War, Inc. (2008)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Joshua Seftel

Writers (WGA):

Mark Leyner (written by) &
Jeremy Pikser (written by) ...

Release Date:

4 September 2008 (Israel)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Thriller | War

Tagline:

When it comes to war...America means business

Plot:

A political satire set in Turaqistan, a country occupied by an American private corporation run by a former US Vice-President...

Plot Keywords:

Corporation | Assassin | Satire | Reporter | Pop Star

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

John Cusack	...	Brand Hauser
Hilary Duff	...	Yonica Babyyeah
Marisa Tomei	...	Natalie Hegalhuzen
Joan Cusack	...	Marsha Dillon
Dan Aykroyd	...	Mr. Vice President
Sergej Trifunovic	...	Ooq-Mi-Fay Taqnufmini
Ned Bellamy	...	Ooq-Yu-Fay Taqnufmini / Zubleh
John McLaughlin	...	Himself
Montel Williams	...	GuideStar Voice (voice)
Ben Kingsley	...	Walken / The Viceroy
Lyubomir Neikov	...	Omar Sharif (as Lubomir Neikov)
Nikolay Stanoev	...	Bhodi Bhundhang (as Nikolai Stanoev)
George Zlatarev	...	Director
Bashar Rahal	...	Video Guy #1
Velislav Pavlov	...	Video Guy #2 (as Vesilav Pavlov)

Also Known As:

Brand Hauser: Stuff Happens (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and brief sexual material.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hungarian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:16 | UK:15 | Hungary:16

Filming Locations:

New Boyana Film Studios, Sofia, Bulgaria

Company:

New Crime Productions

Trivia:

The Tamerlane corporate gift bag contains an autobiography by "Oh, you know who," entitled, "How I Conquered the World and Dealt with Issues with my Father."

Goofs:

Factual errors: Hauser has his dry cleaning delivered from "Laundry Unit Rammstein" in Germany. The German town - and the name of the real-life Air Force base - is spelled "Ramstein".

Quotes:

Natalie Hegalhuzen: Tell me about yourself?
Brand Hauser: I'm just doing this gig, trying to make the best of a bad situation, looking for redemption in all the wrong places. Stop me now if I'm rambling.
Natalie Hegalhuzen: Okay, stop.

Movie Connections:

References "Happy Days" (1974)

Soundtrack:

The Battle Hymn of the Republic

Critics might be off the mark on this one...

I thought this movie was a lot better than most movie critics are giving it credit for. Though it has its confusing parts of the plot, it doesn't greatly interfere with your understanding of the movie. That being said, If you're not open to more liberal political ideas, then this probably isn't the movie for you. I thought all the actors in the movie were outstanding. Each character has their funny moments and the audience at the Tribeca Film Festival was laughing throughout the whole thing. I thought the satire was a tad over the top in one particular area, but that's intentionally done. John Cusack is right in that although it's set in the future, it really makes you see the present.