haven’t seen the movie yet but I plan on it. I know Denzel did an excellent job he’s one of my favorite actors.
LL looks a mess now I know why he doesn’t wear suits. he can’t pull it off. it to slim in the legs but why are his legs so damn skinty when his torso all buff.
A.keys should always wear dark bottoms because you can’t tell she has tree stump legs in these black jeans. LOL
Brandy looks better but that damn outfit is just wack. LOL. I’m glad she got out of the ugly fog that was following her because it was taking a toll on her already funny face.

@74 — I agree with you… even though I am a Nas fan. Overall, our artists need to take responsibility for their impact on our community. And as for Nas’ “target audience” don’t just go by the picture of the (mostly white) crowd in Vegas. There just aren’t enough Black people here!!!

#71 The problem is is not Glamorizing the lifestyle AT ALL. Only someone ignorant would think that. It is showing how corrupt cops are and people it is about a man’s downfall.

Bonnie & Clyde
Jesse James
Ed Gein
Scarface
Al Capone
THe Godfather

All of these movies are showing people what not ot do it is Not in anay way glamorizing anything. THat’s like saying AMerican History X which is about a skinhead is glamorizing racism..uh no not at all all of these movies have messages and the messages are powerful. It is very shameful that people want to view these as glamorizing a life style as I said before Denzel didn’t want to be in it if that is what it did. There isn’t even a whole lot of violence in it.

The only movies that glamorize things would be those horror movies NOW THAT is glamorization. The killers in those movies kill people and most of the time there;s a sequal and they do it again.

Sorry for the grammatical errors I meant I agreed with what Nikki said before. I also meant American History X.

I also agree that movies like these are not glamorizing violence, if that is all you got out of it you completely missed the point.

I love Denzel and Don Cheadle they are both very versatile and can play any type of character. Although I have yet to see Denzel do comedy and Don Play a villian, but only time will tell.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I haven’t spoken to you in so damn long get at me you know how to reach me….love ya chica

@78 lily

You clearly took what i wrote out of context, cause first off, i was making a statement based on the “image” of frank lucas…if you read, i said i haven’t seen the movie….and when i was speaking about glamorization of gangsta films, i was responding to the names of the characters who had movies made in their honor from Nikki’s post …but i’m not going to repeat myself….i thought my point was clearly articulated and i knew that some people who saw the film would take what i said outta context…but one thing i do want to say in response to your statement: you said that wasn’t glamorizing and only someone ignorant would think that….please go to the jails and prisons and tell that to the hundreds of thousands of inmates who thought that shit was cool when they were playing characters like “frank lucas” out in the streets.

@75 T

And which men would those be who covet these women the most? The ones in your hood?

I can’t wai tfor Alicia’s album.

Brandy looks nice.

#7 Say it aint so! I really hope Superhead is not really making a movie, her second book was dreadfull and she think she’s an A-List celebrity.. poor thing

I’m sorry , but some of you guys have NO clue about drug-dealers. They don’t do that shit cuz they want to emulate anybody WTF. They do it because they feel like they have no choice or they are forced to do it and the other option is that they are influenced by friends.

I’ve seen no one trying to emulate Jesse James , Al Capone or any Black Mobster.

If you lead that type of life you either end up Dead, In Jail , Poor or far off in the witness protection program, but still poor. It is important to tell these types of stories to show the result of leading a life like that. veryting isn’t sugar coated. Shit the news is far more violent than any movie I’ve seen. The only people that profited off of this movie were the people involved Frank Lucas only got a house because Denzel bought him one. You have to remember that this is based on a New York Times Article so that writer would profit off of that and Frank would profit off of the writer that wrote the article in the NY TIMES years ago. You also have to remember that Richi Roberts that cop that was involve this movei was also about him.

LL is a undercover brother. LOL

To #7: Watch the movie or Google the guy and you’ll know why he’s no longer in prison
Brandy, I love you!

@87

First off, unless you have interviewed every drug dealer than you could not possibly verbalize for them all. Some young guys do emulate drug dealers cause they think it’s cool; some come from nice families and nice neighborhoods and don’t have to slang, get your facts straight. Example: In Sugar Hill, the young guy that was killed on the bike who had Wesley’s back got killed cause he looked up to Wesley and his brother; he wanted to be them, but yet, he came from a nice neighborhood and did not have to resort to that lifestyle, but he only did cause he thought it was cool; JUST LIKE A LOT OF OTHER YOUNG MALES HIS AGE….

