Body of Lies (Ridley Scott/DiCaprio/Crowe)

[Bim]

50% on RT is more than enough to see this movie, especially if you were really anticipating seeing it no matter what.

-TNC

Well even if RT says 0%, if i want to go see a movie i go see it

I'm intrigued by this one, and i'll be checking it out for sure t:

 

[TNC9852002]

I give Body of Lies a 7.75/10

-TNC

 

[bunk]

Is it better than American Gangster? Not that it matters since I haven't seen that either.

 

[Bunker]

I give Body of Lies a 8/10

-TNC

Is that it? At least give us some pros and cons.

 

[TNC9852002]

Is it better than American Gangster? Not that it matters since I haven't seen that either.

lol. Um...They're completely different movies, so, I really couldn't compare them using the same scale.

I'd say, they're on the same level more or less. American Gangster might be half a increment down. Like, if Body of Lies is a 8/10, AG would get a 7.75/10

Is that it? At least give us some pros and cons.

Cons:
-The movie is a suspense/thriller. It's not an action movie like some may think. It's not a particular con for me, but it could be for others.
-The movie has a relatively slow pace, even for suspense film.
-Clocking in at 128 minutes, the movie could've lost ten of them.
-The movie is a tad conventional and gets predictable once the story gets going.
-The thematic material may be threaten some audiences.

Pros:
-Ridley Scott. He's great at details, picking locations, getting great shots and has a knack for visually stimulating the screen, even when nothing's happening. The action is few and far between, but also real, gritty, and captivating.
-RusDiCaprio. They're a hell of a team here, even though they only share a handful of scenes together. Great acting out of the two. Both equally strong in their own way.
-Even for a slow suspense movie, it almost never drags. This feeling is supported by the nice score provided by Marc Streitenfeld.

Hmmm..Maybe I could knock this down to a 7.75 and AG to a 7.5/10, now that I realize that there were a few more cons that I'd realized..

-TNC

 

[bunk]

lol. Um...They're completely different movies, so, I really couldn't compare them using the same scale.

I'd say, they're on the same level more or less. American Gangster might be half a increment down. Like, if Body of Lies is a 8/10, AG would get a 7.75/10

-TNC

That's cool. I thought maybe one had the edge in acting or just a better script.

 

[Nirvana]

Hmmm, I'm planning on going with a few friends tomorrow, I look forward to it. I'll give my thoughts tomorrow night sometime.

 

[Matt]

I saw it. Didn't really care for it, which sucked because I was waiting quite some time to see this.

 

[Warhammer]

I'll check this one out.

 

[Spider-Fan]

It was slow at the beginning, and a few minutes probably could have been cut from the movie. I also see some of its politics turning some viewers off from it.

However, I quite enjoyed it. The movie got interesting toward the middle. Great acting. Movie was well directed (expected from Scott, though). It does get predictable, as stated by someone else, but the story is still enjoyable.

7.5 or 8 would be my rating.

 

[sshuttari]

Finally an above average political thriller that is effective and surprisingly politically neutral. That's not to say it won't irk those on the far reaches of either aisle in addition to the always irritable Iranian government. But, Body of Lies is a plot driven espionage thriller that demonstrates the basics of what Western intelligence has done right and wrong in the post 9/11 era without being preachy or shoving too much at the audience.

The movie follows Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio), an operative trying to gather intel on Islamic terrorist cells to get to the head: Al- Saleem. He works closely with local contacts wherever he goes, only to find that his boss, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) finds them useful but disposable. After losing such a friend in Iraq, Ferris travels to Jordan to head up the U.S. Intelligence operations there. In Jordan he befriends Hani (Mark Strong), the head of Jordanian Intelligence, who places more value on patience and trust than speed and technology.

Anyone who read the title of the movie can guess the basics of what happens next: Ferris gets caught in a web of lies, some created by him, some by his boss, and he struggles to do the right thing and break free from all he has constructed. The lies are actually relatively simple and easy to keep track of. There isn't betrayal upon betrayal which so many movies get caught up in these days, but the pacing does suffer due to a plot that forces itself to be intricate when it would be better served by simplicity.

There is a point about halfway through the movie where Ferris comes up with the idea to construct a fake terrorist cell to challenge the cell they are going after. The idea isn't all that bad, but it basically restarts the plot instead of building it. The pacing of Body of Lies is suspect with plenty of these moments. Ferris doesn't seem to learn much from the err of his ways until the very end, so the characters, while compelling, are also stagnant for most of the movie.

