The Men Who Stare at Goats

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The Men Who Stare at Goats

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The Men Who Stare at Goats

George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Stephen Lang

The story of a secret unit within the US Army called the First Earth Battalion, whose paranormal military ideas mutated over the decades to influence interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay.

Id: 11053838

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The Men Who Stare at Goats Recent Reviews
  • sheens431
    December 17, 2009
    sheens431
    I was pretty disappointed with this movie. With such an outstanding cast they could have done much more, but it continually falls short.

    I could see the humor in this movie; I know what they were trying for, but it never hit home with me. It has it's moments; chuckles here a...( read more)nd there. But overall the funny parts are just too obvious and the scenes I would have laughed at I had already seen in the trailer.

    The claim that this is all based on a true story doesn't really help clear anything up as this story makes very little sense to start with. I was expecting to see some guys killing goats with their minds and you never see that.

    There really isn't much of a reason to see this, but if you do at least wait until it's free.
  • allan913
    December 12, 2009
    allan913
    What a fantastic movie. It's smart, funny, original and very entertaining. A sharp and exhilerating piece of comic greatness. It's a flat-out hilarious great time at the movies that you will love. A clever, well-written, sharply directed and very well performend film with an A-Gr...( read more)ade all-star cast. Director, Grant Heslov has done an exceptional job with this material and its stars. George Clooney and Ewan McGregor are teriffic. Jeff Bridges is hilarious in so many ways. Kevin Spacey is brilliant. The cast has great chemistry together. A wonderful soundtrack and great set pieces. An outragious, enjoyable and outstanding film. A classic new comedy thats so unbeliveably fun and its even true.
  • flickfever
    December 4, 2009
    flickfever
    Picture
    The idea of psychic soldier sounds incredibly fascinating despite its ridiculousness. But in The Men Who Stare at Goats that ludicrous premise (or promise) is a thing of urban legend-cum-real-life-events. The clandestine program to program certain clairvoyance-gifted youn...( read more)g men depicted in this film is not a far cry from the actual programs that must've been in existence (and the cause of internal ridicule) in our arms forces' past.

    Ewan McGregor plays an American journalist bent on shaking off the remnants of a marriage gone wrong by actually doing something with his life. Therefore, he thinks of going to Iraq in the first weeks of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. There he meets a wacked-out George Clooney (who is still recovering from his days as a psychic soldier from the Vietnam era.)

    What turns into a goal for a story about Iraq, turns into a search for the truth behind what is knows as "The Men Who Stare at Goats." Clooney's character proclaims that he and his colleagues were able to stop a goat's heart by staring at it (long enough) and that he possesses many other mind-control devices within his own mind. And that if the enemy (the soviets, Iraqis or whomever) were to find out about them--well, it would be the end of...the program.

    Sounds funny, right? Kind of? A little? Maybe not. The movie falls under the wretched spell of it brilliant casting (which also includes Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey) and muddles any semblance of gravitas with a plot so convoluted, complex and downright confusing that you'll be lost before you know it. It's not so much that the machinations of the characters are too difficult to keep up with. It's the fact that I couldn't care less about them.

    Their lives weren't that interesting and their military goals weren't compelling enough to merit an entire movie being made about them. Some quirky little episodes ensue (Clooney's wreckless "cloud-bursting" strands them in the desert) but, overall, the movie ends up feeling like an empty vehicle to display shiny, high paid actors like Space, Clooney and McGregor.

