"God! It’s been so long since I had a decent spot of violence."

A friend had the excellent taste to suggest going to see The Departed on Sunday, and, man, did I ever love that movie. By my lights, at least, The Departed is the most vivid, memorable, and rousing Scorsese film since Goodfellas.

Great music, too: I've had The Dropkick Murphy's "I'm Shipping Off To Boston" ringing in my ears, ever since walking out of the theater. As The Village Voice puts it: "The Departed, after all, is a movie about Irish people doing violent shit in Boston, and the Dropkick Murphys are a band that sing about Irish people doing violent shit in Boston; it's a match made in heaven." Or a match made in Southie, anyway.