‘The Departed’A Little Slice of Boston

Mobster movies are hard to do poorly; everybody loves the gritty glamour of organized crime. But it took Martin Scorsese to perfect the genre by adding the secret no other mafia flick has: Boston accents.

‘The Departed’ is easily the most universally entertaining movie since ‘Shrek,’ but for completely opposite reasons. Shocking in its unpredictable twists and gripping action, ‘The Departed’ also provides comedy gold with lines like, ‘I’m the guy doing his job. You must be the other guy!’ delivered by the consummate asshole/thriller star, Mark Wahlberg.

This movie is gory, sure, but it will call on your higher-order thinking skills while your base sensibilities thrill in exit wound after exit wound. You can take your girlfriend to this movie. You can take your guy friends. You could even take your mom-she’ll swoon for Alec Baldwin’s sweaty, primal maleness. And the only thing better than hearing Matt Damon question a fireman’s sexuality is hearing it in that perfect Southie sneer.