Yeah, the perks of the unemployed! I got to watch the Oscars live (and the Amazing race after that).

Finally Scorcese wins an Oscar for The Departed, a movie based on the HK flick Infernal Affairs which is just as good if not better. I remember watching The Departed, four years after watching Infernal Affairs in 2003 (the same time I opened my friendster account - it’s still on my favorite movies list ). While I was watching the English remake not knowing it was a remake, I kept thinking deja vu - that I’ve seen a movie with the same plot that I also really liked. I hate that feeling of trying to remember something and you always only almost remember.

I first watched Infernal Affairs only because it had an all star cast (just like the Departed) plus Edison Chan who I was crushing on was there and I was in the phase of watching a lot of foreign films. But after watching it, I liked the movie so much I made my father watch it and went out and looked for Infernal Affairs II. I think the Departed was based on the second installment because it was a prequel to the first one. Infernal Affairs II had more screentime for Edison Chan, who played Matt Damon’s role - young Andy Lau (Shawn Yue played Leonardo Di Caprio’s role - young Tony Leung).

It would be interesting to know if they are planning to remake the first one too with the success of the Departed in the academy and the box office. I have lousy memory, I can’t remember exact details but I remember the basic plot and I was awed by it. The first installment was about Matt’s (Andy Lau) and Leo’s (Tony Leung) characters when they were older. I also can’t remember if it was Matt Damon’s character who was shot by Mark Wahlberg’s character in the remake and I can’t remember if it the same in the HK flick. If it was, then I guess they can’t remake the first one coz the main character is dead.

I remember watching another film before Infernal Affairs that I also liked. If you liked the Departed, you might also like Huo shao Dao. This one I only watched because of Jackie Chan during the time he was the only chinese actor I knew coz I grew up watching his films. But I watched it when I was still in high school, so I’m not sure if my standards have evolved. But I’m pretty sure that’s the first movie that made me a sucker for police action/drama films with undercover agents that you’ll empathize with especially if it’s an HK flick with a good cast. (Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, Andy Lau, Sammo Hung, Edison Chan etc.) It’s about an undercover agent who went to prison to investigate the corruption and everyone who knew he was undercover was killed. He had to find a way to escape and expose the bad guys. (Somehow, it reminds me of Eskapo and Faceoff - weird.)

I think another reason I like these kinds of films is because they remind me of my childhood. Not that I grew up in a violent environment, only with violent films. Hehehe