!"
and a cameo by David Hasselhoff himself!!?

Think I might have to check this one not least
'because it's in such a good cause' (tsunami relief)

"ever get the feeling we're being watched?"

Superb Tunnel Vision

These photos are just excellent - they make me think of celestial tunnels and souls going 'into the light'.

Of course they're actually shots taken from a moving vehicle by the soon to be legendary artist Rachel Warwick...

Very cool - click here to see more of her stuff: Rachwarwick Deviantart

Elektra: How she'd probably like to be remembered

Lest we forget...
Elektra was once a thing of joy, wonder and tasty violent action...
Maybe she'll get another chance, but I don't think we should hold our breath...

Click here to see a cool online exhibition of Elektra Assassin

Film Review (DVD): Life as a House

"Extra cheese on your burger son?"

Life as a House
Dir. Irwin Winkler

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Now don’t get me wrong, weepy movies are not generally my ‘cup of tea’ but Life as a House floored me like sledgehammer to the face. On the surface this is another one of those ‘life affirming’ tales where this guy (Kevin Kline) gets cancer and spends his last few months rebuilding his relationship with his estranged and F.U.B.A.R. son (Hayden Christensen)…

What set this apart for me was the fact that my dad (John Adcock) died of cancer over ten years ago – and he never got the chance to see if I’d outgrow the teenage stupidity that I was exhibiting so much of… He was a fantastic father who always had time for me, made me feel like the centre of the universe and sweated blood to provide for us. Now, all I can do is be the best dad I can for my boys and hope that they’ll love me as much I loved him…

Anyway, the film is about love, hurt, hope and reconciliation – as much as it is about a guy building the house he’s always dreamt of. Kline is just excellent and for once I didn’t hate Hayden ‘Vader Wannabe’ Christensen either, which was a plus. Jena Malone is also extremely cute (how can you not love that girl – she gets to jump into the shower with Christensen and kiss his dad “just to see what it’s like”)…
The story is well directed and Kline really nailed the depiction of a father who is losing everything but determined to go out having done all he could to help his family.

Yes it’s cheesier than a triple cheeseburger with extra cheese – but somehow it works and I really enjoyed it…

Darkmatt Rating: öööö (good)


Click here for Matt Adcock's: Film Review Index

Think he got the point...

This x-ray from a news story about some guy who accidentally shot a 6inch nail into his head (through his tooth!) and didn’t realise it for 6 days brought back memories of the time I managed to impale my head on a similar sized nail…
Must be a couple of years ago now – I was in the loft and lent forward in the dark, only to find that I’d banged my head on a beam… A bean with a rusty nail pointing out of it, which was now sticking into my head!!
How we laughed at casualty as the nurse had to give me various shots and then used a special kind of glue to seal the wound – thanks too to Alan Masters (the kind of friend you need when you do unfortunate things like this) who took me to hospital. Don’t think it’s affected me too badly… but you never know I guess!!

Jennifer Garner: Great Looking But Wasted

Jennifer Garner... certainly has the looks to make a perfect Elektra,
alas - the film makers just didn't do it justice...
see my review Elektra

P.S. It looks like some female readers disagree - see comment below

Jennifer Garner makes me happy

Reviews of other films and stuff you might want to read indexed here

Elektra Is "Awful" Admits Garner

Film Review: Elektra

"look me in the eye and tell me you liked the film"

Elektra (12A)
Dir. Rob Bowman

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Her name is Elektra; she moves without sound, kills without mercy and looks absolutely fantastic whilst doing it!! Unfortunately her film is sloppy, tame and unremittingly average – and the question has to be asked, “How has this been allowed to happen?”
Elektra: Assassin, the original comic book by Frank Miller with artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz is my all time favourite graphic novel. Elektra the film does not live up to the amazing source material - at all... She has been laid low by the idiots of Hollywood who seem to work on the principle: “why bother making an awesome, clever, explosive action film when we can churn out any old rubbish?”
Elektra of the comic is brutal, cool, efficient, sexy and rock hard. Whereas Elektra in the film is still admittedly sexy but also sweet, emotional and often unforgivably wimpy... I lay a lot of blame at the festering feet of director Rob Bowman - he is the master of taking potentially explosive material (dragons vs humans in Reign of Fire / a hot babe ‘death dealing ninja’ in Elektra) and working his ‘average magic’ on it until the film comes out looking like an identikit 12 year old boy’s dream...
So the bad guys - The Order of the Hand, your average ninja collective, are looking for average bloke Mark Miller (Goran Visnjic) and his annoying but average daughter Abby (Kirsten Prout). At the same time Elektra is paid $2 million to kill the same father and daughter but for some reason ends up fighting to protect them. The limited ‘action’ is weak, the tone and style are vapid throughout, the baddies are just laughable and the script sucks – think Catwoman and unfortunately your not too far off. Even then I could let all this go if it was just some new and doomed to fail action franchise - but NOT when the Elektra source material deserved so much better.
Yes the sight of Jennifer Garner in her "so tight I couldn't wear underwear underneath" outfit is a thing of beauty that you won’t forget in hurry, but the film is utterly soulless. The highlight for me was the full on kiss between baddie Typhoid Mary (model Natassia Malthe), who goes about giving her foes a ‘kiss of death’, and Elektra. But nothing can really save this from struggling to even hold a candle to the much-maligned 2003 comic book effort ‘Daredevil’, which featured Elektra in a cameo role…

