Turned out to be a pleasant surprise of an entertainer. The premise is classic Hollywood - well-toned, well-trained, well-cocky FBI investigators head deep into enemy territory in Saudi Arabia to find the truth about some killings. Despite the very basic plot, Peter Berg (the cocky doctor from Chicago Hope!) manages to deliver 2 hours of frenetic action.
Rating: * *
There are some directors/actors I am biased towards - not without reason though I assure you - but the truth is I know there is a good movie out there, the moment I learn that its one of them in it. Like Jim Jarmusch for instance and his 2003 movie 'Coffee and Cigarettes'. Shot in B&W, features a wide range of talented artists in a series of 11 chapters - each of which has couple of people meeting over coffee & cigarettes and discussing stuff. In some cases, its tea - for the sake of variety I presume. Some of the conversations are inane, a few I found funny and then there are some that brings attention to some varied pieces of information. But there seems to be a thread running through it - like for example, the two people are related to each other, that coffee before going to sleep is like racing an Indy 500 race and that ciggys + coffee do not make a healthy lunch. I liked it - but its one of those that I would not recommend to anyone. An amusing flick, especially with a fat rolled one in hand. On a connected note, heres a link to an amusing email exchange between 2 protagonists in the movie - Jack White and Stephen Coogan - brought to you by the Guardian. Rating: * * *
Turned out to be a pleasant surprise of an entertainer. The premise is classic Hollywood - well-toned, well-trained, well-cocky FBI investigators head deep into enemy territory in Saudi Arabia to find the truth about some killings. Despite the very basic plot, Peter Berg (the cocky doctor from Chicago Hope!) manages to deliver 2 hours of frenetic action. 
There are some directors/actors I am biased towards - not without reason though I assure you - but the truth is I know there is a good movie out there, the moment I learn that its one of them in it. Like Jim Jarmusch for instance and his 2003 movie 'Coffee and Cigarettes'. Shot in B&W, features a wide range of talented artists in a series of 11 chapters - each of which has couple of people meeting over coffee & cigarettes and discussing stuff. In some cases, its tea - for the sake of variety I presume. Some of the conversations are inane, a few I found funny and then there are some that brings attention to some varied pieces of information. But there seems to be a thread running through it - like for example, the two people are related to each other, that coffee before going to sleep is like racing an Indy 500 race and that ciggys + coffee do not make a healthy lunch. I liked it - but its one of those that I would not recommend to anyone. An amusing flick, especially with a fat rolled one in hand. 