And i said that some guys feel they have no choice, please read.

And you say it’s important to tell stories like these to show the outcome of that choice….yep, and yet these lifestyles prevail and are steadily increasing. I wonder why. Maybe because it’s as i said, and there’s a portion of society who view these characters as admirable in some way….no, i never said that was the purpose of the movie, but when you have certain people with certain mentalities viewing these character, they will no doubt every time, miss the point.

@ 77 - The crowd at Jet didn’t really even know who Nas is, for the most part. I even heard some girl saying, “Wow, there is gonna be rapper performing on this stage” wtf?! The event wasn’t promoted to the general public of las vegas, such as on urban radio and what not. The people that went to Jet last night were your average club goers that listen to dance and techno music that Jet often plays a lot. No one that I know who is a fan of Nas even knew about the show until I found out and told them. Because when Nas does play Vegas, his last show was sold out to a mostly black crowd. Nas was getting paid to show up to a club. I don’t know if he or his people were purposely trying to target a new or different audience, but I just think he wanted to get paid.

@43 - they can probably afford it, they’re just cheap as hell

I went to see the movie tonight. It was cool. I liked it for the most part.
I love Brandy’s hair but I hate her outfit. It looks a lil off to me. Maybe she isn’t rocking it right. I don’t know. It looks like it could be cute
Love Nas for reeeal. I look forward to his new album. Hope it isn’t disappointing
LL looks good for his age. He claim his lip licking isn’t contrived but I think it is. It was more sexy when he did it naturally. Now it’s like he’s trying too hard
I see Denzel got the s-curl action goin on. I still love him though

Frank Lucas is not to blame for the drug problems in our communities. FYI if Frank wasn’t doing what he was doing someone else would have done it regardless, the mafia or NYPD perhaps? There was just too much money to be made for someone not to do it. Frank Lucas just happened to be the first guy to think of it. Also the Vietnam War introduced blacks to heroin not Frank Lucas. The majority of people drafted in Vietnam were poor blacks who didn’t have a reason to not fight, such as college. If you weren’t going to college to be a doctor or a lawyer then chances are yo ass was gonna fight. To make a long story short the soldiers that were in Vietnam experimented with heroin, Frank heard about it and brought it to America, something the mafia was doing for years, only he had a better product right from the source. The mafia bought their supply from him, and distributed it. If Frank wasn’t selling the they would of got it from somewhere else, and still sell it. All I’m saying is whats going on with the drug problem today is bigger than just Frank Lucas. And was inevitable.

Despite the whole drug thing and murder thing, Frank lived his life with morals. I just find it ironic that a drug dealer can have more morals than a police officer…..then again I should know better.

And you say it’s important to tell stories like these to show the outcome of that choice….yep, and yet these lifestyles prevail and are steadily increasing. I wonder why. Maybe because it’s as i said, and there’s a portion of society who view these characters as admirable in some way….no, i never said that was the purpose of the movie, but when you have certain people with certain mentalities viewing these character, they will no doubt every time, miss the point.

______________________________________________________________________

You seriously have no clue if you think that Movies Books and Entertainment in general is the reason why we have crime in our neighborhoods. If people raised thier children better than maybe things would be better. Stop blaming the movies for the problems int he Black neighborhood. As I sais before most of these kids aren’t tryng to emulate anyone.

#90 Most of the people that are in these situations are not trying to emulate anyone I know from a personal family experience and growing up in that environment. Sure they would see a movie and like , but for the most part it does not influence their actions. If you go tot the jail cell and ask anyone why they did it, Trust me their answer won’t be because I saw a movie.

Take the movie Ray for example he was a drug addict and so we shouldn’t tell his story because people are going to want to be drug addicts. I also feel it is important to tell stories like these they don’t have happy endings and there is a reason why. Do you read books? Have you read Native Son? In the book Bigger Thoimas murdered and Killed a White woman, but it was an important and classic books. Violent movies and books should not be sugarcoated and thier stories should be told, because you or anyone else can learn a lot from them. If you feel like these books and movies influences your children then be a parent and talk to them about it or not let them watch it. Shit people look up to Freddy Kreugar and Michael Myers How many crazy psychopathic serial killers we have in the hood? Exactly.

