Our hearts still go on for 'Titanic'

This year marks the 15th anniversary of "Titanic," and this month makes it 100 years since the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912. To commemorate these anniversaries, the 1997 film is being reissued to theaters in 3-D on Wednesday.

It's a good time to revisit the picture, which I did for the first time since 1997. Some things got worse with the years and some got better, but -- here's the good news -- the things that got worse got only slightly worse, and the things that got better got a lot better.

Here are 10 points to look for when you rewatch "Titanic":

1. No "the": Yes, the ship was called "Titanic," but nobody has ever called it anything but "the Titanic," for the simple reason that using an adjective as a noun without "the" just strikes the ear as odd. But in the film, nobody says the "the." It's an affectation that calls attention to itself.

2. Seesaw script: Cameron is a frustrating writer. He comes up with moments that are perfectly lovely, and then in other places, his script clunks. The first meeting of Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) is weak and clichéd, and whenever we join them mid-conversation, it feels awkward. He also can't resist moments of too-obvious irony, as when Rose's evil fiancé (Billy Zane) says, "Picasso -- he won't amount to a thing."

3. Labor of love: Celine Dion's rendition of "My Heart Will Go On" was heard so often in the late '90s that it quickly became the stuff of parody. In fact, the theme music is used beautifully throughout. It's a real asset to the picture.

4. Homework assignment: See the 1958 film "A Night to Remember." It's not a movie about the Titanic; it's a love story set on the Titanic. If you don't get into the love story, you will hate the movie. So pay attention to the love story and stop waiting for the iceberg. It's a long wait.

6. Sleeping beauty: Winslet went on to become a beautiful and glamorous woman, so it's hard to remember that in her early 20s, her looks were unremarkable. The real beauty was DiCaprio. As in "Twilight," you have the spectacle of an impossibly handsome heartthrob devoting himself to (and rescuing) an average pretty girl -- and telling her how awesome she is.

7. Perfect touch: Once the movie gets beyond the awkward first meetings between Rose and Jack, their scenes improve, and they're the best things in the movie. Cutting from them in the car to an overhead shot of the ship speeding toward its doom was inspired. When Cameron cuts back to the lovers, he gives us the single best shot in the film. We see the car from the outside -- and Winslet's hand suddenly presses against the glass. That's all we see. It's one of the subtlest presentations of an orgasm ever onscreen. It makes you wonder about a director who can do things this sparing, sophisticated and lovely and other things so ham-fisted -- in the same film. That's life. You take the good with the bad.

8. Inspired acting: Watch Leo for two good moments -- one obvious, one quiet. Rose jumps out of the lifeboat to rejoin Jack on the ship, and DiCaprio has the line, "You're so stupid -- why did you do that?" which he repeats. In that moment, DiCaprio is playing about five emotions simultaneously. You can feel how overwhelmed he is. The less obvious good moment comes when they're at the top of the ship, and it's just about to sink. DiCaprio just glances at her, and you understand that this guy is absolutely determined that she survive -- that he feels responsible for her, and his commitment is total. It's just a flash, but it's all there.

9. Rose's mistake: Of course, Rose's fleeing the lifeboat to rejoin Jack is one of the best scenes in the movie. But in retrospect, she didn't do Jack any favors. Think about it: There was one piece of wood out there in the entire ocean. She got on it and was saved. Had she stayed on the lifeboat, Jack could have been on that piece of wood. His heart could have gone on, too.