eyes that shine burning red
the departed
it's hard to tell what scorsese is trying to accomplish with this film. i tried but was unable to find a deeper message buried in what amounts to a scattered, semi-coherent wreckage of gunfights, profanity, boston accents and nicholson's ego. it's very obviously marty's work - the trademark jumpy camera, the cool but senseless slaughter, the choking pessimism - but unlike taxi driver or goodfellas this one just leaves you rolling your eyes.
that's not to say that the movie is awful - indeed, it's wildly entertaining, if you're entertained by dumb action. it pretends to be suspenseful and then utterly fails to deliver. it's more a vehicle for its cast - which is quality - than a quality crime drama. there are quite a few laughs, mostly at the way the cops yell at each other and at nicholson's character (he plays jack nicholson with a boston accent), a handful of "ooh" moments and about ten minutes where the film turns into a contest between damon and dicaprio on who can out-overact each other.
powerful proof that an incredible cast does not make an incredible film. i'd see it again, once, maybe, but this is not a movie for the ages at all.
It may not be one for the ages, but there are subtle hints at what Scorcese is doing in this film. Such as the Shakespeare reference which it turns out this movie is a tragedy (an overarching archetype that is consistent in literature-even if it is media driven through film).
Now, not all films/lit. are tragedies, but this Film definitely leaves the viewer having experienced some of the tense moments in the film. Now I'm not saying this does as great of a job of placing the viewer in the moment like Derailed does, but the experience is noteworthy.
yeah, what steve said.
i could have seen it last week, but we saw the new Jackass instead. looks like we made the right choice. Jackass was worth the price and i'd go see it a few more times.
indeed, i gotta check that one out.
i will agree that it does have some intense, edge-of-your-seat moments, but my problem is how disappointing the resolution to them ends up being. unsatisfying is an accurate description.
There was a great report this morning on where hollywood is going these days with the films being made and produced.
Maybe you should listen to the report and consider what it is you're perpetuating.
Here's the link:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.
php?storyId=6252466
man....that's depressing. the movie looked so amazing and got such great reviews.