the aviator

last night the husband was out so i did a little knitting on the secret holiday gift. whee! i thought i'd watch a movie while i was at it, and settled on the aviator. it had long been on my "watch this one day" list both because i love the era, and was intrigued about howard hughes. obviously i know who he was, when i was a kid he was always in the background as the billionaire with the long fingernails, in roughly the same category as the bermuda triangle. but i never really had a clue who he was or what he did, i have to say.

so, the film was interesting on that front. and, what eye candy! gorgeous sets, gorgeous costumes, gorgeous everything. cate blanchett was wonderful - i wasn't sold on her performance in the first scene - it was much too "look, i'm doing hepburn!" - but once she settled in she really inhabited the role. and i got a lot of knitting done. i kept thinking "ack, how late is it? but it can't be that late, i started watching at seven-thirty." but eventually i just felt like i was dully staring and waiting for it to be over. waiting and waiting. i have nothing against long films - if they're filled with stuff. magnolia or doctor zhivago i could watch over and over. but the aviator? there just wasn't any there there.

the highlight for me though: spotting this guy! as kate hepburn's brother, the painter. no lines, sadly, but what a kick to see lovely joe cobden dining with blanchett and dicaprio!