Angry over Forster's actions and on a chase to save his own life, Gramm receives several messages that he has 88 minutes left to live. Several of Gramm's students are acting questionably and involve themselves in the plot. One of Gramm's main students and his assistant played by Alicia DeWitt, Kim, finds herself involved in not only being one of Gramm's suspects, but also a target of her abusive ex, Guy LaForge. LaForge, seen several times throughout the move, on a motorcycle and clad in all leather, makes for a perfect suspect and ongoing backdrop character that averts the attention from the real killer onto him. When LaForge's innocence becomes evident the real chase begins. Heart beat after heart beat, you are looking to everybody's actions to see guilt and to solve the mystery.

Similar in action pace, but not action sequences as the Bourne series, 88 minutes is a good way to pass away some time and forget about things, as your mind has nothing else to do, but try and solve the mystery.

Whether the United States is the global equivalent of a justified policeman, a sanctimonious criminal, or a muddled combination of the two is personally explored in the narrative of The Departed through the lives of two Massachusetts State Policemen, one of whom is posing as a criminal (Leonardo DiCaprio) while the other (Matt Damon) is quite genuinely integrated into mob boss, Frank Costello's (Jack Nicholson) crime syndicate. In Scorsese's opening sequence, Costello, bestowing advice unto a young Colin Sullivan, declares, “When I was your age they used to say you could become cops or criminals. What I'm saying to you is this...When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?” In terms of war, Costello's “what's the difference?” simultaneously validates and condemns America's self-superior and noble interference in the political schemas of foreign countries by casting the nation as the amalgamation of gallant and morally negotiable intentions.

Besides parallels between the sentiments of the American public and the thematic preoccupations of the film, The Departed makes direct references to the prevailing paranoia about terrorism today and to the current and possible political agendas of the future United States. In Captain Queenan's (Martin Sheen) speech of narrative exposition to William Costigan (DiCaprio) early on, Queenan announces “We (The United States) will probably be at war with the Chinese in twenty-odd years and Costello is selling a military technology.” Special significance should be attributed to the fact that it is this particular crime, the obtaining and bartering of United States military technology, for which Costello is most vilified. The initial stakeout and sting operation performed by the Special Investigation Unit (to which the corrupt Sullivan gets promoted) is not concerned with the murders that Scorsese allows the audience to see Costello commit or the drugs being peddled by his number one, Mr. French (Ray Winstone).

Instead the focus centers on Costello's apparent betrayal of American, terrorist paranoia, namely his selling of military microprocessors. Even though the sting operation fails and Costello and his Chinese buyers appear to have made their transaction without a hitch, Scorsese directs The Departed to satisfy American patriotism by revealing that not even Costello, in his unadulterated wickedness could deliver military secrets into the hands of a foreign government. By arranging for Costello to double-cross his Chinese buyers, Scorsese serves two purposes; He maintains Costello's villainous persona while concurrently preserving America's safety from retribution, deserved or not, from a foreign threat.

Costello's importance to the narrative as a villain cannot be overstated, considering the values for which he stands, and considering that he is the antithesis of the “Serve and Protect” SIU that he has infiltrated. The Irish mob boss begins the film in voice over with his perverse interpretation of the “American Dream.” Over newsreel footage of the race riots in Boston “some years ago,” Frank Costello declares, “I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me…Twenty years after an Irishman couldn't get a fucking job, we had the presidency…No one gives it to you. You have to take it.” In the very next scene, Scorsese shows Costello in his neighborhood “shaking down” a local grocery store clerk, essentially taking “it.”

From that moment on, Costello's role in the narrative is to force his reading of the American Dream upon as many people as possible and it becomes up to those people to discover their identity within Costello's greedy interpretation. Costello alternately advises Sullivan and Costigan in his way of thinking, passing along such mantras and insights as “A man has to make his own way,” and “I haven't needed the money since I took Archie's milk money in third grade. And to tell you the truth I don't need pussy anymore either…But I like it.” Sullivan and Costigan, the respective recipients of this skewed advice, represent opposing values while sharing similar identities.

