American Gangster puts good cop Crowe against Denzel the “bust a cap in your forehead” gangster, who takes over the turf of his former employer after he dies. Righteous Kill is about 2 cops trying to solve an evolving serial killer mystery, that thickens plot wise along the way, when one of the cops is claimed to be a suspect. Both movies were really good I thought, with great performances by all the actors, and stories that kept me focused the whole way through. I think I could have done without all the “F Bombs” that were dropped in both movies though. After about the 600th one (in either movie) and feeling like I was in the middle of a Baghdad air strike training video, I was wishing that I’d had a Charlie Brown special on my iPod or something to bring some balance to the force. But, I got past all that and was able to enjoy the movies for their compelling stories. After all, if you are an NYPD cop, or a gangster working Harlem in the 60’s, it is pretty much required that you drop the F Bombs every 3rd or 4th word. It’s expected, and almost required.
These movies had another thing in common—LOTS of killing. The bullets flew like birds to a corn patch (what does that mean?) and many times, at point blank range. OUCH. But again, these are not after school specials I was watching, so I knew what I was getting into ahead of time. But when you’re just chilling out, “killing time” throughout the weekend, you need some good movies every once in a while to do the trick. I’m not saying that these kinds of movies are what gets me out of the house on a regular basis, but DeNiro and Pacino are my 2 favorite actors, and I have yet to see a bad movie with Russell Crowe or Denzell in it, so I was going for star power and reputation both times.
If you have seen, or plan to see either of these movies, drop me a line and let me know what your thoughts were about them.
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