ADAMANTIUM MEN #28: Leonardo DiCaprio

30Jul/10

ADAMANTIUM MEN #28: Leonardo DiCaprio

LEONARDO DICAPRIO

I recently saw INCEPTION and was reminded of what a great actor Leo actually is. Personally, I think that he has finally matured into an actual man who looks like a man. For years, every time I saw Leo I was reminded of the kid I watched on GROWING PAINS and that baby face of his kept me from appreciating him as a grown-up actor. Now I realize that he is just amazing and believable, and I simply can’t believe I’ve missed this. When did he mature? Facts are, he has and not only that, Leo has become one of today’s finest actors and a true force to be reckoned with at the box office.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

INCEPTION - Leo's most recent release, INCEPTION is a smart movie that is amazingly enjoyable. The dream sequences and time shifts make this a must see, but the movie will leave you wanting more and wondering what you just saw. This isn’t a bad thing, but a good one. After all, when was the last time you left the theater after seeing a movie and you needed to immediately see it again because it was that good?

SHUTTER ISLAND - I know I should be ashamed I haven’t seen this one, but somehow this one eluded me when it hit theaters back in March. However, I have heard that this movie is amazing and well worth seeing. Leo a federal marshal investigating a mental hospital where one of the inmates has escaped. Now that this one is available on DVD and Blu-Ray, I guess I’ll have to catch it.

TITANIC - You all should know this movie and have, at least, seen it once. This is the film that made Leo’s career and it’s easy to see why. Everything here works, from the acting, to the amazing CG and practical effects that re-create the famous unsinkable ship, all the way down to the little tiny details that bring the story to life. For Leo loyalists, this is a annual trip that must be taken and for Leo newbies, this is where you must start in his career. There were movies before and movies after, but none have quite equaled the power of TITANIC.

THE AVIATOR - One of the better Martin Scorsese/Leonardo DiCaprio team-ups, this one has Leo playing Howard Hughes during his aviation days. Definitely worth seeing to just get a close-up look at the beginnings of the aviation age.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN - This was my favorite Leo film until INCEPTION. I am just mesmerized that this is based on a real person, a guy who could become almost anyone and did so for many years. What’s even more fascinating is that he did all this while he was still a teenager (the character, not Leo).

YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED HIM IN

CRITTERS 3 - This one is from really early in his career, I don’t think I have seen this I guess if you want young Leo then this is perfect. J tells me, however, that this movie is a stinker and only worth seeing to really get a grasp on how far Leo has came as an actor.

THE BEACH - Leo’s follow-up (or folly) to TITANIC, this dark tale pretty much alienated most of his fans at the time and actually made a lot of people think he was a one-hit wonder. He soon rectified this notion by delivering the one-two punch of GANGS OF NEW YORK and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN.

DON’S PLUM - I think pretty much everybody missed him in this unreleased drama. Leo and Tobey Maguire did one scene for a friend as a favor, which friend later tried to promote movie as a Leo and Toby film, which ultimately landed it in court, and ultimately caused it to never to see the light of day (well, more correctly, it cannot be publicly shown in the US or Canada).

CAREER LOWLIGHTS

CELEBRITY - Post-TITANIC, Leo floundered for a couple of years, what with the public disaster of THE BEACH and the less-than-stellar THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK. In between those two pics, he did find time to clock in a cameo in this Woody Allen pic. Needless to say, the movie is a mess and Leo comes across as very smug and unlikable here.

THE BEACH - This one is such a disaster that it deserves two spots on the Leo list. One to remind to you that you probably didn’t see it and the other to beg you to avoid it like your life depends on it. It’s that bad.