REVIEW: War Dogs

There is a certain something about War Dogs that is familiar as a cozy blanket.  It could be the use of a musical soundtrack featuring songs that have been over used in movies before.  It could be the narration of it that leaves it with a feeling of Goodfellas.  There are many different attributes of this Todd Phillips film that are recognizable, but that doesn't mean that it is a hack of a movie.

The story is one that is based on a news article, much like Pain and Gain was.  The difference here, is that War Dogs understands how humour is supposed to be integrated into a movie.  That is key.  We follow David Packouz (Miles Teller) as he has dreams of becoming more than a certified massage therapist.  His life is changed when he runs into his best friend from tenth grade, Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill).  David is a door mat with a solid heart, while Efraim is not one to take shit from people, and looks after himself.  These are qualities that David admires, as he doubts his dreams and ambitions in life.

David finds out that Efraim makes a living bidding on the crumb sized military contracts of the mid 2000s was in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Emboldened by being in the company of his old friend, David leaves his humble dreams and teams up with Efraim to make insane amounts of money making deals that are on the shady side of legal.

Ultimately, it is a movie where the main character must look at who he truly is and decide if the life that he is living is one that he can sleep with at the end of the day.  As mentioned in the opening paragraph, nothing new here.  But that is alright.

What Todd Phillips is able to do with this story, is direct it into something with bits of memories of past film, but without directly stealing anything.  He is able to keep a good pace throughout the movie, something that he is known for.  There are down times, and those down times mean something.  They aren't just for trying to pad the run time of the movie.

Miles Teller is as good as he always is, but, to me at least, the main acting story coming out of War Dogs is the performance of Jonah Hill.  Known primarily as a comedian (while we already know just how talented Teller is), Hill elevates himself to become a chameleon who is able to be something to everyone.  In his one role, he plays a master manipulator who changes shapes and attitudes, and it is believable the entire time.  There are great things ahead for this actor, that is for sure.

Probably the biggest draw back of the film is that we don't get enough of the down to earth moments of Teller's character.  With the movie about his choices of what to do, as well as battling the morality of what he is doing, there needed to be a very solid foundation of personality that we are to build off of.  A lot of it comes from the narration, rather than actually seeing the moments that are to make him a three dimensional character.

Phillips, who directed the Hangover trilogy, shows that he is willing to take his understanding of comedic timing and gags and transport them to a more serious film.  It is still not the most serious film in the world, but it is compared to Phillips past filmography.  The movie offers some good, solid laughs, as well as some dramatic moments, to make it effective summer fare.

Rating - 3 out of 4 stars

REVIEW: Sausage Party

Consider this movie a version of Toy Story, but for adults only.  And when I say, 'for adults only,' I sincerely mean that.  The comparisons lay with inanimate objects given human emotions and looking to become selected by human beings.  Instead of toys, we are given all of the different items that populate a grocery store.  They want to be chosen by shoppers to go to the great beyond where they will live the best of lives.  Essentially, they believe that leaving the store is like entering into heaven.

What they don't know, and what they are told from a returned bottle of Honey Mustard (Danny McBride) is that life outside of the grocery store is a horrid one where the humans mean to murder and consume the food.  There is little attention paid to him by the others, as his story seems ridiculous and crazy.  Only Frank, a hotdog played by Seth Rogan, listens to him and begins questioning everything that they believe, setting out on a journey to find the truth.

There is a lot in this film that could be seen as a criticism of religion, as well as having a political statement.  The food's nationalities parody stereotypes and hyperbole.  I didn't see it as a method of debunking religious beliefs, but more of adding layers to proper anthropomorphize the delicious food products as well as creating a society full of subculture in which they live.

Leading the charge of high calibre talent in this film (including Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, and Edward Norton) is Rogen who also was one of the scribes for the script.  I have said for a while that he is not just a comedian, but an actual acting talent.  He shows it off here, as it is not just the jokes and gags where he shines, but in the delivery of every line.  It is the kind of performance, as well as his role in Jobs, that make me want to see more of him in varying types of roles.

The direction of Sausage Party is handled expertly by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon.  They do well to keep the movie flowing along at a good pace.  They also have delightful fun with playing with pop culture references and moments from other films.  This goes a long way to adding a flavour (horrible pun intended) that is unique to this film.  That sort of thing stands out in a summer where a lot of what has been offered on the mainstream level feels generic and as though we have already seen it before.

As mentioned, this is a film that is really for adults.  Don't sneak your kids in to see this movie.  It is irreverent and is not shy on throwing the cussin' about.  As well, there is a full on pleasure orgy that happens when the food is liberated.  Could it be a commentary about hedonism?  Possibly, but more likely it happened because Rogen and company thought that the images of food copulating in various ways would be hilarious.

