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RZA recommended American Gangster (2007) in Movies (curated)

 
American Gangster (2007)
American Gangster (2007)
2007 | Drama

"And the last movie I want to recommend is a movie that I’m a part of and it’s called American Gangster. I started to say Man with the Iron Fists. [laughs] Man with the Iron Fists because of the power of dreams, to show that a kid who watched movies and loved movies could one day grow and work with his favorite actors, and bring a movie to life. But that’d be number six, alright? Number five would be American Gangster, because not only is it a film that I’m a part of, but the reason I’m so invested into this movie is because Hollywood invested over $100 million into a black man’s story. This doesn’t happen a lot. It’s a story that captured a time in Harlem when drugs were rampant, music was growing, this whole culture was building up. And even though it shows a negative black man, it still showed the same thing The Godfather showed: the power of family. He did it for family. And it also showed the genius of the black criminal mind when it comes to being an entrepreneur and branding. He had a brand. And being a guy that started a brand like Wu-Tang Clan, when I heard how he made his brand Blue Magic and how he tried to protect his brand, and how he had to fight against others who were infringing upon his brand, it really resonated with me. Denzel Washington gave a great performance, Russell Crowe did as well, and that was a big breakout role for me as well, that movie."

Source
  
White Hot Kiss
White Hot Kiss
Jennifer L. Armentrout | 2019 | Young Adult (YA)
10
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This will be my third book by the author, fourth if we class her writing as J. Lynn, and I've liked all of them so the chance to read anything by her is a big YES PLEASE!

After reading both this and Covenant, I've noticed that she likes to write love triangles into her stories. I don't have a problem with them and gladly cheer on for whichever guy I want the heroine to be with. In this I was Team Roth from early on. Zayne might have been the guy Layla'd been dreaming of for years but he never really seemed to want her in that way (or he was just very good at hiding it) and treated her a lot like a close friend or little sister. Roth on the other hand always seemed to be there when she needed him and he teased and flirted and could kick arse, being what he was: Upper Level Demon.

I feel I have to mention Bambi, too. She was cool! Who wouldn't her watching over you?

I also feel like I have to mention Petr. I'm glad about what happened to him, he wasn't a nice guy so he deserved everything he got.

As for the story, I get Layla's feelings of not really belonging to either side. Being born half demon and half warden, Layla struggles in her attempts to fit in with the people--Warden's--who've raised her. Half the Warden's don't like her presence and want her gone while the other half treat her like family. As for being half demon, she's been tagging them for the past God knows how many years and feels more of a Warden and keeps being told she's a Warden. But as the story progresses, she begins to question everything she's ever known and the people around her.

The more I read of the book, the more I fell in love with Roth. He was amazing and just for that last 10% or so this is getting five stars from me. I cried; tears silently falling down my cheeks more or less continuously for the time it took me to finish the story. Crikey!

I need to read the next in the series to figure out what happens next with these guys.

If you're a fan of the author then this shouldn't be missed. If you haven't read anything by Jennifer L. Armentrout and like YA paranormal romances then you should really pick up one of her books, they're really good.