I wouldnt say he should retire, problem i have with all these old guys singing is their new stuff. they need to find something for their age, like bingo music

It's very rare for a newly released cover version of something to be as worthy as the original. U2 releases some good live versions. Bowie has a couple. But that's all I could think of.

Does Departed get any oscar nods? Thoughts?

At this point I dont see how it wouldn't at least get a nomination for Best Pic. I'd also be in favor of any of the supporting actors getting Best Supporting Actor. Wahlberg, Sheen, Baldwin, Nicholson (I'd say he's more supporting than leading)-- any of those guys would be worthy.

it will only get noms for nicholson and scorsese, because, well, theyre nicholson and scorsese, and neither will win, not like in 74 when provokative and genius work in Mean Streets and Last Detail lost out to George Roy Hill and Jack Lemmon

plus, i got a feeling the gay astronaut movie is gunna come in and sweep again

There's a gay astronaut movie now? what is it Brokeback In Space?

I don't know why I brought up the Oscars, other than entertainment value they are pretty much worthless.

quote:

I don't know why I brought up the Oscars, other than entertainment value they are pretty much worthless.

Well put. I agree, they are a joke, and therefore quite funny.

If we can see anything on this board, while we may agree on some quality films, choosing the best is rather arbitrary and very much dependent on personal preference.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Daniel McLellan,

Well done. Well shot, great acting, great editing, witty script with a street-attitude to boot -- the story is quite a departure from Monahan's Kindom of Heaven. A near-classic, and definatley worthy of the name Scorcese-directed. 8 outta 10.

I just saw The Departed. Very entertaining genre flick, but the Nicholson character was over the top and to me not as interesting as the vice cop character played by DiCaprio. As an actor struggling with new identities and the nearly complete loss of a distinct one, I thought his performance was the best in the film. And Scorsese was smart to cast Damon as the antagonist, since this tapped into my instinctive dislike of screen persona...

More visceral and perhaps more forcefully constructed than Miami Vice, but IMO not quite as elegant, intelligent, or perceptive. The gunplay was also not genre-defining (redefining?) like in MV. There was never the thrilling sense that you were seeing something qualitatively new.

I also found it interesting that Scorsese used many HK tropes (momentary flashbacks, freeze frames). I wonder how close this version hews to 'Infernal Affairs' - my guess is that apart from the location the first five minutes (before the title) are very similar. The setup of the backstory is very economical, and if this wasn't taken nearly shot-for-shot from the HK film it just proves Scorsese's visual acuity.

I heard that Scorsese did this mainstream flick because he wants to make a more personal film later in 2007. Its a remake called "Silence" about a portuguese jesuit priest staring javier bardem.
About the "Departed", I thought Scorsese directing was close to perfection but I still miss the old scorsese.

quote:

Originally posted by Fellini77:
I heard that Scorsese did this mainstream flick because he wants to make a more personal film later in 2007. Its a remake called "Silence" about a portuguese jesuit priest staring javier bardem.
About the "Departed", I thought Scorsese directing was close to perfection but I still miss the old scorsese.

Is it a remake of The Mission?

No, it's based on the Shusaku Endo novel about persecuted Christians in Japan...

just saw it for the second time with my mates for the details.I liked even more.****ing brilliant.The perfect travellings shots, the music, the dialogues, the script, the detail etc etc. To me, Malick and Scorsese are the 2 best american filmmakers still working.
Scorsese should be the only allowed to do remakes.He didnt copy the original (hello gus van sant ), used his trademark and the result is a film better than the original.

I dont agree with you Evan.
Miami vice script was quite poor.Nothing happened and it was all very cinema verité.I liked it just because of the "in you face" action sequences and for the mellancollic cinematography.
cheers

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fellini77,

quote:

Miami vice script was quite poor.Nothing happened and it was all very cinema verité.

I can't see that at all. If anything, MV has more plot than The Departed. Michael Mann has a better sense of portraying criminals and cops in a way that seems realistic and avoids cliches. As I said, The Departed was entertaining enough, but there was something about the editing/pacing that seemed 'off.' It felt like the film time never caught up (or dropped back?) to 'real' time, as if it were a 2-hour-plus trailer or music video. In other words, it functioned entirely as a spectacle, all the way through. This was remarkably strange, and I haven't seen another film that operates the same way.

I felt more attached to the characters of the departed what can I say.Maybe because I hate colin acting with a passion.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fellini77,

I felt that The Departed was more interested in telling a ripping good yarn than in any sort of deep character analysis while Miami Vice told a pretty crappy story but had a fantastic sense of mood. They both had cops going undercover but didn't feel very similar.

Michael Mann and Martin Scorsese are two of my favorite directors and they both turned in fine films this year. Miami Vice was just a bit of an acquired taste where as The Departed was a big slice of delicious Apple Pie.

quote:

Originally posted by Daniel McLellan:
It's very rare for a newly released cover version of something to be as worthy as the original. U2 releases some good live versions. Bowie has a couple. But that's all I could think of.

Does Departed get any oscar nods? Thoughts?

yep, I think so.

Editing (that fantastic old lady who works with martin.Cant remember her name...) and best supporting actor - leo

... wasn't DiCaprio the main actor? He certainly gave the main performance.

The editing in this film was somewhat disturbing. Bordwell has pointed out some of the issues in lengthy descriptions. I normally like Schoonmaker's work a lot, and this was somewhat interesting, but the entire thing felt like a trailer. It never settled into 'real' cinematic time.

I think that the daring editing and "trailer-like" feeling (interesting observation) was one of the things that made this movie special. Half way through the first time, we all kind of turned to each-other and said "I don't know what the hell is going on, but I like it." It was daring, different, and for this movie... it just worked.