Scorsese's great new popcorn movie

Martin Scorsese's new feature open today. The Departed is a remake of a great Chinese action flick called Infernal Affairs. It's getting pretty good reviews and those good reviews inevitably compare it with Goodfellas, and call it a "return to form." The reviewers seem to think he hasn't produced anything of worth in years. And it just isn't true.

Yeah, Gangs of New York and The Aviator aren't his best films, but in the past ten years Scorsese has made two great documentaries that everyone should see. No Direction Home and My Voyage to Italy. Especially if you've never really liked Fellini or even seen Rossellini, you should check out the latter.

Meanwhile, The Departed hits theaters today and it's a lot of fun. It's nearly ruined by Jack Nicholson doing his rock star-overbearing-scenery-chewing Jack Nicholson thing, but Matt Damon and Leonardo Dicaprio make it work.

The basic plot is the same as Infernal Affairs: a gangster infiltrates the police department and a cop infiltrates the Irish mafia. Unlike Infernal Affairs, which was basically a B-movie with an open ending that enabled a series of sequels (that is not meant to disparaging,) the Scorsese movie gives more background to the characters and more time for the mob boss to preen. It runs 40 minutes longer than the sleek Hong Kong original. But it's entertaining, doesn't take itself too seriously and doesn't leave a big hole for a sequel. You leave the theater satisfied.

It's the first movie in a long while that I want to see again immediately.

Final note: Alec Baldwin! When he showed up on screen the audience tittered with excitement. The script can be too Sorkinily proud of its cleverness at times but Alec Baldwin gets to give a great speech that rivals his Glengarry Glen Ross steak knife speech for sheer entertainment and it's ability to give a swift view of one man's cruddy little soul.

Leonardo Dicaprio is a putz, and always will be. Nicholson, on the other hand, is one of the greatest actors of our generation. Your consistent bashing of Nicholson is tedious.

I was treated for my birthday by my friends to go out and see the movie.

I did enjoy it, and I was satisfied. You are right, there is no real "need" for a sequel, and the movie stands up on its own as entertaining.

I don't know kids; I went to see this begrudgingly after having pretty much given up on Scorsese (documentaries aside) and I really don't agree that this is such a great film. It just seemed convoluted and contrived and while I agree that Dicaprio was good, Damon is just doing his Born shtick again. Nicholson is so over the top that it is almost comedic while Baldwin, as good as he can be, is kind of cartoon in this role. So we have this kind of juxtaposition going on between ultra seriousness and circus side show antics that fails to mesh into something truly compelling. Not that there is nothing good--I loved the symbolic grocery bag that appears upon Colin Sullivan's fateful meeting with Frank only to reappear in the closing scene spilled across the floor--but in the end I just was not able to suspend my disbelief. And really, the extra 40 minutes didn’t add much.