War Dogs

War Dogs is based on a true story where two twenty somethings sell arms back to the US government. Jonah Hill and Mills Teller put up a great performance, they made the story very appealing. The storyline had plenty of connections with Scarface, from locations to tag lines. It was a good movie with a great cast. Definitely worth watching.

It's 2005 Miami. David Packouz (Miles Teller) is struggling as a masseuse. He reconnects with childhood friend Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill). Efraim has been buying guns from police auctions and reselling them online. There is a new government clearing house website for military contracts and he's looking to pick up some of the crumbs. David joins him after getting girlfriend Iz (Ana de Armas) pregnant. With dry cleaner Ralph Slutsky (Kevin Pollak) providing the capital, they start getting some contracts. Eventually, they meet unsavory arms dealer Henry Girard (Bradley Cooper) and get a massive Afghan deal.

This is unlike Todd Phillips' more famed comedic movies. It's not big laughs but it is a lighter look at a darker world. Jonah Hill gets chubbier to fit this character perfectly. He is a douche but he is not a threatening douche. He has just enough crazy but not uncontrolled. His chemistry with Teller is terrific. This is a compelling story told in a compelling and engaging way. It's great all around and an overlooked gem.

The story is eye opening, relevant and very clearly told with a humorous tone through the serious subject matter. This is based on a true story with some fictionalized elements to make it entertaining. A massage therapist links up with a childhood friend who is a small time arms dealer. Very interesting to get a look at the legal but morally questionable world of arms dealing. I thought this would be a juvenile buddy movie with a bit of war thrown in but it isn't.

Jonah Hill has some funny lines and he does a great job with the over the top character but he can be subtly sinister when he needs to be. Miles Teller plays his character sympathetically and I liked him here. Quite different from the rather annoying characters he usually plays. Bradley Cooper who produced the movie and has a small but pivotal role and he is effective as an arms dealer.

Quite a transporting experience as the action takes you from Miami to Jordan and Iraq with some funny situations there and Albania.

Watch this movie. It deserves to do better than it has so far.

Similar tone to Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, It was a lot more serious than what I expected after seeing the trailer. It's not the first time I've seen either Miles Teller or Jonah Hill in something more dramatic, I just may have assumed their first real outing together in a movie would be more of a straight up comedy.

Semi based on a true story of two young guys from Miami who became arms dealers, Miles Teller narrates the story of how David Packouz teamed up with this best friend from the tenth grade, Efraim Diveroli and got in too over his head.

I was expecting more comedy from the two rather than just two young stars being entertaining. The movie is not disappointing with the team of Teller and Hill. If you are a fan of either one of these guys you are going to love the film.

Jonah Hill gives a performance that seem to be something between what he did in 21 Jump Street and the Wolf of Wall Street. The part just fits him so well as he plays a con man who tries to be everyone to everything on the outside but is really evil in the inside, and no matter how much you discover about his evil, Hill still makes the character likable.

But the likability is more met for Miles Teller, who Hill is supporting with greatness. Teller plays the sympathetic role of a man whose lost in his life at a time when his girl is about to have a baby, and he needs the money.

Director, Todd Phillips weaves a story about how people have profited from the war, and done bad things to profit from a bad war. It's almost like the Big Short, with it's explanation about how the arms game really works, but I always felt that the actual story was getting overshadow by the personalities of the two stars worthy of watching.

But overall, It is a very funny film and very entertaining, thanks to the Hill, Teller combo

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I don't know enough about the original story to determine the accuracy of Todd Phillips's "War Dogs", but it's an enjoyable movie. The tricks pulled by David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli just go to show that the people in the business of weapons have no principles (even violating arms embargoes). They're out to make money by any means necessary. To be certain, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq proved quite profitable for weapons manufacturers. The mistake that Packouz and Diveroli made was getting caught.

It's not a masterpiece, but it does a respectable job showing the degrees to which these types go to enrich themselves. A very slimy world indeed.