I haven't seen "American Gangster" yet—the trailer looks kind of bleh. But Lou Lumenick's review in the New York Post is full of big blurbage. He compares "American Gangster" to "The Godfather" and "Scarface." He says Denzel Washington gives his best performance yet. (Yet?! Really???) He ends with big Oscar talk: "... one of the year's best movies—and surely a major Oscar contender."

Hm. Is this is like the time Roger Ebert called "The Cell" one of the best movies of the year? Wait. Maybe not. The rest of the nation's critics mostly love it, too. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone calls it a "major awards contender," though it's "long," "overstuffed" and "limited" (thanks, Peter). Joe Morgenstern of the WSJ is also reminded of "The Godfather." Manohla Dargis of the NYTimes seems mixed in her lead, though the rest of the review sort of collapses into a critique of simple hair-braiding.

What does this all mean?! I guess it's in the running for best picture, and I'm buying a ticket to see it this weekend.