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SYRIANA Syriana is intelligent agitprop, a stimulating fireball that deserves to be the center of water cooler conversation. If the movie has a fault, it's that it's too smart for its own good, assuming audiences are knowledgeable enough to grasp every historical reference, decipher every snatch of insider lingo and understand the intricate workings of American conglomerates. But better a film attempt to smarten up its viewers instead of dumbing them down. Writer-director Stephen Gaghan, who earned the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Steven Soderbergh's Traffic, again weaves together a head-spinning mix of people, places and incidents, though the end result isn't quite as fluid this time around. Among the characters are a CIA field operative (George Clooney), an energy analyst (Matt Damon) and a corporate lawyer (Jeffrey Wright); all figure in the connective narrative thread involving oil in the Middle East. This is a deeply pessimistic movie, which means it's the perfect film to represent the current malaise running unchecked through this nation of ours. Rating: ***
WOLF CREEK Maybe it's just me, but isn't there something distasteful about releasing a movie this sadistic and nihilistic during a holiday season that's supposed to be all about spirituality and generosity? Not that this dud would look good any time of year. Writer-director Greg McLean's film strands three college-age kids (Cassandra McGrath, Kestie Morassi and Nathan Phillips) in the Australian Outback, whereupon they meet a hulking roughneck (John Jarratt) who proceeds to slice and dice them as he sees fit. Wolf Creek bills itself as "Based On Real Events," a dubious claim since the film is rife with the sort of boneheaded plotting that can only be found in sub-par thrillers of this nature. Furthermore, since there were no witnesses to some of the grisly deaths on view, how can this be based on anything but McGrath's own misogynistic leanings? Rating: *