'WAR DOGS' - REVIEW

Release Date: Friday the 26th of August (UK Release)

Directed By: Todd Phillips

Written By: Stephen Chin, Todd Phillips and Jason Smilovic

Produced By: Mark Gordon, Todd Phillips and Bradley Cooper

Starring: Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, Ana De Armas and Bradley Cooper
Distributed By: Warner Brothers

The representation of Capitalist America has of recent years been a long standing kick off point for the majority of American releases in the past few years.The pairing of this with vibrant and down on their luck characters is something of a thematic heart in director Todd Phillips' filmography. With comic hits such as 'Old School' and 'The Hangover' under his belt, Phillips' latest is a biopic focusing on the exploits of two American's who clocked on to making a fortune through arms dealing to The Pentagon. 

The year is 2005 and massage therapist David Packouz (Teller) is feeling short changed with his life. With a baby on the way, money is at the forefront of his mind but with it in short supply, a career change is essential. That career change arrives in the shape of Efraim Diveroli (Hill) a slick, heavily tanned individual with a penchant for back stabbing and emitting a high pitched giggle at regular intervals. With old friends reunited, David is introduced to the world of arms dealing in which the door is open for hundreds of thousands of dollars to be hoovered up in small arms deals, not the big ones you understand but the smaller deals known as 'crumbs'. With the invasion of Iraq in the background, war is an incredibly profitable business and as the business builds, so do the risks.

From his introduction during the first act, its clear that the star of the show is Jonah Hill’s Diveroli. Admittedly a good ten years senior than the real life convict (as is Teller), Hill manages to emulate a brash yet forward thinking businessman who isn't a million miles away from his 2013 character Donnie Azoff, trading the phosphorescent white teeth for a bulkier frame and a heavy tan. Teller’s more cautious and at times anxious Packouz is very much the focal point of the story as his world is turned upside down and we jump from an incredibly mundane life working as a masseuse, to the dusty, bullet riddled roads of Jordan. At his side at various intervals is his girlfriend Iz (Armas), a severely lacking part which serves as no more than as someone to give David someone to lie to and heighten his sense of guilt by bearing him a child (The ever repeated “Criminal Father” angle played to very little effect here).

With Phillips’ known penchant for comedy expected when watching this, it comes as a jarring surprise that tonally, this film seems incredible indecisive and instead moulds into a combination of both comedy and drama, forming the rarely successful ‘Dramedy’. Unfortunately there is no exception here as the mishmash of tone makes for a confusing watch. Whereas the likes of ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ managed to balance both its dramatic set pieces with ever present underpinnings of comedy, ‘War Dogs’ jumps scene to scene with each one varying in tone, losing any immersion and alignment with the characters. That said, the attempts at comedy fall somewhat flat with the majority of mild chuckles, the result of low brow slapstick.

Thats not to say there aren't any redeemable elements about the picture, with slick and swooping camera angles along with snappy montage sequences, there’s a distinct heir of Scorsese esque mirroring. Indeed, everything down to the intermittent freeze frames and over head narration courtesy of Packouz carries a distinct aroma of the aforementioned ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ including the tale of an everyday man corrupted by greed. This also highlights one of the big issues of the film as the two leads cross borders breaching varying laws, there are no reasons to vouch for these two scumbags making this a film with no redeeming qualities for its characters. This intensifies somewhat further with the brief appearance of Bradley Cooper playing a shady and all too sinister arms dealer who’s appearance lacks any depth with the exception of someone who can pull off a pair of tinted sunglasses indoors.

Given its lack of comedy and in particular relation to its darkly serious subject matter, the film feels somewhat like a missed opportunity for a great scathing piece about the indictment of two young graduates with money on their mind and no knowledge of the severe corruption which is in abundance during war time, not to mention one of the most scandalous wars in recent times. Whilst Teller and Hill give strong performances, the visual flair fails to make up for a lacklustre script which being based on a singular Rolling Stone article penned by Guy Lawson, isn't too surprising. 

"Everyone's fighting over the same pie and ignoring the crumbs. I live off the crumbs" - Efraim Diveroli

'SAUSAGE PARTY' - REVIEW

Release Date: Friday the 12th of August (UK Release)

Directed By: Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon

Written By: Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen

Produced By: Megan Ellison, James Weaver, Seth Rogen and Conrad Vernon

Starring: Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig,  Michael Cera, Bill Hader, Paul Rudd, Salma Hayek, Nick Kroll, Edward Norton and David Krumholtz

Distributed By: Columbia Pictures

Seth Rogen is a writer/ actor who has been on the scene for quite a while now. Renound for his inseparable penchant for marijuana being placed in almost every film he works on, he stands as one of the few comic actors still waving the flag for the stoner comedy genre which were it not for him would be left back in the noughties with the likes of 'Harold and Kumar' along with the groundbreaking 'Cheech and Chong' way back in 1978. Along with his evident love of the left handed cigarette, it's his work as a writer which has lead to some questionable results. Indeed whilst he first made the leap to feature film writing with 2007's quippy and forever quotable 'Superbad', in more recent years the likes of 'The Interview' gained more headline coverage due to its controversy at the possibility of almost starting a war with North Korea as opposed to its comic merit. Moving into the realm of adult animation, Rogen's latest work looks set to shake up the expectations of an animated film for a few years to come.

