I don't rate De Palma. Scarface was highly overrated, and I was expecting too much from The Untouchables. I taped Casualties of War through the week, so I expect a bit better from him, though if he does all that slow motion attempt at tension in a war film it may just suck big time as well. I will definitely give The Untouchables and Scarface another watch some time though.
Capo de La Cosa Nostra I don't agree with most of the things you sad, but this is your opinion and I respect it. Brian De Palma is a genius. But I could only say this after I watched Carlito's Way ending shootout. It's masterfully shot, and had so much tension. He is overrated, but you have to give some of his movies a chance.
Casualties of War is a very hard movie to watch and I personally didn't like it myself either. But there was one spectacular scene involving Eriksson being trapped in the tunnel. I haven't seen any other war films having a scene like this, and I think De Palma knew this as well. While he copies, he can also be original. Also Ennio Morricone's score was excellent but not as good as some of his previous work. I suggest that you watch Blow Out and Body Double. Both underrated by the public, and at the same time very overrated by the fans. But both are very exiting, with some mild boring parts in between.
Hey man, how can you say that Scarface (my favorite movie of all time), is overrated? I just gotta hear the reasoning behind it. Please dont' tell me your a LOTR fan, because if any movie is overrated, all 3 of them are!
Simple, because it's his opinion and he can say whatever he wants to. I also think Scarface is very overrated. This is the only time I will agree on with Capo de La Cosa Nostra. Except maybe the ending shoot out. It was also very overrated, and there wasn't as much tension as I was hopping for. But it's beautifully shot, with great dramatic moments(Al Pacino's Death Followed By yet Another "The World is Yours" Reference), amazing music in some places, and the famous line(Say hello to my little friend). Oliver Stone's script is not spectacular, but its definitely memorable. And sometimes that's better. I think the scene with the most tension is when Al Pacino had to blow up the car. That scene was truly amazing, and is on the same level as the ending of Carlito's way.
But in the end Scarface does indeed live up to it's reputation.
P.S I am a LOTR fan(Not a fanatic), but I do admit those films are very overrated.
