Strange Sensation and Good Movies

By Jonathan Stark · November 17, 2008

I just watched Donnie Brasco for the first time. Really liked it. Al Pacino is an amazing actor.

You know, I saw The Departed, and I didn't like it. The whole thing felt like a scenario for a scenario's sake. A lot of energy with nothing behind it. Donnie Brasco is what it feels like The Departed was trying to be, but how it had any hope of living up to how this film portrayed the same situation is beyond me.

It is in part due to the amazing acting duo that is Johnny Depp and Al Pacino. A large part. But writing is often ignored by the public. They think actors, they think directors. Writers rarely get credit. Hell, I don't even know who wrote Donnie Brasco. And while looking it up, I got distracted.

Such is the plight of the creator.

Comments 2

honestgamer Staff Nov 17, 2008

Yeah, writers don't get much credit at all. I don't know if that movie was straight from an original screenplay, or if there was also a novel first. Remember that a lot of movies begin as a novel, then someone else completely turns that into a good script for a movie. It's amazing how much work those writers go through and how little attention people pay to it (something the writer's strikes did something to remind us of).

zippdementia Blogger Nov 17, 2008

Unfortunately, the writers didn't really get what they wanted out of the strike.