Cinematical was just handed this exclusive poster for the film War, Inc. (click on the image to enlarge), starring John Cusack, Hilary Duff, Marisa Tomei, Joan Cusack, Dan Aykroyd and Ben Kingsley. Now is that one helluva cast, or is that one helluva cast? Word has it this one is in the vein of Grosse Point Blank, which was another fun little flick starring the male Cusack. From the synopsis: "War, Inc. is a a political satire set in Turaqistan, a country occupied by an American private corporation run by a former US Vice-President (Dan 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 (Hilary Duff) an outrageous Middle Eastern pop star, and keeping a sexy left wing reporter (Marisa Tomei) in check."

War, Inc. arrives in theaters (in limited release) on May 23.

At first, I mistakenly thought that War, Inc. was a re-named version of Talking to Dog, that Children of Men rip-off I wrote about last year. (It's actually a re-named version of Brand Hauser: Stuff Happens.) War stars John Cusack and Hilary Duff, just like the other one was supposed to. Now Talking to Dog seems to have fallen off the face of the earth, so did the movie studios consider the rip-off angle and go in a new direction? Or did Hilary just follow John to this new endeavor? Or, did my attempts at weird mental mojo* work and make that other project die for good?

Whatever the case, Hilary and John are starring in War, Inc. with sister Joan, Marisa Tomei, and Ben Kingsley, and Rope of Silicon has your first look at the action, and John Cusack's furrowed brow (which you can see a bit of to the upper right). This should be tons better than the other option for a number of reasons, but mainly because the unique, surreal voice of Mark Leyner wrote this puppy. (He's written great novels like The Tetherballs of Bougainville and Et Tu, Babe?)

The film once again puts John in the assassin role, and this time he's contracted to kill an oil minister from the Middle East (Ben Kingsley). Instead of high school reunions, however, his cover is "producing a big trade show that includes a wedding between a local pop star and a politico, but complications ensue." The pics don't show too much, but it is strange to see Hilary Duff looking like a cross between a pop star and tough-ass scorpion tamer in one of them. The film is set for a limited release this May.

*I was so against this project, that I figured if I can make new DVDs pop up by buying the old VHS or bare-bones disc version, or off-handedly talk about celebrity deaths right before they happen, maybe I could will Dog into cinematic death.

Well, I guess Christopher was right. Eventually everyone is going to make a film about Iraq, but at least this one sounds a little different from the rest. Variety announced that New Line has acquired the Iraq war drama Time of Your Life (which has the unfortunate luck of sharing a name with a Party of Five spin-off). Jim Burnstein and Garrett Schiff have already been hired to write the script and will co-produce, but there is no word on a director so far. Burnstein and Schiff have already finished scripts for The Richest Man in The World with Universal and The Quarterback's Tale for MGM.

Time of Your Life is based on the real-life events surrounding an Army Special Forces captain that arranges the mother of all parties for his friends and family in the event that he did not return from Iraq. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened. Captain Jeffrey "Toz" Toczylowski was killed in 2005 after a fall from a helicopter. Toczylowski arranged to have emails sent in case of his death which began: "If you are getting this email, it means that I have passed away. No, it's not a sick Toz joke, but a letter I wanted to write in case this happened." The email was forwarded through friends of friends after Toczylowski's death with an invitation to a party to celebrate his life, and for which he had already set aside $100,000.

So I guess Time will be the 'feel-good film' about Iraq. We already have a couple combat tales scheduled for next year, but Time is going straight for the heartstrings instead. Unfortunately, if you have ever spent a day reading headlines, it doesn't take long to realize combining 'feel-good' and Iraq is going to be a tall order.

One of the year's best documentaries is No End in Sight, a calm and methodical recounting of the mistakes the U.S. made in Iraq during those crucial first few months after the fall of Saddam in April 2003. One of the main points director Charles Ferguson makes is that when the U.S. disbanded the Iraqi army, it left hundreds of thousands of soldiers unemployed, disgruntled, and armed. Frustrated, many of them joined the insurgency that now plagues the country.

The man who made the decision to disband the Iraqi army was L. Paul Bremer III. On Sept. 6, Bremer wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times called "How I Didn't Dismantle Iraq's Army" in which he defended himself and rebutted some of Ferguson's assertions. His points were basically these: that by the time he got there the Iraqi army had pretty much dissolved on its own; that post-invasion looting had destroyed nearly all the military bases anyway; and that he did consult with advisers before making his decision. (No End in Sight claims Bremer made the call more or less on his own.)

Now Ferguson has responded -- not with an editorial, but with a video. It's a 10-minute short film, posted on the Times' website as a "letter to the editor," that dissects Bremer's article point by point and refutes nearly everything he said. For support, he uses clips from No End in Sight, interview footage that wasn't used in the film, and a telephone interview with one of his primary sources recorded after Bremer's article appeared.