Sullivan, Costello's deceitful, conniving, SIU mole operates toward personal ends and embodies the ardent pursuer of personal wealth who characteristically views America's policing of the world as a right by a survival of the fittest attitude. Costigan, the equally deceitful, conflicted “rat” in Costello's crew sacrifices personal time and ambition in order to serve the commonwealth, channeling the modern counterculture, which objects to the United States occupation of Iraq as well as the American government's self-appointed duty to bring democracy to the rest of the world. Though strikingly similar, Sullivan's and Costigan's relevant deception of SIU and Frank Costello differ most decidedly in whom each deceives and whom each believes he is deceiving.

William Costigan initially believes he is misleading no one. As a cadet at the Police Academy, Costigan (like Sullivan) genuinely performs well enough to be assigned to SIU's Undercover Department. In his first council with Captain Queenan and Staff Sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg), Dignam ridicules Costigan's tragic lineage and speculates as to why he joined the state police. Immediately afterwards Queenan alleges about his department, “We deal in deception here. What we do not deal with is self-deception.” The “here” that the captain refers to is of course SIU, which acts as the upholder of, even if not the participator in [as evidenced by Dignam and Captain Ellerby (Alec Baldwin)], the moral standard of America and consequently the ethical voice of The Departed. With that ethical voice, Queenan condemns self-deception. Costigan generally heeds Captain Queenan's warning and identifies for much of the film with neither cop nor criminal.

After a year of undercover work, his behavioral deception takes its toll on him and Costigan, in a heated exchange with Dignam proclaims, “I can't be someone else every fucking day.” The statement supports Costigan's avoidance of the perilous self-deception, yet once Costigan is officially retired from having to deceive Costello and his crew as well as everyone outside of Queenan and Dignam, Costigan betrays Queenan's warning. After steadfastly declaring to Sullivan in their first meeting late in the film, “Being a cop's not an identity. I want my identity back,” Costigan attempts to arrest Sullivan, contradicting what he knows to not be his identity. Reassuming the cop role after Queenan's warning and his own declaration, Costigan is not permitted to survive The Departed.

Sullivan too, must deceive everyone, even Costello, the man he had been most loyal to since the film's first sequence. He deceives his unit, his employers, his father figure, Costigan, and his fiancé, but like Costigan, Sullivan's most menacing moments of deception occur when he allows is personal ambitions to deceive himself. Sullivan often looks to the State Senate on Beacon Hill in the film, minimally but effectively expressing his desire to become an ever-important authority figure in an institution that ideally exists to uphold the moral fiber of American values. The problem with this of course is that Sullivan is morally negotiable and not ideally dependable in his ethical ideology.

Sullivan seems always trying to convince himself that he can attain this status even through his whole-hearted acceptance of Costello's perversion of the American Dream. The ultimate deception of himself comes after Costigan's murder, when Sullivan attempts to assume the power to judge the moral integrity of another, by recommending Costigan for the Medal of Merit. Two scenes later, Dignam, the last man remaining from SIU (besides Captain Ellerby) executes Sullivan in the same way that Costigan was killed.

Scorsese's denunciation of the perverse interpretation of the American Dream as well as the importance of defining oneself within it, is well supported through the narrative events of The Departed. Scorsese interestingly pardons neither Sullivan nor Costigan for his transgressions of duality. However, the ultimate triumph is still enjoyed by the morally upstanding who aspire to punish the wicked.

That is the premise of Al Pacino's latest film, aptly titled “88 Minutes,” a roller-coaster ride thriller that follows a very stressful day in the life of Dr. Jack Gramm, a college professor and legendary forensic psychiatrist for the FBI who helped put away the infamous Seattle Slayer, Jon Forster, (played by Neal McDonough) by testifying against him after he allegedly raped and gruesomely murdered a woman. Gramm's testimony is key in sentencing Forster to death and that's where the fun begins.

Fast-forward nine years. Forster has run out of appeals and is awaiting his final hours on death row. But before his time is up, Forster attempts a last-minute shot at a stay of execution by going on television and accusing Gramm of deliberately sending the wrong man to prison. With charismatic wit, Forster declares his innocence, branding Gramm as an egomaniac who lied under oath and frequently uses psychological theory over fact to condemn his victims.

Despite the fact that Forster is behind bars, the Seattle Slayer murders have started again and Gramm, an arrogant womanizer with a haunted past, begins receiving mysterious phone calls telling him he only has 88 minutes to live.