Darkmatt Rating: öö (poor) - but worth watching because Garner is so hot!!

Read other film reviews by Matt Adcock:click here

"The Elektra workout video - great for the stomach..."

Film Review: Team America: World Police

"You can run but you can't hide..."

Team America: World Police (15)
Dir. Trey Parker

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

When freedom hangs by a thread, who are you going to call to put the "F" back into it? Team America: World Police, that’s who…
Here in the UK – Team America arrived in January 2005 and it is without doubt the crudest, funniest and most violent puppet movie I’ve seen. Filmed in what creator Matt Stone referred to as "supercrappymation" – Team America is a Thunderbirds riff from the makers of South Park and just a dubious as that sounds!
Nothing is sacred here but some things get a harder beating than others – liberals, terrorists and Hollywood actors come in for an especially rough ride. Take Matt Damon (who Parker and Stone have admitted is really a "pretty cool guy"), he was going to be portrayed as ‘intelligent and articulate’, but when they saw his puppet, they noted that it made him "look retarded" and decided to portray him as such. His only lines in the film are to blurt out “Matt Damon” in a retarded manner but even that’s generous compared to the send up of Kim Jong Il who gets a whole song to ponder why he’s “so rornery, so ronery and sadry arone…”
There are other musical interludes – my favourite being ‘Pearl Harbor Sucked’ which is so funny I present the lyrics here (sourced from IMDB.com):

“I miss you more than Michael Bay missed the mark,
When he made Pearl Harbor.
I miss you more then that movie missed the point,
And that's an awful lot girl.
And now, now you've gone away,
And all I'm trying to say is
Pearl Harbor sucked and I miss you.
I need you like Ben Affleck needs acting school,
He was terrible in that film.
I need you like Cuba Gooding needed a bigger part,
He's way better then Ben Affleck.
And now all I can think about is your smile,
and that sh*tty movie too,
Pearl Harbor sucked and I miss you.
Why does Michael Bay get to keep on making movies?
I guess Pearl Harbor sucked, Just a little bit more then I miss you.”

It certainly isn’t for the easily offended (or children) but if you like South Park and have a crude sense of humour then Team America delivers a laugh out loud experience. I guess America had it coming!

Darkmatt Rating: ööö (Watchable)

Read other film reviews by Matt Adcock:click here

"Acting has never been this wooden"

Friday Blogging Matt

"sad but true..."

The Machinist, Steamboy, Chasing God

This year's Sci-Fi-London looks like the best ever - see below for my top 3 picks...


THE MACHINIST How do you wake up from a nightmare if you're not asleep?In this unnerving saga, Trevor Reznick (Bale) works away in a machine shop, performing a drudge-like function but a dangerous one. The machinery is steely and scary, and Trevor is losing his grip, physically and emotionally. Freaking out his co-workers with his wisened frame, he's out-of-whack in his conversation too. When he causes a harrowing accident - a co-worker loses his arm - Trevor is completely ostracized and threatened. He realizes he's losing it, and his condition keeps getting worse. He hasn't slept in a year. Trevor's only solace comes from a prostitute named Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and a waitress named Marie (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón). Marie works at a coffee shop at the airport, where Trevor goes every night for a piece of apple pie and a cup of coffee, always leaving an extremely large tip. Haggard, bug-eyed and prone to hallucinations, Trevor can't tell up from down, reality from delusion.



STEAM BOY Best known for his seminal animé movie AKIRA, Katsuhiro Otomo brings us one of the most lavish and costly animated films ever. This sci-fi epic is set in Victorian London, took 10 year to finish and has more than 400 CG shots.A retro science-fiction epic set, "Steamboy" features an inventor prodigy named Ra Stim who receives a mysterious metal ball containing a new form of energy capable of powering an entire nation. This young boy must use it to fight evil, redeem his family, and save London from destruction. The lush Victorian interiors and the elegance of the era's mechanical design allows Otomo to create dazzling visual backgrounds and machines for this film. With more than 180,000 drawing cuts, "Steamboy" is one of the most elaborate animated features ever!


