Reviews

The Departed is one of the best cop moves in years. I hadn't heard of Infernal Affairs before watching The Departed, and had only a vague inkling that The Departed was based on some Hong Kong film. For the first 90% of its length The Departed promises to be a classic, an all time great. It's a film of restrained violence that serves the plot. A cop (DiCaprio) is planted as a mole in a crime gang headed by Jack Nichoson. His task to report on the gang's activities with the eventual object of nabbing the whole bunch including Nicholson.

The ingenious touch is that Nicholson too has a mole (Damon) in the police. Damon's task is to report to Nicholson on the police investigations on his gang, so that Nicholson knows when to go ahead with a deal, when to keep low or in some cases Damon would clear the way of police so that Nicholson can go ahead with his plans.

Both these moles have been operating in their respective roles for years. So much so that Damon is actually becoming quite a good cop with a moral dilemma, while DiCaprio is becoming quite a bad ass with an equally desperate dilemma - he knows if he plays gangster too long he might actually be one for the rest of his life.

DiCaprio is desperate to get out of his predicament and begs the only two cops who know of his identity as a mole (Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg) to let him back into the police. Before his career as a mole began his records with the police were all deleted. Without Sheen and Wahlberg no one could identify Dicaprio as a cop.

This already tense situation is compounded no end when each side discovers at around the same time that each has a mole in the other's ranks. To ensure their own survival Damon and Dicaprio work feverishly to find out each other's identity, and the tension grips you.

We are taken through several set piece sequences to what seems likely to be an unbearably tense finale but at this point the move lets us down. There is one too many killings at the end, and I was left wondering whether the serious film-making I had witnessed approaching the end was meant to be taken seriously as the end sequences are almost comic.

Nevertheless the ingenious plot device, the powerhouse performances by the leading cast led by DiCaprio make this a very good, highly watchable film. But I was a little disappointed by the ending.

Not long after I found out that this was based on the Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs (made in 2002) and proceeded to get my hands on it. My main motive was to find out if the ending was handled any better.

Since this is a review of The Departed I'll keep my comments on Infernal Affairs very brief. Suffice to say that the latter is much the better film. It's 50 mins shorter, but in no way loses out in terms of character development. As far as I can see The Departed was 50 mins longer only for the sake of character development. The ending of Infernal Affais is more restrained, and far more effective. Indeed Infernal Affairs is one of the great cop movies in history in any language. The Departed cannot be considered as anything other than a remake. All the key set pieces are copied wholesale from Infernal Affairs as of course is the plot.

Martin Scorcese is long overdue for an Oscar, and as everyone knows is nominated this year for The Departed. For a Director who has made such original classics as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull to win for this would be almost an insult. No doubt he feels differently.

The story of a white trash early 30s woman (Swank) determined to be a good boxer and the veteran coach (Eastwood) who reluctantly takes her on board. The tale is narrated by Eastwood's gym buddy Freeman.

Solid direction from Clint, and a surprisingly good acting performance from him too. Swank does nothing wrong, and Freeman brings his usual trademark quiet dignity to his role. The story is simple. Swank surprises everyone with her boxing talent, Eastwood develops paternal feelings towards her and the two of them strike a father-daughter relationship. Swank's lack of a father figure in her life, and her clearly trashy family makes her relationship with Eastwood whose own daughter is estranged from him all the more relevant.

Alas in time Swank gets bested by a top hardcore boxer, and she has to contend with her shattered dreams. Taking a philosophical angle, she contents herself with the thought that despite her career ending defeat and serious injuries she lived a lot more and made more of an impact in her world than she would have if she never got into boxing. Better to live a couple of years with intense passion than a lifetime as trash.

Freeman won his long overdue Oscar, but this again highlights that Oscars are not about the best performances or best pictures. He is as usual good in his role, but he has given more impacting performances in more demanding roles in the past. Somewhat ironic then that he should win his first Oscar for this one.

There is the obligatory sideline goings on at the gym, which feel a bit contrived. However Eastwood's direction is very good, and the three principal leads know what they are doing.

My issue with the film's best picture win is less a criticism of the quality of the film than the politicking going on at the Oscars. Simple effective films like this have won in the past (like Ordinary People deservedly in 1980, Terms of Endearment undeservingly a couple of years later). But the best picture winner must feel like the best picture of the year. That Million Dollar Baby ain't. Eastwood has obviously built up a web of alliances in Hollywood, and is one of it's most influential figures.

