There are some stories in the world that are just too good to be true, but when you find out that they are based on true stories you just have to see it. That was definitely the case when I saw the trailer to today’s film War Dogs. The film tells the tale of David Packouz (Miles Teller), a down and out massage therapist who seems to have everything going against him when childhood friend Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) shows back up in his life. Efraim gets David involved in some risky business when they become arms dealers for the government. Everything is going great for the gang until they take one deal that may prove to be too much for the duo after all. The film also stars Ana de Armas (Hands Of Stone) as Iz, Kevin Pollak (A Few Good Men) as Ralph Slutzky, Patrick St. Esprit (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) as Captain Philip Santos, Shaun Toub (Iron Man) as Marlboro, Bradley Cooper (Guardians Of The Galaxy) as Henry Girard, JB Blanc (Breaking Bad) as Bashkim, Gabriel Spahiu (High Tension) as Enver, Julian Sergi (Freaks Of Nature) as Rosen, Eddie Jemison (Ocean’s Eleven) as Hilldale Home Manager, and the film was directed by Todd Phillips (The Hangover).
Spoiler Alert: There may be information contained in this Article that could potentially spoil the plot of the film so continue with caution or do not read any further if you do not want to know. I’m watching this movie and I am wondering how the Government just let all of this happen and if you see the movie, how did these guys fool the government for the big money contract. The movie just kind of makes you feel that the government may seem strong at some aspects, but there are really just way too many holes in the system. There are so many great scenes in this film that it’s just hard too choose because Jonah Hill was just so funny. The way he laughs at first is kind of funny, but after a while it annoyed me. The whole scene when they are driving the arms from Jordan to Iraq is probably one of the best scenes in the whole film and I mean the whole sequence. Now the only scene that I am wondering about is the ending of the film. I read that David and one other associate are still in court with Efraim as they are suing each other. So, that is why I question the ending of the film, but overall I thought this was a great film. The film has plenty of excitement, suspense at times, and the comedy was good too. One thing I wanted to mention too is that Ana de Armas is super hot and she looks like the Spanish version of Tiffany Amber Thiessen, but hotter. This could be a contender for movie of the year, but there is still so much more time to go and a lot of films left to see. I am going to give this film an A- for a final grade.
This wasn’t really on the list of must see films that I made up the other day, but I remember a friend of mine strongly recommended the film. The film that I am talking about is the Sci-Fi movie Midnight Special which was released earlier in the year and it was available via Redbox. Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) is a very special eight year old boy with very special powers that one side believes that he is the messiah while another side believes that he is a dangerous weapon. Roy (Michael Shannon) believes that his son is special too and will do anything that it takes to get him to where he needs to go before either the cult or the FBI gets to him. The film also stars Joel Edgerton (Exodus: Gods And Kings) as Lucas, Kirsten Dunst (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind) as Sarah, Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) as Sevier, Sam Shepard (Black Hawk Down) as Calvin Meyer, Bill Camp (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)) as Doak, Scott Haze (The Sound and the Fury) as Levi, Paul Sparks (Boardwalk Empire) as Agent Miller, David Jensen (Ocean’s Eleven) as Elden, and the film was written and directed by Jeff Nichols (Mud).
The thing I loved most about the film was the actual story itself because for the most part you’re wondering what is this kid? Is he human, mutant, or alien? For the most part, you don’t really know what he is and they don’t really tell you for most of the film. Then there is the human element of the film where there are people that truly believe in this child’s ability that they will go all out for him. One thing that I did want to comment on is that the filmmakers make Kirsten Dunst look old (I don’t mean super old) in the film which just amazed me. She actually looked like someone in her mid to late 30’s in the film, but for the time she is on screen she does a great job. The real MVP of the film besides Jaeden is Michael Shannon who plays the father that will do whatever it takes to protect his son and get him to the destination no matter the cost. I have to be honest in saying that there really isn’t a bad performance from anyone in the film. Everybody knows their role and they play it right like Adam Driver who is the NSA agent who just thinks all of this is cool. The special effects are very cool especially the scene with the satellite crashing to Earth was cool. The film definitely asks the age old question of are we really alone in the universe? Is there other life forms somewhere we don’t know? If you are a fan of Sci-Fi movies then you owe it to yourself to at least check this one out. I am going to give Midnight Special an A- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 