| | | When it Comes to War...America Means Business.
Features: DVD
Recreating his role as a hitman, John Cusack gives a hilarious performance in War, Inc., a political satire set in Turaqistan, a Country occupied by an American private corporation run by a former U.S. Vice President (Dan Aykroyd). In an effort to monopolize the opportunities the war-torn nation offers, the corporation's CEO hires Hauser (Cusack) to kill a Middle Eastern oil minister. Now, struggling with his own growing demons, the assassin must pose as the corporation's Trade Show Producer in order to pull off this latest hit, while maintaining his cover by organizing the high-profile wedding of Yonica Babyyeah (Hilary Duff), an outrageous Central Asian pop star, and keeping a sexy left-wing reporter (Marisa Tomei) in check.
"...fans of the kinder, gentler satire of Mel Brooks will find War, Inc. a welcome change to the in-your-face absurdity of modern pop culture." Brendan Willis, Exclaim!
"Much like Grosse Pointe Blank, an assassination plot is fused with a romantic comedy..." Kurt Halfyard, Row Three
Editor's Note
Joshua Seftel's fierce political satire features an all-star cast headed by John Cusack. Set in a fictionalized Middle East, the film takes United States foreign affairs to comic extremes in a world where corporations rule and wars are completely outsourced. At the start of the film, Turaqistan is occupied by a private American company belonging to a former American vice president (Dan Aykroyd). Cusack comes in as Brand Houser, a hit man slowly growing a conscience and doubting his chosen profession. Hired to take down one of the country's major players, Houser goes undercover as the organizer of a major conference. His title also requires that he make sure the wedding of a local pop singer (Hillary Duff) goes smoothly. While working alongside Marsha Dillon (Joan Cusack), Houser tries to handle and ward off advances from the over-sexualized, pint-sized pop idol. The addition of an intelligent, beautiful, and radical journalist named Natalie (Marisa Tomei) to the mix only makes Houser's job tougher. The more time he spends with Natalie, the more he wishes for the chance to be honest and to escape this killing game. Packed with violence and humor, WAR, INC. works thanks to its strong leads and the romance at the heart of the film. Quirky touches include Houser's memory-triggering obsession with hot sauce, and a Wizard of Oz-like villain (Ben Kingsley) who hides behind a screen as he gives commands under the guise of constantly morphing video images of popular American celebrities. An eclectic soundtrack adds surprising whimsy and, at times, unexpected nuance. War-themed pop numbers by Duff contrast with dark ballads played as scenes of battle fill the screen. Though the plotline is intentionally overloaded and preposterous at times, viewers will find the film's statements relevant to the reality that inspired it.
| Features | Audio: English, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Dubbed: Spanish | | Includes Both Widescreen & Full Screen Versions Of The Film! | | Interactive Menus | | Previews | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, Spanish |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: FIRST LOOK HOME ENTERTAIN |
| Release Date: 2/10/2009 |
| Running Time: 107 minutes |
| Catalog ID: 12199 | | UPC: 00687797121998 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen/Standard |
| Cast & Crew | Ben Kingsley | | Joan Cusack | | Marisa Tomei | | Dan Aykroyd | | John Cusack | | Hilary Duff | | Trevor Short - Executive Producer | | Zoran Popovic - Director of Photography | | John Cusack - Screenwriter | | Jeremy Pikser - Screenwriter | | Dan Dimbort - Executive Producer | | Avi Lerner - Executive Producer | | Dan Lerner - Producer | | David Robbins - Composer | | Les Weldon - Producer | | Boaz Davidson - Executive Producer | | John Cusack - Producer | | Grace Loh - Producer | | Mark Leyner - Screenwriter | | Joshua Seftel - Director |
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| | Professional Reviews | USA Today
"[I]ntriguing....Recalling DR. STRANGELOVE, WAG THE DOG and even IDIOCRACY, the film skewers American imperialism, corporate greed and corruption and offers a sometimes clever commentary on the Iraq War." 05/24/2008Los Angeles Times
"Cusack et al. gamely take on a trillion-dollar subject and let their dry, deadpan fury fly....[With] warm, engaging performances..." 05/23/2008 Reel Film Reviews 5 of 10
A disastrously heavy-handed satire, War, Inc. follows quirky assassin Brand Hauser (John Cusack) as he heads to the war-torn Middle Eastern country of Turaqistan - where a monolithic corporation run by America's former Vice President (Dan Aykroyd) is currently waging war against local insurgents. Though assigned the relatively simple task of taking out a meddling Oil Minister (Lyubomir Neikov's Omar Sharif), Brand soon finds himself caught up in the problems of a whole host of egregiously off-kilter figures...There's little doubt that War, Inc. strikes all the wrong notes virtually from the word go, as director Joshua Seftel - working from Cusack, Mark Leyner, and Jeremy Pikser's downright desperate screenplay - has infused the proceedings with a headache-inducing atmosphere of silliness that's ultimately catastrophic. The hit-you-over-the-head sensibilities of Seftel and his incompetent cohorts proves instrumental in ensuring that one is consistently left at arm's length from the material, and it's subsequently not surprising to note that even the most open-minded viewer will find themselves fruitlessly searching for something (anything) of substance to latch onto. The end result is an effort that feels like a subpar Monty Python sketch unnaturally stretched out to an astonishingly interminable 107 minute running time, with the increasingly obvious nature of the filmmakers' modus operandi nothing short of infuriating. - David Nusair
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