I think Mal thought this one was pretty good
Mal Valour, our dependable Hollywood quote whore, has the definitely not-weak weekly paean to the insurmountable, unsurpassable splendor that is this week’s new release:
THE DEPARTED
Eighty-Three and a Half Stars!!!
Get ready to Depart - For the best film of the Millenium !!
HOLLYWOOD - There is no doubt about it, The Departed is absolutely and without exception the finest work of cinematic art of the century, perhaps of the millennium. An epic film of monumental proportions, an unparalleled masterpiece of such magnificent scope and sweep, to make another film after The Departed ought to be considered a crime against the art of filmmaking and the perpetrator beaten bloody with a pool cue.
Director Martin Scorsese easily cements his place in history as the Cecil B. DeMille of film. Never before has the screen seen such mastery, such power and glory, so evenly distributed over the length and height of the screen. Like a great conductor, Scorsese paints his sculptures with broad strokes. creating a architectural dance of striking harmonies and tonalities, vividly setting his cinematic saga to the tune of “My Bloody Valentine.â€Â
Jack Nicholson gives the kind of once-in-a-lifetime performance earns him an indelible place in the annals of actors who have delivered once-in-a-lifetime performances. Matt Damon gives the performance of his life as a hardened young cop who infiltrates the mob, while Leonardo DiCaprio, in a lifetime-best performance, plays a hardened young mobster who infiltrates the police force. Or it may be the other way around. I will definitely have to see the film to figure it out, and when I do, this pairing of acting titans will go down in history as one of the best pairs of performances the screen has ever known. Mark “E Mark†Wahlberg is doing the best work of his life in a role that visually confuses the lines between Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio, at least for me.
But it all adds up to be the most stunningly interwoven assemblage of character nuance and narrative complexities the American cinema is likely to see between the current state of the art and the time the sun explodes, destroying all life on the planet. This triumphant achievement establishes itself as a work of such importance that it would not be excessive for Congress to consider legislation requiring all citizens to see it. It’s that important. With The Departed, Martin Scorsese has revealed himself to the world as a prophetic visionary of such unrelenting majesty that offerings ought to be made unto him, whole cities devoted to apostolic evangelism in spreading His Word made cinematic, and marble statues the size of the Colossus of Rhodes erected in His Holy Name. To do anything less would be to insult the very notion of cinema and perhaps rip asunder the primeval fabric of existence. Therefore I heartily encourage you to see this film now, before the soon-to-be-formed Cultural Police force you to do it later.
Wow. Pretty good, huh, Mal?
I also like Mal’s categories:
This entry was posted on Friday, October 6th, 2006 at 8:06 PM and filed under Powerful and Important Films of this or Any Year, Finest Works of Cinematic Art of the Century, Stunningly Interwoven Assemblages of Character Nuance a.
Posted: October 7th, 2006 under Blurbtacular!, Cinema, General, Mal Valour.
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