BS: 'Catch Me If You Can' - excellent!

Subject: BS: 'Catch Me If You Can' - excellent!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 20 Jan 03 - 04:31 PM

Okay, I have not seen "Gangs of New York" (and I generally don't care for films made by Martin Scorcese at all)...but...

I have seen "Catch Me If You Can" and it's a very good movie, a really intriguing story, with superb acting by both DiCaprio and Christopher Walken (who is amazing as DiCaprio's aging father). It's surely the exonneration of Leo DiCaprio. I had not thought of him as a serious actor until seeing this film.

The guy who plays the FBI agent is also very good, by the way, sort of nerdy but at the same time determined and efficient in that old FBI style of yesteryear.

This movie's got absolutely everything a good story needs. And the really interesting part is the unspoken message of the whole story, which for me is this:

Take a society that is so sick that it basically values only one thing...money...and has absolutely no pity on those who have none, take a broken family...broken indirectly by that society's very inhuman nature...take a young kid who is desperately trying to recover the dream of that family and find a place for himself, and who is smart enough to beat the corrupt system at its own game...and what have you got?

A hero, that's what. The honest and dedicated FBI guys who finally track that kid down don't know it in the least, but they are working for the gigantic insane Monster that has them and everybody else enslaved and doesn't give a damn how many lives it destroys on the way to the bank.

And that's something to think about. It was quite saddening to me to see the kid end up finally working for the Monster, but he didn't really have a whole lot of choice, did he? He was just a kid, after all. Great movie.

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: 'Catch Me If You Can' - excellent!
From: DougR
Date: 20 Jan 03 - 04:34 PM

L.H.: steady now ...sit down ...or hold on to something. Ready? I agree with you. Very good movie.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: 'Catch Me If You Can' - excellent!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 20 Jan 03 - 04:45 PM

Wow! Well, bully for you, Doug, as Teddy Roosevelt would have said!

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: 'Catch Me If You Can' - excellent!
From: Deda
Date: 20 Jan 03 - 05:31 PM

I second this (but then, I often agree with LH). It was a very entertaining movie. The FBI agent is played by Tom Hanks.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Catch Me If You Can' - excellent!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 20 Jan 03 - 05:37 PM

Ah, right! Well, he did a very convincing job of it. It was damned funny when the kid in the limousine held up the sign with the FBI agent's name on it to indicate who he was supposed to be picking up. "Hanratty", wasn't it?

- LH

Subject: RE: BS: 'Catch Me If You Can' - excellent!
From: Art Thieme
Date: 20 Jan 03 - 08:34 PM

good film.

art thieme holding a bowl of breyers non-fat sugar free ice cream with my right hand.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Catch Me If You Can' - excellent!
From: Cluin
Date: 20 Jan 03 - 08:49 PM

Note to self: If you are planning to see a movie, don't read a thread on it.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Catch Me If You Can' - excellent!
From: GUEST,Forum Lurker
Date: 21 Jan 03 - 12:07 AM

While I agree that "Catch Me If You Can" is an excellent movie, I must disagree with the conclusions that L.H. drew about its message. Yes, the societal obsession with wealth is monstrous, but it is infidelity, spawned by hasty and unthinking commitment, which breaks the home as much as materialism. The FBI financial crimes unit is hardly the Monster Little Hawk portrayed it as; for every person who defrauds only large corporations, there is another scam artist whose victims are drawn from retirement homes. Further, the message is that Frank can't settle down or have a truly happy life, because his thefts and frauds rely on a lack of real identity. He's not a hero, he's just trying to find a place for himself in life.

AS far as "Gangs of New York" is concerned, DiCaprio does excellently - in a supporting role. The real star is Daniel Day-Lewis, who portrays quite possibly the best villain in the history of film-making. Overall, the plot is very strong, character development and acting is incredible, and the cinematography is amazing.

Subject: RE: BS: 'Catch Me If You Can' - excellent!
From: Steve-o
Date: 21 Jan 03 - 12:49 PM

Terrific movie- agree with LH that Leo has done his first great thing since "Gilbert Grape". I read the book many years ago and was flabergasted by Frank A.'s story....the movie really did it justice. And the casting of Christopher Walken- perfect!!

Subject: RE: BS: 'Catch Me If You Can' - excellent!
From: DougR
Date: 21 Jan 03 - 05:19 PM

Yes, Lurker, I agree with you. L.H. gets carried away when the subject of wealth comes up. :>)

Cluin: nothing has been said in the thread that would prevent your enjoying the movie.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: 'Catch Me If You Can' - excellent!
From: Little Hawk
Date: 21 Jan 03 - 07:05 PM

Good points, Lurker. It's just one philosophical way of looking at it, that's all. I do not feel sympathy for forgers generally, since most of them are motivated by thoroughly dishonest impulses like antisocial laziness and greed...but this guy was a special case, and I could not help but sympathize with him, given the circumstances. He was not trying to hurt anyone, but just to survive.

The FBI financial crimes unit is no monster, but it works for the great heartless System, and it's that system I was referring to as a monster. You know, the one that has managed, through appealing to every human greed and weakness, to pretty much destroy Nature, the traditional family, the traditional community, and the spiritual and moral strengths of society. The FBI guys are employed directly by and for the maintenance of that System, as are the military, the bureaucrats, etc... Doesn't mean that as individuals they are bad people. Most of them are good people, as I well know.

If you're in a place where everyone helps and cares for everyone else on a daily basis, you can see the difference right away. The System divides people against one another, armours them in their useless possessions and their loneliness, and conquers them by making sure that the right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing, no power to change it anyway, and apparently no time to bother finding out about it either. Eat, drink, and be merry...for tomorrow you will die in an old folk's home...or an alleyway...depending on whether the money holds out.

- LH