A Great, Great Gangster Film

Rating: 10/10 (13 February 2008)

No Oscar nominations for Washington, Crowe, or Scott? Are you fricking kidding me? And I was becoming convinced that the Academy had turned things around with its celebration of Martin Scorsese's The Departed. Washington's performance of Frank Lucas is twice as good as his portrayal of Alonzo in Training Day. What are we getting tired of phenomenal performances? This is Crowe's best work since "A Beautiful Mind" people. And what about Ridley Scott, he hasn't been right on the money like this since Gladiator. And what does this film get? Two nominations. Not eight, not five, two. This is the film to buy this year, alongside We Own the Night and Gone Baby Gone. I admit, I don't love every single film that Denzel has done but I can't ever question the quality of his performances, even if I didn't like that particular picture. But I loved this one. I loved him, I loved the fact that it was a real story, and I loved how it was told. You can't expect any more from a film than that. As far as I'm concerned, this was the best film of 2008.