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Although his ventures into sci-fi in recent years turned up interesting results, Steven Spielberg has in this movie returned to more conventional story telling and the end product is a mouth watering feast of cinematic thrills. The film is based on the true life story of Frank Abignale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio), a teenage con artist and fraudster who becomes the youngest ever person to wind up on the FBIs most wanted list. Having seen his parents seemingly perfect marriage crumble following his father's troubles with the IRS, DiCaprio enters a self destructive fantasy world when he turns his attention to forging cheques and impersonating airline pilots. Soon the Feds become aware of his illegal activities and Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) picks up the scent.

In an effortless two hours and twenty minutes, Spielberg uses his considerable talents to weave an atmospheric and exciting tale of cat and mouse as DiCaprio always remains just one step ahead of the determined FBI agent pursuing him. Slowly the noose tightens around DiCaprio's neck, but not before he has a chance to defraud millions of dollars and successfully trick his way into a variety of jobs he was unqualified to do. As his increasingly sophisticated exploits land him in greater trouble, he finds himself further and further removed from reality and he is left with no one to trust and no where to go but to keep on running. With meaningful relationships destined to end in tears, he develops a deep rapport with the only person who has any understanding of him – his pursuer Tom Hanks.

‘Catch Me if you Can' confirms yet again that Spielberg has no peer when it comes to making purposeful popcorn entertainment. He can thrill and audience without ever sacrificing the twin pillars of strong scripting and good acting. DiCaprio excels as the charming con man, while Hanks' measured performance as the dogged FBI agent is an effortless turn that once again reconfirms his status as one of Hollywood's most capable leading men. In the midst of the battle of the big names, special mention must go to the great Christopher Walken as DiCaprio's father who steals every scene from the big boys. An exuberant jazz score from John Williams and a sumptuous production design that captures all the design flair of the period adds icing to this most enticing of cinematic cakes.

Robert Benton's film of single parenting, divorce, and custody battles has so much potential to become a mawkish TV Movie of the Week drama, but manages to resist the urge at every turn. Instead he has made a film that is as intelligent as it is moving and is worthy of a place on the big screen. Dustin Hoffman plays Ted Kramer a successful advertising executive who is abandoned by his wife (Streep) and is forced to look after his young son by himself. This may sound like a tedious enough scenario, but we are saved from the traumas of soap operatic drivel by Benton's sharp direction and superlative acting from the entire cast. As with so many of his performances in the seventies, Hoffman is entirely convincing and totally without flaw. He successfully portrays the character of a man who is committed to his working duties yet that has to consistently struggle in order to give his son the kind of domestic life necessary. Meryl Streep performs a similarly laudable turn as his neglected wife who walks out of the home in order to rebuild her shattered confidence.

The film devotes the first hour to the depiction of Hoffman's efforts to build a better home for his son in the light of his wife's absence, and Benton's shrewd direction in this regard results in a film that is both entertaining and emotionally challenging. Hoffman bravely comes to terms with the challenges of single parenting and learns that there is more to life than making a lot of money. Justin Henry in the role of seven-year-old Billy Kramer delivers a towering performance as a child who is caught between two battling parents, and disproves the theory that child actors are both annoying and precocious. As the film progresses towards its conclusion the two warring partners take their case to court in order to decide on the custody of their child, and rather than presenting the courtroom showdown as a showpiece of crying, screaming and accusations, Benton instead delivers an intelligent commentary on the nature of responsible parenting.

For a film that tackles the plethora of domestic issues which it does, Kramer Vs Kramer manages at all times to be a compelling movie which never trivialises the topics it is dealing with, nor does it ever allow itself to take a convenient moral stance regarding the conflicting parents. Instead it presents a credible, moving story of a father and son trying to build and maintain a successful relationship, while at the same time presenting the story of a mother vying for the love of her son yet trying to create a life of her own in the process. An intelligent script couple with top rate performances and sharp direction make this movie the finest in its class and remains one of the quintessential characterisations of America's divorce ridden culture. Sadly, the same could not be said for the countless spin-offs it inspired.

Although Martin Scorsese set out to make a homage to the great musical traditions of American cinema, the end result is an overlong uneven, and ultimately unrewarding viewing experience. Robert DeNiro plays a short fused, jealous, ill mannered saxophone player who hooks up with singer Liza Minnelli and enters into a destructive relationship that threatens their happiness and creativity. ‘New York, New York' remains the least successful of the DeNiro-Scorsese collaborations, and its main problem is that it is lacking in direction. This is somewhat ironic considering one of America's finest filmmakers was at the helm. The acerbic coupling of DeNiro and Minnelli is often unpleasant to watch, and one often wonders what such a mismatched couple ever saw in each other to begin with. He is constantly jealous of her talents and her impending success, yet she tolerates his capricious controlling behaviour and forgives all his whims because she perceives him to be a struggling and tortured genius. While DeNiro is never unconvincing or uncommitted in his performance, he is simply too petty to be compelling. Minnelli scores big when she gets a chance to display her singing talents and she remains the more sympathetic character of the two, but even at that she doesn't give us much to relate too. Despite all its problems it is still a watchable film, but with the talent involved one would have hoped for a whole lot more.