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Saturday, November 17, 2007:
"American Gangster" - movie review (2007)
Based on the life of drug-kingpin-turned-informant, Frank Lucas, who grew up in segregated North Carolina where he watched as his cousin was shot by the Klan for looking at a white girl. He eventually made his way to Harlem where he became a heroin kingpin by traveling to Asia's Golden Triangle to make connections, shipping heroin back to the US in the coffins of soldiers killed in Vietnam. He soon made upwards of one million dollars a day in drug sales. Lucas was shadowed by lawman, Richie Roberts, who finally helped bring the kingpin to justice. The two then worked together to expose the crooked cops and foreign nationals who made importing heroin so easy.
When I first saw the preview for this movie, even though I am a huge, huge fan of Denzel's, I decided not to see it. I was feeling burned out on all of the extreme violence in movies that I'd seen ("The Departed", "Blood Diamond", "The Shooter") and wanted to stay away from those films for awhile. But, as it turns out, a friend of mine wanted to see it, and I said "what the heck?" and we went. I just cannot resist Denzel.
Make no mistake: it's a very violent movie, even moreso because it's based on a true story of a drug lord in the late 60's, early 70's, so when you realize that a lot of what happens in the movie most likely happened in real life, it's disturbing, grim, seemingly hopeless.
Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) is the driver and bodyguard for current Harlem drug lord, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, and when Bumpy dies, Frank decides it's his turn up at bat, and he's going to show everyone around just who the boss is now. He knows that in order to be better than all the rest, he has to give the best product - in this case, heroin - out there to the customer, and sell it for less. To do this, he gets rid of the middleman and go straight to the source - the golden triangle. The timing couldn't be better as American soldiers are in Vietnam and since Frank has a relative stationed there, it's easy for the necessary arrangements to be made to have the drug shipped to America. "Blue Magic" is born...and distributed to the neighborhood. He makes a killing.
As Frank becomes richer, his life becomes better, and worse. He is able to give his mother, who still lives in North Carolina, a beautiful home, he owns his own club where he meets a Puerto Rican beauty queen named Eva that he eventually marries. But other crime lords feel like he's pushing them out, and NYPD's infamously corrupt Special Investigations Unit wants a piece of the action. Frank feels the pressure, but he's not one to back down, and he gives better than he gets. No one is going to ever tell Frank Lucas what he can and cannot do.
In the meantime, Richie Roberts is going through his own crap. His ex-wife is planning on leaving New Jersey and taking his son to Vegas, and him and his partner are pariahs in the police department for turning in almost a million dollars they seize in a crime. Eventually, though, things start to change a little and he's taken more seriously when he's chosen to lead a special task team of basically honest cops, and it's going to be their job to crack down on the escalating drug problem by going after the big dogs. Having no family life, Richie devotes all his time to this special task force with the determination of a bulldog.
At first, Richie and the guys are looking at long-time druglords, such as the Sicilian and Mexican mobs, and Lucas competitor Nicky Barnes. But as he investigates further, Frank's name keeps popping up, and he keeps showing up at big events, getting better seats that some of the most notorious druglords around. Richie knows that he, Frank Lucas, is the key, the one they need to bring down. After much time and patience, a weak link in Frank's organization gives them the desperately needed opportunity to take down the operation and arrest Frank Lucas. The last few minutes of the movie revolved around Frank's and Richie's efforts to convict over 100 drug-related criminals, which lead to Frank getting a reduced sentence for his cooperation. At the end of the film, when he is finally released from prison, it is a very, very different world than the one he'd existed in.
Yes, "American Gangster" was a strong film, with good performances by both Denzel and Russell, who portray characters on different sides of the fence with their own code of honor. Richie is trying to do the right thing, but it doesn't always bleed over into his personal life, so he puts all his time and efforts into being a cop. Frank is a man determined to be filthy rich, not quite caring what heinous crimes he has to commit to get there, yet his devotion to his family makes him seem more human.
The whole drug scene is ultimately depressing, when you are shown over and over again the ugliness of addiction, the blood, the filth, the death, the extreme and horrible lengths a junkie will go to for their next fix. You realize that this is still going on today: people are getting rich off selling drugs, and addicts are dying for it. It's sad and horrifying.
Today, Frank Lucas is still alive and him and Richie Roberts consider themselves friends. Here he is in a 2000 interview with New York Magazine.
Have you seen "American Gangster"? Why or why not? Do you have a favorite Denzel movie?
Labels: Denzel, movies, reviews, Russell Crowe
posted by Stacy~ at 11/17/2007 04:24:00 PM
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Tuesday, September 04, 2007:
"Inside Man" - movie (2006) - review
 Four people dressed in painters' outfits march into the busy lobby of Manhattan Trust, a cornerstone Wall Street Branch of a worldwide financial institution. Within seconds, the costumed robbers place the bank under a surgically planned siege, and the 50 patrons and staff become unwitting pawns in an airtight heist. NYPD hostage negotiators Detectives Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) and Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor) are dispatched to the scene with orders to establish contact with the heist's ringleader, Dalton Russell (Clive Owen), and ensure safe release of the hostages. Working alongside Emergency Services Unit (ESU) Captain John Darius (Willem Dafoe), all are hopeful that the situation can be peacefully diffused and that control of the bank and release of those inside can be secured in short order. But Russell proves an unexpectedly canny opponent--clever, calm and totally in command--a puppet master with a meticulous plan to disorient and confuse not only the hostages, but also the authorities. Outside, the crowd of New Yorkers grows as the situation becomes increasingly intense tense, with Frazier's superiors becoming more concerned about his ability to keep the standoff from spiraling out of control. The robbers appear to consistently be one step ahead of the police, outwitting Frazier and Mitchell at every turn. Frazier's suspicions that more is at work than anyone perceives are justified with the entry of Madeline White (Jodie Foster), a power player with shadowy objectives, who requests a private meeting with Russell. The chairman of the bank's board of directors, controlling entrepreneur Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), is also uniquely interested in the moment-to-moment happenings inside the branch. But just what are the robbers after? Why has nothing worked to alleviate the standoff, which stretches on hour after hour? Frazier is convinced that invisible strings are being pulled and secret negotiations are taking place as the powder keg situation grows more unstable by the moment. Being a huge and long-time fan of Denzel Washington's, as well as of Jodie Foster and Clive Owen, "Inside Man" sounded like the perfect kinda movie to watch them all work together and see what they could do. Directed by Spike Lee, this film is an interesting one where not everything is what you'd obviously expect. Detective Frazier is in the hot seat for something he claims he didn't do, yet in the meantime, he's a fill-in negotiator for the "usual guy" who happens to be on vacation. Not one to pass up this golden opportunity, suave and swanky Frazier drags his partner along for the unpredictable ride, thinking he knows the drill, having studied the hostage handbook. But does he, really? The robbers, lead by Russell, keep managing to do the unexpected, making the detectives wonder just who is in charge and what it is they're after.
