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J'accuse (1919)
Who Are the Naysayers?
I wish that we could read a comment from at least one of the 91 persons who gave a "1" rating to this silent film masterpiece. What were these 91 thinking? Do they hate all silents? Did they object to the length? If "J'Accuse!" is a "1," why did they suffer through its almost three-hour duration? If they gave up watching after 10 minutes, why bother to vote and muck up the weighted average, now standing at an absurd 6.4? Thank you, Turner Classic Movies, for making "J'Accuse" available to a wide audience. That network is most capably helping fill the void left by the shutting down of most of America's repertory film theaters.
The Departed (2006)
Why a meaningless and unbelievable subplot?
I must have read a dozen reviews of "The Departed" by professional critics. No one, however, has pointed out the utter meaninglessness of the 20-minute subplot--quickly discarded--involving the selling of mysterious microprocessors to agents of the government of China. It's beyond belief to ask an audience to believe that a local mobster into loan sharking, drug dealing, and the usual local mobster fare would delve into far murkier international intrigue. I guess Scorcese must have had second thoughts, too, since this whole sequence was dropped like a hot potato, not to be mentioned again. Further, and oddly, too, the agents of the Chinese government are seen speaking Cantonese, not Mandarin.
Was the subplot a big mistake or was it an expensive tip-of-the-the-cap to the movie's Cantonese origins? In any case, it merely further bloated an already too-long film.