Movie Review: THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS

movie review by David Blackwell

93 minuts, rated R

ASPECT RATIO: 2.35:1

STUDIO: Overture Films/ BBC Films/ Smoke House/ Westgate Film Services/ Winchester Capital Partners

Theatrical RELEASE DATE: 11-6-2009

STARRING George Clooney (Lynn Cassady), Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges (Bill Django), Kevin Spacey, Stephen Lang

WRITTEN by Peter Straughan, based on the book by Jon Ronson

DIRECTED by Grant Heslov

Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), a reporter from Ann Arbor, goes to Iraq and teams up with Lynn Cassady (George Clooney). Lynn was a pyschic spy aka remote viewer who train for the US Army's New Earth Army in the 1980s. Now in 2002, he is on a mission in Iraq. What exactly is the mission is not clear. Bob is hunting for a story and something to believe in.

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS is a uproariously funny movie despite having an aimless plot. Clooney looks like Dennis Farina while Jeff Bridges is channeling the Dude if he joined the Army. Kevin Spacey is the villian of the movie somehwat. Also the remote viewers are known as Jedi Warriors which is ironic given that Ewan McGregor played a Jedi in the STAR WARS prequels. THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS is full of funny vingettes, but the overall plot is weak. You have no central bad guy for our heroes to go against. The film is a journey of discovery for Bob and yet i wish it was more clever. I wish it focused more on Lynn and his days in the New Earth Army. The movie is loosely based on a non-fiction book of the same name. However, I wish THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS had more flare and style.

this review is (c)11-14-2009 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. No goats were harmed while writing this reivew. All Rights Resereved. send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com no spammers- all spammers will be deleted.