Since World War II spawned its share of war-themed movies, both direct and indirect, it's only natural that our era does the same, especially given that the Iraq War has gone on for several years now. A lot of movies over the past four or five years have dealt with the attacks in New York, soldiers in war, prisoners of war, and endless variations on these and other themes. Even the recent Western 3:10 to Yuma, hidden underneath its character-driven gun slinging, has a little something to say about the occupation. Most movies tackle their subject head-on, such as the numerous documentaries of the past few years and films like United 93 and World Trade Center as well as war films about other eras like Letters from Iwo Jima and Days of Glory. How refreshing, then, to see a movie like Richard Shepard's The Hunting Party, which has on its mind the topic of war criminals still at large. It wants to know why the U.S. has been unable to find certain outlaws, when just about any civilian with a passport, the price of a drink and a line of B.S. can do it. But instead of grousing or hand wringing, it becomes a spry, surprising and intelligent comedy.

The movie is told through the point of view of a TV news cameraman nicknamed Duck (Terrence Howard), who once worked together with reporter Simon Hunt (Richard Gere) in any Third World war zone worth covering. Their lives together were dangerous and exciting. They dodged explosions, drank in dive bars and romanced local girls. But when the tragedy got to be too much for Simon, he melted down on the air, effectively ending the relationship. Duck has since been promoted to a highly paid New York studio job, while Simon works for increasingly desperate TV stations so far off the radar that he eventually disappears. For the five-year anniversary of the end of the war in Bosnia, Duck, a polished TV anchorman (a perfectly cast James Brolin) and a network executive's son, Benjamin (Jesse Eisenberg), arrive to cover a routine press conference. Simon is also there, and he convinces Duck to help him cover the story of the decade: finding an infamous war criminal known as The Fox (Ljubomir Kerekes) with a $5 million bounty on his head.

It sounds like a pretty basic (yet can't-miss) project: Take two of the biggest international action stars, plunk them down into a basic plot framework, and just wait for the mayhem to start mounting. I'll admit that the idea of seeing Jason Statham and Jet Li reign War on one another sounded like a pretty amusing way to waste 90-some minutes. And then the lights went down. And the movie started. And then for another 90-some minutes, I began wondering why I ever switched my major from education to film studies.

It's amazing how many things the all-first-timer team of (director) Philip Atwell, (screenwriters) Lee Smith and Greg Bradley get wrong here, so I'll just get this ridiculously obvious joke out of the way and then get onto the review: War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Whether you're there for Statham's cool blend of wit and toughness or for Li's amazing martial arts skills -- you'll walk away from War disappointed. This is a movie that has two actors who are more than capable of delivering solid action scenes, and yet the duo are constantly undone by Atwell's ham-fisted directing, a screenplay full of ideas that were old-hat about 25 years ago, and an editorial approach best described as "hyper-spasmodic, with extra strobe lights."

The power of the adolescent libido and the need for a good laugh were proven when the teen sex romp Superbad outdid all the competition on its opening weekend. Rush Hour 3 and The Bourne Ultimatum covered the two and three spots, with the fourth-place The Simpsons Movie clinging to the top five for the fourth consecutive week. When all was said and done, this is what the final tally looked like.

1. Superbad: $31.2 million.
2. Rush Hour 3: $21.8 million.
3. The Bourne Ultimatum: $19 million.
4. The Simpsons Movie: $6.7 million.
5. The Invasion: $6 million.

There are six five new contenders this week for the top five positions, so the competition should be fierce. Here's what coming out on the weekend of August 24.

Mr. Bean's Holiday
What's It All About: Rowan Atkinson returns as the little-spoken Mr. Bean, who wins a church raffle for a vacation in Cannes, France.
Why It Might Do Well: Even if I've always preferred his Black Adder series to Mr. Bean, Atkinson is a comic genius.
Why It Might Not Do Well: 1997's Bean scored only $2.2 million on its opening weekend, (though it should be noted that was for a limited release of only 242 theaters) and the British style of humor may not sit well with mainstream U.S. audiences.
Number of Theaters: 1,580
Prediction: $9 million.

The Nanny Diaries
What's It All About: In this film based on the novel by Emma McLaughlin, Scarlett Johansson stars as a young woman hired to care for the child of a snooty New York City couple.
Why It Might Do Well: Paul Giamatti plays the upper crust dad, and he's always worth watching (Big Momma's House notwithstanding), and it should appeal to those who like their comedy on the heartwarming side. Ms. Johansson captured my heart in Lost in Translation, and I'm always game to see what she's up to next.
Why It Might Not Do Well: That booger-eating joke in the trailer was enough to keep me away.
Number of Theaters: 1,800
Prediction: $8 million

