Ain't that a kick in the head?

Rating: 7/10 (21 January 2006)

Leonardo Dicaprio here is starring at Howard Hughes one of the most filthiest people alive in his day. Notorious for frivolous projects and chasing women, Hughes basically set a cornerstones for the Hiltons and the Trumps for today. Martin Scorcese of course, does a marvelous job of taking us back in time. This time during the 1930's, when everything was almost coming down, except for the extremely rich. DiCaprio is actually quite fun as Hughes, playing every tick and nuance (I was especially impressed with how he portrayed his obsessive-compulsive disorder). The supporting actors are all great too with of course the truly amazing Cate Blanchett as Kate Hepburn. I'm just amazed she pulled this almost impossible task off the way she did.. No wonder she won an Oscar for it! All the rest of the cast is quite good too. (I especially loved my main man Alec Baldwin as the sneaky Pan Am Chief.. Go Alec!). The only problem I had happens 2/3 of the way through, with Hughes' dementia getting progressively worse. I think that segment could've been trimmed down somewhat. Finally, I just love the in-joke that no one seems have picked up on with the throwaway line about the preview of Lon Chaney's 'London After Midnight', which is a classically 'lost' film, and a film Scorsese is nuts about, so that was interesting.