Reviewing Movies

Another of my secret pleasures.

Who knew that Rocky was short for Robert—well I didn't. However, there in the credits his onscreen son is listed as Robert Jr. Of course, I wasn't aware that Sylvester Stallone was working on Rambo IV either. Guess I'm a bit behind the times. But then so is this movie.

Much of the first half is taken up with recollections of things past. Rocky has a wooden folding chair stored in the crotch of a tree beside his wife's grave so he can sit there and commune. Apparently, Talia Shire wanted out of the franchise. He spends his evenings at Adrian's, the restaurant where he acts as host regaling his customers with stories of past glory. In the back is a shrine to his career. Paulie his brother-in-law has taken up oil painting and his oeuvre grace the store. Paulie is still riding Rocky's coat tails and comes along to provide comic diversion. We wander past the pet shop where Adrian used to work, the debris that marks the old skating rink, the old neighbourhood with its burnt out buildings, the gym, Rocky's old haunts.

Fiction echoes fact as Rocky and his son are estranged, Robert Jr. experiencing a certain embarrassment at his father's notoriety. Somehow, I can identify with that feeling. Sylvester Stallone has not aged gracefully and looks as warmed over as the plot for this movie. This being Rocky there has to be a fight, the how's and the whyfores are not important, nor is the eventual winner. I would comment, though, that very little onscreen time is spent on the training. Fiction echoing fact again?

I suppose studios will continue making sequels as long as people are willing to watch them but I wonder at how many will have time for Rocky VII.

The Departed reminds me of a Shakespearean play in which no one is actually what he seems; and to continue the analogy in this movie the line between good guys and bad guys is blurred and it ends in piles and cross-piles of bodies to equal one of the Bard's tragedies.

One of the more apt quotes from the movie has Frank Costello say:

"When I was your age they used to say you could become cops or criminals. What I'm saying to you is this... When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?"

And in The Departed we are hard-pressed to find that difference. This is one movie that benefits from multiple viewings.

The Departed is long on talent. Jack Nicholson does more acting with his eyebrows in one scene than many other actors do in an entire feature-length movie. The hunk factor is ramped up by the inclusion of Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, and a Leonardo DiCaprio who's spent some time with a personal trainer. The testosterone factor rarely dips nor does the tension or underlying menace. Either I've watched too many violent movies or Scorsese concentrates more on character here than the violence that ensues. There are virtually no chase scenes in this movie for example.

This is one movie that romanticizes neither the gangsters nor the law enforcers.