The Departed (2006)

Genre

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Director

Martin Scorsese

Country

USA

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin, Anthony Anderson, James Badge Dale, David O'Hara, Mark Rolston, Kevin Corrigan, John Cenatiempo, Armen Garo, Robert Wahlberg, Kristen Dalton, Conor Donovan

Storyline

In South Boston, the state police force is waging war on Irish American organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). While Billy quickly gains Costello's confidence, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the state police as an informer for the syndicate, is rising to a position of power in the Special Investigation Unit.

Opinion

Remake of the Hong Kong 2002 film Infernal Affairs, The Departed is a brilliant and engaging film, filled with action, suspense and black humour, which offers food for thought on honesty, betrayal, good and evil.

Protagonist of the film is the eternal fight between good and evil, and as happens in real life is not always easy to distinguish one from the other. Actually these two entities are so close that it's almost impossible to see them as two separate notions.

The good, played by Leonardo DiCaprio's Costigan, is dirty outside but clean inside. The evil, on the other side, played by Matt Damon's Sullivan, is capable of living among us well disguised, and knows how to act in the land of lies, and feels at ease.  This is what misleads us, human beings, and the reason why we are fascinated by people like Sullivan, and afraid of people like Costigan. I'd say don't judge a book by its cover, but as my literature teacher always said, "Leave the commonplaces to the mass".

Martin Scorsese has left the bloody, gloomy New York for a bold Boston with a great desire to show off his talent, and he wonderfully succeeded. In fact, with a simple plot and almost two hours and a half to fill, he was able to keep the viewer's interest and to keep up the suspense. There is a but though. Those who know Tarantino, and have seen Reservoir Dogs will find many of their elements. The mole, the betrayal, the impossibility to distinguish good from evil, and the Shakespearean finale where everyone dies. About the ending, it didn't really convince me. It feels forced, with the purpose of pleasing the audience and bringing back balance between good and evil.

Screenwriter William Monahan follows the structure of Infernal Affairs, but added lot of depth to the characters, and put down on paper a better dialogue. 

The acting is first class. Grown up, hefty but still with a baby face,  Leonardo DiCaprio gives a wonderful performance as Billy Costigan. Matt Damon does a great job out of his comfort zone as Sullivan. Devilish Jack Nicholson is huge as usual, and steals the scene, even though he doesn't much in the film. Mark Wahlberg should have had more screen time, but shines between a f**k and another. Great performances also from Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen and Vera Farmiga.

Quotes

Frank Costello: When you decide to be something, you can be it. That's what they don't tell you in the church. When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals. Today, what I'm saying to you is this: when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

Genre

Drama | Romance

Director

Clint Eastwood

Country

USA

Cast

Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Annie Corley, Victor Slezak, Jim Haynie, Sarah Kathryn, Christopher Kroon, Phyllis Lyons, Debra Monk, Richard Lage, Michelle Benes

Storyline

Photographer Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood) stops in a farm in the middle of nowhere to ask for directions to Roseman Bridge. That's when he meets housewife Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep). Eventually they fall in love, but she is married with children.

Opinion

"I gave my family my life; I gave Robert Kincaid what was left of me." With these words, Francesca concludes her letter. Closing credits rolling in, I felt like she gave me a part of her life too, so very well done Clint.

Romantic and sensitive, with a devastating and emotional ending, The Bridges of Madison County redeems the clichéd plot with the help of the duo Eastwood-Streep.

Once again without his beloved Magnum .44, and in the role both of actor and director, Clint Eastwood wonderfully directs this love story, based on Robert James Waller's novel of the same name - and according to what I've read around, isn't even that good. What surprised me the most is the sensitivity Eastwood faced the story with: unbelievable.

I am not a fan of romances and the running time - 2 hours and 15 minutes - really worried me. Instead, I've found myself surprised to say that it is one of the strongest part of the film. In fact, the slow pace not only never bores, but it's necessary to make you feel the story, and to allow you to live those special moments with them. 

The cinematography by Jack N. Green is wonderful and the musical score by Lennie Niehaus really helps enhance the romantic atmosphere.

The pair Eastwood-Streep works perfectly. They have such a chemistry, their love seems hundred percent genuine. Beside from that, their performances really deserve to be praised. On the one hand we have a great Clint Eastwood, which greatly divides himself between acting and directing. On the other hand we have Meryl Streep, an astonishing, heartbreaking Meryl Streep, who brings home another Oscar nomination.

