Most deliciously, Martin Scorsese and Jack Nicholson, two of the not-so-enfants terribles of American cinema, have been working together for the first time. "The Departed" is a cop/Mafia drama set in Boston, with a potboiler of a plot and buckets of blood. Both Scorsese and Nicholson came of age along with independent film in this country, and even though neither has exactly captivated audiences lately, the combination of their heavyweight resumes and respective histories of getting their own way should lead to combustion on screen and off in a movie that will create months of chatter in 2006.

In "The Departed," a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong thriller "Infernal Affairs," Nicholson will be joined by Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg — two guys who know their way around a Boston accent — but all eyes will be on Nicholson. He reportedly rewrote the script on many days and — steadfast Lakers fan that he is — banned all Celtics merchandise during shooting. Later this year, movie fans will see what all the creative tension produced.

Pixar and Disney, historically combative partners, have been busy making nice ever since Michael Eisner left the top slot at Disney. The partnership's last project, "Cars," will hit the road this year. And with Robert A. Iger in the driver's seat at Disney, it may not be the last movie they make together. His soothing bedside manner, along with a willingness to sell programs like "Desperate Housewives" on iTunes, may heal a partnership that looked to be headed for a ditch.

The cinematic version of the red and the blue will also show in 2006. Michael Moore teamed with Harvey Weinstein's new company for "Sicko," which could be the "Fahrenheit 9/11" of the health care industry.

Mel Gibson will be back with yet another monumental bit of religious adventure, this time starring the Mayans in "Apocalypto."

A version an apocalypse come and gone, Sept. 11, will visit the cineplex in two films, an untitled one from Oliver Stone and an airborne one from Universal about Flight 93.

Oh, and don't forget to watch two institutions, Tom Hanks and the Catholic Church, go to war over "The Da Vinci Code."

Politics, which has historically been discussed in smoke-filled rooms, will be a dominant theme in many darkened ones as well. — David Carr

TECHNOLOGY — GREAT DVD FORMAT WAR IS RAGING

This week, more than 200,000 people will descend on Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. Most of them will be talking about the war. Not the one in Iraq, but the Great DVD Format War of '06.