Newcomers: Scorsese, with Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus - The Departed (w/ Mike Mitchell & John Hodgman)

Episode Date: June 4, 2024

Lauren and Nicole are joined by very special Bostonian guests Mike Mitchell (Doughboys) and John Hodgman (Judge John Hodgman) to get into Scorsese’s award-winning 2006 film The Departed! This episode has everything: Mitch’s birthday, rat acting, Jack Nicholson’s filming pre-requisites and a special shout out to every person, place, and thing that made this film what it is. You won’t ever think of micro-processors the same way again. Follow Mitch: InstagramFollow John: Instagram, TwitterNext week tune in for our next episode covering The Irishman (2019!Like the show? Rate Newcomers 5 stars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review for Nicole and Lauren to read on the pod!Follow the podcast on Letterboxd.Advertise on Newcomers via Gumball.fmSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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When I was your age they would say we could become cops or criminals. What I'm saying is this. When you're facing a loaded gun What's the difference This is not the regular place This is the state please we are an elite unit. This is who we're after Frank Costello You won't be paid as a regular cop, but there's a bonus involved so what do I do? involved. So what do I do? You will not ever know the identity of undercover people. Do you have anyone in with Costello presently? Maybe. Do you know who I am? Maybe not. When I have my associates search you. That was quick. You think he's dead already? Get your hands off me! I think we could work something out. We are all convinced the Costal has at least one mole inside the special investigations unit.

Every part of my job I can't talk to you about. Man, you are trouble. You don't know the half of it. You better get organized, quick! Hey, last time I checked I tipped you off and you're not in jail. Getting the feeling we got a cop in my crew. Sooner or later he's gonna find out who I am and he's gonna kill me. If I can get the rap, you just gotta let me do it my way.

If you don't, it won't be me who pays for it. There is a leak from the inside. It's real. Man, smoke him out. You're lying to me. There are things you don't want to know about You're this fool But I can't hear you sing And I

Will be gone Comfortably enough. How's your brother? She's on her way out. You all are. Act accordingly. I'm Nicole Byer and I'm Lauren Latkes. And this season we are working our way through the filmography of the esteemed acclaimed director Amartya Skasezi. Also our producers Allie and Anya are here joining us on a journey.

We are doing 10 episodes, okay? We're limited in what we can explore of Skasezi's super long and prolific career. But of course, we can't get to everything. So we picked what we think, Anya and Ali think, are the pinnacle of his, you know, oeuvre for us to watch. And today we'll be discussing the film

based on the 2002 Hong Kong film, Internal Affairs, and on the real life of Boston gangster, Whitey Bulger, The Departed. Now I didn't realize it was based on a movie. Me either. And I didn't know about Whitey Bulger. And honestly, if you're a gangster, pick a better name. That's wild. That's a funky name. Honestly, if you're from Boston. Whitey Bulger. And honestly, if you're a gangster, pick a better name. That's wild.

That's a funky name. Honestly, if you're from Boston. Whitey Bulger? Honestly, if you're from Boston, it's redundant. Just Bulger is fine, people know. Well, The Departed is not streaming for free anywhere, which I discovered last night. But you can watch it for a fee on any major platform.

Or if you're lucky enough to have a video store near you, you can watch it for a fee on any major platform, or if you're lucky enough to have a video store near you, you can rent it on DVD. Anya gets hers from the wonderful Vigets and Eagle Rock. That is cool. That is cool, I love that. Also, I just saw a movie at Vigets and it was wonderful. It's a great venue and you should- It's such a great spot.

You should go. And also, we're gonna spoil the fuck out of this. We're gonna spoil every detail of this film, so if you care, watch it first. But we are so excited for our guests today. John Hodgman is a comedian, actor, host of the Judge John Hodgman podcast, and author of the books,

Vacation Land and Medallion Status. He also happens to be from Brookline, Massachusetts, which is where Whitey Bulger's Lieutenant Stephen Flemming lived. Mike Mitchell is a comedian and actor and cohost of the Doughboy's podcast, also on Headgum. He grew up in Quincy Mass, where the departed takes place and was good friends with Whitey Bulger's other lieutenant.

Whoa! F***ed his son. Oh no. Wait, is this true? Yeah, I was going to have you bleep his name. I wasn't going to say his name. We can bleep it. I have to say The Departed is Mike's favorite movie,

and it also came out on his birthday. A treat for him. I didn't realize that I told, but I told all this information to Anya and then I became my bio. The department doesn't take place in Quincy, to be clear, but Whitey actually did live in Quincy. Whitey Bulger lived in an apartment in Quincy at one point. And yes, my good friend growing up was Whitey's right,

his dad was Whitey's right-hand man. Whoa. That's amazing. He's basically the, what's his name? What's the big guy's name in the movie? Mr. French? The big guy? Mr. French, yeah.

I forget his name, Ray Winstone. Ray Winstone. Ray Winstone is basically the analogous version, but there's a lot of differences. Your friend's dad was Whitey Bulger's Ray Winston. That's, yes. Got it. Yeah, makes sense.

Are you still friends with him? I mean, not as much anymore, no. I mean, like, we have not, we don't talk as much anymore, but not for any reasons like that. He was a great guy. How many podcasts does he host? Does he just like? Uh, he, uh, he, uh, zero. I think, I zero i think i i i won't give too i won't dox him too much but it he does not go on

podcasts but he uh he was a very nice guy strong kid that that was a strong kid he was a nice guy i mean he was a nice guy but i remember like like Like when we were around he would like he would toss me around easily Was he older than you No, same age. Oh and just toss you around for fun I mean he yes he was he was he was he was he was strong kid big he was a strong kid When you're a strong kid you toss people around I'm just having a hard time understanding This strong boy is tossing you around.

Well, like boys love to wrestle in Boston. Yeah, that's right. You know, I wasn't a guy who did this. I didn't do this, but I hit him in the in the testicles once. And he grabbed me and he threw me like lifted me up and threw me. He was very strong. I'm telling you. You hit him in the testicle.

Yeah. Why did you do that? Which was not a normal thing. Mitch isn't the kind of guy who hit someone in the testicle. I think he had hit me before. Only when it's the son of a Boston gangster. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Only when the stakes are so high, it can't possibly get scarier. Why did you, why did you hurt? Why did you hurt him? when the stakes are so high, it can't possibly get scarier.

But yeah. Why did you hurt? Why did you hurt him? Why did you hurt his test? I didn't hurt him ever. He was impervious to me. Okay, but why did you try? I didn't try.

I was horsing around like young Quincy kids do. Young Quincy horsing. Sorry, I have a question. So Quincy's not considered Southie? Quincy Horsing. Sorry, I have a question. So you don't, Quincy's not considered Southie? Quincy's not Southie, no. No. Quincy's next to Dorchester, which is next, which is, I mean, it's next to Dorchester and on the way to Southie. Anya, you didn't study the map that Mitch sent you? No, I'm from the North Shore. I thought it was all Southie after a certain point. Oh no. That's my bad. And I apologize to the good Shore. I thought it was all Southie after a certain point. Oh, no. That's my bad.

And I apologize to the good people of Quincy. I'm so sorry that I said that this film took place there. No, that was me too. I also I didn't say it, but I'm also very sorry. I'm really sorry to everyone. There's a scene that you where you can see Quincy in the back or the scene where they're under the bridge, where we're like Leo is and Mark Wahlberg get into a scuffle.

That's right near, that's right next to the Dupontsett River. You can see your mom's house. Can you see where you grew up? Exactly. Your mom's in the background. Your mom's in the background waving. Ha ha ha ha ha. Mitch, did you watch any other scenes in the movie

or just that one? I just watched the scene of Quincy. Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. Your mom was in the background waving and saying, happy birthday, Mitch. It was, but it came out on my birthday. My first year in LA, I saw it at the Grumman's Chinese theater.

That must've been a fun birthday. It was, it was, it was a dream come, it was a dream come true. That must've been a fun birthday. Wait, John, Mitch, what is your relationship to Scorsese as a whole or Scorsese? He's my dad. Oh. So he's Barry the lead. He's my favorite. He's my favorite director. I love Scorsese. Great. What are your top three movies? Can I say one thing about his name?

Like early on in this podcast, I looked up how to say his name and it's Scorsese. That's how he says it. But every time I say it properly, I feel like I'm being elitist. Like I'm going like Scorsese. And like, you know what I mean? Like it's like, everyone says Scorsese.

So is it annoying to say it properly? Yes. No, I enjoy it. How do you say it Mitch? It's Scorsese. I just always say Scorsese. Martin Scorsese, yeah. Yeah, I say Scorsese. I think you're doing it correct. I'm trying to do it how he wants it said,

but I feel like I've noticed that when I talk about it off Mike I say Scorsese and Mike's been calling me out about it saying why do you say it like that when you're talking to me and you Say it like that on the podcast I was like Because I feel pretentious saying Scorsese to you now that I have just watched his movies for the first time It feels like a little bit silly like I'm coming to your level of mispronunciation. Exactly. I think he's gotta give up on that,

like Steve Buscemi, or Steve Buscemi, like people ask him how do you pronounce your name. Yeah, Chrissy Teigen, Chrissy Tygen, that's actually Tygen. Oh. Oh really? I didn't know that one. Interesting, I didn't know that.

Ryan Stanger is actually Stanger. Stanger, that's the wild one. What? That blew my mind, like 10 years into being on an improv team, he told us that. I was like, what? That's wild, I had no idea I could sing his name wrong. Yeah.

