Went and saw The Departed last night. Had high expectations due to rave
reviews and the fact that it's Scorcese with crime/mob stuff again.

Well, I was dissapointed. :( Sure, the flick was good, but I just got so numb
with all the violence, cursing and killing towards the end. The first hour was
amazing. Some of the characters were great, some were just funny and others
pure evil. But as the plot advanced, I felt it didn't leave much room for the
characters any more.

But yeah, it was a plot movie mainly anyway. Even so, the plot seemed
contrived towards the end. All the twists and killings (how many
point-blank-range killings can you have within 5minutes, really?) made it feel
grotesque and even ridiculous to some extent. There was even laughter from the
audience, which is something I absolutely fucking loathe. It surely lessened
my enjoyment. Fucking idiots.

There was some great dialogue in the film. But once again, towards the end all
the cursing and "homo this, homo that" got a bit annoying. I don't mind "fuck"
in certain types of films, like Tarantino's stuff and something like Boondock
Saints, but I got the idea Scorcese went for a "serious" sort of movie with
The Departed, and frankly, it was just a bit too much. It made it cartoonish.
But then again I'm not a police officed/fbi guy in Boston, so what the hell do
I know? Maybe it's really like that.

Most of the performances were great. Absolutely loved Mark Wahlberg's shithead
character (well except for the very end). Matt Damon was solid and Leo di
Caprio showed a side I hadn't seen him do before. However, in the end it all
came down to just anger, rage, rinse, repeat, stuff so it took something away
from their performances. Nicholson was good. Sheen was good. Even Baldwin was
good!

One great scene with Leo and Matt phoning each other and not saying anything.
LOVED that scene! Also loved the political undertone in the first hour or so,
after that it got lost. The scene with the Indian shopkeeper and the mafiosos
was brilliant. "Stop! Stop!! What is wrong with this country? Everyone is
hating everyone!" So true.

We've had this little "contest" with a friend of mine. Marty Scorcese and
Michael Mann are both our favourites, and they have both often released movies
during the same year. So we've been watching their stuff and kept a record who
has won. At least 1999, 2004 and now 2006 they've both released films, and we
believe it's 3-0 for Mann right now. 1999 Mann took the crown with The Insider
and in 2004 with Collateral, both superior to Martin's achievements. This year
was gonna be exciting because both were releasing crime stuff AND updated
versions of old stuff (Tv-series and a Hong-Kong film) so the ground was
pretty much even. However, even with a faulty version according to Mann (a
much altered dc is coming in Dec) he still takes the crown with Vice. Does
this mean Marty should be considered a past greatness? Hell no. While The
Departed is far from his best works, he once again shows he still has a few
tricks up his sleeve and knows how to direct a solid film. The Departed is a
good film with a GREAT first hour, but with the last 1.5h dragging the overall
result down somewhat. Recommended anyway.