Massawyrm Joins THE DEPARTED!!

I'll still probably see it anyway.

Good to see someone appreciated Gangs of New York. The Departed looks like it's gonna kick all kinds of ass. I saw the original, and while I think it was good, I also think it's the kind of story that could be retooled, and, perhaps, enhanced.

So that review and the 100% on RT have made this even more essential than it already was. I will watch Infernal Affairs though, I'm a DoP junkie and it's a Chris Doyle film.

its gonna be the tits.

I'm ambivalent re DiCaprio. Liked him in some stuff, hated him in other flicks, but always sensed he had the chops for this kind of role. And Jesus, the cast seems tailor-made for great things. Just hope it's not TOO many great actors together who're more concerned about their individual screen time rather than contributing to the overall story. I'll put this at the top of my list and keep my hopes up... but not too high.

That's not a good sign. Although, I am interested in seeing this one; its got one hell of a cast. It's funny how people are already talking Oscars with this film, too. I can't help but feel like MS is being propped up for a lifetime/consolation award.

what films are you talking about, foreign language ones made by american directors? if you're counting apocalypto that's cheating, because it hasn't been released yet. if you are, what's the other?

And I originally planned on boycotting this film. But the more I read about it, the more I think I need to buy a ticket to Over the Hedge and sneak into this. Sorry but I don't want Hollywood to think it's OK to continually do remakes. Over the Hedge isn't a remake, is it?

You're by far my favorite critic on AICN these days. By the way, RECKNI, you READ subtitles, and WATCH movies.

...from fans of Infernal Affairs. I really do. That's a great film for those with the patience and wherewithal to read it through the first time and then go back and re-watch it to pick up on all the nuances of performance and detail you inevitably miss while concentrating on the words flashing across the screen. But you KNOW not everyone has the time or the dedication to do that and give the film its full due. So Marty comes along and makes a love letter to that film. He pulls out all the stops in terms of talent and, by all accounts, delivers a tremendous moviegoing experience. This offends you? No one bitched when Tarantino did essentially the same thing to City on Fire (giving us one of my most beloved films of all time in Reservoir Dogs), so why the backlash against this particular remake/adaptation (I don't know how The Departed ends, but if it's substantially different than Infernal Affairs, I don't even know that you can call it a remake so much as an adaptation)? No one's going to take away Infernal Affairs. That will stand for a good long time as one of the greatest foreign language films for a lot of American cinephiles. Now we've got this other take on the same story and it appears to be pretty damned good in its own right. Why can't the two coexist? Heck, if you've seen and loved Infernal Affairs, you should be creaming yourself over the opportunity the Departed presents to come off as oh-so-sophisticated and cosmopolitan by saying: "Oh, you enjoyed that? You really should see the original. It's a powerful film." Don't you guys live for the chance to spout stuff like that? Well here you go. Merry early Christmas. Be sure to thank Marty come Oscar time.

Everything wrong with the HK movie was fixed for his one. The characters have much more depth (especially the crime boss) and this one has more action and violence.

If you're in HK gangster movies.

I liked it, but not as much as Infernal Affairs. The subplot about chasing around the ceremonial baton was asinine. Great closing scene, though. Maybe I'll think more highly of it after watching Election 2. Speaking of which, I understand Scorsese incorporates elements of IA2 (which is actually a prequel) into The Departed. So it only makes sense that his characters would have more depth.

Just pick one already!

I'm sorry, but his acting borders on amateurish. He also tackles roles that he looks too young for.

