My weekend of crime was fairly interesting.

It made me wonder, just what is it with directors and their muses?

While I admit that some of these combinations work, I think that sometimes directors and actors have to break out of their comfort zones to work on other projects instead of sticking together. The much-hyped American Gangster reteams Ridley Scott with Russell Crowe and delivers a strong story with engaging character studies of its two protagonists. Character study aside, it's a story that we've seen before far superior movies like Infernal Affairs and Heat. American Gangster plays up the 'being bad is good' card but loses steam in the midway, which sucks. It would've been better if it was trimmed down.

The movie that won me over was David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises. Gripping, gory and dripping with malice throughout, it got me caught up from the start. The one thing that I forgot about watching Cronenberg movies is the gore...If you cannot stomach sudden spurts of violence and blood, then it's best to give this movie a pass. What worked was the hints of violence as well as the use of the victim as a narrator, it's such nuances that chills the blood. Although the characters in this movie and their mob ties can be a little confusing at times, you never lose sight of its purpose or plot. Very good.

Now to wait for No Country for Old Men...woo hoo!