CHASING GOD Narrated by comedian Dawn French (The Vicar of Dibley), this thought provoking film addresses a subject matter rarely tackled: why do humans believe in a Higher Power? By interviewing scientists, atheists and religious leaders from diverse faiths, this documentary explores the motivations of humankind to believe in something bigger and more powerful than itself, today and throughout the ages. By travelling the globe and asking poignant questions of its subjects, Chasing God is able to look at the relevancy of God in today's world. Today, some see the very existence of humanity being threatened. War is being mooted as a solution to peace and protection, and many people feel powerless to influence outcomes. This has prompted many new prayer and meditation websites and groups to appear - maybe in a desperate attempt for divine intervention. It has always been true that when human beings are afraid or in pain we reach out for a power greater than our own. Beliefs about God have divided humanity. This documentary seeks to highlight a paradoxical unifying principle beyond the divisive interpretations of God. While science cannot prove or disprove the existence of God, ultimately it is either a universal truth or a mass delusion. In the absence of any veritable proof, what we are then left with, is people's personal experience. This documentary spotlights the most controversial yet elusive figure in recorded history. No one else has been the subject of such hotly contested debate, disagreement, and wars...

LINK TO OFFICIAL SITE

Pi, Matt Adcock's 3rd Favourite Film

12.18pm: restate my assumptions:

1. Chaos Theory can be generally defined as a description of the behaviour of forever-changing complex systems. Discovered by a meteorologist in 1960, chaos theory contends that complex and unpredictable results will occur in systems that are sensitive to small changes in their initial conditions. A common example of this, known as the "Butterfly Effect," states that the flapping of a butterfly's wings in China could cause tiny atmospheric changes which over a period of time could effect weather patterns in New York.
Although chaotic systems appear to be random, they are not. Beneath the random behavior patterns emerge, suggesting, if not always revealing, order. Recognizing that the stock market is a non-linear, dynamic, chaotic system Pi's Max Cohen applies the principles of Chaos Theory in order to determine the pattern behind apparent random nature of market prices.
2. Apart from the stock market, Chaos Theory can be used to model other highly complex systems, including everything from population growth to epidemics to arrhythmic heart palpitations. When applying chaos theory, it is revealed that even something as seemingly random as a dripping tap has an order behind it.
Welcome to the world of Pi.
3. In Manhattan, behind many locks, lives Max Cohen, a renegade mathematician . Since staring at the sun at age six, he's had terrible headaches; and can't abide human contact, he is obsessed with finding numeric patterns in everything - even the stock market - but his theories bring him to the attention of Wall Street traders and a kabal that wants to rediscover long-lost mathematical mysteries in the Torah. Max goes on the run as his hallucinations and headaches worsen. IS THERE A SOLUTION?
Pi is an awesome film - edgy, paranoid and disturbing but always brilliant, it really has to be seen and experienced...

"think I've broken this slinky"

12.19pm: Footnote:
In case you're wondering: Kabbalah is an ancient aspect of Jewish mysticism dating back to the time of Moses.
Consisting largely of speculations on the nature of divinity, creation and the soul, Kabbalah is said to have originated from the oral law which Moses received from God. The principle root of Kabbalistic tradition is a belief in the divinity of the Torah (the first five books of the bible), and that by studying it one can unlock the secrets of creation.
The film not only deals with Kabbalah, but also with Gammantria, or the use of mathematics to unlock the secrets of the Torah. Ancient Hebrews used the alphabet as their numerical as well as there lettering system, therefor, each letter was assigned a numerical value. For example the Hebrew "A," aleph, is equal to one, while "B," bet, is equal to two and so on. Taking this into consideration, we can then convert the entire Torah into a large string of numbers. When these numbers are analyzed, patterns emerge…

12.20pm:Personal note: "The Torah is just a long string of numbers. Some say that it's a code sent to us from God."

- Lenny Meyer (in the film Pi)

Book Review: Wormwood G. P. Taylor

"Freaky, unpleasant... but a top tale"

Wormwood

G.P. Taylor

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

I always try to read at least one book a month – and this year I’ve kicked off with a book entitled ‘Wormwood’ which details the events around the coming of a world-killing comet called ‘Wormwood’. Prophecy and magic mix in this 18th Century, London based tale as characters struggle to contend with some seriously weird and wonderful events. Ghosts rub shoulders with angels, witchcraft runs rampant and brutal killers return from the dead – absinth is used to entrap innocents, seedy old men chase teenage virgins and demons stir up all sorts of trouble. As you can probably tell, it’s written by a Christian author: G.P Taylor who also wrote Shadowmancer. Taylor is a vicar who turned author in his late 30’s and is now a millionaire thanks to the film rights being sold to his books… Which is exactly the route I plan to follow in the coming years so stay tuned (apart from the vicar bit)…
Did you know ‘wormwood’ – the bitter drug is rumoured to have grown in the trail of the serpent in the Garden of Eden? Or that it is also the name of the comet foretold in the book of Revelation (chapter 8 verses 10-11)…

Anyway, Wormwood is a cracking read and I take my hat of to Mr Taylor in what he has accomplished. Now, I must finish DARKMATTERS!!