Adding to the confusion is overly solicitious chairman Case and the pacifying fixer White, who both seem to have their own agenda regarding the robbery and the final outcome, and Frazier is trying to figure out just who the players in this heist really are, and what is the ultimate prize. Case immediately raises eyebrows when he agrees to the outrageous and impossible demands immediately without blinking an eye - what exactly is his stake in all this? And White, who smoothly gets things done for those who have the right price, manages to secure herself a position front and center in the negotiations, leaving the detectives scratching their heads at being the only ones not knowing what is really going down. This film is a great popcorn movie, one that effortlessly gets you wondering what exactly it is that's going on, and who are the good guys anyway? Denzel is a smooth operator in his suit and hat, confident he knows what he's doing until things start going horribly wrong. Jodie Foster is almost unlikable as someone who makes problems go away, regardless of how unmentionable they are, yet her engaging smile and confidence had me admiring her moxie. She's no dummy, and easily holds her own with the big boys. Clive Owen, the coldly seductive gang leader, has his own agenda, one he's not willing to stray from, and hardly breaks a sweat, even when his cover is almost blown in an unpredictable struggle. Secrets are revealed, or are they? The ending may or may not what you'd expect, but it's not a film of revelations but rather more a clever ditty that sticks in your head for awhile before it vanishes into the land of good but forgotten movies. Enjoyable to spend a few hours getting lost in, though probably not one for the keeper shelf, no matter how much I enjoyed it. Can't help it; my Denzel is in it, so it's almost always a given that I'll like it. For this one, I have to say he didn't make me cry this time, which he usually does, but in a good way. No, this film is not that intense, or emotionally draining. But it's a fun film, with the colorful characters that give it a NYC flavor, and the message that a lot of times it's not just the lowlifes that give off a rotten smell, but also the top of the food chain. Huh. No surprise there. Labels: Clive Owen, Denzel, movies
posted by Stacy~ at 9/04/2007 12:07:00 AM
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Monday, May 21, 2007:
Catching up...Denzel, contests, movies
Happy Monday! Ha, yeah right. I have to leave for work soon, so my thoughts are going to be even more erratic than usual. Saw "Deja Vu" this weekend with my man, Denzel. Man, I love his movies. Even when they aren't the best they're still good to watch. There are actually a few I haven't seen, but one day, one day.... This one was a good one, a bit out there, but non-stop Denzel, to me, is always a good thing. Now the plot of the movie is as follows:  Everyone has experienced the unsettling mystery of déjà vu--that flash of memory when you meet someone new you feel you've known all your life or recognize a place even though you've never been there before. But what if the feelings were actually warnings sent from the past or clues to the future? It is déjà vu that unexpectedly guides ATF agent Doug Carlin through an investigation into a shattering crime. Called in to recover evidence after a bomb sets off a cataclysmic explosion on a New Orleans Ferry, Carlin is about to discover that what most people believe "is only in their heads" is actually something far more powerful--and will lead him on a mind-bending race to save hundreds of innocent people. It was pretty good, but the ending threw me off. I watched it at a friend's house and she didn't understand it either - maybe we're just clueless. Anyway, I enjoyed it, and Denzel always looks good to me. But dammit, why is it a man can be over 50 and still look so good? So not fair. Men should have to suffer, too. I have an Elizabeth Scott interview, and contest coming up, so stay tuned for that. I'm trying to get back into the interviewing thing again, so hopefully I'll have more riveting stuff about someone other than myself. I'll also be having a Lynn Viehl contest coming up as well, but I think since it involves 3 books, it's gonna be a doozy. Just trying to think of something fun and a bit challenging on this one. I'm trying to figure out if I should have the contests before I leave for the Lori Foster get-together. I probably will have at least one, maybe the Elizabeth Scott one, so keep it right here for your chance to win. Have gotten engrossed in a few more of Shiloh Walker's Hunter series "Hunting the Hunter" and "Hunter's Salvation" (which I got from the lovely HelenKay Dimon - HelenKay I'm working on my review for this week!). The more I read the series, the more I love it. I am a total shameless fangirl when it comes to her books anyway. I just hope I don't act like a total dork when I see her at the get-together. Haven't seen any movies recently (in the theatre) but I do want to see "Shrek 3" and I'll have to catch "Spiderman 2" before I see the 3rd installment. (It is the year of the 3). I also can't wait for the 3rd "Pirates of the Caribbean" and Johnny Depp - yum. What movies have you been watching (DVD or theatre)? Any recs? Labels: contests, Denzel, movies
posted by Stacy~ at 5/21/2007 05:33:00 AM
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