critically acclaimed

holy shit Marky Mark shot somebody...

The Departed-
started the fall movie binge this past weekend with our screening of the new Scorese flick. just to start off with amazing film and deserves all the praise that it is getting. maybe the academy will finally give martin his due in the directing oscar but my money's on someone else because he never wins....he's the Susan Lucci of the oscars. but that is besides the point, let's get back to the movie.

here are some key points....
jack nicholson is one crazy bastard (well no shit)
leo can kind of actually act
matt damon is still a douche bag (MATT DAMON! [thank you Team America])
Vera Farmiga (the chick in the movie) did a great job
Scroese reminds folks of what great movies are like
violence is awesome

i am not the biggest proponent of Scorese flicks around. i like his stuff and see the relevance but i am not going to get up on my soapbox for this guy. i think the thing that i liked about this movie is that fact that it is an actual amazingly well done flick in a movie of lackluster surprises. superman didn't impress me, x-men was ok, V-for Vendetta arguably one of the best movies of the year doesn't have any of the sizzle this one does. the movie itself is well timed, intense, and above all else has amazing character development. huge ensemble cast that actually delivers and makes you love and hate everyone with in the flick.

some of the things that i didn't like which are only a few are.....the ending is severly drawn out. granted in some of those scenes there is unbelievable intensity and drama. yet, it just slows down near the end until two of the last scenes which i won't reveal anything. also, some of the scenes have so much weight and silence in them that they falter a little. when leo or matt damon seemingly have the weight on their shoulders they just stop talking and you are left with a dramatic pause which is distracting.

i think the two performances that stole a lot of scenes were Mark (Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch) Wahlberg with his leud and creud detective which is just funny as hell with the Boston accent. and Vera Farmiga as the tortourted girlfriend/mistress of both leo and matt. she is coy and sexy but in a mess she can't get out of.

so right now this is pretty much the only movie this year that has lived up to expectations and delievered the goods. it isn't my favorite of the year but with the performances and the direction it is technically the best movie of the year so far. but it is also the first contender so we will see what comes through the pipeline in the next couple of weeks.

posted by critically acclaimed @ 12:11 PM