The Departed

[june]

Hello All,

I loved this movie but hated the ending. Jack Nicolson was "THE MAN!" Anyone seen this yet?

[David Meek]

Not yet. It'll take three-four weeks to get to the island. It's a definite "seer" though.

[comeup]

Hello All,

I loved this movie but hated the ending. Jack Nicolson was "THE MAN!" Anyone seen this yet?

June, I hated the end also (good movie though)

[George Bellefontaine]

There seems to be some Oscar buzz about this one. Will this finally be the one to net Scorcese his long overdue Oscar ?

[sirbogey]

HAven't seen it, but heard it's nothing else than a remake of Infernal Affairs. It this is true, I'd hate to see him winning an oscar. The original was an oscar performance already!!!

[june]

Yes, It was a remake of Infernal Affairs. The original had a much better ending. Also the original had a serious "AUDIO SCENCE!!"

[sirbogey]

After having seen all 3 Infernal Affairs, I just can't picture the current staff in the remake. I remember reading something 2 or 3 years ago, that they were trying to cast Brad Pitt for the role... so Leonardo got it..

anyway, don't forget to watch the original!

[Gump]

I don't want to say that I was disappointed in this film, but it wasn't as great as I expected it to be. Maybe my expectations were too high based on the hype and the cast. Obviously can't go into any specifics, but I thought the ending was a little odd also. The characters/dialogue just weren't very convincing for me. I also thought that Scorcese didn't get into the Boston/Irish culture as much as he should've/could've. Sorry---I really wanted to enjoy this one.

I'll give it a C+. It was good but not great.

If Scorcese wins an Oscar for this it will be based on sympathy due to him being passed over for some of his other (better) films.

[George Bellefontaine]

If Scorcese wins an Oscar for this it will be based on sympathy due to him being passed over for some of his other (better) films.

Well, even a sympathy oscar is better than being ignored for life.

[Tweir]

All of you guys are talking about everything but. What about the MC252 and mvp861 and the c45 preamp. Did you guys miss the awesome mcintosh setup?

[Vinny]

After having seen all 3 Infernal Affairs, I just can't picture the current staff in the remake. I remember reading something 2 or 3 years ago, that they were trying to cast Brad Pitt for the role... so Leonardo got it..

anyway, don't forget to watch the original!

They had a huge budget constrain on this one as WB spent most of the money of the project for buying the license...... guess Brad wouldn't want a low monetary reward by that time :


The original was a big hit because it had couple decent actors in it(at least 4+ winner iirc, I watched it long time ago as it was just released)..... yet the story was not decent(or you can say superb by that time of Hong Kong's had suffered film industry/economy/etc)

[Gump]

Well, even a sympathy oscar is better than being ignored for life.

Maybe your right, George.....but I bet the competing nominees might disagree.

[Gump]

All of you guys are talking about everything but. What about the MC252 and mvp861 and the c45 preamp. Did you guys miss the awesome mcintosh setup?

The Mac set-up did stand out in that one scene and it looked pretty cool with those glowing blue lights.

[Burke Strickland]

Well, even a sympathy oscar is better than being ignored for life.

That's what "Lifetime Achievement" awards are for. Otherwise, they might as well just line up everyone who has been nominated before but hasn't gotten an Oscar in that category yet and hand 'em one. That would make everyone feel like they had really accomplished something, wouldn't it? :>)

If the Oscar in a category goes to someone out of sympathy rather than the merits of that particular performance, then that cheapens the award (even further than it already is, for those of you who already hate the Oscars), :>) and is grossly unfair to someone else who's work that year was superior compared to the sympathy winner's nominated work that year, thus compounding the error.

Martin Scorsese does have a remarkable legacy of work. Not every movie he has done "should have won", (for instance, an Oscar for the ambitious failure "Gangs of New York" would have been an undeserved "sympathy award", IMO) but many of his films that were passed over for an Oscar seem to age better (i.e., more likely to be remembered as a classic for many years to come) than those that did win. Here are some previous Martin Scorsese movies that were either nominated for an Oscar or should have been, followed by the names of the winners:

Personal Achievement (Best Director unless noted otherwise):

Martin Scorsese "The Aviator" -- Clint Eastwood "Million Dollar Baby"
Martin Scorsese "Gangs of New York" -- Roman Polanski "The Pianist"
Martin Scorsese "The Age of Innocence" (for writing) -- Steven Zaillain "Schindler's List"
Martin Scorsese "GoodFellas" -- Kevin Costner "Dances With Wolves"
Martin Scorsese "Casino" (not nominated) -- Mel Gibson "Braveheart"
Martin Scorsese "Last Temptation of Christ" -- Barry Levinson "Rain Man"
Martin Scorsese "Raging Bull" -- Robert Redford "Ordinary People"
Martin Scorsese "The Color Of Money" (not nominated) -- Oliver Stone "Platoon"
Martin Scorsese "Taxi Driver" (not nominated) -- John G. Avildson "Rocky"
Martin Scorsese "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (not nominated) -- Frances Ford Coppola "The Godfather: Part II"

Best Picture:

Raging Bull -- Ordinary People
Goodfellas -- Dances With Wolves
Gangs of New York -- Chicago
Casino (not nominated) -- Braveheart

Burke

[George Bellefontaine]

That's what "Lifetime Achievement" awards are for.
Burke

That would be just fine with me. At least it would show some recognition for his talent, as well as his devotion to things related to film preservation and what have you.