#90 You can’t stop making a movie with a lesson because a very small portion of society may view it the wrong way. That’s like saying don’t sell the Harry Potter books because a very small portion of kids are going to want to join cults? Sounds silly doesn’t it? Statistics show that Entertainment Movies, Books and Music don’t influence young people as much as you think. People are moreso influenced by friends and family than movies or entertainment.

No this movie doesn’t glamorize it if it did he would’ve still been doing what he was doing today.

I’m glad that Black people are being a bit more mature about movies and not complaining that Denzel is playing a bad person. It’s called acting and as an actor it is good to challenge yourself and play different roles. Black people shouldn’t be limited to some type of box where they always have to play the morally good character. it’s great to show off your range. Kathy Bates was excellent in Misery she played a deranged psychotic lady and she won an Oscar for it.

J Scene -
Alicia looks very nice and I’m glad she doesn’t have to be a size 2 for her to be accepted personally. And it’s not just black men who adore that type of shape. My shape is similar (a bit taller) and I get love from a lot of groups. There is nothing wrong with being slender or thick, we come in all shapes and shades. I don’t think those who like that type of shape are limited to one area which is evident by Alicia’a Beyonce’s and Ashanti’s popularity with men. That’s why they are always on the covers of magazines. I totally respect your opinion and am sure that you are a pretty lady, but I think there are many who may disagree.

Alicia and Brandy look cute.

Nas and LL look good, especially Nas.

Frank Lucas looks pathetic.. Trust me, he is the least of our worries. Puff Doody having multiple kids with multiple women out of wedlock is more Dangerous!

The dropout rate of black males in high school is EXTREMELY dangerous!

The Down Low and untruthful black males that are having promiscuous sex is MORE DANGEROUS!!

Ghetto neighborhoods in Detroit and Maryland are DANGEROUS!!

So what if an Oscar winning actor portrays a gangster? Denzel is a FRIGGIN actor.. That is his job, stop sounding stupid and ignorant already! When white Oscar winners play the same roles - do white folks whine? NO!! It is their craft! Halle Berry didn’t win the Oscar because she was nude, it was because she was better than all the other females in that category. Trust me, I saw all the movies.

Denzel is a great actor and he plays complex characters very well. Sean Penn won the Oscar (He was a murderer in Mystic River), Tim Robins portrayed a Pervert and he won the Oscar as well, and Kevin Bacon was a Pedophile in The Woodsman. What is the big deal? You all are acting like black people can’t be gangsters or Prostitutes.. Please..

Change the way you look at things or black people will be left behind!

@ Jscene,

Of course you will have rogue dealers out there, but the vast majority become dealers because of their situations and environment.

Who more likely to become a dealer? A 12 year old in S. Hampton or a 12 year old from a broken down neighborhood in the Bronx? The child from S. Hampton may one day own the plane that brings the drugs in, but the seller will be a desperate lad or lass from the neighborhood whose mom is either working 2 jobs or she is a cracked out prostitute.

They pray on people who have weaknesses. Once you are in the game, the trick is being able to get out!

