Gangsters Are America's Sweethearts

Kudos to American Gangster. A good post from AOL:

In the biggest film openers of their careers, Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe saw their film 'American Gangster' be the #1 film of the week with about $46.3 million dollars. It was also the highest R rated film to gross that much this year, following '300', which did an astonishing $70 million when it opened in March.

As good as the number is, I can't help but think that the film would have easily made over $50 million if not for the crystal clear bootleg copies floating in the streets. It had to be Christmas for those street sellers when the they got theirs hands on the film and were able to sell it two weeks before the film came out. Folks from New York to Los Angeles had copies. Barbershops were playing the film on their DVDs to keep patrons happy while waiting to get cuts. At least there are people who still prefer to watch a good film on the big screen. We need to support films of color in the theater if we want them to succeed financially.

From IW: While this film isn't what I would exactly call a classic, I am a true sucker for any big budget movie with a large black cast. And it sure wasn't boring. For 2 really good reviews I thought hit the nail on the head, click here to read one from my favorite (and black) movie critic Wesley Morris from the Boston Globe, and here for one from Cinema Blend.

Did any of you guys get to see it? Please let me know what you thought.....