Are the calls being made by Forster? Did Gramm perjure himself just to preserve his stellar reputation as a psychiatrist who always gets his man? Could one of Gramm's former jilted lovers be behind this insidious plot and will Gramm figure it all out in time to save his life?

Directed by Jon Avnet (Red Corner), the story has several twists, including a subplot involving Pacino and a potential love interest played by Alicia Witt who has personal problems of her own. Lee Lee Sobieski, Amy Brennerman (Judging Amy) and William Forsythe, round out the supporting cast.

I've read several reviews of this movie, most of them pretty harsh, but I have to say that overall, I enjoyed “88 Minutes.” Yes, there's a lot going on for most of the film's 1- hour-48-minute running time, which can leave the viewer feeling a bit discombobulated; and the presence of Pacino's big hair in some scenes is a tad distracting. And sure, there were some moments in the movie where I found myself muttering, “You have got to be kidding!” under my breath but I guess, perhaps because I am such a fan of Pacino, those minor annoyances were easy for me to overlook.

With “88 Minutes,” Pacino gives one of his best performances in recent years, portraying Gramm, a man who seems driven to succeed at all costs, with a sincerity reminiscent of his earlier work in films like “The Godfather” and “Dog Day Afternoon.” A master craftsman when he wants to be, Pacino proves he still has the ability to hone in on a character and perform with a subtly that many critics feel has been lost in some of his more recent pictures. There's a lot less yelling and gesticulating on Pacino's part in this film. He conveyed more with his eyes and with underrated movement and speech than he has in anything I've seen him in a long time and I liked that. Sure, Shakespeare “88 Minutes” was not but it was pretty entertaining and I have to admit, it kept me guessing up until the very end.

“88 Minutes” is rated R. It has one brief nude scene and there is some language and plenty of violence.

Running time: 2hr 2 mins.

Release Date: June 8, 2007

Also Staring:

• Ellen Barken
• Andy Garcia
• Don Cheadle
• Bernie Mac
• Eddie Jemison
• Shaobo Qin
• Casey Affleck
• Scott Caan
• Eddie Izzard

Go see “Ocean's 13” on matinee

This is an entertaining movie that won't waste your time or money. That being said, there is a ton of talent here and we could expect greater things from them. This movie falls victim to its own huge cast of great stars. They had to leave the women out of this film and keep Rubin (Gould's character) in bed for the whole film. Danny Ocean (Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Pitt) are duplicates, not of each other, but they fill the same role in the film.

In order to have something to do they manufactured these little scenes that are supposed to be cute, like the crying at Opra thing, that really don't add much to the movie. Virgil and Turk Malloy are also duplicates but at least they have a couple funny scenes.

Carl Riener is still as solid as ever and though nothing really big hinges on his role he stands out amongst the others. Other noteworthy performances were by Ellen Barkin, Michael Mantell, (super) Dave Osborne and Ray Xifo-all small roles which the actors made stand out. My hat's off to them for shining amongst all the bright stars.

Enough about the Acting: What about the Plot?

Like the acting, the plot is good. Not amazing, just good. There isn't anything wrong with this film it just isn't fantastic. Seriously, go see it. You'll have fun.

What about the “PG-13” Rating?

There is nothing to worry about in this film. At its core, it's a movie about people who rip off a casino in Vegas. I don't think you could give it a G rating. Nothing really bad though.

The Larger Story:

It's touching that these guys pull together to defend a senior member of there group. They have always deferred to the two most senior members of their crew. As the baby boomers reach retirement and don't always retire I'm glad people are making movies like this.

The larger story issue is that of aging gracefully. What happens when Rocky gets old? What about the seniors that can't make it on their fixed income? What about industries like nursing where the median age of their workers is 55? What about the high rate of men who die within 2 years of retiring? Moving from the king of your ranch style tract home to sage of the Florida retirement village isn't an easy transition or even what God intends for us.

Aging is at the heart the Ocean movies. Ocean and Ryan are aging out of the role of King and into a Sage role. Linus is trying to earn his parents respect in a field they have excelled in.

In a sequel perhaps the best issue to deal with is this, “What do you do after you've won?” What does it look like to live happily ever after? These are issues close to home for many of us and this movie can stimulate some interesting conversations along these lines.