Movie Night Traffic Light

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	TITLE:	The Departed
	RATED:	R
	RELEASE DATE:	Friday Oct 6th, 2006
	PRODUCTION CO:	Warner Brother Pictures (Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures)
	BUDGET:	$90M
	DIRECTOR:	Martin Scorsese (The Aviator, Gangs of New York, Goodfella’s)
	PRODUCER:	Martin Scorsese (Clockers, The Drifters), Jennifer Aniston (first producer credit), Brad Grey (The Replacement Killers), Graham King (The Aviator), Brad Pitt (first producer credit)
	WRITER:	William Monahan (Kingdom of Heaven)
	STARRING:	Leonardo DiCaprio – Billy Costigan (Titanic, The Aviator, Gangs of New York)
		Matt Damon – Colin Sullivan (Goodwill Hunting, The Bourne Supremacy)
		Jack Nicholson – Frank Costello (Anger Management, As Good As It Gets, A Few Good Men)
		Mark Wahlberg – Dignam (Invincible, The Italian Job, Boogie Nights)
		Alec Baldwin – Ellerby (The Aviator, The Hunt for Red October)
		Martin Sheen – Oliver Queenan (Catch Me if You Can, TV: The West Wing)

	REVIEW:
	Believe it or not, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt actually produced The Departed . . . or, as it was originally titled, “Get Out of My House You Lying, Cheating Jerk!” The movie’s actual original working title was “Internal Affairs” because this is a remake of an Asian movie from a few years ago with that title. The Departed is a highly anticipated, highly publicized film full of promises. It has some enormous star power behind it. Beyond Jenn and Brad producing it, there’s Martin Scorsese who directed it and some very big names starring in it. The list of stars includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Alex Baldwin, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg and Martin Sheen. Jack Nicholson plays a ruthless mob boss (Frank Costello) who is determined to figure out who the undercover cops are who are messing with his business. So, he sends Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) to infiltrate the Boston police. At the same time, a cop named Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes undercover to infiltrate the mob. Each side is determined to take the other side out. The movie is action packed, raw, gritty and brutal as each side takes the offensive to kill first rather than be killed. As you would expect with any mob vs. cop movie, there isn’t a fairytale ending. In fact, there is no one that doesn’t have blood on their hands when this is over. Produced by celebrities, a famed director, a half-dozen “A” List actors . . . there’s absolutely no chance of this movie being good, right? Wrong! This movie is phenomenal! It is classic Hollywood at its very best. The story is powerful and gripping, and the acting is superb. There’s actually a reason why these guys are on the “A” List! Without exception, every actor’s performance is spectacular. If Leonardo DiCaprio deserved an Oscar for The Aviator, he deserves three for this. Alec Baldwin should be in every movie, and Jack Nicholson – that guy is so good at portraying evil that you’ll want to shoot him yourself. And the best part maybe – the dialogue. It’s pure brilliance. The Departed is a monumental film that is certain to generate lots of Oscar nominations.

		MOVIE NIGHT TRAFFIC LIGHT:
		On the Movie Night Traffic Light on a scale of GREEN meaning “Go – it’s a must see”, YELLOW meaning “Caution – it’s okay” and RED meaning “No - stop don’t do it." We rate The Departed GREEN. Go – amazing acting and a great story but remember that this one definitely earns its “R” rating!