So: war profiteering, Dick Cheney, nation building, sexualized pop stars – it's an everything and the kitchen sink kind of deal, and I haven't even mentioned Ben Kingsley or Joan Cusack - both terrific, by the way, the former as a Big Brother figure and the latter as, well, Joan Cusack. It's a lot more dystopian than I thought it would be – at times, it reminded me of something as nutty as Brazil. It doesn't have the genius level of a true Strangelove heir, but it'll certainly keep you occupied until one comes.

Movie Grade: B+

(A short version of this review can be found in our Tribeca blog.)

Synopsis:

War, Inc. is an audaciously funny and surprisingly poignant film in the vein of Grosse Point Blank. Co-written by Mark Leyner, Jeremy Pikser and producer/star John Cusack, the film also stars Hilary Duff, Marisa Tomei, Joan Cusack, Sir Ben Kingsley and Dan Aykroyd. War, Inc. is a political satire set in Turaqistan, a country occupied by an American private corporation run by a former US Vice-President (Akroyd). In an effort to monopolize the opportunities the war-torn nation offers, the corporation's CEO hires a troubled hit man, played by John Cusack, to kill a Middle East 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 (Duff) an outrageous Middle Eastern pop star, and keeping a sexy left wing reporter (Tomei) in check.