But Steve Buscemi now says, call me whatever you want, it doesn't matter, and that's what Scorsese's gotta do. Sorry buddy. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, all right. Right now I was like, my name is actually Nicole. I can't believe I've been saying it wrong this whole time, it's so embarrassing. I've been saying it right the entire time.

Nicole. I really appreciate it. Yeah, I want to hear your answer to Nicole's question, Nicole's question though, what are your top three Scorsese films? Number one for me is Goodfellas. I love Goodfellas, which I'm not sure if you guys have watched yet. Oh, we loved it.

Loved it. It's great. It's my favorite. I think that's a movie that made me love movies when I was younger. And then Departed maybe makes the top, but I don't know. For me, it's like The King of Comedy. I don't know if you guys have watched that one yet. We haven't seen that, but that does come up a lot.

Yeah. I love the King of Comedy. I love Casino. I mean, people kind of underrate Casino. Did you watch that or no? Yeah, yeah, I guess we did underrated it. And so I really wholeheartedly think I just saw it too close to Goodfellas.

I think if I had like a year in between or something, I would have been like, oh my God, I fucking love this. Yeah. It came out not long after Goodfellas too. Five years, but I think five years is long enough to be like, oh, I'm ready for another dip. And it was sort of considered to be a kind of, not a sequel exactly,

but a get the band back together kind of movie. Same vibe, a lot of the same cast and everything. A second beat if you're an improv nerd. I'll allow it. Okay, she's getting really close to the camera on that one. I personally just loved Killers of the Flower Moon. I was a fan. That we're doing that later.

But we can't talk about that now. I won't I won't say a word about it. John, what do you love? Well, I mean, I think I'm just looking again, boy, this Martin Scorsese says made a lot of movies. Yes. And I've seen a lot of them. I mean, I I have to say Goodfellas. I'm gonna say one that I have a real fondness for is After Hours. We have heard about that recently.

People keep bringing that up too. That's gonna be really fun. But I mean, it's best movie has to be Joker. It has to be Joker. Joker. Joker. As in Batman and? Yeah, starring, starring. Starring Joaquin Phoenix?

Yeah, starring Joaquin Phoenix. Wait, he did the Joker? Or is this a joke? No, he's T. Oh, okay. I fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker. That movie is highly influenced. Is it true? He did produce it, I believe.

It's highly influenced by King of Comedy and Taxi Driver. Right! Interesting. I can see that. Yeah, and when I went to see it with our son, who was, I guess, probably in high school at the time, he said Joker was the best movie he'd ever seen in his life. I was like, what am I gonna do about this? Yeah, well, yeah, probably hadn't seen the other ones.

I have to adjust my will immediately. Well, has he seen Fight Club? I feel like when you're in high school, you're like, you know, you get your mind blown by certain things. But then I realized he had never seen Taxi Driver, so he just, he didn't appreciate, like I'm not even saying that Joker's a terrible movie.

It wasn't for me, but- I think I liked it. The influence was so intense. You saw Joker? I saw Joker on my own time before we did our podcast. Yeah, I know. I haven't seen Joker. I think my dad was in town

and it was kind of one of those things of like, we're putting on Joker. Yeah, dads are gonna make you watch Joker. I did it. I made my son watch Joker. Yeah, it's a dad move. Yeah. All right, well.

Oh, so anyway, Goodfellas, After Hours. After Hours. After Hours. Great movie. And then probably Taxi Driver, I suppose. I like Taxi Driver. I like Taxi Driver too. I mean, it's hard to like that movie,

but it's an experience. It's good. Yeah. I mean, I guess you two obviously love Departed. I love it, personally. John? I had not, I'd seen it when it came out, and I really enjoyed it then,

and I just really enjoyed it yesterday. And I also really enjoyed it. I thought it was a fun, it was a fun thing. It was almost like Saved by the Bell, the new class. Like, we've got like the young guys coming in to do the thing, which I really enjoyed. And we got Matt Damon in there, which we have not had. Like that was exciting.

Really fun cast. Yeah, I liked all of it. Like I thought it was really fucking fun. Also the way Jack Nicholson dies is so badass. It's right up there with me with Queen Latifah and set It Off. I love a good death scene. Oh my God, yes.

It's good. I confess I've not seen Set It Off. So what was- Ooh, it's a great fucking movie. First of all, thanks for spoiling it. Queen Latifah dies, got it. Ooh, sorry. But- I've never seen Set It Off either, but it's funny to me that Queen Latifah dies

in a similar way. I was gonna ask you to describe that scene, but now I'm going to watch that movie because you have to watch it. It's really great. And then Queen Latifah never died in another movie again. She puts in the contrast. Not even last holiday when she was not even last holiday or bringing down the house, which is also a great movie. I don't think I've seen that one. Oh, it's wild. That's with Steve Martin, right?

Yeah, Steve Martin, he plays an ex-convict and they like woo each other. And then Eugene Levy's in it. Ooh, it's fun. And he's got a great quote. He goes, you got me all twisted up in the game, baby. And I quoted that for years. And no one ever knew what I was talking about.

Everyone was like, what? I was like, bring it in the house, anybody? Now, I'd like to ask Mitch, though, about the Boston of this movie, because this movie is pretty Boston-y. Yeah. It's pretty Boston-y. And I am not from Boston.

I am from Brookline, Massachusetts. And I'm from Quincy, Massachusetts-y. I am not from Boston. I am from Brookline, Massachusetts. And I'm from Quincy, Massachusetts. So technically, I am not from Boston, you're from the city of Presidents. I was born in Boston. Right, I was born in Cambridge. But you know, like the accents that are happening in this movie are not the accents of a weird only child

who went to Brookline High School, who spoke like this when he was 12. I think the accents are pretty decent. I think Nicholson is trying it occasionally and then being Nicholson. And then honestly, the one who's like kind of stands out to me is- Who's the best one? We're doing this later.

You're ruining a later segment. A lot of time. Wow. But we're on the same page Who's the best one? We're doing this later. You're ruining a later segment. A luncheon. Wow. But we're on the same page about this being an important discussion. The actions in particular? Mm-hmm. Okay.

Let's take a quick break. We'll take a quick break and we'll be back with more Departed after this. ["Departed 2"] And we're back. The Departed was released on October 6th, 2006. He couldn't wait for Christmas treat. He had to do it on Mitch's birthday. I'm always going to remember it's your birthday now.

Yeah. Now that I've read this, talked to you about this, I'm going to remember this. Wait, how old was I? 2006? You're asking me? Yeah. birthday now. Now that I've read this, talked to you about this, I'm gonna remember this. Wait, how old was I? 2006? You're asking me? Yeah, I don't know. 24. I was turning, I turned 24 this day.

You're asking me? You were 24 in 2006? Wow. Yeah, do I seem old as hell right now? Does that make sense? That doesn't make sense. I thought we were the same age. How old are you? I'm 41.

Oh, you're older than me. Holy shit. You're so fucking old, dude. You're almost dead. Let me tell you, I had heartburn all last night, and I was wondering if I should go to the hospital. Oh, no. I'm so glad.

That's not good. I'm so sorry I said that. And anyways, now I'm in here later to record my fast food podcast. Which is actually slowly killing you. Oh my god. It's terrifying. Yeah.

Look, I'm fine. I think you've been great. And if I was in the department, I would have been whacked at this point. So I changed my mind. It wouldn't even matter what you ate. Truly wouldn't. This was also written by William Monahan. Just want to give Willie his shout out.

So let's jump into the plot and talk about what we thought of these moments. So in the 1980s, Irish mob boss, Frank Costello, Jack Nicholson, introduces himself to a young Colin Sullivan, Matt Damon, in a small shop in South Boston. Fush forward to many years later, we see that Sullivan has gone through the police academy

as now a mole for Costello inside the Massachusetts State Police within the special investigation unit led by LRB Alec Baldwin. Meanwhile, another police academy recruit from Southie, Billy Costigan, Leonardo DiCaprio, is called in by Captain Queenan, Martin Sheen, and Sergeant Dignam Mark Wahlberg.

They try to bully and intimidate him because of his past and his family's ties to the mob, but eventually convince him to go undercover and infiltrate Castello's operation. Nicole, were you able to understand what was happening at this point? It was a little hard for me to understand the Leonardo Caprio storyline.

I was like, wait, what, what, what? And then I was like, oh, I guess he's bad. And then when he got to jail, I then hit up Wikipedia to be like, am I understanding this correctly? And I was, but I gotta say, the whole Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson relationship, I was like, this is a long fucking con.

This man had to grow the fuck up, go through the police academy, get hired by the police. I know. Get promoted. I was like, wow. If you- It's literally 20 years later or whatever. Yes, that's a long time. Yeah, like the fact that they're still in touch

is like amazing. Mm-hmm. What's his name? Jack Nicholson. I thought he was so great in this movie, this whole movie. He's just so awesome. He plays such awful people consistently that I'm like, you might have a bad heart. Like you might be just an actual bad person.

It was definitely giving Joker vibes. Like it was like, he was like, he had some moments where I was like, it's very Joker-y. No, absolutely. This was a Joker Redux performance. Especially when I started making the little rat faces towards the end, we were talking about rats. She's eating rats.

He almost annoyed me. When I first saw the movie, I was almost annoyed by it because he was just like, you know, he was like 70, whatever. And he just is like having fun, it feels like in this movie, which is great. It's great to see, but it was almost annoying to me where I was. And like he wouldn't wear a red socks hat or something.

There was news about that. Oh. He refused to wear that even though they wanted his character to wear that. Yeah. I think he wears a Yankees hat or something. Because he hates the red. Insane. It's sports.

You're not a teen. It's a character. You're also playing someone who like murders people. Like the murder is fine, but I draw the line at fucking baseball hats. Which makes him a bit of a traitor, which is a big theme of the movie anyway. So I guess it kind of does work.

