​War Dogs is probably one of the most surprisingly amazing movies of the summer. After being disappointed by both Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I was rather sick of franchise films and ready for something new and fresh. War Dogs is certainly both.

War Dogs follows the story of David Packouz (Miles Teller) and Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill), middle school best friends who end up creating a multimillion dollar arms company, eventually landing a $300 million contract with the Pentagon. The story is told episodically, and largely from the perspective of Packouz, following his journey from Miami massage therapist, to international arms dealer, to the target of an FBI and State Department Investigation. Packouz is portrayed in a somewhat more sympathetic light, as he is shown to be a struggling young man looking for good money to provide for his pregnant girlfriend. He is quickly seduced by the easy money and sociopathic charms of Diveroli, whose only principle is maximizing profit, morals and international law be damned.

Jonah Hill is masterful as Diveroli, who is all snake oil and devilish charm, able to act like an orthodox Jew in one moment, and frat boy in another. The film portrays Diveroli as a borderline sociopath who is able to put on different acts depending on who he is talking to, swinging from sweet to vicious in an instant, and cares only about himself. Hill clearly drew some inspirations for the cocaine snorting, wild child Diveroli from his run as Donnie Azoff in The Wolf of Wall Street. The entire movie feels like a bit of a riff off that film, but with less nudity, less swearing and way more guns.

What really took me by surprise was the top notch comedy in this film. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been surprised since Jonah Hill is probably one of the best comedic actors of this decade. I found myself laughing at almost every other scene. The film deftly dances between dark and comedic, capturing the gravity of the post 9/11 arms trade and the ridiculous antics of Diveroli. Miles Teller plays a great straight man, and perfectly capturing Packouz’s realization that his partner is quite unstable. War Dogs is exceptional because it simply clicks. It isn’t a condescending story about the dangers of war profiteering: it takes you on the wild ride Packouz and Diveroli went on, nearly touching the sun before falling flaming into the sea. It is a rare film that can create a political movie about the excesses of the Bush era Pentagon with rousing humor and drama.

Grade: A+

(Basically go to the nearest theater playing this movie and throw some cash at the ticket guy)

After almost a decade in exile, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) has returned to beat up a ton of CIA agents and chase clues all around Europe. The film picks up after the events of Bourne Ultimatum (2007) which left our hero, Jason Bourne, presumed dead by the CIA. In the intervening time, Bourne has wandered the world alone, joining illegal boxing rings to block out his traumatic memories from the Treadstone Program. After Nicki Parsons (Julia Stiles) steals classified files from the CIA concerning the Treadstone Program, Bourne is once again pulled into a web of death and deception. 

In the process of trying to find the truth behind Treadstone, Bourne barrels his way through people, cars, buildings, and basically every solid barrier in his path, producing some of the most kinetic and riveting action scenes of the summer. The Bourne franchise has always excelled at creating amazing action sequences that are impossible to look away from. Jason Bourne updated for the modern surveillance era with hackers, facial recognition software and encrypted file leaks, adding some spice to the standard spy thriller formula.

Despite the fresh visual update for modern times, the performances were quite mixed. Matt Damon owns the role of Bourne, and in this fourth installment perfectly captured Bourne’s exhaustion from years on the run and his distrust of authority. One of the worst performances in this movie was CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones). Tommy Lee Jones is a skilled actor, but in this movie he plays the extremely two dimensional “shady intelligence agency director with dark secrets” archetype and adds nothing to the role, with monotone delivery and an expressionless face.

Much like the mixed acting, my opinions on this movie are mixed as well. On one hand, the action is tactile and fluid and I could hardly look away from the screen. On the other, I left the theater feeling unsatisfied. I thought Jason Bourne would reveal more secrets about Bourne’s past, take the character on a cathartic and emotional journey, and bring the franchise to a satisfying ending. Unfortunately, by the time the credits rolled, I realized that the ending was frustratingly open ended, and I had really only learned one or two new things about Jason Bourne. I was frustrated because I felt like the character had hardly progressed throughout the movie, and I knew almost as little about him after the movie as I knew before. All that being said, Jason Bourne is not a bad movie. It’s actually a pretty great action movie. However, it’s really more of a franchise reboot or almost revamp rather than a conclusion, probably opening the door for more Bourne films in the future.
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Grade: B-

Please note: the following article contains SPOILERS. You have been warned.

Well, this week’s episode was rather disappointing. Episode two had done a marvelous job of righting the ship after a rather rocky premiere. I felt like “Maybe Tomorrow” undid a lot of the repair work done in episode two. Once again I feel like True Detective is stand on the precipice of mediocrity.

Last episode, Velcoro was left supposedly bleeding to death at a supposed crime scene, but it is established within the first 8 minutes of the episode that Velcoro was, in fact, perfectly fine. The treatment of this cliffhanger was perhaps the first indication of trouble. Quickly establishing that Velcoro was alive greatly diminished the stakes of the cliffhanger.

My main problem with this episode is that little occurred that actually pushed the plot forwards. All the main characters seemed to revert to their usual beats. Velcoro continues to struggle with his ex-wife’s desire to win custody of his child. Bezzerides continues to be a rather cold and emotionless woman, and Woodrugh continues to act like an angst ridden teenager struggling to come to terms with his sexuality.

However, out of all the main detectives, Woodrugh makes the most character progress as Velcoro is sidelined by his injuries. A meeting with an old pal delves into Woodrugh’s past as a hired gun in the Middle East, and his denial regarding his sexuality is one of the more interesting parts of the episode. It is clear that Woodrugh is on a rather self-destructive character arc, refusing to acknowledge the suffering and trauma he experienced in the Middle East and refusing to come to terms with his own sexuality. Hopefully his angst will reach some sort of climax and reveal more about his background.

All in all, this episode felt really hollow. I had to re-watch the episode to convince myself that anything significant had taken place. Every character was kind of in a rut, and barring a few miniscule clues, there was no progress on the homicide investigation front.  More importantly, this episode highlighted the larger problem I have with this new season: I don’t particularly care about any of the characters. Sure, Velcoro’s struggle with fatherhood is compelling, but its only compelling when progress is made, not when the screenwriter insists on harping on the same notes. The success of season 1 was largely based on strongly written, damaged, emotional characters. I can’t feel that hopeful about the rest of the season if the characters continue to be so dry and emotionless.

Grade: C