Hey look, I missed two days again! I'm gonna blame the WGA Strike for that one.
Anyway, why haven't you seen American Gangster yet? Are you really that busy? Are you dead inside?
You should really leave work right now and go catch a matinee. It's definitely an awards contender and one of the best movies of the year. Real quick, if you've been living under a rock: Denzel Washington plays a badass Harlem druglord that loves his momma, Russell Crowe is a womanizing cop and a bad father, but doesn't take bribe money so he's assigned to bring Washington down.
The whole thing's directed by Ridley Scott, who knows his soul music surprisingly well for a septuagenarian white-guy. The cast is rounded out by plenty of great bit players: Chiwetel Ejiafor, Josh Brolin, Cuba Gooding Jr., and a couple of rappers, apparently. There's really not a wrong note in the bunch, either- even Cuba Gooding Jr.'s recent scenery-chewing ethos is put to good use as a rival, flamboyantly flashy drug lord that Washington has to put in his place.
American Gangster takes a meticulous first hour to build up, and the two leads don't really cross paths for a long time- in fact, Crowe's team of agents doesn't even suspect that a black man is in charge of the new drug ring until over halfway through. But Washington's journey from driver to overlord and Crowe's Serpico-like quiet righteousness within the police force could fill up separate movies by themselves, so it's only sweeter when they become unlikely allies near the films end.
As many other, professional reviewers have noted, American Gangster takes great strides to avoid glamorizing Washington's character, both by showing his ridiculous temper, and the effect that heroin has on the people that use it. And the "paradoxical" morals of the two main characters makes it more than a simple crime movie about good v. evil. It helps, of course, that it's all based on real life, and makes me want to read various crime-lord biographies right after the credits roll.
The public has spoken as well, and it looks like we might have the only blockbuster to be recognized come awards season. Don't miss it.
Seriously, why are you still sitting there?
When to See It: Yesterday
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