I suppose the fact that this film won Best Picture shouldn't be particularly surprising. Almost everyone knows that the Oscars are not about the best. It's about what looks good, what reflects the style and power play of Hollywood the best.

David Lean's sweeping epic and his second best film after Laurence of Arabia. Great performances all the way and exquisite cinematography and music. Lean handles the vast canvas admirably well.

Based on Boris Pasternak's famous novel, this is a thinly veiled criticism of the Bolshevik revolution and its aftermath under the entertaining and touching guise of a love affair between the film's two leads - Omar Shariff's Dr Yuri Zhivago and Julie Christie's Lara. Indeed theirs is one of the great love affairs in the history of cinema. But herein too lies one of only two weaknesses in this movie. The sentimentality between the two leads is so overt that on repeated viewing it tends to jar a bit. The second weakness is the ending. It is contrived and in no way adds to the film positively. Perhaps Lean was getting affected by the very sentimentality that he helped create.

The supporting cast feature some great actors. Alec Guiness as the important Bolshevik official who is also Yuri's half-brother, Geraldine Chaplin as Yuri's understanding wife (whose attitudes some of us may dearly wish for in our girlfriends or wives!), Tom Courtenay as Lara's sensitive husband whose driven over the edge by the momentous events of the revolution, and most of all Rod Steiger as Lara's family friend, a complex character who is manipulative and predatory but not altogether a bad man. Steiger nearly steals the film with his performance - no mean achievement as a support player in a 'epic' movie.

Maurice Jarre's celebrated score heightens the emotions aroused by the powerful story and the cinematography is wonderful. The film is so overflowing with wonderful shots and colour that sometimes you expect it to burst on screen.

What more to say except that Shariff and Christie too are very good in one of the great epics in movie history. Watch this.

After reading the reviews on IMDb, I bought the DVD set. I have watched the series countless times since and still continue to marvel at the quality of this work.

For anyone unfamiliar with the early Roman principate, the Julio-Claudian dynasty was in power for a period of about 80 years from Augustus to the death of Nero in 68 AD. This TV series covers the period from about 20 BC to 54 AD - the death of emperor Claudius.

The story is semi-autobiographical, written by Claudius towards the end of his reign and covering the history of his family from Augustus down to the young Nero, his successor.

Murder is the dominating theme, as Augustus' wife Livia artfully dispatches one imperial contender after another so that her son Tiberius can be emperor. It is not simply vanity that drives her machinations, but she is convinced that only Tiberius can keep the principate intact. Should any other candidate take over from Augustus, Rome would descend into civil war and anarchy. It is mostly Livia's actions that drives the story forward.

The acting is top notch. Much has been made about Derek Jacobi's performance, as the lame, stammering, clumsy Claudius. His family does not think much of him, but it is obvious to the viewer that he is a lot smarter and observant then he looks, as he absorbs all the goings on around him to chronicle them later in his book. Jacobi's performance deserves to go into legend, but the quality of the other performances does not allow him to run away with the film. Brian Blessed as the benevolent Augustus, Sian Philipps as Livia are fantastic. George Baker as Tiberius is very good in a particularly difficult role while John Hurt has the most interesting role to play - that of the madman emperor Caligula. The vast supporting cast are all excellent, particularly Patrick Stewart as Sejanus - Tiberius' tough, ruthless and scheming head of the Praetorian Guard.

Considering this is a BBC series with limited budget the production values are great. Direction is first class. Herbert Wise handles the vast story and the army of superb actors with great assurance.

For a drama series the story is quite accurate with history. Just two minor gripes. First the part of Tiberius as written portrays him as very much under the thumb of his mother, with a weak will and indecisive nature. Certain historical facts have contributed to this impression, such as him divorcing the wife he loved to marry Augustus' daughter. But the real life Tiberius was also very efficient and competent, keeping the empire stable during his 23 year reign and leaving the treasury rich. In this series his virtues are not highlighted enough.