That's true, do you think he was trying to access his character as a double agent? Yes, yeah. Without any moral compass, total double agent who would wear a Yankees hat secretly in his room in Boston? Yeah, it adds to that. He's just a real piece of shit.

There's a lot of pieces of shit in this movie. Yeah. And Damon is one of them. I just wanna give a shout out to Tim Brennan from the Dropkick Murphys. It's like 20 minutes into the movie before the shipping up to Boston starts playing. And so just a shout out to Tim Brennan from the Dropkicks.

And then also shout out to Dotcom from 30 Rock. Just shouting everybody out. And I also wanna give it, I wanna give- Dotcom is in the opening, sorry. Okay, I wanna give a shout out to Martin Sheen, who's in this movie. Sure. And he's, and it's so awesome.

Shout out to Leonardo DiCaprio. He's in a lot of the scenes of this film. Good for him. It's good to see him here. Shout out to, just to Boston in general. Yeah, a huge shout out to Boston. You know what we don't see in the donuts. Shout out to Brutalist Architecture,

that beautiful shot of the city, of Boston City Hall. You know what's interesting? The most painful building to touch in the world. It's just jagged rocks. You know what's interesting? That Jack Nicholson was like, I won't wear a Red Sox hat, but I will ask a young girl she's got her period yet.

Like there's just interesting choices made. That was so nasty. That seems on brand. It seems on brand. I don't think there's any contradiction there. I feel like every time with these movies, I'm like shocked that it's a true story. Every single one of them is true. So when I just learned today that this is true. Well, this is based on it's not like none of this stuff happened really. It's based on like the character, Frank Costello, I believe is Nicklaus's character, is based on Whitey Balger. It's not like, it's just kind of analogous. This didn't happen because there was a

movie called Infernal Affairs that had this plot line that they optioned. And then the William Monahan, the screenwriter, kind of put a Boston Irish gangster overlay on it, like a video game skin put on top of the snack. And there is a real one. Which is a very fun way to adapt it. And I don't know that there had been a movie about the South Boston gangster culture before, and I liked it. And I don't know that there had been a movie about the South Boston gangster culture before

and I liked it. And Whitey Bulger was an informant to the FBI. Like that all, all of that lines up too. And he was brazen and notur, like would just walk around town with money falling out of his pockets. His brother was a Massachusetts state legislator, Billy Bulger.

He was the president of UMass. Billy Bulger was? Or Whitey Bulger? Billy Bulger was the president. I'm just making the president, yeah. I mean, he was not. Billy Bulger was the president of UMass. My dad knew Billy Bulger a little bit.

Like he was a well-liked. Mitch, are you in the Irish mob? No. Come on. You're gonna blow his cover. He's been undercover as a podcaster. I am infiltrating the podcast scene. Yeah, he's a rat.

I'm tired of these rats. All these Irish mobsters infiltrating podcasting communities. I am not a part of the Irish mob at all. Mark Maron met me as a child and put me through Yale so I could become a podcaster. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Now there's rats coming in from Quincy's, not even Boston.

I can't wait till we get to the part with the rat. Look, I defend the rat. I like the rat. Also, OK, so Koskin serves a term in prison to set up his cover and further commits a series of crimes which catch the attention of Costello's right-hand man, Mr. French, Ray Winstone, and eventually Costello,

who recruits Kosigan to his organization. Meanwhile, Sullivan begins dating Madeline Madden, Vera Firmigla? Firmita, I think. I like her. She's in them scary movies. I like her too. She's great in this movie.

Yes. A psychiatrist. Coincidentally, when Kosigan's mental health I like her. She's in them scary movies. She's great in this movie. A psychiatrist. Coincidentally, when Cossigan's mental health starts to decline from his work with the Costello organization, he begins taking appointments with Madeline. I loved all this. This was like juicy juice juice. I know this was like horny horn, horn horn. Yes, and you know us. we love the horniness. Yeah, I loved her. Did you pick up on Damon not being able to fuck, basically? Yes. He has like, that Damon's character has like, can't get it up, basically.

Wait, what did you say? Wait, really? They're in bed together and she's like, it happens to a lot of guys. No, it's like the morning. The morning is like little. Oh, yeah. There's little hints like that throughout the entire movie. This is a question I actually have

because later she gets pregnant. Yeah, is that Leo's baby? And then I was like, is that Leo's baby? And Matt Damon's reaction to it is like, really? Implying that it would basically is not his because it's like shocking. Yeah. Okay.

Yeah, I didn't pick up on that until just now. So is it a given that that's probably DiCaprio's? Maybe, but then you're like- I think that's the underlying, I think that that's some subtext there, is that like Damon can't- Oh, so, and then she's like crying at the funeral a lot. Yeah, oh, okay.

And then he's like, what about the baby? What about the baby when she's walking by him? Ignoring him, yeah. Damon. Look, this movie has Pink Floyd in it, a guy can't get a boner, it's the perfect movie for me. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Yeah. Boston, ED. Comfortably not. Boston. ED, big one, yeah. So Sergeant Dignam informs the SAU of the murder of Miles Kennefick, an employee of the Mass Processor Company,

who had been ordered by Costello to steal 20 microprocessors to deliver and sell them to the Chinese mob. The illegal distribution of microprocessors becomes a focal point of the investigation of Costello. You know, this is like a little crunchy for me, but I didn't mind. Like, I didn't really, I was like, micropro, OK. I was like, crime is a foot and I know it.

Yeah, and it was kind of like- That's a little dated at this point to the microprocessor story. What's a microprocessor? Yeah, I don't even know. It's a small processor. Okay. Ooh, okay. I should have used context clues.

I mean, not just small, like micro. Really tiny. Yeah. Micro, itty bitty. Yeah. It's like almost you can't even see it. Can't see the processor. There were a lot of computer companies and still are, but I mean this is the early days of the tech sector in Boston, which is a big part of Boston life now is the tech sector.

But like my dad worked at a computer company outside of Boston that looked like this place. So it really... You can get a million microprocessor, if you go in town you can get any microprocessor you want now, but back then it was different. Oh yeah, back then it was really hard to get. You had to steal it. Now you have one in your phone. It's in your pocket all the time. 100%. Whoa, what about the phones in this movie? Because I forgot that it came out in 2006. I loved the phones. They were so nostalgic. And there's like a year later there would be iPhones all over the place, but they didn't exist then.

Yeah, you know it's interesting with technology, like lucky they didn't have to shelve it for a year and then put it out and everyone's like, why do they need dumb phones? Right, exactly. Well, I liked it because it was of the time. Like, I just, it really felt so real. I guess in like, you know, 20, 30 years I'll be like, wow, iPhones, I can't believe we all had them. I know. And you know, Killers of the Flower of Moon, which you haven't seen yet, you know, that was produced by Apple. And that's why-

But they didn't have iPhones in the movement. They had molar-roller razors. I can't even say it. Damn it, I ruined my own joke by mumbling it. Molar-roller razors. Molar-roller razors. I ruined my own joke by mumbling it. Mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo-mo- There we go, I got there. I was watching a children's movie that is a cartoon from like the early 2000s and they have so much Verizon placement in them. And it's just like a kid's movie.

And I'm like, this is weird. And it becomes like, Verizon is still a company but it just becomes so like, oh, I guess it's weird to put it in a cartoon. Was that that movie called, Can You Hear Me Now? I think I saw that. Imagine you tuck your child in and she just goes, good night Verizon.

Yeah. I was like, I don't want to even know what Verizon is. What? Okay, so back to the plot. After receiving a tip of another deal of microprocessors occurring with the Chinese mob and the Costello crew, the SIU attempts to set up a sting. Sullivan warns Frank about the deal

and instructs him not to use any cell phones so they can't be tracked. I gotta say, when these things were happening and like Damon is doing it, I'm like, how come nobody was like, why are you so good? How come these, do you know what I mean? Like, I just feel like he kept being there when things, when they couldn't get to Costello.

Do you know what I mean? Like, it was just, everything was so convenient all the time. Also, doesn't Matt Damon, like, send a text message in his pocket during that scene? Oh, he sure does. And I said, oh, he knows T9 work, so good. I think I could have done that at the time.

Really? Okay. Yeah, I think so too. I was really good at that. Damon is such a great, like, sniveling little piece of shit in the movie. He just does, and still kind of remains likeable. I mean, he just is.

He is still likeable to me. Yes, very likeable. He's just such an asshole. Yeah. But he's also so not intimidating. Like, when he's banging on the door, when his girlfriend like locks herself in the room, I was like, you're not gonna hurt her.

You're not gonna hurt anybody. You're just a little nerd. Yeah. He is, I mean, I think that that, yeah. He plays like a great, like weak slime ball kind of guy. And also- Well, I mean, like he had been, he was coveting power since he was a child.

Like that's the first scene When jack nicholson comes in in the 80s and hands him those wolverine comics for free Uh, I was a deal. Yeah, it's pretty good deal. It's like yeah, okay Yeah, I guess i'll work for you for the rest of my life, sir But you know what he's what he's seeing is power and what he's craving is power And that's what he's seeing when he's staring at the golden dome of the state house. And that's why he wants to have that apartment

in front of the state house. Oh, I didn't get that. He is a highly, highly aspirational guy. Oh, and that's why at the end you see that building, right? That's why you see that building. That's the rat in front of the, yeah, in front of the state house. It makes sense.

It's even more heavy-handed than I thought. Yeah. I just thought you were right. That's very heavy-handed. I loved it. The. I just thought they were right. I loved it. The rat part I didn't like. I love that little rat. I wish we followed the rat for another hour or so. Me too.

