September 18, 2007
Apologist Gangster

A big round of applause tonight for the unquestionably well-made "American Gangster." I have problems with it, mostly with its final act and notions it tosses about a bit too casually (he turned in cops...so it's all good). But the film absolutely kills in most every respect, solid acting, greatly honed and paced editing from a true master, Pietro Scalia, and a soundtrack that would make Martin Scorsese tap his foot.


More later, though I'm sure opinions will be hitting the net with a fury tonight and tomorrow. But for now, though it isn't the slam I thought it would be, I still think we have another Best Picture contender to keep "Atonement" company.

Comments

Well, no film's perfect--though the Godfather comes close ;). Glad to hear you liked it and think it's deserving of a Best Picture nod (good enough for me). BTW, what's with the title "Apologist Gangster"? It didn't seem to me that you were shilling for the movie.

No, but the movie is shilling for Frank Lucas. It's a little too apologetic for what he did by film's end, I felt, despite an attempt at being ambiguous in a final, admittedly interesting shot.

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