True once they are in the lifestyle, it seems glamorous, but they end up losing a lot more. I have yet to meet a dealer that pushed their family and friends to become dealers..

~~~~~~~~~~

90.

jscene

First off, unless you have interviewed every drug dealer than you could not possibly verbalize for them all. Some young guys do emulate drug dealers cause they think it’s cool; some come from nice families and nice neighborhoods and don’t have to slang, get your facts straight. Example: In Sugar Hill, the young guy that was killed on the bike who had Wesley’s back got killed cause he looked up to Wesley and his brother; he wanted to be them, but yet, he came from a nice neighborhood and did not have to resort to that lifestyle, but he only did cause he thought it was cool; JUST LIKE A LOT OF OTHER YOUNG MALES HIS AGE….

And i said that some guys feel they have no choice, please read.

And you say it’s important to tell stories like these to show the outcome of that choice….yep, and yet these lifestyles prevail and are steadily increasing. I wonder why. Maybe because it’s as i said, and there’s a portion of society who view these characters as admirable in some way….no, i never said that was the purpose of the movie, but when you have certain people with certain mentalities viewing these character, they will no doubt every time, miss the point.

American Gangster = DAMN GOOD.

DENZEL = STILL SEXY AS F*CK. I love his swagger and his suits were sharper than Diddy’s.

and why are we analyzing this movie like it’s a really bad thing? It’s a true story. What happened, happened. Not a fanatical story worshiping drug lords. I find it amazing that he build an empire in his own hood like that even though it had a terrible effect. It’s about the life he lived which was crazy. And the paranoia of living so large. Chilllll

idk, LL Cool aint sexy to me anymore.

stacey wrote:
“please people denzel aint all that anymore!!1….his wifey makes him look ugly…cant u guys see the way bee makes jay look fine…”
— — —

Not really.The fact that Bee looks good just highlights how ugly Jay-Z is with his camel lookin self and how she could have done better.

Brandy looks really nice. The hair really compliments her face. Her outfit is a bit different. She’s been going to a lot of fashion shows this past year and it seems her style has changed. We don’t understand it because, she’s a little bit ahead of the game. Everyone is wearing the same things right now whereas not many people, if any are rocking what Brandy is rocking. I bet you everyone will be wearing what she has on next year and wont even remember that Brandy started it. Do you Brandy!

@43 and 92 U just made cuz ur azz had to pay for it. ha ha ha

mad. lol

Alicia looks great…Paulette and Denzel look nice too.

In another life Denzel would be my husband…and if he was, I would have to pull an intervention between him and that damn S-Curl. Denzel: It’s not cute! It looks like a half wet half dry Jheri Curl. You are fine just as you are!!

Alicia Keys- looks good as always
Brandy- I used to think brandy was ugly back in the days of Moesha but know her look is growing on me and she looks beautiful
Frank Lucas-umm..did he have a stroke or something
Nas-whatever
LL Cool J- that a sexy a** u know what
Last but not least Denzel and wife- I really got to see that movie cause his is one of the most talented actors ever

American Gangster the movie was A DAMN GOOD MOVIE, even though it portrays a King Drug Lord. The story and the acting was Great. I agree Frank Lucas was a ruthless man and I sure hope it has made his peace and prayed and asked for forgiveness b/c what he did is disgraceful and very heartbreaking, BUT we have to admit thats what goes on in life WE CAN’T STOP the drugs from being on this Earth and we CANT STOP the selling and using of it, its just sad for some people.
Everyone has their own opinion, THATS JUST LIFE, I say give the movie a chance and if you havent seen it GO SEE IT and HAVE YOUR own opinion instead of listening to others !!!!
Other than that everyone looks nice!!!

AG was an excellent movie….Equal parts violence/dialogue….it’s a must see!!!! Please check it out….4.5 stars!!

American Gangster was just aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. I tried to see it Friday..but it was sold out EVERYWHERE. So, saturday night, I went to Muvico..got there at 8:30 p.m…..and couldn’t see it until 11:15 p.m. I was like…”Damn, is it that serious???” And I got in line at 10:00 p.m. to get seated. Arundel Mills mall hired a S.W,A.T. team to seat people. But, it was great to see hundreds of black folks supporting Denzel during the opening weekend!

