Ugly Betty

Ugly Betty is a very colorful prime time drama. And it is in fact very dramatic, at times overly so. This show is very reminiscent of a spanish soap opera (if you have never had the pleasure of watching one of those you should definitely check it out, even if you can't understand a word it's still hysterical). Ugly Betty is about a nerdy looking, non-fashionable girl who gets a job at a top fashion magazine (think Vogue) as the assistant to the editor-in-chief. Because she doesn't fit the perfect cookie cutter image of everyone else at the magazine she has a very hard time in the beginning, but because of her determination and thinking outside of the box she manages to find her place. She also becomes indispensable to her boss. But the show is not only about her; there's an ongoing plot for a hostile take over of the magazine by the very evil Wilhemena Slater (played by Vanessa Williams), a murder mystery, a rich alcoholic woman going to jail, and a transsexual. This show is pretty funny, you should definitely check it out.

Airs: Thursdays @ 8:00PM on ABC

American Gangster

American Gangster is the gripping story of a black man who went from being a driver to being one of the most powerful and dangerous men in the streets of Harlem. Based on the true story of the life of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), we follow Frank's rise to the top of the food chain when it came to drug lords and crime bosses. Frank starts running a systematic operation out of Harlem while bringing his family (Common, T.I., Chiwetel Ejiofor) from North Carolina in to help him. Business starts booming.

Enter Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) - a cop from New Jersey who has just been put in charge of a special drug unit, leading an investigation into the rising drug problem in the streets. Frank and Richie are two passionate individuals on a collision course throughout the movie. Frank's situation gets messy when he starts feeling the rival drug lords (Cuba Gooding Jr.), the Mafia (Armand Assante), crooked cops (Josh Brolin), and Richie, all breathing down his neck. How far will Frank go and how long will his reign last?

Denzel Washington(Glory, Training Day) gives us another amazing performance worthy of another Oscar while Russell Crowe(Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) shines in his role. This is a movie which will make you root for the bad guy until the very end. Director Ridley Scott(Gladiator, Black Hawk Down) brings us a masterpiece which will go down as a classic crime drama with the likes of GodFather and Scarface. The discussion is no longer Corleone or Montana, it's Corleone, Montana or Lucas.

Released: November 2, 2007