Wow.  Didn't realize it had been so long since I'd last blogged - but considering I'm here to talk about another movie - it is fitting.

This one is better than 'Miami Vice' was, though.  Better by a mile.

I'm talking about 'The Departed' - Martin Scorcese's new joint.  This one is a classic.  Yes, as good as 'GoodFellas'.  With a cast that reads like a man's man locker room list of cinematic players, and a script that has multiple layers and twists that catch you guessing, Marty's returned to greatness after a few sputters with films like 'Gangs of New York'.

Never been a huge fan of Matt Damon for his acting skill, but I gotta day, the dude's got chops in this film.  Ditto for Alec Baldwin - he's made some turds in recent years - but returns to bit part gold, giving a similar but humorously wry performance as Damon's boss.  Leo DiCaprio is good as well and delivers.  Matrin Sheen joins the party too and is a decent addition.

All hail King Jack though.  The dude is class and one of the best in a generation at what he does.  He does throw a punch and fire a bullet here and there, but he brings it as a bad guy and is violent as they come below the surface without being overstated.  Nicholson is the centerpiece of this film, as he should be - and his performace is worth every cent he is paid and for every second he appears on screen.

I'd be remiss to mention the cinematic greatness that is Scorcese.  He uses shadows and color brilliantly to accentuate the evil that is Nicholson's Frank Costello.  As usual, his use of music is spot on and carries or adds to the scenes the tracks are used in.

Brush up on your Boston Irish spoken accents though - almost like listening to Cockney or some other English dialect variant, these actors deliver some lines with New England brogue.  Being a leprachaun myself, I loved every minute of this 'GoodFellas' for the Irish (read:  this is an Irish mob movie).  But, having your Irish card punched certainly isn't a requirement to understand or enjoy this film.

Nuff said - go see the next mob classic.

My Vice(s) - Caught 'Miami Vice' this weekend.  HSO off the top - Michael Mann may not have made a bad movie.... yet... but he needs to wrangle his staff a bit better though.  The writing and storyline needed work.  Someone missed the boat.  I found myself enjoying the scenery and action sequences, but there were way too many lags and times there i was left trying to follow the dialogue. 

The film had more a Caribbean feel and less Miami vibe than I was expecting as well - but maybe growing up a kid in South Florida left me wanting more than the other moviegoers this weekend.  Jamie Foxx was good, if underused.  Colin Farrell was passable, and lacked the intensity just below the surface Don Johnson exhibited in the television version, and perhaps the Crockett character should have regardless of the size of screen. 

Guy toys were great - Ferraris, Bentleys, Donzi 'go fast' boats, guns and more.     

All in all, a good movie.  Maybe I was expecting bigger and better things from Mann, after flicks like 'Heat' and 'Collateral'.  With the money 'Vice' made, he's gotta be a happy guy come Monday.

Fall greatness - saw the trailer for Martin Scorcese's new flick, 'The Departed'.  Looks like a great flick with a great cast. 

So Lloyd (sorry no last name listed) is comically witty too - but Jeremy Piven's 'Ari Gold' is in my book one of the best written television characters to come along in a long time.  You might not agree with his political correctness (or lack thereof), chauvinistic tendencies and lack of couth - and a troubled individual he is, with Napoleonic complexities and control issues - but he exemplifies what many of us outside the LA bubble think a ruthless talent agent must be like. 

The writing is greatness, but without great execution this role would likely be half baked (no knock on the NYC boys extracurricular habits, either) without the acting genius that is Jeremy Piven.  I've liked his work in ensemble roles in a bunch of movies over the years, but this guy has hit his stride in this role.  Some of the zingers he rolls off are priceless - and its hard to think of another actor who could pull it off. 

Here's hoping that Piven pulls down the Emmy Award for this role this year. 

Check out 'Entourage' - you won't be disappointed.

For the record, I am a Mavs fan. 

Grew up in Miami when the Heat first became an NBA franchise - and those were dark and dreary days.  Can you say Rony Seikaly?  Hell, its hard to spell, let alone say.

Became a Maverixks fan by proxy living here.

I'm not torn.  Congrats to the Heat, great season Mavs.