I thought Russell Crowe and Cuba Gooding and Common and T.I. was excellent in the film. I wasn’t that impressed with Denzel’s performance. My boyfriend and I agreed that his performance reminded us of Denzel in Training Day. Same facial expressions and everything. I still love me some Denzel. Definitely no Academy Award for this one. I think Crowe may be nominated, however.

I want to add one more thing…..aside from Denzel’s portrayal….Frank Lucus was ingenious went it came to handling business and financial matters. The way he set up shop was amazing. Period. But he was ruthless. I will never condone drugs in the black community.

I like the way the movie ended. I know for sure Lucas had a hidden stash when he got out of prison in ‘91. I think he is still a wealthy man…even if the U.S. confiscated most of his assets.

Nas looks gorgeous!

WTF is Brandy wearing?

brandy look cute i’m feeling the outfit

the movie was awesome and I think it shows you can be at the top of the game as a drug lord and you will still fall down. Denzel did a great job as usual.

I saw the movie the day it first came out. Let me tell you when I say, the f*cking movie theater was packed. Good thing me and my fam’ got there real early. Anyway, the movie was damn good. Many people on here complaining how the movie glamorized Frank really didnt pay attention. The movie wasnt glamorizing anything but how this big time drug kingpin’s empire was taken down. Duh!!! Unlike Scarface and The Godfather which actually does glorify the gangster life. American Gangster will teach a lesson to all the fools who are living that life right now as we type. You live the high and good life, the gangster life now, but please believe your ass will be pay for every thing you have done.

P.S. Denzel Washington is a great actor and so is Russell Crowe.

I agree with Lily, Erik and Keyshia. If you havent seen the movie yet, why waste time commenting. Im just saying.

AMERICAN GANGSTER WAS GREAT!!!

People talking about Nas setting us back as far as African Americans, imo integration set us back, how can one man’s album title set a race of people back? We are African Americans, there’s a reason we get called African Americans, when someone says real Americans, they are not talking about black people. We need to understand the issues, stop kissing ass and trying to be accepted when you know they could care less about us. Get money with them, do what you have to do to survive in this capitalist society, but don’t turn your eyes away from the truth, real knowledge is not something you recieve in the typical United States school system. Your enemy from 40 years ago is still your enemy 40 years later.

clarkthink
Have you ever heard of assets being seized and legal bills that need to be paid.
I know some of you are young on this board but do a little bit of thinking.

Hate to spoil the movie. But to everyone who looks up to Gangsta and supports the Stop Snitching created by criminals/thugs just know that in the end of the movie Frank Lucas end up snitching too. He had a 70yr prison reduced to 15yrs.
That just proves that if you are willing to go along with the Stop Snitching ish your protecting thugs. All why these king pins are preaching “Lucas” did the same thing in the end. He should have practiced what he preached and took the years.

Man up to your ish you do the crime you do the time. Stop labeling it as snitching. Let these “hard core thugs’” (A WORD USED LOOSELY) man up to they ish.

he was on 106 and park and i swear he reminded me of almost every character he’s ever played…..he so damn down to earth and his swagger is ridiculous,lov e denzel….the movie was pretty good,it took a while to jump off but let me just say that from the shit denzel was doing in that movie ooooh weee frank lucas was no joke and even at 77 i wouldnt fuck wit frank.

nas look sexy as hell in those pictures real talk.

#125, he snitched on cops. Frank dont give a sh*t about no cops. Its not liked he snitched on his blood but on the crooked ass corrupt cops. Can you believe 75% of cops was in the drug business. The same people who are supposed to “protect” you are also trying to kill you.

I am going to see the movie because I am a mature adult of course my son nor I will take my 8 year old grandson to see it.
Another reason I am going is because I respect Denzel as a man and actor.
Sex and the city is a movie that repulses me more than this one, and if I can support that the I can support this (NOT!!!, I DIDN’T WATCH IT WHEN IT WAS ON HBO, I ALWAYS WONDERED WHY A SISTER WASN’T IN THE MIX AND NOT A TOKEN
EITHER).
As for Paulette whoever it is that continuously makes the nasty comments on this blog about her, she is someones mother and Denzels wife and they love her.
You probably don’t respect your own mother or maybe you were orphaned.(BY THE WAY WHAT DOES YOUR MOM LOOK LIKE 24/7, AND IS YOU DAD STILL LOVING HER AFTER MANY YEARS?????)
You can easily tell when immature children are responding because intelligent adults who not be thinking this way about someone who they don’t know or much less saying it.