I also was like, was that CGI? Or did they have a rat handler who was like, OK, do do do do. Here's the G-man. I wondered the same thing. That was a real rat. He's had to be real. He's on record as saying it was real. Shout out to the real rat. He's on record as saying it was real. Shout out to the real rat.

Who's definitely dead now. He works. What? He did mocap for Ratatouille. Oh gosh. I guess I don't know how, I really don't know how long rats live though. I would guess 10 years max.

Yeah, 10 years, 12, 13. Anyway, so Sullivan warns Frank about the deal and instructs him not to use any cell phones so they can't be tracked. Meanwhile, Koskin secretly gets a message back to the SIU. The mobs, and it's just like everyone's texting back and forth, I'm like, nobody knows? Okay, the mobsters are able to get away through a back door.

And also I love that there's a blind spot that they just set up cameras and they weren't like, let's get all through a back door. And also I love that there's a blind spot that they just set up cameras and they weren't like, let's get all the angles. Right. Um, they only had two hours. He only had two hours. Yeah. But like if your job is to set up cameras, set up cameras. Look, I wasn't complaining when Alec Baldwin took a swing at that guy. You sound like you're, yeah, you're sound like Alec Baldwin right now. He was, he flew off. I mean, I, I got it. I was like, I'd be like, look. You sound like, yeah, you sound like Alec Baldwin right now. He flew off the, I mean.

I got it. I was like, I would be mad too. But then they find out that there's a rat in both organizations. I did like that. It's a really fun twist. Like, I mean, I guess we were to understand it from the beginning, but like, it did take me a minute

to fully get that, like, what was happening with the two guys, and I'm sorry if I sound dumb, but I was like, oh, it's so fun. They're like both doing things, they're stuff they don't know. I enjoyed it, okay? Trying to figure out who the rat is. Costello makes his crew write down

their social security numbers and puts them in a marked envelope for Sullivan to look them up in the police database. He meets Sullivan at a porn theater to pass off the envelope. I was like, call back to taxi driver. Agustin watches the exchange that tails Sullivan. You nerd. I know.

Call back to taxi driver. I'm not happy, okay? I'm not happy. Scorsese wrestle forever, I would say. Agustin entails Sullivan and his order to make an arrest. He pursues Colin around the city. They notice each other, but neither gets a clear look of the other's identity. As they're about to confront each other,

Colin mistakenly stabs and kills a Chinese restaurant worker. That was a great scene. Restaurant worker, instead of Costigan, is able to escape undetected. Costello interrogates Costigan about the rat, and Costigan attempts to dissuade him byected, Costello interrogates Costigan about the rat and Costigan attempts to dissuade him by telling him to look at an older disgruntled worker

who thinks they can do what he does. I love that scene so he's like, they're kind of passing each other in the night and then he thinks he's about to get him, he just stabs a random guy who is so fucked up. Just a random man. I can't believe it. Yeah, poor guy. I know.

Matt Damon's character is spinning out of control at that point. It's so fun to watch him just unravel. He's got it so locked down at the top of his arc. And then as it just goes on, he's just falling apart. And he plays it really well. He does. Because it never feels like he's a different person.

He's like, he's the guy who's been faking it his whole life. He's had this facade up his whole life of being the top of the class, the best guy. And as it starts to unravel, you really see it. He's a very, I'm gonna tell you something, watch out for this Matt Damon. Yeah. I think he might go into something.

Jumping ahead a little bit, but when he's like. I believe that man could go to Mars and grow up. I think he could buy a zoo, honestly. He could do whatever he wants. Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. I think you can downsize. Well, I'm out of fucking movies. What the hell? I, uh, to jump ahead a little bit when he's in the elevator and, uh, he's just, and like, he does kind of break down.

He's like, just fucking kill me. It's very, it's like, just fucking kill me, it's very, it's pretty great. Yeah. Yeah. So during a holdup, Kosigin confronts a drug addict who reveals that Frank is an FBI informant, which Kosigin immediately tells Queenan,

Queenan, Queenan? Queenan. Queenan. That was a weird name for me that night. There are a lot of weird names in this, Dignam is also a weird one. Yeah, yeah. I don't know the history of that name. I'm looking at it going. Me either. Dignam is also a weird one. Yeah, yeah. I don't know the history of that name. I'm looking at it going. Me either.

He's a man who digs. He also begins in a very Madeline. Maddie Madden, like Madeline Madden, that's a silly name. It is a very silly name. So he sleeps with her and I love that scene. It was so horny and like just enough. Yes.

I loved it. She was great. Yeah, I really like her. It's horny and like just enough. Yes. I loved it. She was great. Yeah, I really like her. It's horny as hell also, especially after seeing that bizarre photo of her as a child to still then be in the mood, that weird photo of her in front of the child. Do you know what I can't handle?

Okay, so Matt Damon was like, you can't have this on display. I don't remember, the photo seemed completely innocuous to me, was there something about it? Well, and it's so fake. I just hate, I hate how like, when they make, every movie ever, when they make a picture of like,

oh, these two characters are a couple, it like looks like the fakest thing you've ever seen, like their heads are on the wrong side. Oh, right. It's like, it's always edited wrong. And like, they put her little face like on a picture where I'm like, you're telling me she didn't have a childhood picture we could use?

Like it just felt like so weird to me. Every time. It happens so often. Like it's just like, I've been in fake photos that are weird looking. Like that doesn't look like we were really together. Like it's just like, wait, take a photo. Some people like will have you take a photo together.

And then that feels nice. Cause it's like, we're not editing heads onto bodies. Yeah. But. Oh, yeah, to create photos for, background photos for a show or whatever. Yeah, it's like when it's important and they're like zooming in on it

and then you're like, well, that didn't really happen. But was there something that I missed about that photo that would make Matt Damon go, no, we can't show this photo other than it's a photo of her? What was it? There wasn't anything about it. It was like personal, he didn't show this photo other than it's a photo of her? What was it? There wasn't anything about it.

It was like personal, he didn't want any personal belongings in the house. Yeah. That's definitely not a red flag at all. Yeah. Yeah. But I felt like it was because his childhood was so much with Costello

that like he doesn't have childhood stuff. So he didn't want all of his- He's jealous. Yeah. Okay, all right. At. He's her purse. Yeah. Okay, all right. At least that's what I took it as. I definitely would want to live with Mary and have a baby with someone

who didn't want me to put up childhood photos. Yeah. I'm with Damon on this one. Don't put up the fucking, that photo was too weird. The photo's strange. Keep it off the wall. It's fucking bizarre. The photo's strange.

Keep it off the wall, it's fucking bizarre. Okay, Sullivan's then put in charge of finding the rat within the police organization, though of course, he's only trying to deflect attention away from himself while also figuring out who the rat is within Castello's gang. So to achieve this, Sullivan orders a tale on Queenan during which SI. officers follow him to a meet up with Costigan. This is great at 344 Washington Street. Quenin meets with Costigan on the roof and Costigan informs Quenin that Frank is aware of the rat and he's worried about his

safety. Soon Costello's crew arrives to apprehend the rat and Costigan and Quenin attempt to escape. Quenin orders Costigan to go on without him while he confronts Costello's crew and they shoot him immediately, throw him out the window. His body falls at Costigan's go on without him while he confronts Costello's crew and they shoot him immediately throw him out the window. His body falls at Costigan's feet as he steps outside of blood goes all over him. A shootout ensues between the police and Costello's crew as Costigan meets back up with them pretending to have just gotten their call. I love this. This was this was really fun writing. Were you shocked about this moment? Yes.

Yes. I also loved that. What's his name? Martin Sheen. He was like, I'm gonna smoke a cigarette before I die. He was just like, I know I'm going to die. I know. And that was really, not fun to watch, but it was just really cool to watch him.

His line was like, any boy's got a light is great. That's such a, it's like, this guy's about to die. Confident, like whatever. And then watching that little old man try to move fast. I loved it. It was great. And then watching that little old man trying to move fast, I loved it. It was great. And then the whole trick of the situation that like Leo shouldn't have quote unquote known,

because he was given a different address, but he was at the right address. Yeah, I had forgotten about that. And while I was watching it, I was like, oh, that guy gave him the wrong address. Yeah, same. I was like, oh, is that a mistake they made in the movie? And but of course it wasn't and it came back

and it was one of those, it was pretty masterful how it kind of just planted this, like something's wrong here. And then they paid it off so terrifyingly. I also like that. When that body lands in front of Leo and he is splashed with blood, I was like, that is one of the most violent things

I've ever seen. It's more violent than like hitting someone. Yeah. Yeah. He should have just said. It's more violent than like hitting someone. Yeah. Yeah. You should have just said. It's more violent than punching? You. Well like you know what you see. The body being thrown on the building is more violent.

It's more violent than like, no like if you slap someone. But if you like slap someone, like it really hurts them. Like it's so like if like this is the way that guy fell, like it was almost like more intense than being slapped. I love it later on when one of Costello's henchmen, I really hurts him. Like, it's so, like, if, like, this is the way that guy fell, like, it was almost, like, more intense than being slapped. I love it later on when one of Costello's henchmen, I don't remember, I think this actor

is an actually Irish actor, but he goes, yeah, we went too far there. We shouldn't have. We didn't need to throw him off the building. That was too much. But I love the, like, the intersection of him, like, that moment where he just, like, gets, like, stopped in his tracks by the body falling.

It could have fallen on his head one second later. And then he's covered in the blood. And I'm like, how do you deal with that? Like you look so guilty. But then he had the perfect moment with them where he's like, I just showed up. And then this happened. It was like, it played really well.

