The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)'s comments

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Siskoid

The Men Who Stare at Goats would make a good companion piece to Norwegian Ninja (a film I've shilled for this year because it's bloody brilliant, that's why). Both films are based on real-life alternative warrior manuals, both are completely ridiculous, and both are incredibly sincere. The Men Who Stare at Goats is the more mainstream of the two, however, with a stellar cast (Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey) and heartfelt comedy. It's about the U.S. military's real life efforts to use psychic powers in the field and makes creative use of the book by the same name, crafting a fictional story set in Irak to present its research. You won't want to believe it, but there it is. Very funny, surprising, and ultimately, a feel-good movie. One thing that bugged me is that the super-soldiers are called Jedis (this is real), and they have Ewan McGregor play a guy who seems to never have even heard of Star Wars. That called attention to itsel even though, as the director's commentary explains, they didn't even realize he'd played a Jedi before when they cast him.

8 years 9 months ago

IreneAdler

I understand a lot of people are drawn to this story or the humour of this film... but I have the feeling that I don't quite get it. I watched the whole movie but I was not able to feel any sort of connection to the story, not at any point.

I love Ewan McGregor and I normally like George Clooney, but not even they could save this for me. In this case I guess I'm to blame, but the conclusion is the same: I just don't like this movie.

10 years 2 months ago