The Departed

Rating: A

This is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, let alone this year. It's got Oscar written all over it. Normally I'm not a fan of Martin Scorsese, but this one is a home run.

The Departed is a twisted tale of the Boston cops and the Irish Mob and all the spys that are between the two. Jack Nicholson, in one of his best recent performances, is the head of the Mob who recruits Matt Damon at an early age to be his snitch inside the police department. Leonardo DeCaprio is a cop who goes undercover in the mob for his boss, Martin Sheen. What follows is a cat and mouse game of who knows what, and who finds out what, full of twists and turns and surprises.

This movie is long at 151 minutes, but as the minutes tick away, you fall deeper and deeper into the story. There were a few parts where everyone in the theater gasped and jumped. The best way I can put it is in the words of a black guy after the movie ended, "That's some crazy white people."

Matt Damon plays the character so well, that if you didn't already hate him, you will after this. Leo also puts in his two Oscar cents. Nicholson shines playing the character that he was born to play, a crazy, cussing embodiment of evil. Other strong performances are turned in by Alec Baldwin, Mark Walberg, and Martin Sheen. It's like a democrat convention. If there is a weak point, it's the main woman, Vera Farmiga, who plays a shrink who falls for both Damon and DeCaprio. She seems rather wall flowery. She does have an important role in the movie, but the whole love triangle thing just doesn't seem necessary in my eyes.

All in all, you should drop what you're doing now and go see this movie. There aren't many that I say this about, so when I do, take it to heart, and we'll all see this movie next March at the Academy Awards.