Resurrecting the Champ
What's It All About: Josh Hartnett plays a sports reporter who discovers a boxing legend (Samuel L. Jackson) living on the streets.
Why It Might Do Well: Dude, it's Sam Jackson, and the film is sporting an 85% fresh rating over at rottentomatoes.com.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The title may fool the general public into thinking this is the world's first zombie boxing movie.
Number of Theaters: 1,550
Prediction: $11 million

September Dawn
What's It All About: A romantic drama set against the backdrop of the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre, which involved the deaths of over 100 California-bound Arkansas emigrants in southwestern Utah at the hands of Mormon settlers.
Why It Might Do Well: Jon Voight makes one scary-ass religious zealot.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Again, Jon Voight makes one scary-ass religious zealot.
Number of Theaters: 850
Prediction: $7.5 million

WAR
What's It All About: War? Huh. Good God y'all. An FBI agent hunts down the assassin who killed his partner.
Why It Might Do Well: Things blow up and with Jet Li in the cast you can bet there will be spinning back kicks aplenty.
Why It Might Not Do Well: When I heard Jason Statham say "They killed my partner!" or words to that effect in the trailer, my cliché alarm went off and refuses to stop buzzing.
Number of Theaters: 2,200
Prediction: $15.5 million

Here's how I reckon next weekend will turn out:
1. Superbad
2. The Bourne Ultimatum
3. War
4. Rush Hour 3
5. Resurrecting the Champ

Here's how the last week's competition ended up:
1. Matt: 12
1. Curt: 12
1. Porcalina: 12
1. Gregory Rubinstein: 12
1. Paul D: 12
1. Bubba8193: 12
1. El Borracho: 12
1. Withasong: 12
1. Andre: 12
2. Josh: 11
3. Anna07: 10
3. Rufus: 10
3. Mario: 10
4. Ethan Stanislawski: 8
4. Jasonsmusicpage: 8
4. Ray 8
5. Mike: 7
5. Blair: 7
5. Tangoeco: 7

Please post your prediction for the top five films in the comments section below before 5:00 PM on Saturday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie. Come on, make us proud.

Jason Statham reminds me a lot of Bruce Willis -- sometimes. No, the British bad-ass doesn't have an "everyman" sense of humor like Bruno did in the Die Hard flicks, but Statham just keeps popping up in action movies with his bald head and his gruff "likeability" ... and he just reminds me of Willis. I've been a fan of the guy since Lock, Stock -- and if I'm still a fan after sitting through Transporter 2, then I'll probably be a fan for quite some time.

And the guy seems to have settled into quite the comfortable little action niche. In his next movie Statham will play a hardcore, revenge-driven FBI agent who decides he's just got to kill an assassin called Rogue (as played by Jet Li). Up until a few weeks ago, this flick was actually called Rogue, but Lionsgate must have caught wind of that other (now missing) Rogue movie, and so now the Statham vs. Li action flick is known simply as War. Here's the trailer.

So the trailer looks suitably packed with action, and that's a good thing. Plus the supporting cast includes names like Devon Aoki, Luis Guzman and Saul Rubinek. On the other (less promising) hand, it looks like the director and both screenwriters ... are all first-timers. Guess we'll see how it all turns out on September 14.

Not since the days of Ernest Joins the Army have you seen a trailer like this one. The title of the movie is Delta Farce, but based on what Dictionary.com tells me, a "farce" is "a light, humorous play in which the plot depends upon a skillfully exploited situation rather than upon the development of character." You go watch the trailer yourself and tell me if we don't have a case of false advertising here.

Starring Keith David, DJ Qualls and (yes) Larry the Cable Guy (who describes the movie as "The Three Stooges meets Platoon" (lord help us), Delta Farce looks to be some sort of parody of the Iraq war, but since it's about three idiots who accidentally "invade" Mexico, somehow I doubt it's all that interested in social satire or insightful jokes. Lionsgate presently has the movie scheduled for a May 11 release date, but I'm expecting that date to get pushed back (and directly to video) some time soon. Just a reminder: Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector grossed about $16 million in domestic box office last year. So if you paid money to go see that one, I blame you for Delta Farce.

So much has been written and filmed about the atrocities of The Holocaust, and one of the most complex stories in that history is in trying to understand how otherwise good people stood by and did nothing -- in some cases they even participated. This is one of the themes of the best-selling novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, currently being made into a feature film by Miramax.

Production weekly announced that Mark Herman, director of Brassed Off and Little Voice has been signed to direct. Set in Berlin and Poland during WWII, the story focuses on Bruno; a young boy from a prominent family whose father has been assigned to work in the Kraków concentration camp. Bruno meets and befriends another young boy being held in the camp, and their relationship is the focus of the book. The story uses the innocence of the boy of his surroundings to discuss the bigger idea of how everyday people were able to ignore what was happening around them during Hitler's Final Solution.

Herman also adapted the script and is currently scouting locations in Eastern Europe. No casting announcements have been made yet, but the studio is looking to start production this April, so I doubt they are going to waste much time getting started.