American Gangster

1:10 am EST November 6th, 2007 | Movies | 6 Comments

Two things, for starters:

1. American Gangster is the best movie of 2007.
2. Denzel Washington is the best actor of this generation.
2a. Russell Crowe is no slouch either.

americangangster_denzel.jpgIt seems that there’s something about fall and really good crime movies. Last year there was the superb Departed, and this year brings American Gangster. I loved everything about this movie: the plot, the pacing, the acting, the action, it was a quick moving epic film that once again shows that all the good stories haven’t been told and that people will come to the theater for something that isn’t just dreck.

One of the best things about this movie was its look. I was not alive in New York City in the late ’60s and early ’70s, but I’ve got to feel that this movie is what Harlem looked like in that era. Many period pieces make their world a little too clean, a little too perfect – this one (like The Departed and Boston) does it just right. There are moments of violence in the movie that transcend the standard issue “mob” film and ring true as very real, very human violence. The two leads – Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe – fully inhabit their characters. This isn’t movie stars sleepwalking through a paycheck, but rather an actor becoming someone else on the silver screen.

I really liked the hell out of this movie.

Rating: 4.5/5

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6 Responses to “American Gangster”

  1. Jay says:
    November 6, 2007 at 8:17 am

    I’m looking forward to this one. Ridley Scott directing. Brian Grazer producing. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

    How can it miss?

  2. trakjoe76 says:
    November 6, 2007 at 2:10 pm

    “How can it miss?”

    One word…Troy.

  3. SpiderJ says:
    November 6, 2007 at 2:25 pm

    Denzel and Russell were in Troy?

    Ridley Scott directed Troy?

    Which movie called Troy are you talking about?

  4. Dr. Victor Davis Handjob says:
    November 6, 2007 at 3:00 pm

    I hear really good things about There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men, too. And I will definitely be seeing John Rambo, as retarded as it looks. Ridley Scott did Kingdom of Heaven, which I thought sucked in a similar way to Troy, at least.

  5. SpiderJ says:
    November 7, 2007 at 12:58 pm

    Just to clarify, I think you mean that Denzel is the best actor of his generation. The best actor of this generation is, I would submit, Ryan Gosling.

  6. trakjoe76 says:
    November 8, 2007 at 1:09 pm

    ” SpiderJ said:

    Denzel and Russell were in Troy?

    Ridley Scott directed Troy?

    Which movie called Troy are you talking about?
    ”

    I’m referring to the fact that you can have a great cast (Eric Bana, Peter O’Toole, Brendan Gleeson, Brian Cox..need I continue?) and a great director and still have a crap movie. Sheesh.