Based on a true story, American Gangster is so far the best movie I have seen since "the Departed". Denzel Washington, at his best as usual, teamed up with Russel Crowe who delivered an Oscar-worthy performance. Interestingly, the supporting cast were all phenomenal specially Armand Assante, who played the Italian mob. Like "the Departed" did for Martin Scorsese, this movie might bring Oscar to Ridley Scott who has three Academy Award nominations for the best director (Thelma and Louise, the Gladiator, and Black Hawk Down) under his belt. The only problem is that the theme of the movie is similar to "Departed" and it is unprecedented that the same type of genre wins two-year in a row. The same happened to "Babel" which in my opinion was very close if not better than the Academy-Award-winner "Crash" but came one year after and did not win although nominated for several Oscars. Unlike "Scarface" and "God Father Trilogy", it does not contain lots of action scenes and gun shots but it is far more than that. It is a well-depicted tale of a loyal protégé who became one of the most successful heroin dealers in the US and a devoted NARC who went after him despite of the odds fighting the corrupt NY police system. The bottom line is, this movie will be nominated for multiple Oscars this year and do not be surprised if Denzel or Russell get there second golden statue. This movie is great, skillfully directed, perfectly performed, and simply is the best movie of the year.
Reviews
5 Reviews
The Protector
(2005)
Great martial arts but poor plot.
10 February 2007
Tony Jaa (Kham) is highly skilled in martial arts and gymnastics. There is no acting in this movie and the director extensively relies on Tony's martial art skills and tries to fill the movie with action scenes. The movie claimed that he has done all the stunts himself without wires and GC effect. The film is full of martial arts secnes The plot is very primitive and the story, wait, is there a story? Tony Jaa doesn't have the looks (like Jet Lee) or the funny charm (like Jackie Chan). I believe he should go back and do stunt work or took minor roles as bell-boy or ... The only scene that was worth watching was the fight scene in the on-fire temple. The movie supposedly took place in Australia but you think there are still in Thailand, thanks to the director. If you are thinking to rent this movie, think twice. There are many better action movies on the shelf.
Offside
(2006)
Great performance by amateur casting
10 February 2007
Offside is the story of teenage-girls who tried to sneak in the stadium to watch final world cup qualifying soccer match in Tehran that may lead Iran to the 2006 world cup in Germany. Females are forbidden to go to stadium by law in Iran, although many of them dress like boys and sneak in. Stadium guards search every one at the entrance to make sure no one carries fireworks and of course; no girl gets in.
Like most of Panahi's work, his armature cast's performance was superb. You actually think that you are watching a documentary. The dialogs between the girls and the privates were executed delicately and astonishingly believable. The film depicts the interactions between captives and the drafted guards who themselves are serving mandartory away from their family and friends in a funny sort of way. At the end, the audience realizes that there is not such a difference between the girls and the guards who were just following orders.
Like most of Panahi's work, his armature cast's performance was superb. You actually think that you are watching a documentary. The dialogs between the girls and the privates were executed delicately and astonishingly believable. The film depicts the interactions between captives and the drafted guards who themselves are serving mandartory away from their family and friends in a funny sort of way. At the end, the audience realizes that there is not such a difference between the girls and the guards who were just following orders.
V for Vendetta
(2005)
Great story, well executed
18 August 2006
From screenwriters and assistant director of the Matrix trilogy, comes an interesting movie that depicts England in near future. If you expect to see people using cool gadgets or driving flying cars, people eating each other, Aliens ruling the earth, or humans become mutants, you will be disappointed. The movie does focus on the political aspects that may happen in the future and in a very convincing way. West has become middle east. Totalitarianism rules Great Britain and freedom has been suppressed viciously. London is ready to explode waiting for a spark. "V", the revolutionary fighter, delivers that spark. This is the story of uprising against tyranny, unity, love, and revenge. V for Vendetta is a combination of Phantom of the opera, Batman, 12 Monkeys, and Matrix but in a good way. It has couple of cool semi-Matrix-like action scenes with lots of twists and an interesting love story. Screen play is strong, performances are brilliant, and it's a great debut for James McTeigue as a director (assistant director of Matrix and Star Wars-Episode II).
My Left Foot
(1989)
Brilliant performance
4 July 2006
The most important thing about this movie is the brilliant performance by Daniel Day-Lewis and Hugh O'Conor as Christy Brown, guineas artist and fighter who despite of her physical condition overcame all the odds. As a person who did work with patients with cerebral palsy, I can assure you that their performance were shockingly convincing. The enormous support that Christy got form his family, low-income, working class Dubliners, encouraged him to do the impossible and this picture depicted this support brilliantly have not read the book, but the dialogs were written wisely to capture Christy Brown's witty arrogant personality. I do recommend this movie to everyone, especially to classic movie-lovers.
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