Oh it's that time of the year.  Yes, that time of year where Hollywood pats itself on the back and has us hardworking individuals eating out of their palms with what were "the best films" of the past year!  Of course the 2006 year in film would be rather hard (if not impossible) to talk about if one were to try and overlook a little film called THE DEPARTED!   Seemingly one of the biggest films of the past year (beyond the normal big budget sequels) garnering the films director MARTIN SCORSESE with multiple awards including the GOLDEN GLOBE and DIRECTORS GUILD AWARD for best director.  Sure, for years we have watched as MR. SCORSESE is seemingly robbed of his best director OSCAR for such films as RAGING BULL, THE AVIATOR and GANGS OF NEW YORK, but this year just may prove to be the upset to MARTIN SCORSESE's past upsets and then the world will probably end (pretty sure I read that in Revelations somewhere).

Based on the Chinese film INFERNAL AFFAIRS, THE DEPARTED at its simplest point is about lies.  Yes, lies!  Remember when you were a kid and your parents always hammered you with "two wrongs don't make a right"?  Well, somewhere along the line our government and police forces decided that this was not so and began using the same tactics as those they swore to protect the public from.  Of course I am talking of the whole world of undercover agents infiltrating the mob while connected men infiltrate the police.  This subject is not new to the world of film in any sense with such past films as DONNIE BRASCO etc. we have thoroughly explored such scenarios. Yet what those films didn't have was a huge cast of "A list" celebrities.  For the most part, THE DEPARTED stars half of Hollywood’s most iconic players including JACK NICHOLSON, LEONARDO DICAPRIO, MATT DAMON, MARK WAHLBERG, MARTIN SHEEN and ALEC BALDWIN, so THE DEPARTED definitely takes the cake when it comes to powerhouse actors.

The film itself is in usual SCORSESE fashion and engages the viewer from beginning to end.  The acting of course is about as solid that can be found in film today with both LEONARDO DICAPRIO and MATT DAMON doing superb jobs as the constantly at odds undercovers.  Of course with MATT DAMON being from the Boston area in reality his accent sounds the least contrived of the group, but that is to be expected.  Another of the highlights of the film is MARK WAHLBERG in the unforgettable role DIGNAM (in which he has been nominated for a best supporting actor OSCAR) who claims the films most memorable and hilarious lines.  Yet for most the "top slot" I am sure goes to the charismatic JACK NICHOLSON who seemingly took the character of FRANK COSTELLO and swallowed it whole in his usual fashion.  Last but not least are the supporting performances from veteran actors ALEC BALDWIN and MARTIN SHEEN, while SHEEN plays an important role in regards to the actual plot BALDWIN is much more fun to watch (I.M.O. of course!)

Two editions of THE DEPARTED are hitting stores on Feb 13th; one (the one I got) is a single disc bare bones edition, and the other the "uber" dual disc edition complete with additional scenes, commentaries and featurettes for the hard core fans.  Yet for most the single disc edition holds everything they are looking for, or in other words THE MOVIE!!!!

Available Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)