A remake of the Hong Kong thriller, “Infernal Affairs,” “The Departed” runs 50 minutes longer than the original and features more excess all around – more profanity, more bloodletting and more over-the-top acting. But the public soaked up this cold, brutal film. At least one sequel already is in the works.

DREAMGIRLS
This highly hyped movie is a respite from most of the other major Oscar contenders in several ways – joyful and exuberant during its first half, and extending across several years, this musical received a leading eight Oscar nominations. But in what came as the year’s biggest Oscar-related shock, “Dreamgirls” was not nominated for Best Picture or Best Director. Three of its nominations come in the Best Song category, while its most noteworthy nods are for Eddie Murphy’s fantastic, energetic performance as soul singer James “Thunder” Early and former “American Idol” also-ran Jennifer Hudson, for her breakout role as Effie White.

“Deamgirls” spans several years as it tracks the career trajectory of an all-girl singing trio and the performer (Early) who helped give them their first break. As the public’s taste in music changes, and as the era of music on the radio gives way to an era of TV performances, the Dreamgirls redefine themselves, at the behest of their craven manager (Jamie Foxx). Their story is one of so many soul performers, who fought discrimination only to see their work widely embraced after the same songs were popularized by white performers.

Dynamite during its early going, and appropriately melancholy as the fortunes of its principal players sink, “Dreamgirls” nevertheless is too much. The good will it generates early on dissipates significantly by the film’s dreary end, but Murphy’s electrifying turn and Hudson’s strong screen presence make the movie worthwhile, if not Best Picture worthy.

LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
Clint Eastwood’s second 2006 film about the Battle of Iwo Jima is told, this time, from the perspective of the Japanese forces (whereas Eastwood’s earlier “Flags of Our Fathers” told of the same battle from the viewpoint of American soldiers reflecting on the battle, and on the motives of the U.S. government in publicizing the men’s bravery).

Here, we meet a general (Ken Watanabe) who has little animosity toward America, but who tries to preserve his men’s dignity in the face of a doomed mission. With no air or naval support for the Japanese forces, the soldiers await the arrival of the Americans, digging tunnels in which they hide and write letters to home.