ENJOY SUNDAY AFTERNOON ENTERTAINMENT CHILDREN!!!!

B-ROCKA…CAN’T WAIT FOR AN ALBUM…BRANDY IS BEAUTIFUL!!!! FRANK LUCAS IS A TRUE G!!!!! HE LOOKS LIKE HE IS ABOUT TO DIE…MNAYBE THAT”S WHY THEY MADE THE MOVIE…I’M SURPRISED HE LIVED SO LONG…He KILLED A LOT OF PEOPLE!

The movie is really NOT about Frank Lucas. If you’re looking for Scarface, The Godfather, or even Blow this is not the movie for you. The script was all over the place and really didnt give you any real insight into what made Frank Lucas into one the biggest American Gangsters…which is ridiculous considering the length of the movie. They should of called the movie AMERICAN NARCOTICS COPS…cause the movie spent more time on Richie Roberts played by Russell Crowe than Frank Lucas…which made it kind of corny….

127 i agree with you totally……fuckin pigs…they are all crocked to me,i don’t think any of them are in it to protect us,if anything to bring down as many black people as possible

i do believe that frank lucas still has money because in the documentary that car he was in looked a lil too nice,and he still just had this way about him that said “i get money,i get money” lol i could be wrong,maybe bet provided the car to him,but frank was a pretty smart man,i mean smart enough to tell on the right people and get his time reduced so i believe that he still had some money somewhere.

B’Rocka is beautiful!!,….i wasn’t feelin’ AG either.

Alicia always looks flawless.
LL still lookin yummy.
Hating Brandy’s outift, yunk. WTH was she thinkin?

Excellent footage. I’m am very happy that various governments were exposed, and have always been behind the drug trade and/or anything else illegal for that matter.

Love Denzel and I think him and his wife are a cute couple even though i’d rather have him

i TH0UGHT AM3RiCAN GANGST3R WAS A G00D M0VI3. i H0N3STLY D0NT THiNK D3NZ3L WAS TRYiN 2 GLAM0URiZ3 HUSTLiN BY ANY WAY, SHAP3 0R F0RM. H3 WAS JUST T3LLiN THA ST0RY 0F 0N3 MAN’S LiF3.

AM i THA 0NLY P3RS0N THAT THiNKZ PAUL3TTA L00KZ LiK3 SIST3R PATT3RS0N? LOL **T33 H33**

ALiCiA K3YS….L0V3 ALL H3R ALBUMZ. CANT WAiT 4 THA N3W 0N3. SH3′S SUCH A B3AUTiFUL P3RS0N.

love the love @ Denzel and his wife!

Frank Lucas should NOT be out of jail……………..OH ya’ll DIDN’T see him set a man on fire in that movie and SHOOT a man in the head with EVERYONE watching?! Oh ok.

Nas, LL, Alicia = HOT.

So there’s Brandy.

I want to have sex with Nas.

Hmmmmm…interesting comments re: Frank Lucas.

I am torn when it comes to Frank Lucas. I respect his ingenuity and smarts. I admire his style. I disrespect Frank Lucas for leading an onslaught of murder, AIDS and the decimation of “community” in Harlem. Did Frank Lucas contribute anything good for Harlem? Did he donate to education funds, non-profit organizations, recreation centers (this list can go on…)?

#138 Actually yes he did he contributed to the Black community the same way Bumpy Johnson did. He gave food to the poor as well as other things.

NAS LOOKS SO CUTE

Saw the movie yesterday and thought it was really good. A well made quality movie. Try to support instead of bootlegging it. The same people who will bootleg a black movie will happily pay the chinese folks to do their nails, the egyptians to do their hair and the arabs to buy food and liquor.

American Gangster was a HOT movie! Denzel really played his part well…Everyone did. Russel Crowe was good too, he covered his accent well. It’s definetly a movie to add to your DVD collection when it comes out on DVD

#100 Speaks the truth

Saw the movie…it was good…more about the detective Ritchie Roberts than Frank Lucas…must see if u can!

OOOOOOOOOOOOH, L.L.!!!!! How do you DO it?!? You’re FLYY even in a suit!!!! Getting better with time!!!!! Love you!!!!!

I luv Denzel I really do !…But Is it that he’s getting old or what cause he has not been looking that good to me lately, He’s never been the most gorgeous man but his swag is undeniably sexy, the walk the talk I mean the whole 9 yards, but … is it just me or does it look like he has false teeth? Please say it ain’t so Denzel! I still luv you but what’s really good?

I just saw the movie today it was good. Nas and keys look good. Sorry I cant say the same for frank.

Oh and Nas looks really good, @ first I thought it was a pic of him from back in the day, ’cause he has that slim baby faced look that he had back when he still had that chipped tooth! Alica Keys looks good, and so does Brandy. Not feelin Brandy’s outfit at all but everything else looks good on her.

People are not going to stop bootlegging movies. We as a people must support our black artist so that they can continue to get products made. So, if the movie is good enough, go to the theatre and see it as well.

NAS IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SEXY!!