I really enjoyed the writing. And I think also there's like, this movie has a really good plot, which I think we've talked about with other things where it's like they're more slice of life feeling. And this is like, we movie has a really good plot, which I think we've talked about with other things where it's like they're more slice of life feeling and this is like, we're getting like really good reveals and twists and turns and stuff, which is cool. By the way, in the theater,

when you see Martin Sheen's body falling through the sky, there was a lot of, there were a lot of people, you know. On your birthday, wait, was that on your birthday? Wow! It was on my birthday, I was just saying in the theater, on my birthday as well, my 24th birthday. When Martin Sheen's falling, you hear a lot of, oh, no, you know what?

I was there and I heard someone say, it's that guy's birthday. And everyone, oh. You know, Martin Sheen, that was, that was just, that wasn't him. He didn't die. He's still alive. Oh, he's still living? He didn't die. That was improv. Oh. He's still alive.

Oh, he's still living? Yeah, Martin Sheen still. No, they threw him off a building. No, no, no, no, no. In the movie he died. They all gasped for nothing. And he's fine. Did a lot of work after that.

Well, there's more gasps later. I'll say that too. And also maybe some laughter. It depends on what theater you were at, but. Okay. Different emotions. Oh, I can't wait to hear what the laughter is. So back at police headquarters, Sullivan, LRB and Digman all fight about

what went down and Digman resigns from the force. So all these things like Irish Irish and Irish are all fighting each other. All these Irish guys are yelling at each other. I know I lost track of who's who. Dignam. Dignam. It's an Irish name. I looked it up. It's a real lesson. Dignam, oops. It's an Irish name, I looked it up, it's a real estate. Oh, okay. Reading's hard for me a lot of the time.

Back in the mom hideout. It's on a name that I've heard every day. No, they could have said Seanacy or Mitchell. And there is a show named Dignam. There is, right? On Fox television. Koskin talks to one of Costello's guys who was wounded in the shootout

who reveals that he accidentally gave Costigan the wrong address, but Costigan still showed up to the right one. Using Queenan's phone, Sullivan calls Costigan to attempt to convince him that he is taking over for Queenan and the two should meet, but Costigan hangs up. This is all great. Like I liked when he was like,

I gave you the wrong address. Do you want to know why I didn't tell? Yeah. And then, then he just, he like pulls out his gun, but then he dies. And I was like, oop, oop, oop, that was close. Yes. There's a lot of discussion about this, whether that guy was an undercover cop as well or not.

It's kind of debated whether he was. They say later that he was an undercover cop too. Mm-hmm. But then Costello says they're just trying to make me think that we got the rat to stop looking. If you look on the Departed Reddit, there's a lot of discussion about this. Whoa, I won't be doing that. Where do you come down, Mitch? I think that he probably was a cop.

I think so too. I read that the scene is longer. That's why he didn't tell. That's why he didn't tell on Leo DiCaprio. But you know what I would have said if I was Leo DiCaprio? I read that that's why he didn't that's why he didn't tell that's why he didn't tell on on Leo DiCaprio, but you know what I would have said if I was a little DiCaprio's like yeah, dude I was on my way to 314, but Martin Sheen fell in front of me You know what you would have a really good Story like I was going to the right place. I wasn't a ride and arrive Yeah, I just yeah happened to have this happen in my path.

Which is a great excuse in general. If I'm ever late for something now, I just say, well, Martin Sheen's body fell off. You chose this to be your last conversation. You know, the guy's dying. Yeah, sorry. Sorry you messed up, dude. Why are we talking about this?

Leonardo Caprio getting a phone call from a dead guy? I don't think I would answer it. Phone call from a dead person, I would answer. Oh, you would? Yeah. Yeah, you gotta find out what they want. Well, wouldn't you always wonder what was gonna happen on the other end? Yeah, it's like, hey ghost, what's the grudge?

Tell me. Let's just hash it out. If I gotta call for my grandma or something right now, I would be like, I probably would pick it up. I would be scared, but I would answer it. I feel weird letting it go to voicemail. Let my grandma listen to the voicemail. I'd be like, oh, that was grandma.

I should call her back. Voicemail could be better, because you could save it. My phone's ringing, I apologize. My phone's ringing right now. Oh, it says Mitch's grandma. Oh. Pick it up. No, don't. Should I? Do you guys have a thing? I don't know, I don't it says Mitch's grandma. Oh! Pick it up! No, don't!

Should I? Do you guys have a thing? What, I don't know, I don't know why she's calling. Yeah, are you dating Mitch's granny? I'm gonna let it go to voicemail and see. Okay, yeah. That's over the line. Yes.

She was happily married. Now he's mad. Okay, let's keep going here. So two days later, Costello's crew goes to retrieve a crate of cocaine in Sheffield where Costello's being held. You know Mitch, there are a lot of happy marriages. It doesn't mean that grandmas don't get horny. Okay.

Wow. Especially after they've passed. Wow. I can fuck a ghost grandma if I wanted. Okay, this is getting too real. Not my ghost grandma. So I just stopped calling me. This is some of the fun repartee you hear in the movie.

The departed. Like when Leo DiCaprio and Anthony Anderson are jogging along together and they're giving each other a little ribbing. Tell your dead grandma to stop calling me for sex. That's something that people say in Boston all the time. It's a common voice. My dead grandpa is tired from fucking my dead grandma.

Yeah, they sell a lot of shirts like that at those like souvenir shops. Go to Quincy Market. I did like that conversation up top with Anthony Anderson where it's like, you're just going to have a hard time as a black guy in Boston. And I was like, I feel that. Boston, no offense, both of you from there

is pretty overly racist and it's wild. Every time I've been, I'm like, huh, yeah, don't feel great. Yeah. That's a bummer because I feel like a few of the times you've been have been because of me, because of my podcast. But that's been okay. Okay, good. You weren't racist during the podcast, Mitch.

For God's sakes, I hope not. Actually, he was. He was like, we brought this black for you all to be mean to, and then the crowd booed and said, black, black, black. No! And I was like, oh no! I argue that they were chanting black in support of you.

Oh my God. Okay, we've gone off the rails. At the deal, the crew are ambushed by the state police and all of Costello's crew, except Costigan, are killed in the ensuing gunfight. Costello, wounded, calls for Sullivan and admits he's an FBI informant. This is a really fun scene.

Sullivan and Costello both pull their weapons, but Sullivan is quicker and shoots Costello, wounded, calls for Sullivan and admits he's an FBI informant. This is a really fun scene. Sullivan and Costello both pull their weapons, but Sullivan is quicker and shoots Costello dead. Back at police headquarters, Sullivan, now the hero of the department, meets Costigan for the first time, realizing that he was the undercover all along. Costigan, however, notices the envelope of personal information the gang provided to Costello

on Sullivan's desk and realizes he's the rat in the police force and he quickly leaves. Sullivan, realizing that he's been caught, erases Costigan's files. There's so many things happening right here. Everyone's realizing. The scene with Jack Nicholson being shot is so awesome. It's like so shocking, like it's so fast.

And then, yeah, these moments where they're both piecing together that they're like, oh, it's him, oh, no, it's him. And then, like, they're both doing their best, like, delete to get away. It is. And I do love that Matt Damon's character, like, is just deleting, because he's like a nerd, do you know what I mean? He's like, I just got to hop on my computer and delete this man.

He just deletes, like, his whole identity, right? Like, he... Yeah, well, I mean, that's devastating to this guy who's undercover, because there's no proof other than Dignam that he was ever a cop. And Dignam is dead. Dignam is nowhere to be found at this point. And Dignam is missing. Because he quit?

He quit. Basically, he gets suspended, but he's like, he, he, I think, I mean, Dignam, I think, is pretty sure at this point that Damon is a rat, you know, like after Martin Sheen's character, Queenin, dies, I think that Dignam is pretty sure at this point that Damon is a rat, you know? Like after Martin Sheen's character, Queenin, dies, I think that Dignam is like, this guy is the guy. I think he knows. And so he's suspended, but I think he feels done anyways,

right, I don't know. I found it weird that he quit so easily like that. I guess because he knew that he was gonna end up working for Matt Damon and didn't want that to happen. Yeah. And maybe he just knew shit was fucked up, I guess because he knew that he was going to end up working for Matt Damon and didn't want that to happen. Yeah. And maybe he just knew shit was fucked up, I guess. I don't know. But he's a real, I mean, obviously we're going to talk about it in a minute. Like he's a real, he's a really wonderful question mark.

Most exciting character in the movie, as far as I'm concerned. Wow. Yeah. I like that. OK. Hot take. Yeah. I think the most exciting character in the movie for me is Leonardo DiCaprio's hair. I really like how it starts off shaved and then it kind of grows in.

And I really like that haircut when it grows in. It looks good. It was good on him, yeah. I am, look, I appreciate that Leonardo DiCaprio is a good actor. He rarely does anything for me in particular. Like I don't love to go see him act. Sometimes I feel like I'm just watching him act

and I'm not seeing a character. I think he's pretty good in this movie. I thought he was great. I think he's incredible in this movie. I agree. Ooh, yes. I thought he was hot as hell. Oh, you thought he was hot, yeah.

He looks good in this. I think also this is a movie where like. If I were a dead grandpa, I'd fuck him. A dead grandpa? Oh, grandpa. Yeah, if I were a ghost of a grandpa, which I will be, I think. Fingers crossed.

