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Hi All
Did anybody see The Illusionist, starring Edward
Norton and Paul Giamatti?
We saw it and liked it a lot. I was curious
what other MOPOers thought of this movie?
Zeev
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, October 07, 2006 7:31
PM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Scorcese's "The
Departed"
DEPARTED has a rating on metacritic.com of 88. That makes
it the leader of the pack of movies in wide release at this time. At 80
is LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. At 75 is PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. At 73 is
a tie between A SCANNER DARKLY and CARS.
88 is good enough for me. I'll see it.
To show you how much the critics like so-called "limited release" films
over commercial movies, there are seven films above the 80 rating of LITTLE
MISS SUNSHINE: They are, in order the re-release of ARMY OF SHADOWS, the
new Stephen Frears film THE QUEEN (can't wait to see that), MUTUAL
APPRECIATION, HALF NELSON, LASSIE, 49 UP and OLD JOY.
Incidentally, I have an Italian 79x55 for ARMY OF SHADOWS if anyone is
interested.
KIRBY
On Oct 7, 2006, at 5:58 PM, David Kusumoto wrote:
Hi
Susan:
** As I've told
others who've privately written me since last night -- please, don't take my
comments as a hearty recommendation to see Scorcese's "The Departed."
If you go, bring lowered expectations. This is not "Goodfellas" nor is
it as beautifully stylized as Scorcese's better films. Because after a
jet rocket opening, about 30 minutes in I started to feel cheated, feeling
the film was overrated. It started to bog down and became
confusing. I was finally able, around the 60-minute mark, to sort
things out and better understand what was going on.
** And by the end
of the picture, I felt fine. The closing shot isn't subtle and
feels contrived. Such contrivances are missing from most of Scorcese's
better pictures -- and their absence may explain why he's not a household
name among mainstream audiences who don't understand what the fuss about
Scorcese is all about. So if you've followed his career, you may walk
out disappointed from "The Departed." However, this last shot gives
commercial audiences something Scorcese has historically been incapable of
giving -- and that's "closure." Not happy ending "closure," but
Scorcese's "idea" of what comes close to it.
** I feel this is
a "B+" movie for Scorcese. It's really gory, almost over-the-top
violent with racist and anti-gay and anti-religion comments sprinkled
throughout. This is what I meant by forgetting what a Scorcese picture
like this is like when you see it on a big screen vs. on home video.
Many people will be put off by Scorcese's return to his violent roots.
But "The Departed" proves he still has the ability to shock and pull no
punches by showing violence for what it is -- dirty,
ugly, un-sanitized. I don't care that Scorcese can only do
this kind of picture. He's good at it and should stick to what he does
best. A good Scorcese film lacks vulnerable emotion, that is, you
don't cry for anyone. A good Scorcese picture runs on three
emotions: raw anger, getting ahead and getting even. I don't
want Scorcese to do melodramas or historical pictures filled with
romance.
** I believe "The
Departed" has enough going for it that it may become the first
out-of-the-box commercial hit for Scorcese. He has never, the best I
recall, directed a film that has opened #1 at the box office. He has a
shot here. The intriguing question then might be: Can Scorcese
handle commercial success? You get the feeling nearly everyone in this
cast was underpaid just to be directed by him. I just hope "The
Departed" puts an end to Scorcese's "experiments" of the last decade which
nearly buried him. I'm thinking now of "Gangs of New York" and "The
Aviator," two films with mega-budgets and overblown praise. "The
Departed" looks like it cost pennies to make but is better than both of
those films combined.
** I think
Scorcese owes the extension of his career to Leonardo DiCaprio, who stuck by
him and kept mainstream audiences interested. After "Casino," he felt
done to me. He got the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award. People
then started rooting for him to get an Oscar for sentimental reasons,
instead of merit. "The Departed" gives Scorcese his most recognizable
mainstream cast in ages. And I find it incredible that this film marks
the first time that Jack Nicholson, our man from "Easy Rider" to the present
day, has worked w/the director from New York.
** (BTW, the anti-New York bias continues in
Hollywood. The last New York-based director to win an Oscar was Woody
Allen, for "Annie Hall" in 1977. New York directors get nominated, but
are shut out by the clannish L.A. crowd. I hate this.)
-koose.
----- Original
Message -----
From: susan olson
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To:
susan olson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [email protected]
Subject:
Fw: [MOPO] Scorcese's "The Departed"
Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2006 13:41:12
-0500
Great thank you,
You have motivated me to get out and see this movie!
susan
----- Original
Message -----
From: David Kusumoto
Sent: Saturday,
October 07, 2006 12:43 PM
Subject: Re:
[MOPO] Scorcese's "The Departed"
** Hi Shelley -- I
have not seen INFERNAL AFFAIRS, and in a way, I'm kind of glad because
people who've seen the Hong-Kong original have commented negatively about
THE DEPARTED. But I now plan to see INFERNAL AFFAIRS and will
compare.
