John_Acrob
Joined Jul 2006
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Reviews5
John_Acrob's rating
The war in the Middle East. It is a war we cannot win, because for the most part, it is too complicated to even understand. Perhaps we shouldn't be involved... Or maybe we should. Who's to say? That is, in essence, what Body of Lies seems to say. In fact, that is in essence, what every film about the conflict in the Middle East has had to say over the last five years. The problem is Body of Lies doesn't have a new, innovative or particularly interesting way to get that idea across.
In fact, even though Ridley Scott was once one of the great pioneers in film-making, this movie adheres to every filmic convention possible when it comes to a film set around terrorism in the Middle East. The music, the fast cuts, the shaky camera angles... It's all been done a thousand times.
Body Of Lies main port of call seems to be an unflinching view of paranoid reality in the Middle East. Leonardo DiCaprio's character understands that reality, kill or be killed. He is the protagonist but he kills a basically innocent man in the first fifteen minutes of the film because the man could have described his face. That is interesting and realistic and I was impressed. However, just as The audience feels as though it may be treated to a raw, gritty view of the Middle Eastern conflict... Without giving anything away... It turns into just another Hollywood movie towards the end.
Leonardio DiCaprio is a good actor. One day he might be regarded as one the greats. But he tries too earnestly to be tough in this film. He is still baby faced and relies on furrowing his brow and glaring all too often. I can't be sure if this was the direction he received or his own idea, but he simply wasn't convincing. Also we have seen his tough, jaded yet still-a-good-man thing before in Blood Diamond, where frankly, he did a better job.
What to say about Russel Crowe? He plays a character named Ed Hoffman, a high level CIA operator who heads up several large scale organizations in the Middle East. His character was, I suppose, important to the film, but I didn't really take anything significant away about him. His character is pig-headed, untrustworthy and arrogant. There was potential there for something interesting. But did his character really serve a purpose other than the plot? I'm not so sure. They certainly gave him some antique dialog. "Aint no one innocent in this s___", for example.
That example right there does somewhat illustrate the strength of William Monahan's writing in this film. There wasn't really one line of dialog in the whole 128 minute runtime that to me stood out as original or interesting. There were admittedly a few moments of humor which were a pleasant respite, but apart from that the writing was pretty by-the-numbers. David Ignatious' novel might have been good enough to build a decent film around, but I guess no one was interested in doing anything different.
Body Of Lies is a movie which everybody will respond to differently. Many will like it much more than I did, many will dislike it much more than I did. Personally I just felt underwhelmed by the whole thing. It was average, and if it were some other director, I wouldn't even bother writing a review. I would think ho-hum and go about my day. But Ridley Scott used to make such brilliant films and I just can't understand why he's stuck to formula so much in Body Of Lies.
We have seen this exact movie at least half a dozen times before. Filmmakers need to go about this type of film in a new, more unique way. Otherwise they should just stop trying.
In fact, even though Ridley Scott was once one of the great pioneers in film-making, this movie adheres to every filmic convention possible when it comes to a film set around terrorism in the Middle East. The music, the fast cuts, the shaky camera angles... It's all been done a thousand times.
Body Of Lies main port of call seems to be an unflinching view of paranoid reality in the Middle East. Leonardo DiCaprio's character understands that reality, kill or be killed. He is the protagonist but he kills a basically innocent man in the first fifteen minutes of the film because the man could have described his face. That is interesting and realistic and I was impressed. However, just as The audience feels as though it may be treated to a raw, gritty view of the Middle Eastern conflict... Without giving anything away... It turns into just another Hollywood movie towards the end.
Leonardio DiCaprio is a good actor. One day he might be regarded as one the greats. But he tries too earnestly to be tough in this film. He is still baby faced and relies on furrowing his brow and glaring all too often. I can't be sure if this was the direction he received or his own idea, but he simply wasn't convincing. Also we have seen his tough, jaded yet still-a-good-man thing before in Blood Diamond, where frankly, he did a better job.