Yes, then I would hit him up with a text. Okay. I think that he. And there's no one-to-one correspondence with a text. Okay. I think that he, I mean there's no one to one correspondence with that joke, it's just dumb. So I thought that. No, I mean like, it doesn't matter that he's not gay, it doesn't matter that you're not gay,

but when you're a dead grandpa, anything happens, anything goes. When it's the afterlife, anything can happen. That's very true. I love that. Do you know what I mean? I. I love that, I love that. And obviously I'm not into it if he's not into it. I'm just saying. I'm glad it's consensual.

I'd send a text. You know what I mean? Or make a call. I like that. You up? Yeah, he to me in this movie, there was always the argument. He was so good.

He was really good in this movie, I think. I just like, I just had to say it again. He was really, he was really good in this movie, I think. I just like, I just had to say it again. He was really, he was really good. He was really good in this movie. I really liked him. Lee Lee. Well, Leo, I think that's the criticism of being like, he looks like a child or whatever. And I think this is one of the movies where you feel like he is like a man. If that makes sense. He feels like an adult, which, which, which even like the aviator, which I like a lot too, which I don't know if you guys have watched that or will watch that. We did. Alan McCloud is in a scene in it.

Alan McCloud, wait, Alan McCloud is in the aviator? Is, we didn't see that. What? He opens the gate? He opens the gate for Leo, I believe. Really ties the whole film together. I'm so mad I didn't notice that. Just like.com, you guys missed.com as well.

I did miss.com. Wait, what gate is he opening? What part of the movie is this? It's early on, I think. I don't know, when Leo is driving to see an airplane, he opens up a gate. And that's still actually boring. I mean, not at any point in the movie.

Yeah, that's the whole thing. Okay. I'll have to go back and find that, but that's really fun for Alan. But he looks like a man in this movie is what you say. Yeah, he looks and feels like he's an adult. I agree, I agree. I felt like he started off as a kid,

like, and the short hair made him look more childlike, or younger, and then he, I really saw the evolution of him being like, this is aging me, the stress like, this is aging me. The stress of this is fucking aging me. We maybe saw it in this movie, yeah. Yeah, like, his character arc is really incredible. Yeah.

I agree. Does he win an award? I guess I'll find out later. We have to wait and find out. No spoilers to our own podcast. Oh, yeah, OK. So Kosigan then meets Madeline and hands her an envelope telling her not to open it unless something happens to him or if he calls her and tells her to do so.

And guess what she never does. She never does, but she writes something on it, his name I think. That's right. So later he sends Sullivan a CD, so dated and I love it. This was crazy. She had to go to a big old stereo that was like the size of a wall. Flip on everything of the taped conversation

with Costello from the porn theater. Madeline sees Costigan's name on the envelope, opens it and discovers Sullivan has been lying to her. Sullivan calls the number on the CD and reaches Costigan who reveals that Frank recorded all of his conversations and trusted Costigan so much that Frank's lawyer of his conversations and trusted Kosigan so much that Frank's lawyer sent him everything when he died, which is wild.

The two decide to meet at 344 Washington again. At the meeting, Kosigan ambushes Sullivan and arrests him, during which Sullivan reveals that he erased Kosigan's file. SIU trooper Tony Brown Anthony Anderson appears and points his gun at Koskin as Koskin explains to Brown that Sullivan is Costello's rat, letting the two exit through the elevator. But as they leave the elevator, Koskin is shot in the head and killed instantly

by trooper James Barigan. James Badgedale, who knew Sullivan from the police academy, who then shoots and kills Brown. Barigan reveals that he's also one of Costello's moles and they're now a team. They gotta take care of each other. Sullivan responds by shooting Barigan dead. I'm truly, at this point, I'm gasping.

I'm like, what? I know, and then I was like, he had to shoot that guy. Cause like, you just found out there's another mole that you didn't know about. You can't trust that person. You can't trust anybody. You gotta erase everyone who's another mole that you didn't know about. You can't trust that person. You can't trust anybody. You gotta erase everyone who's ever heard of the idea that you were a mole.

And by the way, James Badgedale, great actor, this character, dumb. I mean, the minute after he shoots the Anthony Anderson and Leo DiCaprio, he's like, oh, by the way, I'm a traitor. And Matt Damon's just like, oh yeah, hand me that gun. I know, it was weird. It was like, it was by the way, I'm a traitor. And Matt Damon's just like, oh yeah, hand me that gun. I know, it was weird. It was like, it was like he was so trusting.

Give me Kosta's gun just for a second, cause I need it for some reason. Why did he expect that to go well with him? Like we're a team now, let's just go hold hands and like do the thing together. That's a tall adrenaline. Yeah, oh yeah, he's just like, duh. Can I go back for a second and say something

about that stereo system that Matt Damon had? So that's not just like old timey times with CDs or whatever. That particular stereo system is expensive AF. Those are Macintosh receivers. Only like asshole stereo guys have that. So for me, when I saw that I was like, oh, that is Matt Damon's character.

I'm gonna get the fanciest stereo system I can because I'm the biggest shit on the planet. Or you know, like, I got this incredible apartment. Oh my God, they're like $8,000. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Whoa, wow. It's a real signifier that this guy is an aspirational asshole. That's the only thing I like about that.

And would that still be worthwhile today to have that? There are people who are, I mean, of all the stereo equipment, if you're a real stereo person, that's one of the things you would think about. Wow. Wow. There's still pretty fancy pants.

I like it. Yeah. Cool. And I also wanted to say, if you don't mind about Leonardo DiCaprio looking like a kid early on, Nicole, I thought that was really smart because when he's getting yelled at by Marky Mark

in that opening scene, like you see him as a child being yelled at and he's a young person who has lived a double life. That's what Marky Mark's whole thing is. Like on the weekends, you'd live in Southie with your dad who refused to work for the mob but was tied up with them. And during the week, you would go to Deerfield Academy, which is, he mentioned that he went to Deerfield, which is a pretty fancy boarding school in Western Massachusetts. So he is like, to me as a guy who, I was not of the Southie world at all, at all. I was a very, very upper middle class, relatively rich kid in a pretty comfy suburb. Do you know what I mean?

But like, you know, Massachusetts is a very white place. You put white people in a closed environment, they turn on each other, they fraction, and they find ways to hate each other. And the class divide that Marky Mark is talking about, where he's yelling at him being about a lace curtain Irish and he's not a real Irish. Like that was really like very, very genuine Boston from my reading. That sense of not being authentic or not. I've heard my mom say people who are lace curtain Irish.

What does it mean, Mitch? Yeah, what does that mean? It sounds fancy, like you have a lace curtain on your house. Yeah, it's like upper, I feel like it's the upper like snooty, I feel like was always what I took it as, is lace curtain, as they're at least putting out the appearance that they are of a higher class.

And I'm not sure what Marky Mark was doing, like, beating him up like that. I'm not sure what the intent was there. I mean, I think that it was considered that he was trying to train him to be a double agent, or recruit him to be a double agent. Like, it wasn't just totally just being an asshole, but you can see a world in Boston

where someone would be saying the exact same things just because fuck it, it's Caucasian tribalism, we're in a bar, fuck you. That's the way that people show they care about each other in Boston. Yeah. Right, yelling at each other, right Mitch? There's a lot of yelling at each other I believe,

I think that's a part of it. Fuck you Mitch, you don't fucking believe that the hell what the fuck Why are you doing this to me? Because I love you. This is Boston. I try to turn it on you but not yellin back I know someone almost get got someone in the testicles during that I can't believe you hurt the testicles of the son of a mob member in South Boston. He lifted Mitchell right over his head and tossed him around like a big pizza pie. Weren't you scared when you were being tossed around that you would just be tossed to death? I talked to his dad while he was in prison.

That's a weird visit. Yeah, I don't know about this. On the phone. this is the truth. Why? I was over his house and they were like, and he was called from prison, he said, hey, tell the kids not to mess up the house. And I said, tell them Mitchell's gonna mess up the house.

So it was being a little wise ass. And he's like, put him on the phone. You're just talking to someone in jail? And he was like, when I get out of here, I'm gonna strip you naked, tie you to a tree in the backyard and beat you to death. And I was like, and then he's like, I'm just messing with you Okay, let's just finish what this movie is about before we get into the way that damaged you psychologically

I mean, it's just all damn right. No one reacted to that at all I mean, it's just all damn. No one reacted to that at all. You guys had no reaction to that. It was honestly so shocking. I was speechless. I was just like, okay, great. That, I mean, that is a Boston, a certain Bostonian version of kidding around.

Just wildly abusive and traumatic things to say. Saying that from jail is a little intense. Is wild. Of course, of course it is. Of course it is. It was funny. It was, I took it as like, I took it as funny. I mean, like it was insane.

You said tee hee hee ha ha ha. I was like, but I was like, you know, I mean like I was like, how old were you, like 12? I was probably like 15 or maybe 16 at the time. I hate to say this, but what if Mitch just got shot in the head right now in front of us? 12? I was probably like 15 or maybe 16 at this point. I hate to say this, but what if Mitch just got shot in the head right now in front of us? I would be so sad.

It was the Irish mob long game. I would be so sad. I would be friends, dad. That would be the worst thing I could ever. Someone's gonna have to tell his mom, and his mom's gonna be like, wait, what? Your whole family would be so, your sister? Yeah, you'd probably have to tell them.

I had to tell them, I saw it. No, it's not even funny. It's crazy. I apologize. We would have to tell them? I would just tell Anya to tell them. Ha ha ha ha. Laugh kiss, what the fuck?

