Watched "The Departed" last night. I quite enjoyed it, and I loved the soundtrack.

We finally saw it, too. I liked it very much, and I thought Leo was fabulous in his role -- much gritter than usual and really believable. I didn't actually think it should have won Best Picture, but I get why it did.

There are pros and cons to staying as unspoiled as I usually do, though. I was shocked when Costigan got shot, and my jaw was on the floor by the end. There aren't too many movies in which the three leads are dead by the end.

We're doing a Better Late Than Never post-Oscar movie blitz around here. Saw and loved Little Miss Sunshine, and Ben and I went to see The Pursuit of Happyness at the local second-run (and only $3!) theater -- I really enjoyed it, emotional manipulation and all. I adore Will Smith, and for a message movie it was really well-done and enjoyable.

We've got The Prestige to watch next.

Sigh. Edited because "are" and "aren't" are two really different things.

I didn't like Trainspotting, either. It seemed to be mostly about trying to shock the audience without much narrative development or even meangingful character study, and I felt the whole thing boiled down to the creators of the movie saying "aren't we cheeky?" to the audience over and over again. That sort of facile nihilism reminds me of David Fincher movies, which I also dislike. I don't see any there there.

I love David Fincher movies, however.

There are pros and cons to staying as unspoiled as I usually do,

Yep. I guess I should have anticipated it, given the source, but my jaw hit the floor hard. A rarity for me, and a very nice feeling.

I thought Leo was fabulous in his role

There's a part of me that hates that I like DiCaprio so much, but he's really come in to his own as an actor.

All That Jazz is one of those movies that vastly improves on repeated viewings. The first time I saw it (in college), I thought it was nothing more than brilliantly choreographed director-wanking. Now, however, I think it's one of the best memoir films ever made, as well as one of the best ever musicals about the stage.

I still think DiCaprio has a baby face, but this role did show how much he's grown up -- he actually convincingly played an adult.

I don't really mind liking him -- Titanic was a weird phenomenon. It was Damon who surprised me -- he doesn't play a bad guy that often (all I can think of right now is The Talented Mr. Ripley, which had some depth anyway), because I don't consider Jason Bourne, former assassin or not, really a bad guy as he's presented to us.

And I liked that Damon played such a weak bad guy -- he wasn't Costello, strutting and confident and powerful, he only played that at work, and was really weak and insecure and ready to turn at any moment.

Now, however, I think it's one of the best memoir films ever made, as well as one of the best ever musicals about the stage.

I adore that movie. I saw it when it came out, and I think I was about eleven or twelve -- neither my parents nor my friend's had any clue about the content, I think. It's never gotten old for me, and I think it was brilliantly done.

Hey, nothing wrong with liking DiCaprio. He's an excellent actor, and more powers to him that he didn't let the matinee idol status he achieved after Titanic dictate his subsequent film choices. (Of course, I don't personally find him that attractive, so he works better for me as a character actor.) Same for Kate Winslet.

I was spoiled for The Departed because I watched Infernal Affairs and they followed the plot pretty closely (except I don't think the Chinese film had an equivalent of the Mark Wahlberg character); I enjoyed the film, but it didn't have quite the same emotional impact on me as the original (which I loved) -- being spoiled for the film probably had something to do with it.

Kate Winslet is my favorite actress, at least of the under-40 crowd. She's also the least neurotic of the batch (or seems to be), which is probably why she's my favorite.

I was spoiled for The Departed because I watched Infernal Affairs and they followed the plot pretty closely (except I don't think the Chinese film had an equivalent of the Mark Wahlberg character); I enjoyed the film, but it didn't have quite the same emotional impact on me as the original (which I loved) -- being spoiled for the film probably had something to do with it.

Vonnie is me. I think another part of the reason it didn't have the same impact for me as the Hong Kong original is the length -- Infernal Affairs is only 90-100 minutes long. It's a tight little film. Marty seemed to want the plot of the first movie with the scope of the second, which is more of a HK-style Godfather Part II, and I'm not sure it was an entirely successful choice.

Hooking up with Scorcese was the smartest thing Leo ever did -- it's really allowed him to leave his golden-boy teen idol phase behind.