PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

THE DEPARTED


2006 has not been a good year for films. Up until last month Mission: Impossible 3 was the only movie that I graded an 8 or higher. Although it received mixed reviews, M:I3 had lots of great action and an epic villain portrayal by Phillip Semour Hoffman. Summer was a major drag. Superman Returns?...I think not. The X-Men had the best showing but I couldn't call it a "can't miss summer flick".

...But there is always hope. Last year when Hollywood announced the ultimate acting trifecta of the legend Jack Nicholson, and the under-rated great actors of Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio agreed to team up in "The Departed" helmed by America's greatest living director Martin Scorsese...it was difficult not to get excited.

THE DEPARTED is a great film. Its not Scorsese's best mob flick but he does do a lot with a simple screenplay. THE DEPARTED is an example of a plot that seems complicated at first but in actuality is much simpler than it appears. Scorsese takes the simplicity and turns it into an operatic masterpiece. Scorsese gets the most out of his actors. Its almost as if he is off camera with a gun in one hand and a shovel in the other silently warning his thespians to "act like you mean it or you will be sleeping with the fishes".

The weakest part of THE DEPARTED is that it takes place in Boston with the Irish mob. Scorsese is best when sticking with his roots. If New York would have been the backdrop of this mob tale and the actors would have spoke with Italian accents, the film would have received a perfect 10. THE DEPARTED gets a "9".

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE...Let's hope Scorsese earns an Oscar when for best director...it's about time he is awarded his professions top prize.