Secondly the performance of John Hurt as Caligula. Herbert Wise himself expressed his astonishment at the greatness of Hurt's performance and Hurt certainly gives it a real go. But personally I was disappointed in the way Caligula was portrayed by Hurt. In his interpretation Caligula is a one dimensional madman with cruelty as his dominating urge. No one could disagree given the historical facts, but perhaps due to the freedom allowed in this role Caligula could have been portrayed with more depth, rather than a screaming shouting spoilt young man who believes himself a god. The real Caligula did believed himself to be a god, but perhaps as a result of the absolute power he held in his hands rather than some sort of mental disease. In the way Hurt has chosen to play the role he plays it well. But a more sophisticated interpretation would have rendered Caligula even more believable, and more frightening.

This series has everything, even length - it runs to over 600 minutes. The quality is unwavering throughout. A real treasure to own. It is extremely rare for a work of this quality to be to be realised over such a length, all the more pleasurable for the viewer.

Several writers here have commented that I, Claudius is the greatest ever TV series, the series by which all other TV work should be judged. I cannot agree more.

Poignant and evocative as this movie is, no way should it have been best picture. The story is too thin, the script lacks sufficient sophistication. Marcus Aurelius to Maximus'give Rome back to the people it belongs'. Way too vague and general a statement the like of which is repeated too often.

Mind you this is a good film, powered by Crowe and the fabulous music of Lisa Gerrard and Hans Zimmer. Gerrard's voice in the dream sequences is fantastic. Crowe has great presence. His Maximus is tired of fighting even before the fighting begins at the beginning of the film. The look on his face at the beginning says it all - a man duty bound to his orders, yet tired and sad at the nature of his duty, yet confident in his own ability and that of his soldiers to carry them out. Crowe retains his tortured tough guy look right the way through.

As impressive as the action sequences are at the beginning in the German forest and later in the colosseum, the film looks way too grainy. It's alright for the early sequences where the forest is supposed to be dark and gloomy anyway, but Rome should have been more light and clarity. Special effects and art direction in this sense are a let down.

The supporting cast is not given much to work with by the weak script. Derek Jacobi has almost nothing to do, Joaquin Phoenix's villain is just way too one dimensional (not really the actor's fault). Connie Nielsen easily stands out as Maximus' ex-love.

I think it's the powerful emotions aroused by the Gerrard-Zimmer music and Crowe's screen presence which propelled this to best picture status. The story and script are just too weak to merit it. Ridley Scott doesn't make bad films, but the visual weaknesses of the film in parts prevent him being praised too much for this effort. He has enough good films under his belt anyway.

Hard-boiled making ends meet private dick Harry Angel is given a routine missing person case by the mysterious Robert de Niro.

This is one of my personal favourites. The first time I watched it the tension towards the end was unbelievable. There were only a few minutes left in the movie, yet Harry was nowhere near finding the missing Johnny Favourite. What a payoff though!

This is the best Rourke performance I have ever seen. A shower and a shave and he would have been a great Philp Marlowe. You see his acting skill here and think he should have been one of the great actors in movies. What a waste.

De Niro is very clever as the stranger in a beautifully played cameo. He is just so cool. Parker's direction is full of great stylisation, slick editing and cryptic images. It's neatly paced.

Charlotte Rampling and Lisa Bonet do the needful. But this is about Rourke, prodded on by de Niro towards the terrifying payoff. Harry's anguish, guilt and horror are wonderfully realised by Rourke. The real life '50s settings make the movie all the more effective. The soundtrack is just so appropriate.

A cult classic if ever there was one.

Undoubtedly one of the great film noir thrillers in history. Derivative but superbly stylised by director Kasdan and wonderfully realised by Hurt and Turner.

Hurt is a very great actor. He had a string of well played roles in the '80s (Kiss of the Spider Woman, Children of a lesser god, Gorky Park) but his movie career lost momentum after that. Perhaps it's difficult for a cerebral actor like him to find challenging parts. Turner is super sexy, proving that a voluptuous figure or great facial features are not essentials to be a turn on. I hear that Body Heat was her first film. She plays her role with understated confidence.

The underrated theme music too is very good. Supporting cast is effective. Really no faults with this movie. Kasdan did an accomplished job. One can't help but be disappointed that he did not make many more good movies.

Some leading critics complain that the ending was over elaborate. I disagree. I think the ending touch works well with the atmosphere and momentum of the movie towards the end. This being a genre film noir movie, the plot is typical and familiar to almost anyone, but it still has great power and the movie irresistibly sucks the viewer in. You can't but help but admire the skills of the actors and Kasdan's sophisticated direction. The music is marvelously complimentary all the way through.

Great stuff.