American Gangster

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below, wartime movies Rendition and In the Valley of Elah are also out this week. If you missed Noah Baumbach's Margot at the Wedding starring Nicole Kidman, you can add that to your queue as well.

American Gangster
Great timing for this stirring drama to be released on DVD if you're trying to view Oscar nominees before the big ceremony. Director Ridley Scott recreates 1960s and 1970s Harlem to bring the true-life story of Frank Lucas to the silver screen. Played to eerie perfection by Denzel Washington, American Gangster follows Lucas as he comes to power in New York via a heroin drug ring. His savvy business instincts eventually put Lucas' business on par with that of the Italians, and catches the attention of one of the only non-corrupt law enforcement officials in town, Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe).

This film earned Rudy Dee an Oscar nod for her role as Lucas' mother, and has been nominated for Best Achievement in Art Direction. Special features include a taping of the still-living Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts discussing the film and their roles in making it.

Two more interesting films, so read more

Every week up until the Oscars, I'll be featuring the nominees in the various visual categories. This week, I'll be looking at the nominees for Best Art Direction, which encompasses the entire look and feel of a film from the scenery to the lighting. Today's featured movie is American Gangster.

With American Gangster, director Ridley Scott was given the challenging task of conveying the gritty, dangerous atmosphere of a drug-riddled Harlem in the 60s and 70s. There's a glitzy-glam aspect to it with the fashions and sensuality of the era, and then there's the pain of drug addiction, the grim realities of gang life and the ominous presence of racial tension. The result in Scott's movie is a world awash in browns, grays and blues, with the occasional shock of gold and glitter to show the opulence that these drug lords enjoyed when business was booming.

I find it fitting that Scott is nominated in this category for so vividly depicting the ugliness of this time period — as well as the bleakness of the drug trade. To check out a gallery of evocative images from American Gangster, read more

Beowulf killed more than just a couple monsters over its opening weekend, easily coming in at No. 1 at the box office with just over $28 million. The movie enjoyed the widest release for a 3-D digital film ever, and was the first 3-D movie that wasn't for children. The success of the film spells good things for the future of digital 3-D filmmaking.

In second place taking home half as much was animated family film Bee Movie, and American Gangster held steady at No. 3. Following up in fourth place was holiday comedy Fred Claus, while Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium opened at No. 5, bringing in $10 million.

This upcoming holiday weekend should prove successful for studios releasing new titles, like Disney's Enchanted, the Bob Dylan flick I'm Not There, heartwarming family drama August Rush and Stephen King's The Mist. Also, this weekend expect to kick into the holiday season when This Christmas opens this Wednesday.

Image courtesy of Paramount

• Kanye West's mother passed away on Saturday after complications arose during cosmetic surgery. Our thoughts are with Kanye and his entire family as they grieve their sudden loss. — BellaSugar
• Bee Movie took the top spot at the box office this weekend, beating last week's number one movie, American Gangster, while Fred Claus came in at number three. All of Jerry Seinfeld's promotion for his movie seems to have finally paid off. — BuzzSugar
• The View co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck had a boy this weekend. She announced on the show this morning that his name is Taylor Thomas — normal and cute — we love it! - lilsugar
• Chelsy Davy has apparently dumped Prince Harry after three years together, despite her recent move to the UK to be closer to him. While it's sad when couples break up, we're sure lots of girls are happy a prince is single. — News of the World
• Did you catch The Next Iron Chef finale last night? And the winner is ... — YumSugar
• Hollywood writers aren't the only people striking this week, as the union representing Broadway stagehands is on their third day of a strike over a hiring dispute that has closed 27 shows thus far. Our entertainment options are running low! — AP

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In round two of American Gangster vs. Bee Movie at the box office, the bees buzzed their way to the top. Bee Movie brought in an estimated $26 million in its second weekend, flip-flopping last week's results by edging out American Gangster's $24.3 million.

None of the weekend's new releases came close to challenging those two. Fred Claus brought in about $19.2 million to finish in third place, while Lions for Lambs was a very distant fourth with just $6.7 million. I suppose a lot of people must have agreed with those of you who said you don't necessarily enjoy contemporary political movies. Interestingly, the audience for Lions for Lambs skewed old, with two-thirds of its viewers over age 35.

