American Gangster

The story behind American Gangster is intriguing in one of those truth being stranger than fiction sort of ways but, even with a story that is larger than life, Hollywood can find a way to reduce that to the least interesting denominator. This is a BIG story made into a BIG movie with two Oscar winning heavy hitters in the leads and a great BIG fancy Director (Ridley Scott) and writer (Steven Zaillion.) Maybe it was the weight of its own self importance. Maybe it was the length. I was already to have my socks knocked off and found myself a little... bored.

The Return of Superfly was the working title and the story is that of one Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington,) a country boy who drives for a crime boss in 1970's Harlem and learns the bidness really, really well. When his mentor dies suddenly, he takes over the drug trade in the city, finds his own line of supply straight from Vietnam and with impeccable business ethics, outwits the cops and the Mafia to become very, very rich and very, very powerful. Of course, his nemesis Detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) strives with equal nobility to bring him to justice. You just know how this one's going to end.

The interesting part of the story is that in the real world Roberts and Lucas became lifelong friends, despite the whole 'one sending the other up the river for a very long time' thing. Washington and Crowe worked and worked and they had an excellent supporting cast to play with, but again the screenplay didn't hold my attention. The really "interactive to the point of overkill" website is more entertaining.

310 to Yuma

Boys will be boys. Boys love westerns. Westerns have lots of action, shooting, men being men and, you know, dying in the dirt. Westerns sort of took it on the nose as not cool there for awhile, until Dances With Wolves brought them moderately back into fashion. And since the Powers of Hollywood don't have an original thought among them, when someone says 'let's make us a Western,' someone else dug out something to remake. The original (1957) starred Glen Ford. You already know it was better.

The oh so classic western storyline: white hat noble farmer type Dan Evans (Christian Bale) volunteers to see that black hat train robber type Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) actually makes the train that will take him to a fair trial and prison for his multiple misdeeds. Of course, Ben's gang is out to save him and everyone else is quaking in their boots so our hero must do all this alone. In order to impress his smart ass teenage son with his Courage. And make him proud. Probably post mortem. And of course, Dan and Ben will grow to Respect One Another.

Okay, the hokey story line would work better with Glen Ford as Ben and Van Helflin as the doomed Dan. But Western story lines are always just that hokey, and at least this version tries for a little gritty realism in costuming (nobody looks clean at all,) set detail and sound. You have to dig the nifty little way the bullets plink and plunk as they fly about (this actually won an Oscar for sound!) Christian works his over thin booty off, Russell seems to be having fun, but the film is stolen by Ben Foster as the very psychotic Charlie - second in command of the gang and deeply committed to his boss (he's scary and hilarious.) It's entertaining, but you can easily take a potty break without hitting pause.... Check out the website here.

Gone Baby Gone

Ben Affleck is hereby forever to stay behind the camera and Casey Affleck in front. That is my official pronouncement. Based on this film - this is the natural order of things. Gone Baby Gone is based on a Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) novel, which was a good start to begin with, is directed by Ben (who knew?) and Casey is the star. Damn. I am rarely blown away be a directorial debut, but here you go. Ben runs with this story and makes a film, with no small measure of terrific acting, that will hang with you for days.

A little girl goes missing in Boston and the child's aunt hires a couple of young private investigators to look into the part of the neighborhood unlikely to talk to the cops. The more they look the worse it gets, from the hard drug use of the girl's mother, to the questionable demeanor of the cops. Patrick (Casey Affleck) has a bad case of ethics and all these questions stick in his craw, until it all unravels and he's faced with a horrible decision. It's the ultimate game of "what would YOU do?"

The cast is remarkable - including Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Amy Ryan who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress as the drug addled mom. But Ben deserves the credit for creating a gritty, ugly world chock full of unsavory characters (where do they find people who look so... ick?) and making it searingly real. Casey fills Patrick with conscience and noble intention, and aches with the consequences. I was expecting the hero to make some Hollywood style compromise, but... the ending left me speechless. Check out the website here.