Sunday, March 9, 2008

American Gangster


Ever since Francis Ford Coppola made "The Godfather, Parts I and II" (Part III was obviously the work of pod people who had stolen the souls of Coppola, Pacino, Keaton and others), the envious and less talented have tried to match or top him with crime movies as operatic family dramas.


Give it up, kids. It can't be done.


I don't care how many awards Scorsese gets, "The Departed" is a reckless disgrace.


And Ridley Scott, the director of "American Gangster," is an incredibly gifted craftsman, but he is not an artist, not by a long shot.


"Gangster" is tedious and drawn out and repetitive and boring. Did I mention that it's too long?


We quit after one hour. The DVD counter indicated we had another 1:56 to go.


I don't think so.


I'm as willing as the next sucker to waste my precious time away on a Saturday night, but puleeese...


Nobody is faulting all the first-rate actors, and there are many aboard this train to nowheresville.


5 comments:

Robert W. said...

I respectfully disagree, Mr. Reviewer, I really enjoyed the film!

Anonymous said...

I may be as big a fan of "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II" as you are. My wife has chided me for seeing them who knows how many times on video. I even paid money to see a restored 25th Anniversary release of "The Godfather" in the theatre (which allowed me to spot details missed on the small screen). I do think, however, there are a few crime films made since then that are well worth seeing, including "The Cotton Club", "The Long Good Friday", "The Untouchables", "Goodfellas", "Casino", and "Donnie Brasco". Each of them is a different take on the genre, has its own set of fine performances, good writing and production values, and good to great directing. And let's not forget "The Sopranos".

Craig Y.

P.S. Have there been any recently-made films that you DO like?

David Berner said...

Craig Y.,

Thanks for your list.

Oh yes, many...but the first and strongest that comes to mind is "The Lives Of Others," from Germany, which I think is one of the best movies I've ever seen.

Anonymous said...

Have you seen Black Book from Holland? Also very good. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389557/

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