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movie review - War Dogs

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Toronto, 2018.02.23

This is a movie about gun-running during the Bush administration and the massive orgy of mis-allocation of resources across the global "war on terror". It features two former middle-school friends who are re-united at a funeral and who make waves in the arms trade. Based on a true story, it feels like an honest look at a nasty business. It's got all the crime, double-dealing, greed, and viciousness you might imagine. I found it tonally consistent and it was clearly well-written and executed from beginning to end. I'm not quite convinced that the main character could have been as hard-working and fault-less as he is depicted, or that his partner (clearly an amoral indulgent psychopath) could possibly shoulder such a super-human amount of responsibility.

Recommended.

rand()m quote

You have to choose between trusting to the natural stability of gold and the natural stability of the honesty and intelligence of the members of the Government. And, with due respect for these gentlemen, I advise you, as long as the Capitalist system lasts, to vote for gold.

—George Bernard Shaw