Possibly the best news this weekend comes for No Country for Old Men. The Coen brothers' Western opened in just 28 theaters around the country, but it still brought in $1.2 million and finished at No. 14 for the weekend. It expands to more theaters this Friday and will be in wide release after Thanksgiving.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

• A priest who has been sending creepy letters to Conan O'Brien for over a year was arrested Friday and charged with harassment and stalking after attempting to attend a taping of Late Night. Maybe Conan can benefit from the writer's strike by hiding out for awhile. — The NY Times
• Rosie O'Donnell will not be starting her own primetime talk show, as negotiations with MSNBC have fallen through. At least she'll always have her blog. — AP
• Sales estimates of Jay-Z's latest album, American Gangster, project that the rapper with have his tenth #1 album next week. That probably means we'll be seeing an eleventh. — Reuters
• Rumored couple Ashley Olsen and Lance Armstrong apparently checked into NYC's SoHo House last weekend, although they booked separate rooms. Sounds like it was a pretty, wait for it, Full House. — Us Weekly
• Alec Baldwin has attracted attention for another set of rude comments that he directed towards his own NYC neighborhood, the Upper West Side, which he called dirty and crowded by too many midpriced restaurants. Apparently he was just expressing his views on "urban development," but he should probably learn to keep his mouth shut. — The Scoop

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I was excited to see the first preview track off Jay-Z's American Gangster over a month ago and since then I've been patiently sitting tight for the album's release yesterday. Now, here's another video to help whet your appetite. The track is called "Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)" and while it's no "99 Problems" (really, what is?), I think I like it better than the first release, "Blue Magic."

Now that the movie American Gangster is out, getting great reviews and dominating at the box office, I'm even more excited to hear what Jay-Z has made with his cinematic inspiration. Plus, ever since he admitted to being a bit silly with his multiple faux retirements, I love him more than ever. So sit back and enjoy the mini movie/music video. Then let me know what you think — are you excited to hear Jay's whole album? Or does it seem like a gimmick? Does it in any way play into your desire/lack thereof to see the movie?

To see Jay's new video just read more

Ridley Scott's gritty gangster drama easily took first place at the box office this past weekend, making American Gangster's opening weekend the highest-grossing for any R-rated crime drama in history. The film brought in a mighty $46.3 million over the weekend.

In second place was Seinfeld's Bee Movie, which also raked in an impressive amount: just over $39 million. Saw IV continued its reign of terror in third place, bringing in $11 million, while Dan in Real Life followed closely behind. 30 Days of Night rounded out the box office top five with $4 million.

This weekend Christmas comes early with Fred Claus. There will also be the Coen Bros. Western No Country for Old Men and the Robert Redford political drama Lions for Lambs opening nationwide.

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"The loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room." — Frank Lucas
This line from American Gangster basically sums up Denzel Washington's quietly powerful portrayal of Frank Lucas. Every move he makes — no matter how violent — is done with a frighteningly calm control. It is in this way that Lucas manages to bring his Harlem drug ring to be on par with that of the Italians' in gritty 1960s and 1970s New York. And this quiet calm is deeply effective, not just in terms of what Lucas accomplishes in the story, but in Washington's ability to command our attention every moment he's onscreen.

The narrative runs the stories of two men simultaneously. One follows Frank Lucas (Washington), the quiet driver to Harlem's leading crime boss. When the boss dies, Lucas sees this as an opening to take over his boss' position. He uses his own connections and cleverness to bring a purer drug to the city's streets and sells it at a lower price, thus creating a booming business and countless more addicts. A serious businessman, Lucas brings his family into the organization and uses his wealth to provide for his mother and wife. Meanwhile, Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is one of the few honest cops in a police force overrun by corruption, and he's on Lucas' trail. Bit by bit he gets closer to proving that Lucas is at the top of the crime chain and subsequently taking down Lucas' empire. That's not all there is to this film, though, so read more

The highly anticipated American Gangster hits theaters this Friday and while I can't wait to get to see the movie, I'm almost as excited just to hear all the great music used to set the tone for the film. We got a taste of the album Jay-Z is releasing inspired by just seeing a screening and now the production company has released an awesome widget with a taste of ten different songs from the movie's official soundtrack. The soundtrack starts out with Anthony Hamilton's "Do You Feel Me" written by Diane Warren and featured in the preview for the film and from there moves through John Lee Hooker, Public Enemy and more. Check it all out below.

To see the widget and get a taste for the movie's stellar soundtrack just read more