What to say about Russel Crowe? He plays a character named Ed Hoffman, a high level CIA operator who heads up several large scale organizations in the Middle East. His character was, I suppose, important to the film, but I didn't really take anything significant away about him. His character is pig-headed, untrustworthy and arrogant. There was potential there for something interesting. But did his character really serve a purpose other than the plot? I'm not so sure. They certainly gave him some antique dialog. "Aint no one innocent in this s___", for example.
That example right there does somewhat illustrate the strength of William Monahan's writing in this film. There wasn't really one line of dialog in the whole 128 minute runtime that to me stood out as original or interesting. There were admittedly a few moments of humor which were a pleasant respite, but apart from that the writing was pretty by-the-numbers. David Ignatious' novel might have been good enough to build a decent film around, but I guess no one was interested in doing anything different.
Body Of Lies is a movie which everybody will respond to differently. Many will like it much more than I did, many will dislike it much more than I did. Personally I just felt underwhelmed by the whole thing. It was average, and if it were some other director, I wouldn't even bother writing a review. I would think ho-hum and go about my day. But Ridley Scott used to make such brilliant films and I just can't understand why he's stuck to formula so much in Body Of Lies.
We have seen this exact movie at least half a dozen times before. Filmmakers need to go about this type of film in a new, more unique way. Otherwise they should just stop trying.
Words cannot describe the magnificent, wonderful and strange beauty that is 'The Big Lebowski'. Take your typical noir tale of kidnapping, double-crossing and sleazy pornographers, and throw in 'The Dude', a pot smoking pacifist with a penchant for Creedance and white Russians.
Without going into the plot, it's an amazing achievement that The Coen brothers have weaved an incredibly intricate film noir story into a bright and colorful comedy with each character funnier and more outlandish than the next.
With a fantastic soundtrack, beautiful visual style, a first-rate cast and a tonne of laughs, 'The Big Lebowski' is not only a great film, it happens to be this reviewers favorite Coen brothers outing to date.
It's more than noir. it's more than comedy. It's ah... You know... The Big Lebowski, man.
Without going into the plot, it's an amazing achievement that The Coen brothers have weaved an incredibly intricate film noir story into a bright and colorful comedy with each character funnier and more outlandish than the next.
With a fantastic soundtrack, beautiful visual style, a first-rate cast and a tonne of laughs, 'The Big Lebowski' is not only a great film, it happens to be this reviewers favorite Coen brothers outing to date.
It's more than noir. it's more than comedy. It's ah... You know... The Big Lebowski, man.
Giving a rating out of 10 seems silly, as I've only seen the first episode, but this show does look promising.
The style of The Hollowmen is very similar to Frontline, being shot in a candid documentary style. Also like Frontline, it is satire covering important issues. basically the theme is: A government only cares about how they are perceived, rather than caring about any real issue itself.
A nice guitar rift breaks up the action, and a great opening credit sequence brought me right in to the action. As far as the cast, it seems first rate. Never seeing the Primeminister is something that has been done before, but it does add a certain realism to the show, by saving The Hollowmen from using a fictional person as our leader. I've never really found Merrick Watts all that funny, but I guess time will tell on his character.
Rob Sitch's character is hilarious, constantly writing down and repeating buzz-worded nothings and talking a lot of hot air, whilst Lachy Hume's character, though possibly as spineless as Sitch's, does seem to have things to say. I'm sure a strong and interesting dynamic will develop.
I look forward to future episodes.
The style of The Hollowmen is very similar to Frontline, being shot in a candid documentary style. Also like Frontline, it is satire covering important issues. basically the theme is: A government only cares about how they are perceived, rather than caring about any real issue itself.
A nice guitar rift breaks up the action, and a great opening credit sequence brought me right in to the action. As far as the cast, it seems first rate. Never seeing the Primeminister is something that has been done before, but it does add a certain realism to the show, by saving The Hollowmen from using a fictional person as our leader. I've never really found Merrick Watts all that funny, but I guess time will tell on his character.
Rob Sitch's character is hilarious, constantly writing down and repeating buzz-worded nothings and talking a lot of hot air, whilst Lachy Hume's character, though possibly as spineless as Sitch's, does seem to have things to say. I'm sure a strong and interesting dynamic will develop.
I look forward to future episodes.