Review: Body of Lies is an unexceptional but exciting Middle-East thriller that is lifted by the potent screen teaming of Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe.

Story: Although its Mideast trappings have become terribly familiar in any number of recent movies from Syriana to The Kingdom to director Ridley Scott’s own Black Hawk Down, William Monaghan’s (The Departed) tight script still has pertinent things to say about the lies and deceptions inherent in our covert operations in the region. Cloaked in a cat and mouse thriller format, the story centers on Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) – a top CIA operative, fluent in the Arab language – who roams from country to country trying to penetrate top secret terrorist cells and uncover plans for mayhem. In trying to smoke out a shadowy terrorist who has been directing a series of key bombings against civilian targets in Europe, Ferris comes up with the ingenious idea to create a phony rival group that appears to be taking credit for the “real” Al Qaeda-type organization’s business. Complicating matters for Ferris is his boss, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe), back at CIA headquarters, who sees the world in black and white and believes there is no such thing as going too far to achieve goals in the best interest of the U.S. Both must also deal with the head of Jordanian Intelligence, Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), who recognizes that each is useful for his own counter-terrorism efforts.

Acting: There are a LOT of explosions that keep getting in the way of the dramatics – and much of the Crowe/DiCaprio teaming is played out on opposite sides of a phone line. But Body of Lies incorporates a first-rate cast, including many local Middle Eastern performers who make strong impressions. Crowe – adopting some sort of quasi-southern accent (apparently from Arkansas) –creates an amusing CIA boss who sees the world from one perspective – his. Juxtaposing his duties to family as well as America, Crowe creates a full blooded portrait of a husband, father and CIA lifer who thinks he knows all the answers. His few scenes when he is face to face with co-star DiCaprio are worth the wait and both stars play off each other with ease. DiCaprio is back in Blood Diamond territory here as a rogue operative using his own ingenuity to make a difference. His on-screen command of some Arabic phrases is unforced and impressive and he earns the audience’s empathy, particularly when he winds up in well over his head. There are also some nice scenes opposite a Muslim nurse he strikes up a relationship with while in the hospital. Iranian star Golshifteh Farahani is beautiful and nicely understated in these moments. Strong, who also is very fine in another of the week’s new releases, RocknRolla, is suave and powerful as the shrewd Jordanian Crowe and DiCaprio cross swords with. Other regional actors fill out their roles with uncommon authenticity.

Direction: There can be no question Ridley Scott is a master of the film medium. Body of Lies moves very well and thanks to the Scott style manual has lots of urgency. Employing his usual use of multiple cameras getting simultaneous angles in every scene, Scott doesn’t rely on actors having to do a lot of takes and in the process manages to give the film a documentary kind of feel. Although the filmmaking approach sometimes leads to more confusion than we would like, it also puts us right in the center of the action. And there’s plenty of that. Working for the fourth time with Crowe, the two clearly have a rapport and similar seat-of-the-pants way of working, which DiCaprio seems to have picked up nicely. If this isn’t as impressive an overall achievement as Black Hawk Down, it’s still an entertainment that is a cut above some of the other recent spate of Middle East-set thrillers. Locations are well used too, with Northern Africa and specifically the Moroccan environs filling in for the some dozen countries identified on the screen.

Bottom Line: Hollywood.com rated this film 3 stars.

Review: There’s something to offend everyone in Bill Maher’s Religulous, which just could be the funniest, most outlandish film of its kind since Borat.

Story: Travelling around the world from Israel to the Vatican, from backwoods southern churches to Amsterdam’s Red Light District, from Grand Central Station to the Mormon Cathedrals, talk-show host and comedian Bill Maher puts his distinctive stamp on this comic journey to find the meaning of religion around the world. And he makes it very clear he doesn’t believe in any of it as he skewers true believers across the globe in interviews that range from surprisingly thoughtful and intelligent to mostly mocking and outrageous. As a political documentary, Religulous falls into the Michael Moore style of ‘gotcha’ filmmaking, which only figures since the director is Larry Charles, the man behind Borat. Together they find lots of easy, unassuming targets and use various film techniques in the editing room to insure the interviewees look utterly foolish. Undeniably there is funny stuff here, and reaction to the film will totally depend on your own ability to laugh at the sacreligiousness of it all.

Acting: As this is purportedly all real and unstaged, there are no actors, just several individuals who stand out as highlights in Maher’s quest to skewer everything revolving around the subject. The smartest exchange is also one of the weirdest as Maher takes on a young man portraying Jesus at an Orlando, Florida, theme park called Holy Land. Between several daily crucifixions, this guy goes toe-to-toe with Maher and actually makes some cogent points the host later acknowledges in a backhanded way. A hilarious interview with a right-wing U.S Senator, who for some ill-advised reason agreed to go on camera, points out the hypocrisy involved in the merging of God and politics and verifies the wisdom of a separation between church and state as he makes a fool of himself, admitting that “you don’t have to have a high I.Q. to be in the United States Senate.” Another riotous interview occurs with a man who vehemently rails against the legitimacy of being gay even as he hugs Maher when they are finished.

Direction: Like his mockumentary Borat, Charles is careful to pretty much condemn every imaginable religion from Islam to Scientology, and even Maher’s own theological background is dissected in an interview he does with his mother. What makes it all work is that everyone is targeted and nothing is off the table, even if it seems like the evangelicals take it on the chin more than anyone else. What Charles manages to emphasize in his final cut is Maher’s main thesis – that religion has become the butt of all our problems, especially when you have politicians and terrorists all doing things in the name of their own Gods. Although Charles avoids the outright outlandish situations he set up in Borat, the access he and Maher manage to get is impressive, especially considering the comedian’s instant recognizability, which would seem a hindrance in getting cooperation from some understandably reluctant potential “victims.” Much of what they’ve gotten on film is so entertaining, you almost want to pray for a sequel.

Bottom Line: Hollywood.com rated this film 3 stars.