War Dogs

One of those stranger-than-fiction true stories is the basis for War Dogs, a cracking comedy thriller named after the small-business arms dealers who cashed in under the Bush administration. But Jonah Hill and Miles Teller (Whiplash) are surely the unlikeliest gunrunners of the lot, as 20-something stoners who win contracts supplying arms to the US military through the mid-to-late noughties. Efraim (Hill) tells old buddy David (Teller) that he "lives off the crumbs, like a rat". But the crumbs of the arms trade are worth millions, and with a baby on the way, David parks his anti-war sentiment and becomes Efraim's right-hand man. These are two very different characters - not easily likeable, but the actors successfully trade on the duo's naivety - and while director Todd Phillips (The Hangover) mines their slackerish attitude for laughs, more tragically he also reveals the cracks that form in life-threatening situations. Their dealings with a terror suspect (Bradley Cooper) add to an ominous mood that builds between shots of wry humour. It's a skilful balancing act by Phillips and just when you think it can't get any crazier, it goes and blows your mind.