Body of Lies: Unabashedly Unpatriotic
Iraq. I’m sick of it. You’re tired of it. In the new espionage thriller Body of Lies, Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe are sick and tired of it, and our whole country is fed up with “the moment of silence at the ball games,” as Crowe says in the role of the head of the Middle East branch of the CIA.
Body of Lies by director Ridley Scott pays audiences the compliment of delivering consistently intelligent fare, often about real (or at least real-ish) figures. He dares to get across a palpable sense of Iraq fatigue. Which is another way of saying that Scott practically invites the audience to go see the talking Chihuahua picture instead.
The movie does better in atmosphere than it does in the mechanics of its action scenes, which range from improbable to extremely improbable. DiCaprio, wearing a deeply suspicious chin beard meant to make him look like an Arab, plays Ferris, a spy posted in Iraq on the trail of an inflammatory cleric, Al Saleem, who is promising much mayhem. Barking orders at him from Langley is Crowe’s Hoffman, a chunky, chuckling Southerner in a brush cut who waddles around his kids’ soccer games ordering Ferris into increasingly hairy situations, sometimes without telling Ferris exactly what’s going on.
The effort to make Crowe and DiCaprio equally important figures doesn’t really work; Crowe is effectively a mere voice on the phone and we don’t really even need to lay eyes on his character, who keeps flying in to meet with Ferris for superfluous personal sitdowns.
I hope it was another $75 million dollar production and I hope Ridley Scott and DiCaprio put up a lot of their own money for this.
It will be praised by the critics and it might break $100,000 CONUS.
Don’t these asshats ever learn? I hope not.
” At the halfway point, Ferris hits on a fascinating scheme: he decides to set up a fake terrorist group, use it to bomb a real American building in Turkey and have the fake terrorists claim credit for the attack — a move he hopes will draw Al-Saleem out to hook up with his newfound brothers in Jihad.”
This movie gonna be a hit in Middle East and Europe.
Terrorists? What terrorist? Its all Bushzionisthaliburtoncianeoconsaudiunocal conspiracy!!
This movie sounds worth missing. I’m sick of Hollywood nihilism and negativity.
Here’s a better option – go see Taken. I loved it – the ex-CIA agent is the good guy. The Albanians and the big fat sheikh are the baddies. And the French is the lily livered traitor. Can’t really ask for more. And Neeson open ups a mighty big can of Whup-Ass! Excellent.
I saw American Carol in the theater with my family. Watching suicide bomber training films was worth the price of admission.
This movie won’t even make the rental list.
Kyle, Does DiCaprio’s character get killed by the evil American Empire? I might go to see that if my wife pays.
This morning’s NPR review (some clown from the LA Times, I think) was bitching about this movie, too. He said that it treated Iraq “too obliquely”. Translation: He didn’t like it because it wasn’t anti-american ENOUGH.
ANY DiCaprio movie is not for me. And unlike American Carol, I’m sure the critics will love it. Fools.
Hey Guys – I hope none of you were in the other discussion on “American Carol” trashing critics – those slimy jerks. Because, guess what? Kyle Smith – the author of this film review – has written a critique of a . . . FILM! Is he an irrelevant, moronic, intellectual, waste of skin? It seems like you commenters actually read it and were influenced by it.
What a bunch of self-righteous hypocrisy.
Someone75,
It’s the malicious anti-Americanism and negativity that’s the common thread, you moron.
Someone75
That’s like the IQ, not your age?
Haha – you people are so sad. I’ll try to use small words so you can understand. It’s so easy to get you clowns worked up. Looks like small town, value driven America needs to broaden its horizons. There’s more to life than guns, tractors, and NASCAR. But go ahead and keep calling me a moron. I have a masters degree, but I’m guessing the average level of academic achievement in PJMedia is a GED.
Oh go see the Chihuahuas instead. At least you’ll know when you are supposed to laugh.
Someone75: but yet you have to go belittle people in the comments sections on blogs to feel intelligent. Fascinating. Dead end job in a completely unrelated field, I’m guessing.
This movie does sound like one worth missing. Which is too bad. Looked somewhat interesting.
Someone75,
“Haha – you people are so sad.”
Why so angry? Is it because you only have sock puppets and 50 year old friends who still live in their parents basement just like you.
“I’ll try to use small words so you can understand.”
My, my, my…aren’t you so all high and mighty. I discovered long ago that the ability to use a dictionary and a thesaurus is not an indication of intelligence or the capacity for cognitive thought. As any woman might tell you it isn’t the size, it is how it is used. In fact the more sanctimonious and pontificating the post the smaller the mind behind it.
“Looks like small town, value driven America needs to broaden its horizons.”
That is a rather humorous statement coming from someone who is so obviously a resident of the gated “reality-based community” of the mind. If you truly want to see a narrow minded bigot take a look in the mirror, hun.
“There’s more to life than guns, tractors, and NASCAR.”
There is more then life then IPods, Priuses and Starbucks.
“But go ahead and keep calling me a moron.”
There is no need to. You are doing a fine job of making that quite obvious to all.