If this movie taught me anything is never judge a film by its genre. 

Quotes

Robert Kincaid: Things change. They always do, it's one of the things of nature. Most people are afraid of change, but if you look at it as something you can always count on, then it can be a comfort.

Prometheus (2012)

Genre

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Director

Ridley Scott

Country

UK | USA

Cast

Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Logan Marshall-Green, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall, Kate Dickie, Emun Elliott, Benedict Wong, Patrick Wilson, Ian Whyte

Storyline

Following clues to the origin of mankind, a team journey across the universe and find a structure on a distant planet containing a monolithic statue of a humanoid head and stone cylinders of alien blood. They'll soon find they are not alone.

Opinion

I've been completely disappointed by Ridley Scott's latest movies - first by The Counselor, and later by Exodus: Gods and Kings, that somehow managed to drag Christian Bale down to its level -, so I've started wondering when his fall started, and now I think I've found the tip of the iceberg. 

Not as bad as the previously mentioned films, Prometheus sins of ambition, and doesn't get even close to the levels of the other science fiction movies directed by Scott. It is built on the same narrative structure of Alien, and uses the same spaceships and aliens designs, but the result is not nearly as good. 

Clearly a failed attempt to prequel Alien, Prometheus finds itself struck in the middle of a clichéd plot and so much nonsense to fill a book. The first part of the film manages to create certain expectations and to intrigue the viewer, but as time passes, it wonderfully manages to disappoint.

Many scenes do not have a real purpose, and are justified by the need to fill the film with special effects, that are very well made by the way. Unfortunately, a film can't steady itself on special effects only, because they'll be obsolete in a short time, as happens with all technologies.

There is no character development, every single character could die and you wouldn't even care, maybe Idris Elba's is an exception because more human. The only slightly interesting dialogue is the one involving android David. The spaceship setting is beautiful, but Kubrick did better 46 years ago in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The music is nothing special and hardly noticeable. 

However, since the main reason why I decided to watch this film in the first place is the presence of Michael Fassbender, I can't say I have been fully disappointed. The German-Irish actor once again shines, delivering a wonderful, emotionless, and expressionless performance as David. Noomi Rapace fails to generate sympathy, and the rest of the cast is mediocre.

Quotes

David: Big things have small beginning.

Men in Black (1997)

Genre

Comedy | Sci-Fi

Director

Barry Sonnenfeld

Country

USA

Cast

Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Mike Nussbaum, Jon Gries, Sergio Calderón, Carel Struycken, Fredric Lehne, Richard Hamilton, Kent Faulcon, John Alexander, Keith Campbell, Patrick Breen, Becky Ann Baker, Sean Whalen, David Cross, Tim Blaney

Storyline

In present-day America, Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) is a member of an organization that has been keeping track of extra-terrestrial aliens on Earth for over 40 years. When K finds himself in need of a new partner, a brash NYPD detective, James Edwards (Will Smith) fills the position, becoming Agent J. Armed with space-age technology and their razor-sharp wits, J and K investigate a newcomer who is bad news for Earth.

Opinion

Although Will Smith and Aliens gives the already-seen movie feeling, Barry Sonnenfeld's science fiction comedy feels fresh.

Based on Lowell Cunningham's comic book, Men in Black might not be deep, but is a blaze of entertainment, fun, and mashed colorful aliens.

Even though the script isn't that brilliant and not entirely coherent, and some scenes are needlessly too long, there are several elements that makes the film very enjoyable. First of all, the extremely likeable Agents. Confident, and efficient one, exuberant and irreverent the other one. The contrast between the two of them is great.

The gags are great. Many of them are connected to legal aliens living on Earth in disguise as anything or anyone. Seriously, who knew that Sylvester Stallone, Steven Spielberg, and Elvis are aliens. The jokes are good as well. The film is aware of how silly it is, and that's probably the reason why the jokes work here.

Another element that deserves to be mentioned is special effects: they are fantastic. There are loads of aliens/monsters, they all are amazingly done, and some some of them are very funny. Very well done.

The acting is another pretty strong element. Both giving great performances respectively as Agent K and Agent J, Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith have a wonderful, and hilarious chemistry together. Linda Fiorentino, and Rip Torn are also good. Vincent D'Onofrio gives an outstanding performance and makes the villain look even more creepier.

Quotes

K: Fifteen hundred years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was flat. And fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.