Time to Depart, Marty

Scorsese.jpgI am not a Scorsese fan, and if you want to know why, here's my review of The Departed, in which I compare it with Infernal Affairs, the Hong Kong thriller on which it was based.  My conclusion, in the words of Dr. Johnson, is that The Departed is both original and good, but unfortunately the part that is original is not good, and the part that is good is not original.

I confess to not having seen Shutter Island, Scorsese's latest, which like The Departed bottom-feeds on my home town of Boston.  But after reading A. O. Scott's scathing review, I suspect this murky mess does not even deserve Dr. Johnson's faint praise.

Of course, I reserve final judgment on Shutter Island until somebody pays me to see it.

February 22, 2010 2:44 PM |

Categories:

Soundtrax

PRC Pop 

The Chinese pop music scene is like no other ...

Remembering Elvis 

The best part of him will never leave the building ...

Beyond Country 

Like all chart categories, "country" is an arbitrary heading under which one finds the ridiculous, the sublime, and everything in between. On the sublime end, a track that I have been listening to over and over for the last six months: Wynnona Judd's version of "She Is His Only Need." The way she sings it, irony is not a color or even a set of contrasting colors; it is iridescence.

Miles the Rock Star? 

Does Miles Davis belong in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame? Here's my take on his career ...

Essay Contest 

Attention, high school jazz listeners ...

more trax

Me Elsewhere

Edward Hopper 

Painter of light (and darkness) ...

Dissed in Translation 

Here's my best shot at taking Scorcese down a few pegs ...

Henri Rousseau Revisited 

"Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris" appeared at the National Gallery of Art in Washington this fall ...

Paul Klee's Art 

Paul Klee was not childish, despite frequent comparisons between his art and that of children...

Our Art Belongs to Dada 

Rent my "Dadioguide" tour of the Dada show (before it moves to MoMA) ...

more picks

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This page contains a single entry by Martha Bayles published on February 22, 2010 2:44 PM.

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