logan j. fowler and bill bodkin look at one of the biggest Oscar bait movies of the year …
Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided? Rent.
The career of Leonardo DiCaprio has been on a roll lately, especially with such great turns in Shutter Island and Inception. Now he takes on the role of J. Edgar Hoover in a biopic helmed by esteemed director Clint Eastwood. The whole movie screams “Oscar bait,” not only because of the main star and the man behind the camera, but because the source material just seems ripe for the Academy picking.
Also featuring Judi Dench and Armie Hammer, who pulled double duty as twins in the much loved-and nominated-The Social Network, J. Edgar definitely looks to be intriguing and full of “behind the scenes” information about the title character. As Hoover was a man who stood for the value of law enforcement, when he wasn’t in the public he his life wasn’t so clean cut. As I’ve seen with Eastwood’s past work, the former Dirty Harry definitely has given us some amazing films in the last few years. Also, being Mr. DiCaprio has become one of my favorite stars to watch as of late, the movie appeals to me, but I will save this for rental, as my interest to see it in theaters isn’t high enough to plunk down the cash. Looking forward to when this hits home video for sure, though.
— LJF
Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided? Theater.
Could this be the film Leonardo DiCaprio finally wins an Oscar for? Leo has proven that he is the premier actor of our time turning in dynamic performance after dynamic performance. From The Aviator to Inception. he’s been brilliant. Now teaming with director Clint Eastwood in a biopic about one of the most controversial men in the history of the U.S., sign me up for an opening-day ticket. These two dramatic heavyweights should be dynamite together. Eastwood is due for a great film. His last few, Grand Torino and Hereafter, have been less than stellar, but I think J. Edgar will be his return to form.
I really have a feeling that just like The Ides Of March, the other big Oscar-bait film released so far, that J. Edgar will have me riveted to my seat and definitely worth the price of admission.
— BB
Leo has been the Susan Lucci o the Oscars, IMHO. He deserved noms (if not wins) for Gilbert Grape, Basketball Diaries, The Departed, Inception and The Aviator. He is arguably the best actor of his generation, and from the looks of it, he may finally get his due with J. Edgar. I’m so at that theater with you, Bodkin.