I'm looking forward to The Departed.

was that Matthew Broderick/Reese Witherspoon flick

The whole baton thing is there but not nearly as much. The character development between the two is phenomenal. The baton part of the first one is better upon a second viewing. I think Jet is one of the best crime characters ever. He demonstrates the blind aggression absent from a lot of these movies who always feel the need to justify the actions taken. Number 2 is also way more violent and brutal but it's warranted. Watch them back to back.

as compared to THE DEPARTED... Scorcese's film picks and chooses elements from the entire trilogy. INFERNAL AFFAIRS isn't the same movie at all once you've seen the prequel INFERNAL AFFAIRS II, which is superior to the excellent original and is really all about adding depth to the characters. IA3 is a fair film, but it has very little to add to the first two. The Weinstein Company, which has the rights to the two sequels (the original was released by Miramax), plans to release INFERNAL AFFAIRS II and III in mid-August of the year 2076. I remain unexcited about Scorcese's remake - not really negative, I'll leave that task in Chris Doyle's capable hands, but just unexcited and definitely unimpressed. Eric Tsang's performances in the originals were outstanding dramatic turns from an actor who had been largely typecast as a comedian for most of his career. Jack Nicholson's take on the same character, on the other hand, seems to just be Jack Nicholson - either that works for you or it doesn't. The Nicholson casting doesn't work for me in this case - but that's my sole casting gripe regarding the remake, as I think the rest of the American cast seems very well chosen.

Repeat ad nauseum.

Unless he's changed his story, he claims to have never seen the original, and is just working from the script. A glance at the trailer would make that claim seem to be less than believable, with plenty of shots seemingly cloned from the original. And to say nobody bitched about Tarantino remaking CITY ON FIRE - um, yes they certainly did. I remember there was a short film on the internet that was about exactly that, cutting back and forth between DOGS footage and CITY ON FIRE footage. I take Tarantino's side in that one, as he didn't remake it so much as expand CITY ON FIRE's climax to feature length. I wouldn't be so irritated with Scorcese if he didn't feel the need to front like he never saw the original when it sure looks like he did based on his footage. INFERNAL AFFAIRS "Visual Consultant"/longtime Wong Kar-Wai collaborator Chris Doyle's verbal ass-whipping of Scorcese (google it) sounded like mere sour grapes - until I saw the DEPARTED trailer, which lent the remarks a great deal more credibility. If I was Doyle, I'd feel the same way.

..final scene, is ELECTRIFYING!!!

If Scorcese is actually claiming never to have seen the film and the cinematography is that clearly inspired by it, then there's something rotten in Denmark (haven't seen The Departed yet but saw IA once and must admit to not being able to fully appreciate the cinematography because I was so intent on reading the dialogue). But what Scorcese's doing here really isn't all that different from what Tarantino did to City on Fire (cherry picking elements of a foreign film and interpreting those elements through a Western lens). For that matter, directors from Craven to Gilliam have done the same thing to other foreign films for years. And none of this will change the fact that the result is (apparently) a good film that in no way lessens the film that inspired it. That's all I'm saying.

Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas & CASINO. Talk about oversight.

Not oversight. I Dig Casino quite a bit, but I know many who really dislike it or take jabs at it as "Goodfellas 2." It's one of those films that always makes for a good debate. However, finding people with bad words for any of the three films I mentioned is damn near impossible. Each film seems to appear in most Top 10's of not only their year of release, but their decade. The same can hardly be said for Casino. But I'm with you, Casino is a great film. Hell, most of Scorsese's films are great.

And the official curve buster is, drum roll please, The Village Voice. They're probably just mad because it wasn't a gay musical.

It seems like months ago that you posted the candidates. How long can it possibly take for Harry, or whoever is picking it, to look over them and say, "Hmmm - that one."?

Is the character of Sam in the original. I think Jack Nicholson will be great, but Sam wasn't crazy in the original. He was a little bit sympathetic, actually. Especially if you've seen the prequal, Infernal Affairs 2. I also hope they nail the relation ship between the Anthony Wong and Tony Leung (Martin Sheen and DiCaprio in this), there was a great friendship underneath the strained work relationship, which ends up being very important. Those are just small worries, I think this movie will be amazing.