** The main gripe
I've read from reviewers of both films, is that it takes Scorcese 30 minutes
longer to tell the same story about two moles trying to rat each other out,
and unless you follow closely, you can get lost. Fans, just remember
this going in -- one of the moles is Matt Damon, a squeaky-clean looking kid
who's been "groomed-for-crime-since-childhood" -- by Irish mobster Jack
Nicholson. Matt Damon infiltrates the Boston police force. The
other main mole is an honest cop with a long boyhood rap sheet
(Leonardo DiCaprio) -- who grew up on the same bad streets of
Boston. As a condition of joining the force, he must go to prison
on purpose so that when he gets out -- he can fake psychopathic behavior
well enough to infiltrate Nicholson's gang. DiCaprio comes out so
scary that you're not sure if he's really a good guy.
** The riveting
thing is that we soon learn no one is trustworthy. The paranoia level
for the audience goes through the roof about an hour into the film.
Some critics have said Nicholson chews up scenery in the same foul way that
Bette Davis romped through "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?," making "The
Departed" unnecessarily longer.
** Well you know
what people say. Anything that's good in a picture never feels
long. And Nicholson is great, Boston accent and all. He is the
devil incarnate yet doesn't blow Scorcese's great team of younger actors off
the screen. The film's only weak actor is the woman
psychiatrist. However, even though she's an annoyance, and I won't
give away the ending -- her character is one of many keys that enable a
mainstream audience to finally walk out of a Scorcese picture with
satisfaction. I don't mean a happy ending, which is so not
Scorcese. But you get an ending that settles scores, so to
speak. I would've preferred a stronger female lead in that role, the
type of woman you see in Scorcese's previous pictures. When you see
it, you'll know what I mean.
** It's the day
after and I'm still washing the blood off of me.
-koose.
----- Original
Message -----
From: Shelly
Whitworth-King <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To:
Shelly Whitworth-King <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To:
[email protected]
Subject:
Re: Scorcese's "The Departed"
Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2006 12:21:16
+0000
Hi
Koose
Have you seen INFERNAL AFFAIRS, the film that this is 'based'
on (although, not a remake)? Just wondering! I thought it was
excellent.
Am looking forward to THE DEPARTED.
Thanks for your
impressions.
Shelly
----Original
Message Follows----
From: David Kusumoto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To:
David Kusumoto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To:
[email protected]
Subject:
[MOPO] Scorcese's "The Departed"
Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2006 00:51:05
-0700
** Before people start falling over themselves proclaiming Martin
Scorcese's new film, "The Departed" as being his among his best, it
isn't. But when they say it's his best film since "Goodfellas"
and "Casino," it's true. After spending more than 10 years trying
to "art" it up doing hoity-toity stuff that's unfamiliar to his palate, it's
clear Scorcese will be to crime dramas what Alfred Hitchcock was to
thrillers. And like Hitchcock, he may never win an Oscar.
So what.
** "The Departed" rockets off the screen during its
first 30 minutes, then does a baffling stall for another 30, before zooming
to a blood-and-gore riveting finish during its last 90. Because
of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, i.e., Scorcese's best films -- you
might say "The Departed" falls short of greatness. But if you
didn't know "The Departed" was directed by Scorcese -- you "might" also say
it's one of the best pictures released so far in 2006, with many more
potentially great films to be released before Dec. 31.
**
People are talking about the stellar turns by Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and
Alec Baldwin, but this picture belongs to Leonardo DiCaprio -- and, in my
mind, stolen -- by a surprisingly spectacular Mark Wahlberg, in a secondary
role I hope people won't forget. The writing and editing during
the film's last 90 minutes are vintage Scorcese.
** Since this
isn't a review -- what follows is an impression. I had almost
forgotten what Scorcese violence is like on the big
screen. This, you may remember, was one of the major raps against
"Goodfellas" when it lost the Best Picture Oscar to the politically correct
"Dances with Wolves" in 1990 -- and "Taxi Driver" when it lost the top prize
to "Rocky" in 1976. In 1995, "Casino" got mixed reviews, with
many noting that it was "the same old Scorcese."
** Well
"Casino" has become more fondly remembered over time because of what
Scorcese has directed since. It still holds up, while the films
he's done since "Casino" have not. The body count and gore in "The
Departed" is comparable to "Goodfellas," "Casino" and "Taxi
Driver." It's so gruesome that even the most ardent Scorcese fans
must be warned in advance that what they're about to see on the big screen,
11 years after "Casino" -- that is, the stylish violence they "thought" they
adored on the little screen (and I still believe MOST people, judging by box
office receipts, first saw "Goodfellas" and "Casino" on video, not in
theaters) -- could still jolt them when they see "The Departed."
**
There's an "in-your-face, matter-of-fact-brutal-truth" feeling to the
violent images in "The Departed," and when you leave the theater --
(hopefully satisfied, which is unusual for most Scorcese films) -- those of
you who've followed his career may resign yourself to the fact that really,
after 35 years, urban crime dramas are what Scorcese does
best. Hitchcock's legend is similarly based on a single genre,
and he was better than many other directors who have won Oscars. "The
Departed" feels effortless because the guy behind the camera knows the
landscape of rats, moles, guns and cops better than anyone.
** You
almost get the feeling that "The Departed" works for the very reason that
it's not aiming for the fences. Nothing fancy here, very few camera
tricks, just fabulous cinematic story telling, especially its convoluted
final 90 minutes. Don't bring the
kids.
-koose.
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