Titanic - 10 stars out of 10

Titanic - 10 stars out of 10

"Titanic" is one of the greatest films in the history of cinema.  That is not an opinion - it is fact.  The "disaster film" genre is often scoffed at, but there is so much to this film that you forget that half of it belongs in the disaster genre.  James Cameron's script geniusly incorporates countless historical characters from the Titanic's voyage into this fictional story, transporting the audience back to 1912.  The love story works because of the format of the film, telling the story from Rose's point of view with Gloria Stuart's magnificent voiceovers.  It also gives a sense of finality through it's poignant ending as we see the photographs from Rose's adventurous life.  The entire theme of making life count is ironic as Rose and Jack pursue their affair, never realizing that their time is about to run out.  With this movie, James Cameron pushed the boundaries of computer animation and it is still remarkably realistic by today's standards.  Seeing this film in 3D made me realize that it was meant to be seen on the big screen.  I missed it the first time around but after seeing it in theaters this time, it absolutely consumed me in the story.  The 3D magnified this effect, placing me inside of the Titanic with the rest of the characters, praying that the ship will not sink (I know that it sounds cheesy, but I was desperately hoping that history would be rewritten).  Kate Winslet is enchanting and should have won the 1998 Academy Award for best actress.  This is her most lovely role of all time, showing her acting diversity as the high class brat, careless lover, and eventually the heartbroken victim.  The chemistry between Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio is perfect and has made them one of the greatest leading couples in any movie.  Achieving a good ratio of love story to tragedy, Titanic will capture your attention for its entire 3+ hour duration.  There is so much depth in this story that your interest will never waver.  In addition to great performances by the leads, it is filled with excellent supporting performances by Kathy Bates (as the unsinkable Molly Brown), Victor Garber (as the ship's architect), David Warner (as the bodyguard), Jonathan Hyde (as the White Star Line director), and many others.  "Titanic" creates some of the most memorable moments in cinema history without resorting to cheesy foreshadowing, since we all know what eventually happens to the ship.  This movie has been lauded as one of history's greatest, especially with its 11 Oscar wins... and all of the critics are correct.  Titanic nears cinematic perfection.