LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Matthew Kresal There is an old saying that truth is stranger than fiction. It is perhaps no surprise then that filmmakers have often found inspiration in true events in bringing stories to the screen. In what is definitely a case of "stranger than fiction" is The Men Who Stare At Goats, the 2009 film depicting the military's attempt to harness the forces of the paranormal in the name of national security. The results, like the film itself, are quite surprising.Going into the film, it's worth remembering that the credits state that it is "Inspired By The Book The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson". Like many a fact based film before it the film combines characters, events and locations together to create something that can fit more easily into a ninety-three minute package. Keeping that in mind though doesn't mean that the film is a complete work of fiction. On the contrary, many of the events shown in the film have a serious basis in reality. These include the New Earth Army, remote viewing programs (including the specific example used in the film) and indeed the film's very title. While the more "present day" elements are certainly more fictitious than other parts of the film, the film largely portrays real events within its more fictional context.Keeping all that in mind, there's plenty of enjoy about the film as a whole. The performances throughout are solid, playing up the absurd nature of the events being portrayed. Ewan McGregor as Bob Wilton (a character apparently inspired by author Jon Ronson" is the viewer's in-way to events and acts as narrator as well as participant. George Clooney is Lyn Cassady with whom McGregor's Wilton spends much of his time with and whom we see through decades of his life in a performance that Clooney plays perfectly on the fine line that constantly leaves Wilton and the viewer alike wondering about his sanity. Much the same can be said of Jeff Bridges as the New Earth Army's founder Bill Django (based on the real-life Jim Channon) and which Bridges is perfectly cast to play. The film's supporting cast is strong as well including Kevin Spacey, Stephen Lang, Robert Patrick, Stephen Root and Waleed Zuaiter who all play up or down the comedy in their scenes to great success.The film, as a production, is solid as well. Peter Straughan's script finds the right balance of parody, comedy and occasional seriousness which sets much of the film's tone and that director Grant Heslov brings to the screen wonderfully. The film covers a large span of time from 1972 Vietnam to 2004 Iraq, a challenge that production designer Sharon Seymour and costumer Louise Frogley do a splendid job of bringing to life. If Straughan and Heslov create a quirky sense of tone, it's Seymour and Frogley who give it the sense of reality that makes it all the more incredible to watch. The result is a quirky, odd but definitely funny hour and a half. With an excellent cast and solid production values, it brings us the tale of the absurd measures that members of the US military went to test and use the paranormal with often surprising results. While not perhaps for all tastes, The Men Who Stare At Goats does prove one thing: that truth is more certainly stranger than fiction.

SnoopyStyle Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is a small town reporter told to interview psychic Gus Lacey (Stephen Root). Gus claims to have been in a special psychic unit in the U.S. Army. They were trained to kill psychically and one time they killed a goat by staring at it. Bob's wife (Rebecca Mader) leaves him for his editor. During the Iraq war, he's stuck in Kuwait waiting for permission where he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Gus had previously mentioned Lyn as the skipper of the secret unit. After getting shot in Vietnam, Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) started investigating other ways to fight wars. Years of living with hippies leads him to start the New Earth Army. Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) is intend on using the findings for the dark side.The movie takes the quirky material and adds very little. The actors are sincere. Bridges brings a little bit of his inner Lebowski. Clooney is a little manic. McGregor is the wide-eye semi-loser. The characters are likable enough but the movie lacks bigger laughs. It's a lot of quirky stuff. It's not real enough to be compelling and it's not surreal enough to be fun. It's on the same path as Dr Strangelove but it's nowhere near as good. Director Grant Heslov is a relative novice and this needs better talents like the Coen brothers to pull it together.

Mike B That movie is quite amusing if you know the facts around it being true...It making a mocky of the U.S. Army's extensive history of actually investigating paranormal methods for combat. When it comes to 'murica they will do anything with the tax payers money for improving their warfare.There was a guy named Nick Rowe, a Special Forces operator who spent 62 months imprisoned in a Vietnamese POW camp. I believe it was him to leaked the details of what he believed to be mind controlling goats which he witnessed there. That lead US into extreme researching of the topic.The 'fainting' goat itself is extremely funny which the US government actually researched on as being actually paranormal.Makes sense seeing a certain type of goat dropping dead by human interaction could be easily confused as something more. However, they where very certain it was paranormal power and therefore wanted it for themselves and apply it to actual people! The US government just believed it was due to people actually staring at the goat for long periods of time at them, focusing paranoid brain activity towards them, which made their heart stop. Really it was just anything that spooked them. Due to an congenital (present from birth) medical condition known as myotonia congenita or Thomsen's disease, certain goat's muscles tense up when the animal is startled and don't immediately relax. Younger ones are more affected and it can even stop their heart for a moment - which can label them as pronouced dead, then revived moments later.

blanche-2 A really great cast stars in "The Men Who Stare at Goats," a 2009 film directed by Grant Heslov. George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey -- an exceptional group, with a screenplay by Peter Straughan.An unlucky in love, depressed reporter (Ewan McGregor) goes to join the war in Iraq and meets a special forces agent, Lyn Cassady (Clooney). Cassady tells him a wild story about a psychic division of the military that is trained to do remote viewing and whose mission is to end the violence of war.This is a great premise for a film, but it isn't done particularly well. There seems to have been no decision as to whether it was a comedy or drama. With a focus either way, the elements could have been mixed well, because there are some hilarious moments as well as some very dramatic moments. The problem is, you don't know how to react, so the experience is discomfiting.I don't like animal abuse shown or talked about, even though the peace and love character played by Jeff Bridges as well as Lyn don't like that aspect of their work. I realize there was no real abuse, but what was talked about was pretty gross.The performances are very good, with Clooney saying the most outrageous things with complete commitment and intensity, Bridges doing a character similar to what he played in Big Lebowski, McGregor dazed and confused, and Spacey as an ambitious guy who hopes to use the group toward his own ends. But they're all better than this material.Could have been much better and much stronger.