The Departed

Before seeing this, I knew I was in for a treat, given that it's a Scorsese movie, but The Departed was even better than I expected.

The acting is outstanding. Leonardo DiCaprio gives what is quite possibly the best performance of his career. Even the people who hate him admit he did a good job. It's turned some haters into fans and my brother who despises him even says he was great. Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson give their best performances since The Talented Mr. Ripley and As Good As It Gets. Mark Wahlberg almost steals the show with the best lines. Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin, and Martin Sheen are good, too.

Definitely one of the best films of the 00's. And easily one of the best remakes of all time. It's intense, funny, exciting, suspenseful, superbly acted, violent, has great characters, and has one of the most shocking scenes I've ever seen. And there's not a boring moment in it's two and a half hour running time.

The film will most likely be nominated for picture, director and adapted screenplay, and in my opinion, it deserves all three of them. DiCaprio and Wahlberg also deserve nominations.

See this as soon as you can.

The Departed

The screenplay: Top Notch

The performances: all-star cast delivering all-star performances

The music: perfect

The Directing: Martin Scorsese at his finest and that is saying something.

Once again Scorsese delivers a film that meets or exceeds the expectations of its audience in nearly every way. There are moments of incredible tension, violence, and drama, moments where characters reveal their vulnerabilities and weakness. Comedic moments and moments of sadness and through it all a multi layered and brilliant story is told by an American film maker who once again proves Harvey Keitel correct when he said, "Maybe he (Scorsese) got what he deserves--exclusion from the mediocre."

This film is Scorsese's finest work since Raging Bull, but it is not simply about Martin Scorsese or the amazing screen play by William Monahan, it is more than an amazing score, and great cinematography. While many of the accolades for this film belong to those behind the scenes people who envisioned and directed this film. One would be remiss to not point out the great performances of an all-star cast, many of whom deliver the finest performances of long and storied careers. Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon deliver incredible performances.

However the performance that stood out for me was Wahlberg, Mark Wahlberg's Sgt. Dignam stole every scene he was in, and he shared screen time with each of the afore mentioned actors. He gets to deliver some of the best lines, and with every scene he leaves the audience wanting more, and anticipating his next scene.

Since The Academy has had its collective heads stuck … for so long, mentioning a Scorsese picture and Oscar in the same sentence seems to be a waste of time. That being said I can not say if he will finally win the Oscar that he has deserved for so long, as his major competition (Flags of our Fathers) has yet to be released, I will say that I expect to see Wahlberg nominated for best supporting, and Leo and Damon will be pitted against one another once more, this time for best actor, Monahan will be nominated for writing, and of course Scorsese will be nominated for director. Also, it goes without saying a best picture nomination will be in order for The Departed.

That was the long version; the short version is if you like a movie with incredible performances, direction, music and visuals. If you like a layered story that is not formulaic, in short if you appreciate film making and story telling at its finest then see this film. Even with the glowing reviews of myself and others, and the high expectations they will undoubtedly bring I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

An undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston. Let me start off with saying that this is my favorite movie, no doubts about it. the movie starts out slow with it's LONG intro, but picks up and never breaks pace. I normally hate pace breaking in movies, so this is already a big + in my book. the story is interesting to watch as Dicaprio and Damon struggle with their identities while Jack Nicholsen has some fun as the bad guy. This movie has a great plot, cast, music score, length and almost all elements of movies possible such as: drama, comedy, action, crime, thrills and suspense and many more. The Departed is a great movie and should be recognized as one.I find nothing wrong with it. maybe the lack of female characters, but it ain't that bad.

Nicholson, Damon, and Dicaprio make for an absolute powerhouse trio in this classic film. I have had this on my watch list for quite some time, and although it wasn't as rock solid as I was expecting, it's ending was right up my alley. Aside from the phenomenal acting and the satisfying conclusion, I was only impressed with the simplicity of which a complex double-rat story was told. I never felt lost trying to keep track of who worked for who and who was spying on who, because the filmmakers laid it out so clearly for me.

Please don't make negative comments like some of the aforementioned people have been doing if you haven't seen the film yet! I have seen it, at a press screening last week. Not only is it the best film of the year so far, it marks a return to form for Martin Scorsese, and ranks with the likes of GOODFELLAS as being one of the best in his canon of films.

I'm a fan of the Hong Kong film, INFERNAL AFFAIRS, upon which this is based. While THE DEPARTED keeps the basic structure of the original, it is very much its own movie, so much so that the screenwriter, William Monahan, didn't even watch the original film while adapting its screenplay, thus enabling him to infuse the script with his, and Scorsese's, respective visions.

All the actors are first-rate (yes, even Leo, for all you DiCaprio bashers out there), and turn in some of their best performances to date. THE DEPARTED is sure to garner a host of Oscar nods, if not wins, including (hopefully) Scorsese's long-overdue statuette for Best Director. Plus, with actors like Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin playing supporting roles, that says a lot about the quality of the film they signed up for! THE DEPARTED is tough stuff, not for the faint-of-heart. That said, it is a must-see for adult viewers who long for intelligent, gritty stories to grace our movie screens once again.