Way to go with a well-written post to all the haters..."you should be creaming yourself over the opportunity the Departed presents to come off as oh-so-sophisticated and cosmopolitan by saying: 'Oh, you enjoyed that? You really should see the original. It's a powerful film.'" is awesome, hands down, and much more insightful than what I was going to write. Hell, I was just going to ask if Infernal Affairs is old enough that all these mouth breathers can cry "Martin Scorcese raped my childhood! Waaah!"

But not great. Some things, like the romantic subplot with the psychiatrist, were unnecessary. There's room for Scorsese to improve.

...but who the HELL is Chris Doyle to give Scorsese an "ass-whoopin'?" I know "who" he is, but, come on, in the annals of cinema, next to Scorsese he's a microbe on a petri dish.

...then I think I'll pass.

Although the trailer does look very good.

I enjoy a preemptive snoot at the 3 year degree (if that) film snobs and suit and tie losers grasping at anything so they can sound cultured and less boring by educating people in a very typical "guess what IIII know" kind of way. I usually just interupt them with a burp and cock punch but your way is nice too.

He oughta be mad at his hairstylist. tinyurl.com/f4k62.

The more I think about it, the more I like it. Never had any desire to see Gangs, and wasn't impressed with the parts I did see. Departed is violent, intense, and shocking. I was impressed.

the OG of IA1 was a morality play, good cop not knowing when hell will end (going back to being a regular citizen of society with family that actually knew he was an undercovercop and not a low life), bad low life wanting to live a virtuous life (getting rid of his bad past, marry a good wife, promotion, etc,etc), and the ending caps off the entire thing. (if you seen the ending), the good cop got capped, thereby, ending his misery basically but not in a nice way. and the bad lowlife is stuck in hell as he wants to erase his past but can't as now he knows everyOTHER lowlife in the copworld is watching his every step and he has no way out. it's a basic tragedy in a grand scale. in the stupid new version, with freaking scorsece (sp?) freaking killing off both of dem at the end, what tragedy is there? it lessen the impact of the entire movie and storyline..watch the original.

GANGS was probably the worst film he's done. Was not very good at all. Here hoping its better...

that is all I got to say about this one. Check out my review @ www.moviepulse.net Departed could be one of the best pics of the year!

...get plenty of respect in the US. The folks who like Michael Bay movies don't like them, but any GOOD foreign film gets its due here, whether in the film mags or in rentals in urban areas or through Netflix in the stix, so let's forget that ancient and inoperable myth. This movie ain't Infernal Affairs anymore than any movie is the screenplay it's based on, so shut up and watch it--this is a movie by one of the all-time great directors. Doesn't mean you have to like it, but it means shut up if you don't like Scorsese to begin with, no one is forcing you to fuckin watch it.

That's another bullshit filmsnob thing we should be able to put to bed: Not liking subtitles doesn't make one an idiot. All it means is you'd rather watch a movies visuals AND listen to the dialogue, not read it--you know, like we do in MOST movies. (Are all American films somehow inferior to movies with subtitles because the audience doesn't have to read along?) I have no prob with subtitles, but some folks do--so what? I don't get how people who scream about non-anamorphic or non-letterboxed versions think it's somehow BETTER to have words plastered all over the cinematography.

cos frankly that was terrible !

Great review. I can't wait to see this myself and your praise of Leo and all the actors makes me the most happy I think. Marty? He will always be the master, but Leo, I pull for him because I don't think he gets the respect he deserves. And Mark Wahlberg in this is just so awesome; he's come a long way and rightfully so, he should be in a film of this quality. I'm there Friday!!

You're exactly right, Holoholojoe. The beauty of the original was that one guy got killed and the other one got away and you're really not sure who came out of it worse. I can understand why Scorsese would want to kill them both off. It's grittier that way. Especially for a blockbuster with two huge stars. I can just see people leaving the theatre saying, "Oh my god, I can't believe they killed off BOTH of them. How awesome is that?!" Unfortunately, those same viewers don't end up pondering the bigger question that was at the heart of Infernal Affairs. But hey, what do you expect from a movie where Jack Nicholson eats a goddamn fly?