“I have a masters degree, but I’m guessing the average level of academic achievement in PJMedia is a GED.”
Big deal. I have a Masters degree, too. I know a couple of people just like you. You sound just like them. They both have Doctorates in Physics. One lives in a cave in northcentral Washington state and the other drives a school bus. Neither one of them can cope with the real world yet have nothing but disdain for everyone but themselves. It helps them feel better about being total losers. Just. like. you.
It was a marvelous performance as one could imagine by Leonardo DiCaprio. Well made movie that has many interesting discovers. As an action drama it was highly professional film. Love it so much. Enjoyed every second of the movie I m watched Movies Here http://www.80millionmoviesfree.com
i always use it to watch the latest movies for free I’ve recommended it to a lot of people on here and I’ve gotten good reviews
Nahanni:
Just having a little fun. Sorry to provoke you into a detailed point-by-point response
It’s just so hard to resist when you guys set me up with such great material.
I fully support your ability to be as wrong and foolish as you want to be. America is a great country, even for the unfortunates like your supposed Physics PhDs. Great point though – all PhDs are miserable people who can’t cope with life. I *am* a total loser. How did you know?
No – actually I’m a proud centrist who is having fun at your expense. The funny thing is, if you people stopped getting so red-faced, my posting would lose all the amusement. In the mean time, I’ll continue because my friends love to see what sort of goofy stuff you guys will say next.
Have a nice day
someone 75 I think, as a fellow centrist, that you are a jerk. I only have a BS in education and agriculture, but hey, it isn’t the degree that matters…and if you are such a centrist you should be able to see all sides, and the various postings I’ve seen from you all seem very weighted left, better take a look at where the real center is…the line that amazes me the most though is “my friends love to see what sort of goofy stuff ou guys will say next…” that makes you like a scary loser type person, especially if your friends actually want to talk about your postings on blog sites…please go and get a real life, k? Nahanni hit the nail on the head…,
Ok,ladies, keep mewling and puking over this film while Pelosi is calling congress back to spend billions on more give aways.. a giant step forward to national socialism. Nazi?
If Obama wins time to get out of stocks go all cash and wait for interest rates to quickly go to double digits when the second term of Jimmy Carter is up and running. I liked the Cuba health care scene in An American Carol it may soon be coming to a hospital near you. To all lefties and not the hand you write with you dumb dopes if you are so smart maybe you can find Barack’s birth certificate, Illinois senate records, Harvard thesis and grades, etc. We knew more about Sarah Palin in 24 hours than we know about Barack period thanks to the mainslime media. Why doesn’t someone tell Pelosi where she can put her stimulus package it doesn’t stimulate me one bit.
You got me at Dennis DiCaprio’s fake chin beard!
Come on, this punk will never sprout any REAL facial hair. This pundit of the Gorebull pulpit obviously needs a seroius clue. Maybe when he finally drops, we will understand him better, as opposed to his whipsy dried yet crackling voice when he is “acting”.
And Crowe? I am surprised we didn’t hear some saucy insider gossip prequil typical Hollyfood self-centered glamorizing hype about how he “punched” some insignificant layperson for some trivial hyped up thing (like: the attendant did not prepare his oil and vinegar colonic at a brisk 86 degrees Fahrenheit [30 degrees Celcius for all you foolish dim-witted backwoods non-Eurocentric American fools] and therefore, Russy picked up his air-sickness bag and slapped the undocumented worker in the face…”
Call me when they pull Steve McQueen’s or Lee Marvin’s brains out of the cryogenic freezer for cloning. I will feign interest in what was once Hollywood.
sure grate story it is
and story is written just as according to the novel
enjoyed it by me athttp://www.80millionmoviesfree.com
view from afar:
I tried posting very neutral, polite comments. I tried to have grown up discussions. I tried to see both sides, admit when I agreed with other people, and to state my case respectfully.
What did I get? Only the most petty insults, personal attacks, and flames. I found that the majority of posters weren’t interested in a debate. Marc Malone seems to have decent things to say and I’ve had a reasonable exchange or two with him. Other than that, it’s completely vicious.
So, I decided to respond in kind. What a shame people here cannot tolerate opposing views.
Oh yes, and re: my comment about discussing postings with my friends – we all have the right to a little amusement sometimes. If you don’t see the humor inherent in the majority of these postings, I don’t think you’re reading them very thoroughly. So much posturing, so much anger – it’s more amusing than you realize.
mI thought that hollywood was in the business to make some money?
someone 75
I think you have us confused with your angry psycho liberal buddies as this video demonstrates how “intellectual” you all are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQalRPQ8stI
Someone 75, you are delusional
When did you try posting anything neutral, or intelligent?
Certainly not on this thread. You came looking for a fight (not fun), and you got it. That’s the way it goes.
All the anger and posturing seems to be coming from you. Surely you and your pals have better things to do with your lives than waste time here, if it’s so awful—or do you?
As Sheila says, you’re delusional. But, do keep it up! You’re more amusing than your realize.
Certainly,people who amuse themselves, and their buddies, by making stupid posts on blogs they don’t like can’t have much a life.