'American' made

The creepiest aspect of "American Gangster," the new mob movie starring Denzel Washington, is how the "AG" in question milked our economic system for all it was worth. My review in The Washington Times notes this sad truth, and it also expresses my disappointment that "AG" isn't a modern mob classic. Looks like some critics are saying otherwise, throwing the film into the early Oscar ring. Washington is a great actor, but I hope he's not turning into the new Meryl Streep. For a while, it seemed any performance she gave was deemed Oscar-caliber (does anyone remember "Music of the Heart?"). Washington's performance as real mob king Frank Lucas is solid, not revelatory. And I'm guessing we'll have seen five better performances from men before the year ends.