Plenty of good movies to see while in Miami for the holidays, two of which star Leonardo DiCaprio, and the third being a delightful musical gem.

Catch Me If You Can
2002, 2 hrs 15 min., Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and brief language.�Dir: Steven Spielberg. Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Frank Abagnale Jr.), Tom Hanks (Carl Hanratty), Christopher Walken (Frank Abagnale), Nathalie Baye (Paula Abagnale), Martin Sheen (Roger Strong), Amy Adams (Brenda Strong), James Brolin (Jack Barnes), Jennifer Garner (Cheryl Ann).

This is a great holiday picture. Go ahead. Look at the director�s name again. And the first two actors listed. Bingo! Bango! We have an instant hit with a movie full of good-natured characters journeying the country, with a hero (DiCaprio) on the lam � but it doesn't matter to the audience because we love to see how he does his thing - and the FBI agent (Hanks) investigating and making chase.

The movie�s based on the true story of one of the best con artists in modern history, who made millions of dollars by cashing fraudulent checks and impersonated a doctor, lawyer, pilot, etc., all before his 20th birthday.

DiCaprio slides through this with a smirk, a smirk that the audience shares, all led by the chief resident Dr. Feelgood of motion picture directors, Steven Spielberg, who fills the screen with beautiful people and vibrant color. He moves the plot from one dashing encounter to the next, and the supporting cast (especially Christopher Walken as DiCaprio�s father) pops up once in a while to dutifully push DiCaprio along with panache and give his journey meaning.

The verdict:

Gangs of New York
2002, 2 hrs 40 min., Rated R for intense strong violence, sexuality/nudity and language. Dir: Martin Scorsese. Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Amsterdam Vallon), Daniel Day-Lewis (William 'Bill the Butcher' Cutting), Cameron Diaz (Jennie Everdeane), Jim Broadbent (Boss Tweed), John C. Reilly (Happy Jack), Henry Thomas (Johnny Sirocco), Brendan Gleeson (Monk).

Two movies in a row in which I don't yearn for Leo to drown in the end! Nae, he's actually a sympathetic, likable rogue in both. There is quite a contrast, though, between the soft, bright colors in Catch Me If You Can and the bloody gloom of Gangs of New York.

This is a very violent, very bloody movie, taking place in 1862-63 New York City, specifically the Five Points area that is now Chinatown. Back then, though, thousands of people lived in a relatively small area ruled by several gangs who organized the "native" Americans against the immigrants, especially the Irish, who weren't seen in much more favorable of a light than blacks.

Daniel Day-Lewis should earn a few nominations for his infamous turn as Bill the Butcher. This was a juicy role, and Day-Lewis certainly sank his teeth into it, taking every scene he's in up a notch. You yearn to hear him spew comments of derision in the same breath as overwhelming sincerity.

The supporting cast has several notable names, from Liam Neeson as DiCaprio's father, and John C. Reilly as a Neeson follower-turned-dirty cop. The love interest for DiCaprio is Cameron Diaz, whom I've never been a big fan, but she's okay here, even genial as a master pickpocket with red hair to match her fire and charm.

The entire movie perked my history-loving interest. I'm not entirely familiar with New York City history, but if it's anything near like the hellish Five Points area, I'm glad my ancestors settled in the South. The time was a troubling one in New York and the rest of the country, and the movie doesn't gloss over any of it, from debates over immigration to blacks integrating into the free northern society (where they were largely none too welcome any more than the South). The History Channel's "History vs. Hollywood" seemed to like it, and only had minor quibbles over inaccuracies, many of which were a means for the filmmakers to fit the story into the frame. Scorsese also uses some familiar names from the period, such as Boss Tweed (played delightfully by Jim Broadbent) and his Tammany Hall work, and newspaperman Horace Greely.

I was thoroughly intrigued during the climax, with Draft Riots overcoming the city as these two men tried to settle their now-insignificant and wholly personal differences, while the rest sought any kind of significance among the city and adopted homeland (although I object to the portrayal of all those who sought more controlled immigration as evil).

Scorsese also deserves accolades for the look of the film, which sometimes bordered on looking like a comic book, but also carried the audience from gang to gang, rich to poor areas, happiness to sorrow, all within the same block of town in snow and sun.

By the way, Howard Shore's music in Gangs of New York wasn't as good or noticeable as his work in Lord of the Rings, but it was still pretty involving, and we'll soon see Shore mentioned with John Williams and James Horner in the scoring of big flicks.

The verdict:

Chicago
2002, 1 hr 35 min., Rated PG-13 for sexual content and dialogue, violence and thematic elements. Dir: Rob Marshall. Cast: Catherine Zeta-Jones (Velma Kelly), Ren�e Zellweger (Roxie Hart), Richard Gere (Billy Flynn), John C. Reilly (Amos Hart), Queen Latifah (Matron 'Mama' Morton), Christine Baranski (Mary Sunshine), Taye Diggs (The Band Leader), Dominic West (Fred Casely), Lucy Liu (Go-To-Hell Kitty).

Razzle dazzle and all that jazz, Chicago is a treat. It�s really great, it�s really swell, and even if Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) was pulling my strings to cheer, I�m okay with that. Although I wouldn�t need any prodding, since after just about every song you mourn that you�re in a movie theater, because you want to stand and applaud as much as you�ll be giggling from the spot-on and suggestive dialogue.

I've never seen the Ray Fosse musical, so I can't compare, but what I did see on the big screen floored me - in a good way. Ren�e Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones were va-va-va-voom voluptuous (OK, so Zellweger could stand to eat a few cheeseburgers and keep the Bridget Jones weight � but she�s still a cutie). The bit with Gere and his "puppets" was fabulous, and next to the �Razzle Dazzle� and his trial tap dance, it more than made up for my initial concerns over his questionable singing ability from his "All I Care About" tune. John C. Reilly, as Zellweger�s invisible husband, is quickly moving from �That Guy� status to being near the top of the billing.

I can see now why it nabbed eight Golden Globe nominations, and it could earn a few noms from the Academy as well. And not just because there was more fishnet used than by St. Peter on Galilee, with women dressing lustfully and flapper girls zinging all over the place. The camerawork allows the women to dance from one side of the screen to the next, and the sets keep the viewer in the Roaring 20s, which the decade most certainly was.

What bothers me, though, is that the younger audiences aren't going to see Chicago. From the lines I saw in the Paradise 24 in Miami the week prior, then my theater when I did see it, the vast majority of the audience are members of AARP. That�s too bad, because I highly recommended it to my sisters and sister-in-law, all "Moulin Rouge" devotees, as well as anyone who finds themselves singing along with show tunes.