Right Cinema

Several Hollywood names are angry with the war in Iraq, and while actors and actresses have long voiced their anger in the media, few have gone so far as to make a movie that directly satirizes the conflict. But that’s exactly what John Cusack aims to do in his new movie “War, Inc.”.

John Cusack In “War, Inc.”

“War, Inc.” premiered at Tribeca, and as Cusack surprisingly found, opened to pretty good reviews. He helped write the screenplay, which he also stars in alongside Hilary Duff, Marisa Tomei, and Sir Ben Kingsley.

In the film, Cusack plays a hit man who is hired by Tamerlane, a company occupying the country of Turaqistan which is run by a former U.S. vice president. Cusack is hired to assassinate a Middle Eastern oil minister because he plans to lay an oil pipeline through Turaqistan, which would foil Tamerlane’s plan for sole proprietorship of the country.

For her part, Duff plays a trashy central Asian pop singer who is set to wed a powerful local politician. She hopes that moviegoers will see the humor in the movie, as serious as the subject is.

“We’re trying to raise awareness with it. It is funny and it is bizarre and a little disturbing. But really at the end of the day it’s looking at what (our country is) doing, and it’s not right.”

I’m sold - watch the trailer and you will be to (although it’s nice to have a plot overview going into it because otherwise it’s a little confusing).

See more photos of “War, Inc.” and the trailer below.

Photos and Video

In the second season of one of my favorite shows when I was in high school, Picket Fences , a new D.A. was elected to the small town of Rome, Wisconsin. Don Cheadle played in 35 episodes as D.A. John Littleton, and he immediately drew me in as a very likeable and warm character.

In a time when TV was still a distant second to the silver screen, Cheadle made a smooth transition and has played memorable roles ever since. He played an undercover agent in the Oscar winning Traffic (2000), he was hilarious as an explosives expert with a Cockney accent in Ocean’s Eleven (2001), he was part of another ensemble Oscar winning picture in Crash (2004), he was nominated for an Oscar in the awe shocking Hotel Rwanda (2004), and he played in a movie that was both sweet and sad with Adam Sandler in Reign Over Me (2007).

In 1999, Cheadle played in a lesser known made-for-TV movie, A Lesson Before Dying. Set in the deep South in the 1940s, an African American (played by Mekhi Phifer) is wrongly accused with murder, and his attorney’s only defense to keep him from being sentenced to death is that the black man’s worth is that of a hog and it would be absurd to put a hog on the electric chair. Don Cheadle plays a teacher who helps the young man find his dignity so that he can walk as a man before his life is meaninglessly ended.

This movie was subtly powerful and tragically beautiful. Yes, it was made-for-TV, but it won numerous awards including an Emmy for Outstanding Made for Television Movie. After watching A Lesson I realized two things about Don Cheadle. One, he is very good working with others and he does not need the spotlight. Ensemble movies typically do not work because there is not enough room for all the stars to shine, but Don Cheadle consistently plays in amazing ensemble movies. Second, his characters are always very warm, endearing, and comforting, and if I were behind bars and on death row, I know who I would want my teacher to be.

I think it would be wrong to write about Don Cheadle and not mention his tireless humanitarian work to stop the genocide in Darfur. Here are links to www.1800genocide.com and a CNN article about his efforts.

Click below to see a trailer for Cheadle’s documentary Darfur Now and to view an interview with him regarding Darfur and the 1800Genocide.com organization.

Videos

The new DVD releases run the gamit from Oscar winning, to suspense thriller, to mockumentary comedy, to family film, to political commentary. And here they are, your new movies for the small screen that are releasing tomorrow, April 8, 2008. There’s almost too many to count.

There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood

The Oscar-winning movie “There Will Be Blood” was interesting and entertaining, but it left me hanging a little when I saw it in the theater. Nonetheless, Daniel Day-Lewis was completely deserving of his Best Actor Oscar. Because honestly, no one drinks your milkshake like Daniel Plainview. See one of the funniest SNL skits of 2008 after the jump, where the oilman drinks everyone’s milkshake.

Oh, the plot. Day-Lewis is an oilman in the early 1900’s whose quest for money and power shakes the lives of everyone in his path. When he is tipped off to the possibility of oil in Little Boston, Plainview and his son H.W. head west, and along the way tell the story of love, hope, community, belief, family, power and greed.

Reservation Road

Also on the dramatic side, “Reservation Road” is a film about two men’s reactions to a horrible accident. After Mark Ruffalo hits Joaquin Phoenix’s son with his car, he leaves the scene as the boy dies. During the course of the movie, Ruffalo’s character has to come to terms with what he’s done, while Phoenix’s character has to come to terms with the loss of his son. The movie follows the quest of Phoenix’s character as he seeks the man who killed his son and didn’t let anyone know about it. Although it sounds intriguing with some power-hitters in the line up (not only is there Ruffalo and Phoenix, but Jennifer Connelly joins the cast), the reviews were generally on the down side, calling the film “disappointing” and “clanking”, to name a couple.

Lions for Lambs

Another movie with an all-star cast is “Lions for Lambs”. This political drama stars Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise. Redford plays a professor trying to inspire a young university student by telling him the story of two of his brightest alumni. Meanwhile, across the country, Cruise is a senator who thinks he’s found a way to make peace in the Middle East. Streep is the reporter who is sent to break the story. Their three worlds become entwined as the story unfolds. A movie to make you think, and a refreshingly different take from the myriad war films coming out these days.

Walk Hard

In the comedy arena this week, there’s “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”. John C. Reilly plays Dewey Cox, a musical man who makes his way to fame and fortune while overcoming some humorous misadventures along the way, which include sleeping with 411 women, marrying three times, and having 22 kids and 14 step-kids. It’s sure to inspire at least a laugh or two.

Also releasing this week are “The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep”, a family film about the Loch Ness monster, “The 11th Hour”, Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary on the environment, and “Resurrecting the Champ”, a movie about a washed up boxer who sells a good story, starring Josh Hartnett and Samuel L. Jackson.

See the trailers of the movies below and the SNL millkshake skit.

Videos

Martin Scorsese’s documentary film on the Rolling Stones and their 2006 stint at Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre , ‘Shine a Light,’ premiered last night in New York. You can see photos and video below.

Shine a Light

The Rolling Stones performed two concerts at the old Broadway theatre with guest appearances from Christina Aguilera, Buddy Guy and Jack White on October 29 and November 1, 2006. The film consists of concert footage with a mix of the band preparing to take the stage, past interviews and news clips. It was a hot ticket to say the least as The Beacon only holds 2,800, and fans were vying for tickets with the likes of Bill and Hillary Clinton. Oscar-winning director, Scorcese, is also a fan.

“Their music has dealt with aspects of the life that I was growing up around, and it’s been a well of inspiration to this day.”

The band played some classics and other songs that they had never before performed live. ‘Shine a Light’ is set for a national release on April 4th. You can see more photos and the trailer for the movie below.

Photos and Video