Oscar contenders

The Aviator:

Nominated for a myriad of awards including best picture, The Aviator is a biographical movie about Howard Hughes. Hughes was one of the most important innovators in aviation history. He was also a hypochondriac with paronoid delusions. The movie focuses more on Hughes descent into mental instablity, rather than on the incredible accomplishments of his life. This is common in a lot Hollywood biographies, where there seems to be a need to destroy individuals, and focus on their faults rather than their accomplishments. Leonardo DiCaprio is not stellar as the unbalanced Hughes, and there is a lot to be desired as far as this film goes. The verdict is three and a half stars out of five, wait for rental release.

Hotel Rwanda:

Nominated for Best Actor (and others) this film is the true story of a hotel manager in the capitol of Rwanda during the Hutu genocide against the Tutsis. It is a great film, and Don Cheadle is deserving of the best actor nomination (though not the award, that should go to Jamie Foxx for his portrayal of Ray Charles in "Ray"). His subtle and solid performance is a highlight to this film. I personally like this film for its notice of the U.N.'s lack of action during the genocide, and Nick Nolte, who I don't normally like, makes an excellent casting as a drinking French Canadian U.N. commander. Five stars, go see it now.