The Man I Wish I Was

Anyone who knows me knows my passion for my darling Marty. What I wouldn't give to be able to tap into his genius, to know what makes him tick, to see how he sees. So, needless to say, I was frantic to see his newest project, The Departed. I literally counted down the days and practically skipped all the way to the theater last night. And let me just state, for the record, that the man can do no wrong. If I had the money, I would have turned around and marched straight back into the theater to see it all over again. But, I didn't, so I did the next best thing...I frolicked home (also if you know me, you know that is no joke), expounding and pontificating about his glorious ways, and then convinced my flatmates to watch Gangs of New York with me.

Now, on to the film itself. First off, I think however cut the trailer should be shot...or, at least, taken out back. In no way did the editing of those clips give justice to the actual story and characters. In that wonderfully Scorsese way, the film is as much about the characters as it is about the plot. Part of his greatness is in his skill with evoking Oscar worthy performances. He doesn't always pick the most respected or highly regarded actors, but he makes it work. In fact, I think he rather likes to play with expectation and public opinion. The Departed features: Leonardo DiCaprio (his new DeNiro), Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahberg, and Alec Baldwin. In this, you have Wahlberg as the baligerant, egotistical, stubborn a-hole co-leading the investigation of Jack Nicholson, the 70-something mobster who slowly goes insane, Leonardo DiCaprio as paranoid, hotheaded, the undercover detective entreanched in the mob.

-- It was at this point that I realized that my attempt at any sort of unbiased analytical review was going nowhere. A fool's errand. Instead, I bring you people much more capable of rationalizing and detaching themselves from his glory. I wonder if this is legal? --

The Departed Infiltrates US Box Office
Martin Scorsese wins the weekend
Source: Variety

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As the universe rights itself after two distinctly average Ashton Kutcher movies won the weekend last time out, this week belongs to Martin Scorsese. He might not have an Oscar in his pocket, but he’s now enjoying his most successful opening weekend for 15 years.

Yes, The Departed has blasted into American cinemas and audiences have been lapping up the gritty tale of duelling moles in the mob and the Massachusetts police. With Jack Nicholson eating up the screen, the movie made $27 million in its first three days.

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=19680

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New York Times October 6, 2006

MOVIE REVIEW | 'THE DEPARTED'

Scorsese’s Hall of Mirrors, Littered With Bloody Deceit

By MANOHLA DARGIS

There are almost as many films fighting in “The Departed” as there are guys slugging it out. First among those films is Martin Scorsese’s cubistic entertainment about men divided by power, loyalty and their own selves. Hovering above that film like a shadow is “Infernal Affairs,” the equally sleek Hong Kong assemblage on which it is based and which serves as one of its myriad doubles. And then there is the film conjured up by Jack, as in Jack Nicholson, who when not serving Mr. Scorsese’s interests with a monstrous leer all but subverts those interests with a greedy, devouring hunger.

Each Scorsese film comes freighted with so many expectations, as well as the enormity of his own legend, that it’s a wonder the director can bear the weight. Compared with his last fictional outings, the period story “Gangs of New York” and the Howard Hughes portrait “The Aviator,” this new work feels as light as a feather, or as light as any divertissement from a major filmmaker who funnels his ambitions through genre. What helps make “The Departed” at once a success and a relief isn’t that the director of “Kundun,” Mr. Scorsese’s deeply felt film about the Dalai Lama, is back on the mean streets where he belongs; what’s at stake here is the film and the filmmaking, not the director’s epic importance.

In “The Departed” the camera work and cutting feel faster, lower to the ground, more urgent than they have in his recent films. (Michael Ballhaus shot it; Thelma Schoonmaker edited.) The speed and Mr. Scorsese’s sureness of touch, particularly when it comes to carving up space with the camera, keep the plot’s hall of mirrors from becoming a distraction.

FOR THE REST OF THE REVIEW GO TO: http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/10/06/movies/06depa.html

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Ain't It Cool News

Published on Friday, October 6, 2006 - 3:01am

Moriarty Welcomes THE DEPARTED’s Arrival!!

Hey, everyone. “Moriarty” here with some Rumblings From The Lab...

D’ya ever notice how sometimes the critical community starts to sound like a broken record on certain films? Right now, you can read around 5,000 reviews online that all say, with varying thickets of verbiage, that is sure is nice to have Martin Scorsese back in the crime genre where he belongs. While I’m sure he appreciates the enthusiasm of the reviewers, it’s got to sting a little.

I haven’t been crazy about some of his recent films. GANGS OF NEW YORK in particular struck me as a movie that seemed to have too much on its mind, including awards. THE AVIATOR is a beautifully-crafted film, but it’s a biopic, and I always feel with biopics like there’s a cookie-cutter shape to even the best of them.

FOR THE REST OF THE REVIEW GO TO: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/30312