The Departed (2006)

Good movie. It's true: Martin Scorsese is back to form. I was very surprised to find myself liking the Leonardo DiCaprio character better than the Matt Damon character--even though you're supposed to. I just like to look at Matt Damon so much more than Leo! I see it as a testament to good acting on both their parts that they were able to shift me my from my initial preferences. Also, (my boyfriend) Marky-Mark is fantastic in this film. It was almost a throwaway part, but boy does he chew it up! The hair? Awful! The dialog? Foul! The character? Hateful! But you completely respect him and buy him in this part. It does help if you like Boston (South Boston?) accents. The natives (Damon, Wahlberg) do it better than the rest of the cast, but they're all in there pitching. Last, but not least, the "old heads" in this picture are fun to watch, in particular, Jack Nicholson. I am crazy about Alec Baldwin these days and he is fine here. Martin Sheen? Perhaps dialing it in a little, but nothing too terrible. His accent is a weak point. I do like that EVERYONE in the picture is supposed to be from Boston and that local class differences turn the plot. This attention to detail makes us suspend our disbelieve enough to enjoy the preposterous stuff in this picture. Some gruesome violence, not for the faint of heart, and a little too much humor at the expense of corpses, but, still, a good ride. Oh, and, for once, a love story that is essential to the plot and pretty well done. I recommend it.

Aside: if we could have a picture with as many interesting roles for women of as many different ages and degrees of beauty...that would be something!

The Last King of Scotland (2006)

I did not like this movie. I only went because one of the folks in my group insisted. The acting was fine--Forest Whitaker, as always, was excellent and, chillingly, quite convincing as Idi Amin. I recalled him, dimly, from my childhood and that he was a very bad man. In at least the first half of the film there is quite a bit of humor. But, do we need another film about Africa from the perspective of a white guy? For the most part, while I didn't like the white guy hero very much, I bought the story. However, the end of the film, which hinges on the raid on Entebbe, was preposterous. Completely unbelievable! Argh. Also, even the humor is hard to enjoy because, knowing that this is Uganda, under Amin, nothing good is going to happen. In fact, only bad things are going to happen--to everyone except the white guy hero. (Note: the film features an almost unrecognizable Gillian Anderson in a substantial supporting role. She sports blond hair and a most convincing British accent. Turns out she's a natural blond and lived in England from age 2 to 11! Who knew?)

Idlewild

Before seeing Idlewild I read a review that said it was an interesting mess--which was quite correct. The music is good, the acting is wooden, the plot is nonsensical. The story is also melodramatic. I hate melodrama but can abide it in support of a good musical. There are good actors in this film but their performances are disappointing. And why, why, why is the BEST musical number playing under the closing credits? If the film had more numbers like that, it would be about 50% better. Probably best to wait for the DVD on this one--I bet the extras will be worth seeing.