Taking place in the fictional supermarket of Shopwells, its the eve of The Fourth of July, one of the busiest days for groceries who all dream of being chosen to venture to the great beyond (being bought). At the heart of this excitement is Frank (Rogen), a gravelly voiced hot dog who is packaged with his two buddies Carl (Jonah Hill) and Barry (Michael Cera) and yearns to travel with his beloved bun Brenda (Kristen Wiig). Things quickly turn sour however as an accidentally purchased jar of Honey Mustard returns with warnings that all is not peachy beyond those automatic doors. After finally being chosen, an accidental trolley bump causes the group to be split with Brenda and Frank free of their packaging before setting on a journey to discover a way to end the carnage that awaits the entire store.

Beginning purely from Rogen's desire to make a film called 'Sausage Party', when announced the title alone was typically Rogenesque (Its a thing) and brought forth a plethora of wacky and bizarre plot lines. The final result (Despite not actually containing a sausage, Frank is a Hot Dog. There is a difference) is very much at the top end of the wacky and bizarre spectrum. Admittedly the premise of food items having a life of their own isn't particularly brain imploding in terms of set up, the real talent comes from taking the common Pixar formula and adding to it a dash of 'Saving Private Ryan' level vegetable violence, a heavy sprinkling of sexual innuendo and finally an entire pepper pot of relentless profanity to which there is no limit (watching a bagel drop the C bomb really is a moment you don't forget in a hurry).

Regarded for creating characters with an evident stereotype in mind, be it bound in American culture with the gym addled Jock or the socially anxious but plucky outsider, Rogen and company pull out all the stops making sure there is no religious culture or ethnic group left unscathed, which makes for some truly toe curling yet hilarious incarnations. From a Middle Eastern Flatbread yearning for his 42 bottles of virgin Olive oil to a foul mouthed Irish potato, there is a whole plethora of racial stereotypes which serve a much greater purpose than to simply degrade and humiliate the varying cultures. The highlight of these for me however, is Edward Norton’s almost unrecognisable turn as the irate and sock suspender clad Jewish bagel Sammy, who’s well trodden yet unforgettably funny Woody Allen caricature never fails to bring a grin to the face. It’s not just the food based characters which draw laughs, indeed there are varied groceries which add further X’s to this anarchistic animation with the likes of Nick Kroll providing a turn as the antagonistic female hygiene product who is out to get “Juiced” and a roll of toilet paper who’s motivations for getting his own back on the humans are well and truly deserved. 

Its isn't purely in the sharp and foul mouthed writing where this piece flies. Co Directors Greg Tiernan, who's previous experience include helming almost every Thomas the Tank Engine feature to date (Perfect for this feature) and Conrd Vernon (Shrek 2 and Madagascar 3 to name a few) leave no pixel un rendered leaving a sleek and stylish look to the foodie fiends. The animation style varies as it flits from 2 to 3D at various intervals. Used as a time device, the different styles seem very much in the same vein as the House of Mouse, adding further to the satire. Indeed from the tiny shoes and white gloved hands, its clear there is a desire to riff on both the modern and classic Disney pictures of old, making the film all the more intelligent. Post release there has however been some backlash with regards to the animation department with claims that a hefty chunk of the artists were not even credited, unfortunately marring the work of some true talent. 

Whilst the premise may seem reminiscent of a cheap knock off of a throwaway idea of John Lasseter, there is a much deeper and intelligent sociopolitical construct at work from Rogen, and Evan Goldberg. Indeed at first glance the racial stereotypes maybe on a singular level come across as low brow, crude interpretations. Deeper analysis however displays a message of unity amongst all religion and that a particular upbringing cannot define an individual. It seems far more fitting given the recent political carnage playing out across both the UK and US with the latter seemingly at the forefront of the films core theme. It appears it takes more for an individual to change opinions than shout obscenities, far from it. Involved discussion has the power to change individuals for the better, something which certainly couldn't have been considered upon the title announcement. 

The references don't stop at Disney charm. There’s a fine yet noticeable element of horror as we see innocent fruit and vegetables being savagely torn apart by the ‘monstrous’ humans. Elements of body horror are also apparent whilst not on the Cronenbergian level of ‘The Fly’, Kroll’s Douche character out for Franks blood (Or more accurately juice) steadily upgrades to a new maniacal hygiene product with every scene he enters. A particularly chilling set piece takes place on a vacant street corner all from the point of view of a hot dog which is one of several set pieces which will stick with you after the credits roll.

With a film which covers as many topics and themes as this does, its natural that not all of them will land gracefully. The overt swearing whilst humorous the first few times, quickly becomes repetitive and over time becomes unnoticeable which begs the question, what purpose is it serving? The other niggle arrives with a common trope amongst almost any film Seth Rogen touches which is of course the representation of drug culture. A varied medicine box of narcotics are plastered throughout the narrative with bath salts holding a fairly solid plot point come the third act, whilst earlier moments bring forth the iconography of 70’s dude culture which in this picture serves no real purpose.

All aspects considered however, Rogen’s step into animation has resulted in a sure fire hit. With moments of toe curling and foolish guffawing humour in almost every scene, it stands as one of the more open minded comedies of the year and of the last few. With important and relevant themes bubbling below it’s outrageous surface, rife with comic global stereotyping along with wonderfully fluid and tongue in cheek animation. As someone with a distaste for Rogen’s acting roles (not to mention the laugh), it’s clear his real strength lies very much behind the camera in the writers room. With a final ten  minutes after which your jaw will have to be wrenched back into place, ‘Sausage Party’ is a polite wave followed by the ‘V’ sign to the likes of ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Finding Nemo’ and depending on your outlook should leave you hungry for more.

 "Stay away from my sausage you SKANK!" - Brenda