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This is the Pure Movies review of War Dogs, directed by Todd Phillips and starring Jonah Hill, Miles Teller and Steve Lantz. At the turn of the millennium, Todd Phillips had cornered the market on putting the fever dreams of adolescent boys onscreen. He was making movies about road trips to retrieve sex tapes and middle-aged frat boys, reveling in the gross-out opportunities his raucous subject matter afforded him. Over a decade later, and with the fifth highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time under his belt, he has his sights set on bigger fish: namely, the international arms trade. This may seem like an overreach for a filmmaker with eyes normally set squarely on the midriff, but if Adam McKay’s The Big Short proved anything, it’s that silly directors can be adept at handling Big Issues™. Alas, to both its credit and its detriment, War Dogs sits comfortably...

One of my favorite young actors, Miles Teller has been gaining steam as emerging A-lister over the last couple of years. This week, Teller is getting the same treatment that fellow near A-lister Jonah Hill got from me a few days ago from yours truly, in honor of their upcoming film War Dogs. Teller is very good in the film, as he pretty much always is, and even if it probably won’t launch his star any higher, it’s another interesting role in his quickly growing oeuvre. He deserves the attention, that’s for sure, so we’ll be showering him with it a bit more today… Once again for those of you who are curious, War Dogs is dramedy about two young men who became unlikely gun runners. It’s based on the true story of David Packouz (Teller) and Efraim Diveroli (Hill), who inexplicably won a $300 million...

I don’t think that Jonah Hill quite gets the appreciation that he deserves within the industry. Yes, he’s been cited by Oscar twice with Academy Award nominations in Best Supporting Actor (the first for Moneyball and the second for The Wolf of Wall Street) and has anchored a hugely successful comedy franchise, but still, he comes off as under-appreciated. Perhaps when he makes his directorial debut in a year or so that will change, but for now, he’s still underrated in my book. This week, he has a new film out in War Dogs, which could be another hit on his resume. He also has last week’s successful Sausage Party, an animated movie in which he is one of the voices. He certainly keeps busy, right? For those of you who are curious, War Dogs is dramedy about two young men who became unlikely gun runners.