If you have a problem with seeing a donut having sex with a wrap, you will not want to see this film.  If you have issues with the ideas of religion being played with, it is best to stay home.  If you are willing to view this picture as merely a microcosm of humanity in the grocery aisles, both the good and the bad, you may very well enjoy it.  A lot of the jokes landed firmly, and it was a lot of fun to watch.

Rating - 3 out of 4 stars.

Moneyball

While most sports movies tell the story and derive the emotional impact from the progression and the plight of the players involved, Bennett Miller's Moneyball takes a different approach to the sports genre.  This is probably appropriate, because the movie itself is about taking a different approach to running a baseball team.  The movie follows Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) the General Manager of the Oakland A's baseball team who finds himself losing marquee players at the end of a season, and very little budget to fill those spots.

On a trip to talk baseball and trades with the Cleveland Indians, Beane meets a young intern named Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) whose input seems to carry some weight.  Brand is very quiet, awkward, and lacking in the self confidence department, which makes Beane obsessed with finding out why Cleveland management listens to his opinions.  After much pestering, Beane finally gets Brand to share his view of baseball, and how the system of developing teams is out-dated and antiquated.  He believes that new statistics tracking can give insight on players that are normally overlooked, are easy to acquire, and cost very little money.  Beane, the foreward thinker that he is, hires Brand as his assistant GM and adopts this new sabermetric approach to attempt to level the playing field between his low budget team and the teams with endless supplies of money who can buy whatever players they want.

What always makes a great sports story is the underdog appeal, and there is a lot of it in Moneyball.  We get to watch as the season plays out and gain a sense of how the team is underperforming at the beginning, the mounting angst of the fans, and the media who are baffled by this new approach to managing the game.  The A's seem to be in a dire situation, both externally and internally, and so when things start to click for them we get a true sense of the underdog trying to pull through.

As I mentioned, most sports films follow the players through the season and we become connected through their perseverance and performance.  In Moneyball, we see very little of the game itself, as it predominantly tracks Beane who never actually attends the baseball games.  However, we are still able to feel that connection to what is happening on the field with cut away footage, announcer voiceovers, and audio of media and call in sports shows.  There are times when you have multiple audio tracks of the media and call in radio shows over lapping, and I felt like this effectively produced the feeling of the constant comments and pressure that Beane would be undertaking.

Because this film mostly follows Billy Beane, it is important for us to really know who he is, and Bennett Miller makes sure we get a very good sense of his past and how that has shaped him into the person he is when we see him.  We get a decent performance from Pitt who is able to show the unbending will of Beane, the calmness that he portrays in front of his staff, and the inner struggles he has with himself over his obsession to win.

It would be unfortunate to talk about performances without mentioning Jonah Hill's Oscar nomination worthy performance, and as well the job that Philip Seymour Hoffman (I always want to call him 'Sir Philip Seymour Hoffman'... it just sounds like it could work).  Hill plays his character in a way that is so opposite to the types of movies he has been known for, and becomes endearing to audiences as the quiet fish out of water.  Hoffman plays the A's coach, who is resistant to the changes, and unfortunately has very few scenes.  Every single time I saw him in this movie, it felt like I was looking at an honest to goodness major league coach, and it took me a few scenes to realize who it was.

One of the themes of the film that I loved was the constant battle of the new versus the old.  We see a system that has operated for over a hundred years being questioned, and the response of protectionism that many people have.  This theme is something that each of us deal with in every day life, and I always enjoy character studies of those who see the need, those who can be convinced, and those who refuse to even engage in conversation.  A good friend of mine recently wrote an article on the death of the video store, and highlights the once mammoth Blockbuster Video.  While the industry was starting to shift and change, they were still slowly charging more and more for new releases (I remember paying near $8 on one of my last visits, almost the price of theatre admission) and operated in a fashion as though the clientele would always be there regardless of where the market was heading.  They deserve no sympathy from me, but they do highlight the fact that even when we are stuck in our ways, we should at least entertain the questions and other possible approaches.  Perhaps this is just a favorite theme of mine, but Moneyball highlights it extremely well, and the battle that Beane must go through as he stakes his entire reputation on an unproven theory.

For those who love sports movies and for those who love good character stories, this movie serves as both.  It is no wonder that it gained a nomination for Best Picture, because it entertains and stirs up emotions as well.  It does not follow the typical Disney sports movie format, which is refreshing in itself, but it does still create the same romanticism towards sport as the great Sandlot.

Rating - 3.5 out of 4 stars