I had always been on the fence with Leo.  He's good, but he's not that good, I would tell myself.  The Aviator was, in my opinion, the first time DiCaprio wasn't a complete bitch from beginning to end.  Good thing, cause I think they revoke your Italian card if you don't have at least some balls.

     Leo plays Howard Hughes, the true life eccentric rich genius/germ nut/movie maker/playboy/aviator that made incredible movies, like the original Scarface (1932) and Hell's Angels (1930), set air flight records, dated celebrities, and locked himself in rooms for months at a time.  The man was made for movies, really.

     I know Scorsese won the Oscar for The Departed (2006), but this is where he should have won it.  This is a beautiful piece of cinema that will inspire even the laziest in the audience to get up and do something.  Hughes was a restless perfectionist whose passion was more infectious than this thing I have on my leg.  By the way, if you see me on the street, don't touch me.

     Also, endless praise to Cate Blanchett for her award winning role as Katharine Hepburn.  The 'love/idea that passes for love' dynamic her and Leo have is Hallmark worthy sometimes, radiation toxicity others.  And it was so pallatable, I almost thought my parents got back together.

 

     What Makes This Movie Cool:  Howard Hughes.  The reason this movie is so cool is because Hughes himself led such an interesting, innovative and mysterious existences offered by any celebrity since the advent of celebrities.  He fought gravity, Senate hearings, even fake bugs.  And though he faultered, he never gave up and he never gave in.  He was a visionary when this country needed one.  Oh beautiful for spacious skies...