[gostan]

I don't want to say that I was disappointed in this film, but it wasn't as great as I expected it to be. Maybe my expectations were too high based on the hype and the cast. Obviously can't go into any specifics, but I thought the ending was a little odd also. The characters/dialogue just weren't very convincing for me. I also thought that Scorcese didn't get into the Boston/Irish culture as much as he should've/could've. Sorry---I really wanted to enjoy this one.

I'll give it a C+. It was good but not great.

If Scorcese wins an Oscar for this it will be based on sympathy due to him being passed over for some of his other (better) films.

I agree with you about the ending being a bit befuddling, but on the rest, you appear to be way off.

The dialogue and accents were the best Boston accents that I have yet to listen to in a motion picture. They were not over the top like they usually are.

And, although this is supposed to be a remake of Internal Affairs, the bits and pieces and characters and certain plot lines are directly out of the Whitey Bulger story. Whitey was the head of the Winter Hill Gang and is still on the FBI's Most Wanted List. John Connoly was his FBI handler turned informant. I don't want to give the movie plot away, but read Howie Carr's book The Brothers Bulger or Kevin Weeks' book The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger's Irish Mob, and then try to tell me that The Departed did not get into the South Boston Irish culture.

Leonard DiCaprio was superb and the rest of the cast did a fine job. Scorcese is Scorsese, and the fact that the movie was so real until the muddled ending is a testamonial to Martin's knowledge of the Italian and, now, the Irish mobs. It may not be an Oscar winner for best picture or director, but, who really cares. The Departed should be on everybody's watch list.

[Gump]

I agree with you about the ending being a bit befuddling, but on the rest, you appear to be way off.

The dialogue and accents were the best Boston accents that I have yet to listen to in a motion picture. They were not over the top like they usually are.

And, although this is supposed to be a remake of Internal Affairs, the bits and pieces and characters and certain plot lines are directly out of the Whitey Bulger story. Whitey was the head of the Winter Hill Gang and is still on the FBI's Most Wanted List. John Connoly was his FBI handler turned informant. I don't want to give the movie plot away, but read Howie Carr's book The Brothers Bulger or Kevin Weeks' book The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger's Irish Mob, and then try to tell me that The Departed did not get into the South Boston Irish culture.

Leonard DiCaprio was superb and the rest of the cast did a fine job. Scorcese is Scorsese, and the fact that the movie was so real until the muddled ending is a testamonial to Martin's knowledge of the Italian and, now, the Irish mobs. It may not be an Oscar winner for best picture or director, but, who really cares. The Departed should be on everybody's watch list.

This is a good movie and I also encourage everyone to see it. I simply expected more (yes, I mean Oscar quality) from this sterling cast and director. To me it wasn't quite there.

When I mentioned the dialogue I was referring to the "words" used between the actors in the scenes, not the accents. The exchanges between the actors in several scenes seemed to me to be a bit forced as though they were "acting" . When great actors are working with great dialogue the audience should be so involved that they forget the performers are "acting". It just didn't hook me that way through much of the film. They seemed to be pressing to me. Some of the things Wahlberg's character did and said were simply absurd. Same with Jack. Seemed like they were trying to compensate for a lack of a quality script with "shock" value.

Although I didn't mention the accents in my post I will mention that Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg both had authentic accents as they should being from Mass.. I wasn't as impressed with Dicaprio's attempt which faded in and out of a Boston accent. In one scene Whalberg's character even addresses this as though to give him an excuse.

When I refer to Irish culture I'm not talking about throwing a couple of quips between the characters about Irish traits and having several scenes shot in Boston "pubs". I'm talking about food, music (in the movie itself, not on the soundtrack), dance, etc....throw in a flarge of soda bread for God's sake! Scorcese didn't put as much effort into this as I felt he should to immerse the audience in the Irish "feel" of the movie.

I love Jack, but even he seemed to be going a little over the top to try and sell this movie.

I'm not sure what Mr. Weeks' and Mr. Carrs' books have to do with Scorcese's adaptation----whether the movie is based on a true story or not isn't really germaine to the level of quality the movie fails to achieve.

At the end of 2 1/2 hours and seemingly endless cell phone calls Scorsese seemed to be just trying to find a way (any way) to end the movie and go home. He failed at this too.

All of this is just my own opinion, of course.....You're welcome to yours as well. :T

Still a C+.

[Sponge]

When I walked out I liked how it twisted so much but was unsure if I liked it...now that I have thought about it I liked it. I would agree w/the C+ but more of a B.

The only thing about it was more like a Tarintino movie with the language and violence...the language got a little old.

The Mac set up was a nice touch!