For a movie that clocks in at 2 hours and 45 minutes, I find
The Aviator to be very short. The movie is so good that I would have gladly watched this in one sitting if it were 10 hours long. This is a fascinating look at one of the most unique American personalities to come along.
Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio) is both brilliant and an enigma. I've seen my share of documentaries on the man over the years, so I was excited when I heard that they were finally going into production on this bio pic. And I was beyond happy that
Martin Scorsese was going to have his hands all over this. If you are a fan of his or
Leo's or
Hughes, this is an absolute joy of a movie to watch.
Everything about
The Aviator screams classic Hollywood film making at its finest. The cinematography is amazing, as well as the Sound FX Editing. But the meat and potatoes of what makes this film truly
fly is
Leo's impeccable performance as the obsessive-compulsive
Hughes. Watching
Leo transform from a Playboy who had all the women you could think of to basically breaking down before our very eyes is to see a master at work. But he wasn't the only one piloting this movie.
Cate Blanchett as
Katharine Hepburn was extraordinary and just knocked it out of the park. Dare I say it, but she stole all the scenes that she had in this one, including
Leo. I was happy she won for
Best Supporting Actress, but I was bummed that
Leo once again got the shaft. He should have one for
Best Actor. Bah!!

It's gotta be a trip for
John C. Reilly to work with
Leo on two films and see him at work and get nominated both time. They previously worked together on
What's Eating Gilbert Grape. He's not the only one along for the ride. This has got some big heavyweights like
Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Kate Beckinsale, Ian Holm, Adam Scott, Jude Law and
Gwen Stefani.
Anyway, I highly recommend this as a
Buy. Be sure to get the
2 Disc Widescreen Edition. It has a wealth of bonus features that I'm still working my way through. It's got your typical making of doc, but the Crown Jewel is the
History Channel, hour long doc on the man himself.
Onto a related topic, if any of you are fans of planes in general, but sure to check out
Mac's Boeing Thread. It's got a lot of cool stuff to check out. With
Howard Hughes vast contribution to the Space Program, you might also want to check in on the
Space and Beyond Thread as well.