Aug 19 2016

Ben-Hur

The biblical spectacular of Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston), a Jewish prince falsely imprisoned by his adopted Roman brother, Messala (Toby Kebbell), who would eventually free from his chains, seek revenge, but instead find redemption, this is his story. benhur Directed by Timur Bekmambetov this beast of a film lumbers its way through heavily trodden plot points in a totally unnecessary cinematic re-telling. Laughably staged, and eye rolling at times, it’s hard to imagine why this project was green lit in the shadow of all that have come before, oh, but for chariot races in the year 2016 and Morgan Freeman’s narration. This 124 minute slog feels more like 180 minutes and sorely begs for refinement. Pass. Ben-Hur is rated PG-13.


Aug 19 2016

War Dogs

Two lifelong friends, David Packouz (Miles Teller) and Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) hit it big with the U.S. government selling arms to the Pentagon. Specifically, supplying America’s allies in Afghanistan– a logistical and political nightmare. How the duo managed to pull off the $300 million dollar contract, a rise and fall from grace, this is their story.wardogs Directed and partially written by Todd Phillips, this situationaly comedic story based on true events shouldn’t surprise anyone with a cursory knowledge of modern U.S. history and economics; this go round, shining the spotlight on the U.S. military and capitalism. The upside, Teller and Hill are relatively believable in their roles, although Hill doesn’t seem to really be acting, and the story is one that should definitely be told and heard. The downside, the turns and twists to create a really compelling story are never fully developed and we don’t really ever care that much about our leads. End result, a film that metaphorically mimics it’s plot, it never completely delivers the goods and feels a bit hollow. Maybe worth a rental later. War Dogs is rated R.