    Perhaps the concept of this movie was brilliant. I can't tell. But the execution of the film itself was dull and abrasive. It really said nothing new about the military now and it said nothing amusing about the military then. It seemed a little self-serving and inaccessible for the general population. Of course, I am not a pot-smoking hippie now and I certainly wasn't around when most young Americans were either. So, maybe I'm just out of touch.
  • 366weirdmovies
    December 2, 2009
    366weirdmovies
    A journalist accompanies an agent working for a secret, experimental psychic warfare Army unit (the Jedi Knights of the New Earth Army) on a mission deep into the Iraqi desert. Gets points for originality, but needed a lot more belly-laughs and a more satisfying conclusion. The ...( read more)star-studded cast (George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges) don't go far enough over the top, often seeming wasted.
  • rebvodka042099
    November 22, 2009
    rebvodka042099
    This is one of the movies that audiences and critics disagree majorly upon. For me, it was just a waste of talent. If there was something I was "supposed" to get, I didn't. When you have McGregor, Clooney, Spacey and Bridges in one movie, you expect it to blow you away. Instead I...( read more) was left unemotional, uninterested, and with many question marks. Sure, the acting is superb, sure there is great black humor in it, but the story couldn't be one I cared less for, and even so, the movie SHOULD make you care for it. It seemed random and marked by carelessness, and it was a movie that I'd expect to see 20 years ago - not today. I didn't enjoy it much, and hopefully if the four of the leading stars ever get to be in a movie together again, it will be a masterpiece.
  • avivabell
    December 27, 2009
    avivabell
    In my opinion the movie is ?quirky.? If you are someone who likes movies that have big time ?quirk? than you are in for a real treat. Not only does it have an offbeat sense of humour, it also has heart and just enough farfetched ideas to keep you completely entertained!
    Read...( read more) the full review at: www.avivabelharold.com
  • MisterTuttle
    December 27, 2009
    MisterTuttle
    Photobucket

    T...( read more)his film is fucking hilarious.

    Why does Bob Wilton go to Kuwait? Well, it's because his wife left him for a one armed man. When there he meets Lyn Cassidy and he reveals to Bob that a long time ago in the 80's the military tried to create a band of psychic soldiers. Now Bob is a reporter and he sees this as an opportunity for a story. So he tags along with Lyn who has to get to Iraq because he's been reactivated and is on a mission. Actually, it's not a real mission. Please Note that every character is delusional. I'll repeat: DELUSIONAL. Keep that in mind.

    While on this trip Lyn discusses the time he spent in the military and how he became part of the New Earth Army which was founded by Bill Django played by Jeff Bridges who should be nominated for this role. How did Django come up with the New Earth Army idea? I'll explain. While in Vietnam he fell off of a chopper, hitting the ground below. Many of his fellow soldiers followed behind him and as they were taking heavy fire he noticed that every one of his soldiers couldn't hit this one particular enemy who ended up shooting Django in the chest. After this he made the realization that his fellow soldiers did not want to kill anyone.

    This lead Django to seek out new experiences and since it was the late 70's it was going to be easy to find those experiences. When he came back to the military he began work on creating the New Earth Army. There's even a theme song to the whole thing.

    The New Earth Army is to create a super soldier or a Jedi Warrior. Maybe both. Lyn Cassidy was the highest ranking soldier due to his impressive way of "seeing into the future". Unfortunately, every great mind must have an enemy and that was Larry Hooper, he was the dark side the evil Jedi if you will.

    So Lyn and Larry were both at odds, but Lyn didn't know this or sense it. Some special powers. When another newbie comes into the group Larry uses him as the fall man. He gets the kid high on LSD and before you know it he's out in the courtyard where everyone is marching and begins shooting at them before shooting himself. This is where Django gets in trouble. He's discharged and the New Earth Army is passed to Larry.

    All of this is told as Lyn and Bob get kidnapped by Iraqi's and getting stuck in the desert after their car blows up by an IED. It's hilarious how all of this stuff happens. The best thing though would have to be the very end where Django and Bob spiked everyone's food and water with LSD so they could escape from Larry Hooper's control. Even Larry gets his dose of LSD and becomes hungry due to the effect.

    I can't rate this highly enough. It's very funny shit. I'll never stare at a goat the same way again. Or a hamster for that matter.
  • mchristinam69
    December 25, 2009
    mchristinam69
    love this movie, especially if you know any new age stuff you will laugh you ass off
  • Jelece
    December 21, 2009
    Jelece
    Clever movie, but it leaves you with a feeling that they forced a movie out of a short story. All the big name actors did themselves proud with their work in this one, but sometimes even that is not enough.
  • iamdilpickle
    December 20, 2009
    iamdilpickle
    Pretty much a starwars spoof that has a predictable ending. Yet I loved every minute of it
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