It would just be, that would be a gasp moment. No, I would tell your sister. I think you would have to. Guys, what are we talking about? Yeah, okay, so the movie ends. Sullivan enters his apartment with a bag of groceries and finds Dignam waiting for him, wearing booties. I appreciated that,

because I was like, don't wear shoes in the house. And he's pointing a gun at him, and then he shoots Sullivan, and then he leaves. He leaves, and he's dressed like a person who comes over to do some work on your house or something. And then he just walks out in that outfit and is like, bye. Like he just doesn't.

And then also before that happens, he tries petting a dog and his neighbor's like, don't pet my dog. That's great. It's a great little thing. So nobody likes this man. I know, I was like, he has bad energy. Like the dog was like.

Even the dog was like, nah dude, you a rat. Dogs are good at smelling rats. That's true. That's science. Yes, that is what it is. Okay, let's talk about the reception of this movie. We've been wondering if it won any awards. The Departed was a critical and commercial success,

landing at the top of many critics year end list. Ooh, and it won four Academy Awards, including the first best director Oscar for Scorsese. of many critics year-end list. Ooh, and it won four Academy Awards, including the first best director Oscar for Scorsese. Yay. After five losses, this is so, I can't believe how like genuinely happy I am. Yeah.

This must have felt great. It was a great moment. It was a great moment. And some feel like the win was more of a lifetime achievement award for a lesser film. I liked it. But I also can't believe he didn't. Who won over him for Goodfellas?

Did we talk about that? Dances with Wolves won. Yeah. Oh. Kevin Costner, I guess, right? Did he direct Dances with Wolves? He directed Dances with Wolves? Yeah.

He did. Scorsese himself joked that he won because this is the first movie I've done with a plot. He's funny. Wow, that is funny. He's funny, he got jokes on himself. He is funny. Here's a little trivia for you.

Scorsese originally wanted Al Pacino for the role of Costello, but he turned it down. Brad Pitt, who had acquired the rights to the movie, was originally going to play Colin Sullivan, but decided someone younger should play the role and instead was just a producer on the film. I love that kind of choice. Really? The story actually should be these people. It wouldn't. Yeah. It would have been very different.

But how much younger is Matt Damon than Brad Pitt? Honestly, maybe not too much, but I think he just had a boyish look about him that works better than Brad Pitt. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I mean, he's seven years younger than him. Seven years, oh, that's something. Especially at that time. But he reads, yeah, he has that baby face too,

like a different kind of baby face, and he can read a lot younger than Brad Pitt can now. Yeah, and I feel like the two baby faces really fucking worked. Just like two men trying to be like men, men, and like trying to be powerful. So Vera Farmiglia, how do I say that name? Farmiga?

Farmiga? Farmiga. I'm not sure. I think it's Scorsese. Yes, Vera Scorsese met with a real LAPD psychiatrist to prepare for her role. The psychiatrist read the script and told her that Madeline did pretty much everything wrong.

I was gonna say. It's everything wrong. I was gonna say. It's pretty obvious. I was gonna say. She didn't have to meet with anybody, I could have told her that. Yeah. But you know, there was something, and I think that, and I know

when I'm not supposed to talk about it, but I think that there are times when her accent was really good. And when she was in that Boston mode, I would be like, no professional psychiatrist would act this way, but I would believe a Boston psychiatrist might. I don't know why. It just seems like, I think, I think that there's a certain amount of like, like,

let's just let the chips fly. See what happens. I'm going to fuck you. Let's see what happens. Hey, I showed up. You don't, you didn't hate a picture of me as a child. I guess you're not a monster. Let's fight. I know that was honestly all it took. He was like, I think it should hang higher on the wall. And she was like, I showed up, you didn't hate a picture of me as a child. I guess you're not a monster, let's fight. I know, that was honestly all it took. He was like, I think it should hang higher on the wall. And she was like, I'm into you. She was like, mm. I actually don't want to erase you.

It's like, I've never heard that before in Boston, okay. So Scorsese deliberately chose not to watch Infernal Affairs, the original that this was based on until after he'd completed his film. I like that. I think that's smart. It's a great movie, by the way. Oh, okay. I haven't seen it in years, but it's great. There's a fun thing that they do in it where Matt Damon's character after Leo is killed, he lives

like a lot longer. I don't think he actually ever gets killed, in the first one at least. So he like kind of like lives with the weight of like killing this guy dying and kind of being considered a hero or whatever, you know, like he kind of just lives with that guilt for a while. And in this one, Mark Wahlberg kills him, which I also like. It's so good, it's so exciting. It was a great ending.

Kevin Corrigan who plays Billy Kosigin's cousin Sean also played Henry Hill's brother in Goodfellas. That's a little throwback. Oh, I didn't know that. That's nice. How about that? He was also on a sitcom I really liked, and I can't remember the name of it.

What is it? His mom is like a perfect, she has like COPD and is smoking, you know, the lady with like the, she is like, I was texting Dano last night, my friend from smoking, you know, the lady with like, she is like, I was talking, I was texting Dan all last night, my friend from who you know, John. Yeah, of course. And Nicole, you know as well. I know him.

He's so sweet. We were talking about how that, how that, that aunt is like kind of very much a Boston lady, the lady with, with oxygen, an oxygen tank and smoking cigarettes. It's very banistic. Did we find out what the name of that sitcom was? Grounded for Life. Ah. It's a good show.

It's a good show. I remember that. Okay, let's take a quick break and we'll be back with more The Departed after this. ["The Departed Theme"] We're back with the new Academy Awards. Despite his films being nominated for over 100 combined Academy Awards, he's only won one, which is crazy. And it was for this movie,

but we're still gonna present the prestigious first annual New Academy Awards. Okay, so we're gonna read categories and tell you who the nominees are, and then we're gonna vote for who should win the award. I love it. Best Boston accent, the nominees are Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio,

and Alec Baldwin. Who do we feel did the best? Say it again, say the nominees again, please. Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, Leo, and Alec Baldwin. Who do we feel did the best? Say it again, say the nominees again please. Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, Leo and Alec Baldwin. Can I say, my vote is that I think Matt Damon actually does too much. I'd say he's one of the ones that I think has a kind of a bad accident. I don't know if he was, I think he's great in the movie. Isn't he from there? Yeah, he's from Cambridge, right? He went to Cambridge, written in Latin, yeah. Yeah.

Okay. But he knows when he's doing his accent. Now I'm gonna specify, I don't have this accent. I grew up around it. I cannot do it. Interesting. It's impossible for me to get it right. It's a really, really challenging,

not to mention there are about 17 different Boston accents. Wouldn't you agree? It's sort of like British accents, where it's very specific for whatever neighborhood you're coming from. There are a lot. There's a Kennedy accent, and there's a million different accents.

A Kennedy accent? What does that sound like? Like the mayor on the Simpsons? Yeah. Yeah, basically the Simpsons. I've never seen the Simpsons. That actually is shocking. That feels impossible. You love it. Not a single Simpson. I've never seen The Simpsons. That actually is shocking. It feels impossible.

You love it. Not a single Simpson? I've never seen a single one. My mother didn't like it, so I didn't get to watch it as a kid and then I just never fell into it. Well, that makes sense. You would like to watch it.

I did watch Ally McBeal as a child because my mother liked it. Well, maybe if it goes on for a few more years, you can watch it when you're a grownup. Yeah. I hope when I grow up, I can watch it. There's only 35 billion seasons to catch up on. Yeah.

But I have a vote. I have an answer for this one. Who's your favorite? Well, I want to say that Baldwin and Martin Sheen feel like such Boston, like guys my dad would know, like my dad's work. They both feel like specific characters in Boston to me. And I think they're both great in the movie. I think Wahlberg probably just does have the best accent of that bunch. Yeah, his is very solid.

Of the bunch you listed, I think Wahlberg probably does the best accent. And honestly, one of his better roles, Wahlberg. I'm going to go with Alec Baldwin, because I don't want Mark Wahlberg, this is one of his better roles. I'm gonna go with Alec Baldwin, because I don't want Mark Wahlberg to win anything, because I think he's terrible. That's fair. Just a bad man. Yeah, I think that- He did tell me I had a nice jacket on the Fox lot one day,

which- You know what, I take it back. He's a great man, ooh baby. I absolve him for all wrongdoing. No, Alec Baldwin. I thought Alec Baldwin also, I think he just did a great job. I have to agree with Mitch. Like, I feel like Matt Damon knows what he's talking about when he's doing that

accent. I think that, uh, definitely Mark Wahlberg knows what's happening when he's doing that accent. I mean, he has it. But I think that Alec Baldwin felt like a Boston guy of that age more than anybody else. He feels very much, I think it's a great choice. To make it unanimous, I'd go, I'll join you in Boston. I'll do it too, I don't give a shit. The new Academy Award goes to Alec Baldwin.

I don't give a shit. Worst Boston accent. By the way, a not bad man at all, Alec Baldwin. Oh yeah, you know, you're absolutely right. Calling his daughter a little piggy on the phone. And some other stuff too. And I love his wife pretending to be from Spain. That's funny.

That's funny to be a white lady who's like, no, no, not me. Okay, where's Boston? She's from Boston, isn't she? Isn't she, his wife is from Boston. Uh-oh. She claims that, that's not real. Where's Boston accent?

Vera Farmigal, Martin Sheen, Ray Winston, Jack Nicholson. Who did the worst? Jack Nicholson. Yeah. He was in and out, right? Yeah, he wasn't really in and out. He wins the new Academy Award, that was easy. I gotta say, I liked this movie, and I liked Jack Nicholson in it, and I liked Jack Nicholson.

Yeah. I would love to see a movie, I'd love to see this movie all over again with someone else in that role. Yeah, I'd be interested in seeing that too. I mean, he is a lot of fun, but it would, yeah. If it was Pacino, that would have been interesting. I would love to see someone who looked like Whitey Bulger

and sounded like Whitey. Like really felt like a Boston guy. Because this is a really specific. I feel like De Niro could have done it. I'm just gonna say. No, I agree. That'd be interesting. Little bit, little bit.