Darkmatt Rating: öööö (tasty)

Click here to read a: Darkmatters Extract

Duck and cover...

Ah, KILLZONE... makes blowing enemy forces away such an addictive pleasure,
here's hoping that they are hard at work in some secret game making bunker on a Playstation Portable (PSP)version!!

Link to other: PSP stuff on this Blog

Every kind of sin and rebellion

Arguing with God... and winning?

Man, still keeping my 'read the bible every day' NYR and although it's not the book that most people might go for, I'm reading 'Numbers'... Today's bit has Moses actively arguing with God and even using emotional blackmail in order to get Him to change his mind - fascinating stuff:

11 And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people reject me? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? 12 I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation far greater and mightier than they are!" 13 "But what will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?" Moses pleaded with the LORD. "They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing these people from Egypt. 14 They will tell this to the inhabitants of this land, who are well aware that you are with this people. They know, LORD, that you have appeared in full view of your people in the pillar of cloud that hovers over them. They know that you go before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you slaughter all these people, the nations that have heard of your fame will say, 16 'The LORD was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness.' 17 "Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed it to be. For you said, 18 'The LORD is slow to anger and rich in unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. Even so he does not leave sin unpunished, but he punishes the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations.' 19 Please pardon the sins of this people because of your magnificent, unfailing love, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt."

Numbers 14: 11-19

Aeon Flux Looking GOOD

"You want me to shoot you with one gun or two?"

Aeon Flux...
Based upon the cult animated spy TV show, created by Peter Chung, which you may have missed when it ran on MTV in the early 1990s - this has the potential to be one of the coolest sci fi / kick ass films on the horizon!!

Story is set in the 25th century; a rampaging virus has forced the remnants of humanity into the seclusion of a final city surrounded by a disease-proof bubble. But folks aren't happy and the acrobatic assassin, Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron), is ordered to take out the government's leader (and when I say 'take out' - I don't mean for a date...)

Film Review: The Aviator

"Chocs away... I'm flying high, like a rocket in the sky etc"

The Aviator (12A)
Dir. Martin Scorsese

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Some men dream the future. He built it.
This is The Aviator - cinema on a spectacular yet intimate scale, confident in tone and lovingly made, it will blow your socks off when it flies and is totally captivating in parts – yes it’s a Martin Scorsese film.
Leonardo DiCaprio has never been better than as eccentric industrialist Howard Hughes, the legendary filmmaker and ‘aviator’ in this visually amazing biopic. Covering Hughes’ life and loves from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s, these were mad times when his flamboyant lifestyle included dating top actresses Katharine Hepburn (an excellent Cate Blanchett), Jean Harlow (embodied by pop sensation Gwen Stefani) and Ava Gardner (the always red hot Kate Beckinsale).
Not content with rewriting new playboy standards, we also get to witness Hughes making his epic WW2 film ‘Hell’s Angels’, personally setting a new airspeed record and taking on then all conquering Pan Am, as well as designing and building the largest plane on the planet. It’s giddying stuff – especially the flight scenes which dazzle, the enthusiasm and passion are very evident as Scorsese crams masses in to the film, which is almost 3 hours long.
The acting and set pieces are incredible, Cate Blanchett must be up for a best supporting actress Oscar – she really steals the show in her role as Hepburn utterly nailing her mannerisms, poise and accent. There are good supporting roles from Alec Baldwin and Alan Alda who form the axis of evil that try to bring Hughes down but actually inspire him to step up to the fight.
The Aviator does hit some turbulence though, like Scorsese’s last film ‘Gangs of New York’, it might be a perfectly realised recreation of the time, but its mind often wanders and the film sometimes trips itself up by letting scenes drag on too long. It is not always easy to watch, especially when it deals with Hughes’ decent into madness (although it ends before the period when he became a recluse for his last 20 years), but it does engage enough human emotion to save the day.
It is for my money a must see film – ambitiously biting off more than may be wise, some have claimed it is 'all gloss and no substance', but it attacks the screen in the same way Hughes led his life – full of gusto and not prepared to compromise.
Go see it.

Darkmatt Rating: öööö (good)

Read other film reviews by Matt Adcock: click here