200 movie mini-review in film.vtheatre.net

(guidelines and samples)

students page + conferences

"The Departed" : Craft vs. Art

Myths: Father and Two Sons, Two Brothers and One Woman

Moral Dilemmas -- ... promicing begining.

Cell phones and Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson)

Direction
"It is a privilege to watch a legend who is still so relevant: Martin Scorsese. The iconic director is responsible for some of film’s all-time masterpieces (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas), but perhaps never has he seemed so vigorous. The Departed is a return to form for him in its vulgarity and casual-as-waking-up violence--the man makes exploding brain bits look like masterful spin art, but somehow never gratuitous; however, the film is not a return to straight-ahead mob flicks, which would be a copout. His mere aura commands actors’ best-ever performances, and does he ever get them here. But it’s Scorsese’s party, thanks to his trademark grit and urban storytelling, for no one makes the bad look so damn good! His prowess is indubitable, but it’s hard to imagine him doing it without a superb script rewrite of Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs from Boston’s own William Monahan (Kingdom of Heaven). His story is not flawless all the time--for one thing, Farmiga’s character is the story’s thinly veiled crutch--and it could be argued that the gunshots are exploitatively deafening, but this is no time to nitpick. It’s time to sit back, feel tense, and enjoy the show!" *