Overall I liked this movie, but I wasn't blown away, and it felt very long to me. I would agree with those that said it lacked a cohesiveness, and even though I really like Scorsese, I don't think he should win an Oscar for this picture. That being said, the individual actors, all of them, were incredibly strong. Leonardo DiCaprio is absolutely amazing and really becomes Howard Hughes. It's obvious that he's taken great consideration (in fact all of the actors have) about the fact that they're portraying real people and should take extra pains to portray them truly. Cate Blanchett was awesome, and this is someone who watches lots of Katharine Hepburn movies, I really liked Cate in the role. She got the accent and tone of Hepburn down. I also really liked Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner, but I just wish there was more of her, because she impressed me, too. Thumbs up to John C. Reilly, Alan Alda, and Alec Baldwin.
What I really liked about the movie was the feeling of the age - from the 20's to the 40's. I didn't think it was an awesome movie, but it was very good and solid.