Russell Crowe Movie:

		List Price: $35.99		Label: Warner Home Video Salesrank: 627 Released: February 17, 2009
		Our Price: $9.80
		Used Price: $8.20
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
The CIAs hunt is on for the mastermind of a wave of terrorist attacks. Roger Ferris is the agencys man on the ground, moving from place to place, scrambling to stay ahead of ever-shifting events. An eye in the sky a satellite link watches Ferris. At the other end of that real-time link is the CIAs Ed Hoffman, strategizing events from thousands of miles away. And as Ferris nears the target, he discovers trust can be just as dangerous as it is necessary for survival. Leonardo DiCaprio (as Ferris) and Russell Crowe (as Hoffman) star in Body of Lies, adapted by William Monahan (The Departed) from the David Ignatius novel. Ridley Scott (American Gangster, Black Hawk Down) directs this impactful tale, orchestrating exciting action sequences and plunging viewers into a bold spy thriller for our time.

Description of Body of Lies (+ BD Live) [Blu-ray]:
Set it next to the similar Middle-East intrigue of Syriana, and Body of Lies is easy to follow--in fact, this movie's plot is amazingly straightforward for an espionage picture. Leonardo DiCaprio is the CIA agent on the ground, an Arabic-speaking chameleon who believes in forging personal relationships based on trust and professionalism. Russell Crowe is his supervisor, a meddler who makes up the rules as he goes along and is more than willing to trade long-term benefits for a short-term "win." (One of these characters is surely intended to represent the foreign policy style of the Bush administration in the first decade of the 21st century; take a guess which one.) While working on a case in Jordan, DiCaprio gets a modest flirtation going with a nurse (Golshifteh Farahani), although his most intense relationship is with a Jordanian intelligence chief (great role for Mark Strong) who takes a wary view of the CIA's activities. Ridley Scott directs as though weary of all the fuss, and his merriment in Crowe's breezy sociopath gives the movie a rather strange aftertaste. It gets the job done, although after it's over you might find yourself craving the head-scratching complications of Syriana. --Robert Horton

Body of Lies (+ BD Live) [Blu-ray] Reviews:
A complex plot expansively photographed
2009-11-08 - 3 of 5 stars for the gritty drama movie Body of Lies. The lead role is played by Leonardo DiCaprio who does a great job playing a deep undercover CIA spy in the middle east. The plot is rather complex and I don't think I could summarize it easily. The focus is on middle east terrorism and a couple of groups making plans. The movie was expansively photographed with a rich selection of locations. Since the story jumps from country to country (Jordan, Turkey, USA, etc) they did a nice job of giving a look to each place. There are some action scenes which are good. Some brutal torture scenes and a fair amount of blood. The movie seemed long and its pace slow at times. All-in-all, I did enjoy it and do recommend it.

Body of Lies Blu-Ray
2009-10-26 - Leonardo Dicaprio has quickly become one of my favorite actors because of movies like Body of Lies. The story was powerful and I really had compassion for the characters by the end of the film, this was a great movie.

This is the world we are living in, whether we like it or not.
2009-09-17 - Ridley Scott is usually one you can depend on to make a good, sometimes fantastic, film, and it'll mostly be well-done. This definitely fits the last two mentioned qualities. The plot is impeccably well-written, and keeps developing very well throughout.

By no surprise, DiCaprio delivers another winning performance here as the young CIA field agent who is given authority within a short time period to do what he wants to get what his superior wants. Here he is cocky, brave and smart, exactly what his character should be. He is the true lead of the film because without him, the story and film would be meaningless. His solid performance also makes the film better. DiCaprio is now recognizable as a character who completely immerses himself in the role. His "Leo-the-pretty-boy" days are long gone.

Ridley Scott's regular Crowe takes a back seat here, to be DiCaprio's supervisor. Crowe delivers the best performance here. From his Arkansas accent to his leniency at handling somewhat drastic situations, Crowe steals almost every scene he's in. It's good, really, because it makes his character slimy yet interesting. Although his role is understated and underused a bit, it also makes his character cautious.

On top of that the cinematography and editing are careful and effective. This shows the Arab culture in a neutral light at certain parts, and actually features spoken Arabic, in nice amounts, which I would say should earn it recognition(in addition to all else I've mentioned in this review). I would say that this is a thriller-drama, with action elements... do not watch it expecting constant car-chases or shootings, albeit it is surely intense. It brings up several well-stated and solid points, for and against several sides, and offers food for thought. There is near-constant language, and it is always moderate or more. Also, there is a lot of violence and a little sheer brutality, and it is not for the faint of heart.


Beware if you have a Sony BDP-S350
2009-09-03 - This rating is not for the movie but for the Blu Ray disc.
Disc does not play on a Sony BDP-S350. I tried to 1) to play with a replacement disc from Blockbuster 2) Update to the latest firmware v019 of 4/23/2009. The disc still does not play.
So far it is the only Blu Ray disc that does not play on my Sony.

dvd
2009-08-31 - got to me in like, 3, or 4 days shipping, & both discs were scratchless, so THX! =)