Okay, well it's time for score says it. It's time for reviews. Once again this season we will be reading reviews from Letterboxd. We will then each give a one sentence review ourselves and a star rating. And if you don't know, Letterboxd is a social platform where people can write reviews of films

and we are on there at Newcomers. Are you guys on Letterboxd personally? Yes. No, I should be though, I want to be. My name's Mitch is my letterbox. We can set you up with an account. John, we'll get that started for you and you'll be writing reviews in no time.

All right. Thank you very much. We'll set anybody up who asks us. This first review is four stars. It comes from Eric who says, movies set in Boston count as foreign cinema. That's fun. Yeah. Four stars comes from Eric who says movies set in Boston count as foreign cinema. That's fun. Yeah. Four stars.

Yeah. Okay, so anybody, and Anya and Ali are also gonna give their reviews of this film. If anyone wants to go first, jump into the pool. Okay. I'm gonna give it five stars. Yeah. I loved this movie. I also liked the Irish fun music that was like,

ding ding ding ding ding. Nope, that's not how it goes, but you know what I mean. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That sounded just like it. Ding ding ding ding. Thank you. Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding I love the little rat at the end. He was so cute and the acting just really great. So good. What'd you give it?

How many stars? Oh, five stars. Five stars. Oh, five stars. Okay. Anya or Allie, would you like to tell us your review? Well, going off of Nicole's, mine was gonna be five stars

because that opening scene with shipping up to Boston makes me go absolutely feral. That music gets me going. because that opening scene with shipping up to Boston makes me go absolutely feral. That music gets me going. And I'm glad to hear it resonated with a non-Boston person too. Actually an anti-Boston person. I'm not anti-Boston. No, you should be.

You'd be right. No, it's just an interesting place where racism's overt and it's nicer than being covert. But the pizzeria Regina is pretty good. I love pizzeria Regina. Hell yeah. That was fun at that time. And that song is really good.

And more importantly. Hell yeah. Shout out to Britta. I think that song really hits people from Boston in a very special way. Even me, I don't, not really from Boston and I don't really like that song, but when I hear it, I get very excited.

Who wants to go next? Should I give a review? Yeah, yes. I mean, this is of course, it's of course, on my letter box, it is also a five stars for me. It's about Boston, it came out of my birthday. There's a Pink Floyd song in it. It's everything that I love. It's organized very much for you.

It is. It's all my interests are aligned. Scorsese is great. I think it is just, I love it. It's also a very fun film. And I feel like people that were like, it's a lifetime achievement award. I feel like they're taking away from the movie that is a great, great movie. Yeah, I agree. Yeah. I agree. Yeah. It's like, some of it has aged a little bit,

but I don't, honestly, rewatching it last night, I'm like, imagine if every Oscar nominee this year was as fun as this movie, you'd be having a blast. Yeah. Yeah, that's a good point. That's a good point. Jon, would you like to go next? One star.

No, five stars. Wow, wow. Give us one sentence. I would watch it again right now. I hadn't seen it for a decade at least. I watched it yesterday, couldn't keep my eyes off it. And I agree with Mitch, it's like, you just don't see movies like this anymore.

I agree with Martin Scorsese, it's his first movie with a plot. And you know, it's like, it came, it's source material was a really, really cool story and they made it even more interesting. And I absolutely, it's not just, I mean, if anything I've, I want to say's not just, I mean, if anything, I, I want to say this.

Yeah, I just thought it was great. Even though I felt the accents were, some of them were more ambitious than others. Yeah, accents are okay. Some of them were more successful than others. I also, it got Boston very right in a lot of ways. In a lot of ways, yeah. And it is a foreign country.

It's a weird, shitty little town that is very, very, very specific. And I think they got it. And I love stories that are set in real places. And I love that Alec Baldwin feels like a real guy. And like, it really, it was like shipping up to Boston for me, like just seeing Alec Baldwin put his face in a bucket of ice water for no reason.

Yeah, when he's hungover, you're like, I wonder if Baldwin was just hungover there. It's a Boston thing. Yeah, like that was like, yeah, okay, I see that. I wanna say just one quick thing. I think that people give Scorsese a hard time because he focuses on like a lot of terrible people and then idiots like Wolf of Wall Street, a great movie, like they're all shitty people. And

then some people think that's cool. But Scorsese isn't saying that the people in Wolf of Wall Street are cool. He's like these are he's just he's telling a story. And in the departed, I guess you can't even there's no like gray area you can you know, you are, he's just, he's telling a story. And in The Departed, I guess you can't even, there's no like gray area. You can, you know, you know, the bad guys are bad guys. And, but I think he gets criticized for that. And it's like, yeah, he, there's a lot, he focuses on bad people,

but he's not condoning what they do. Or so that's- Right, it's your fault if you're interpreting it that way. Yes, yeah. Yeah, I mean, like there I mean, there are two things. This isn't even criticism. I would love to see this again, as I say, with a different actor playing Costello.

Because the whole thing is premised on that Matt Damon is in love with him. That the people who work for him love him, even though he's unpredictable and violent and weird, that he's got some kind of thing. And to me, Jack Nicholson is just too scary all the time. Do you know what I mean? Like I didn't quite get, like he wasn't charming

in the way that he kind of imagined that the whitey bulger might've been. And then also I thought that, I hate to say this, but I thought that rat at the end was dumb. Well, the rat at the end is ridiculous. Yeah. I love that rat. When I was going like, I might've been slow on some of the uptake on some things,

but I was like, I got it. I mean, especially after. At that point, everyone's shot. I'm like, yup, there was, like it just was like, it climbed up the side of a building, like what floor was he on? Like I was just like, do rats even do that? They do!

The rats do that, they do. They get into everything. I haven't given my review and it's really important. So I just need to say my review is five stars. Yeah. And this movie's twists and turns kept me on my toes. That's all I wanna say. Oh yeah.

You guys, you're obviously the best guests These twists and turns kept me on my toes. That's all I wanna say. Okay. Oh yeah. Oh. Oh. You guys, you're obviously the best guests we could have had for this episode. Thank you so much. Do you have anything you wanna plug? Dana would have been a better guest than me, but thank you. That would have been very exciting for me to listen to.

I was like, please. You have to listen to yourself this time. Yeah, please remake this entire podcast with a different, better actor than me, for sure. Someone who gets it more than I do. Please listen to Judge John Hodgman on the Maximum Fund Network. And I don't know when this is coming out,

but we probably will have just completed our annual pledge drive, maximumfund.org slash join, if you like the show and you wanna become a member. And Dick Town is the TV show that I made with David Reese and it's still on Hulu and it still stars Mike Mitchell as Mitch. Yes! Amazing! I'm in it! I had a blast. It was great. Thank you.

I recorded it in Boston, didn't I? Yeah, I think you did. I think that's right. I think I did. Yeah, I think you recorded it in Boston. And you know what? I looked out the window, and on the railing I saw a rat. So I know you guys think it's crazy, but I's crazy. I mean, that ending was so superb. One of the best endings of a movie ever in terms of, I just could go on and on and about it.

And then from the Digman killing him and you don't know why, but you can talk about why and you can figure it out. And then the state house again, and then like, meh, meh, meh, meh, meh. I think that there was maybe, maybe there was an alternate version where Digman, Digh, meh, meh, meh, meh. I think that there was maybe, maybe there was an alternate version

where Dignan, Dignan, Dignam stands around and he picks up the rat and puts it right on Matt Damon's nose. So it's completely on the nose. It's terrible. I'm reading trivia right now and it turns out that that rat was just coincidental. So that's, you guys think it's not real.

They were just doing a shot outside the window and they're like, ooh, a rat. A rat, perfect. And they're like, oh. Ooh, a rat. A rat. And they're like, that kind of connects to what the story is. That's so ironic. I forgot to mention this in the trivia, but someone started a Kickstarter a few years ago and raised money to digitally edit out the rat.

Oh my God. He brings like $4,000 overnight. What happened to that money, by the way? That's so great. Great question. I hate that. I love the rat. I thought it was so fun. Nicole, I'm with you. He brings like $4,000 over what happened to that money by the way? I love the rat. I thought it was so fun. I mean, I, you know, I, I accepted as part of the film. It's just not my favorite part.

I accepted as part of the film, a glowing, Mitch, what do you want to plug? You can listen to dough boys. And we got a patron, the dough boys Double, and I'm about to record an episode in just a few minutes. Well, that worked out. That's fun. Oh, to watch Twisted Metal on Peacock too, as well.

Oh, okay. Well, guys, please listen, please listen. Listeners out there, please review our podcast, an Apple podcast, and rate the podcast five stars on Spotify, it helps so much. And we're gonna be back next week with the Irishman. Wow. Oh.

Ooh. Oh boy. Ooh. You guys. Nicole thoughts? I don't know. Can't wait to watch the Irishman. I have a prediction is that you will not have fun.

Oh, that's always nice to hear. That is nice to hear. As we go into it. Heard it's long. What guest are you digitally de-aging to have on your podcast? Ourselves. We're gonna be babies talking about it.

Well, thanks so much everyone. See you next week. Okay, bye-bye. Newcomers. Newcomers is a Headgum original hosted by us, Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus. Our executive producer is Anya Kenovskaya and our producer is Ali Khan. Our theme music, editing, sound mixing and mastering is done by Ferris Manchi. Listen to new episodes wherever you get your podcasts every Tuesday. To love

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