Still, the performances are excellent if not extraordinary. DiCaprio has established himself as the best young actor out there for quite sometime now. His command of different voices, different languages (I've never heard a southerner speak Arabic as well as he does in this movie), and different mannerisms make him a consummate professional. Crowe, in my opinion one of the top few actors working today, is underused in what is really a smaller role than what the trailers showed. I guess every Ridley Scott movie just has to have Maximus in it. The two biggest standouts are Mark Strong, who plays the Jordanian Intelligence Head just serious and slick enough to make you wonder what his interests really are, and Golshifteh Farahani, who is the first Iranian born actress to appear in a Hollywood flick since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Incidentally Mrs. Farahani can't return to her native Iran until the court sees the movie and then decides what to do with her passport.

Admittedly, the love interest of Aisha played by Farahani seems a bit forced. Are Ferris' feelings for a woman really the only thing that can humanize him and realize that maybe he hasn't been doing things the right way this whole time?

9/10

 

[TNC9852002]

The trailers that played in front of my showing:

-Valkyrie
-Defiance (brand new version)
-Bedtime Stories
-Yes Man
-Changeling
-Pride & Glory

-TNC

 

[dude stannis]

Any noticable reactions to Valkyrie and Defiance?

 

[TNC9852002]

Well, not really...The soundstage that I was in holds about 500 people and there were only about 45 people in the there all spread apart, so, it'd be hard to hear any strong reaction to something like that.

-TNC

 

[Sawyer]

What the **** just happened?!

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=49650

Four new movies opened in wide release this weekend but despite a plethora of starpower and strong genres, nothing was able to dethrone Disney's Beverly Hills Chihuahua, which remained on top with an estimated $17.5 million to bring its total to $52.4 million.

The biggest surprise of the weekend might have been the R-rated horror movie Quarantine (Screen Gems) winning the weekend over Ridley Scott's latest Body of Lies, despite its dual starpower in Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. The Screen Gems horror movie brought in an estimated $14.2 million in 2,461 theaters, averaging $5700 per site, while Scott's political thriller ended up with $13.1 million in 250 more theaters.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua?! What?!

 

[Doctor Jones]

My God. I just heard. How can a damn chihuahua beat freaking Ridely Scott?!!

 

[The Sage]

Saw it yesterday and enjoyed it.

 

[Bunker]

What the **** just happened?!

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=49650


Beverly Hills Chihuahua?! What?!

I'm losing all hope in humanity.

 

[bullets]

I just got back after seeing this in a theatre that was about 2/3 full. The trailers begin
we got Transporter 3 , Yes man , Pride and Glory , and Valkerie.

This was a solid effort and the cast did a good job . I think Leo really shined in this performance and that his character was believable. there were some suprisingly brutal action sequences and i thought the alliance of Hani and Leo's characters were engaging . The atmosphere was shot and captured perfectly . I don't think this was a great movie but it did have good performances , there was a decent storyline with some twists that could have been more explored , it was entertaining . I think the torture images will last in my mind .

 

[dude stannis]

My God. I just heard. How can a damn chihuahua beat freaking Ridely Scott?!!

The commies turning the US into a smoking crater would be good right adout now.

 

[Cinemaman]

Edit: the wrong thread

 

[Doctor Jones]

lol. Um...They're completely different movies, so, I really couldn't compare them using the same scale.

I'd say, they're on the same level more or less. American Gangster might be half a increment down. Like, if Body of Lies is a 8/10, AG would get a 7.75/10


Cons:
-The movie is a suspense/thriller. It's not an action movie like some may think. It's not a particular con for me, but it could be for others.
-The movie has a relatively slow pace, even for suspense film.
-Clocking in at 128 minutes, the movie could've lost ten of them.
-The movie is a tad conventional and gets predictable once the story gets going.
-The thematic material may be threaten some audiences.

Pros:
-Ridley Scott. He's great at details, picking locations, getting great shots and has a knack for visually stimulating the screen, even when nothing's happening. The action is few and far between, but also real, gritty, and captivating.
-RusDiCaprio. They're a hell of a team here, even though they only share a handful of scenes together. Great acting out of the two. Both equally strong in their own way.
-Even for a slow suspense movie, it almost never drags. This feeling is supported by the nice score provided by Marc Streitenfeld.

Hmmm..Maybe I could knock this down to a 7.75 and AG to a 7.5/10, now that I realize that there were a few more cons that I'd realized..

-TNC

I just saw it. I thought it was great. And I do agree with this. It could of lost ten minutes. But yeah, Crowe and DiCaprio were great! But damn, that torture scene. A great film. I also loved the score. Did anyone get a Bourne vibe when that music kicked in? That one "dininnnnnnn" cue?

8/10

 

[Golgo-13]

What was the torture scene and who was being tortured?

 

[Lord Blackbolt]

Wow...this is a big bomb for all involved. I thought the teaming of all three would guarantee 100 million easy

 

[Doctor Jones]

What was the torture scene and who was being tortured?

Spoiler

DiCaprio was being tortured. Though there were an assortment of other torture scenes. But DiCaprio's was the worst. All I can say is goddamn.