Hello, boys and girls. Once again it's time we take a peek at everyone's favorite part of going to the movies: coming attractions.

American Gangster
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Armand Assante, Chiwetal Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding Jr., Josh Brolin

Smell that? I smell me Oscar nominations. I wrote it before, I'll write it again. This movie has "Best Picture" nomination written all over it. This isn't the first time Denzel and Crowe have teamed up. They went mano a mano in a really crappy movie called Virtuosity. While the movie was bad, the actors weren't (especially Crowe) but I'm expecting some real sizzle this time around. This is a strong trailer, slickly produced by the marketing team. It successfully sells the movie to a wide arrange of audiences. I've seen this trailer a bunch of times in the theater in many different locations and you can feel it in your seat... people are down for this.

The subject matter, apparent sophistication and actors will draw the adults. The genre will attract younger folks, and having Jay-Z's "Heart of the City" to play the trailer up can't hurt.

This looks to be a pretty big hit and the word is very strong. I was able to do a round table with Ridley Scott at Comic-Con last July and I can tell you he seemed pretty pumped, telling us he was as excited about it as he has been about any other film "in a long time."

Watch the trailer here.

The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford
Directed by: Andrew Dominik
Starring: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Robert Duvall

You gotta admire the pair on director Andrew Dominik. Not only does he make an (allegedly) unconventional, thoughtful Malick-like western ... but he slaps the worst title he could possibly find onto an already hard-to-sell film. Why not just call it The Assassination of a Movie No One Will See Because the Studio Is Basically Abandoning the Film Because They Don't Know How To Sell It and It Has the Worst Possible Title Director Andrew Dominik Could Find On God's Green Earth Which Is The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford? I mean, if you're going to go for it, really go for the jugular. Otherwise you're just another The Englishman Who Went Up The Hill But Came Down a Mountain.

It's a shame because this is one of my absolute most anticipated films of the year now. From the looks of this trailer, it appears this is going to be the richest, most visually poetic treat of the year. The Terrence Malick comparisons seem apt. Will it equal a great movie? I hope so. I love the imagery, it almost floats along with the music (which may or may not be from the film). This and Across The Universe rank as the very best coming attractions for fall of 2007.

Watch the trailer here.

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