The Men who Stare at Goats (Heslov, 2009)

[Morris Schæffer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qszzV1tkzoE

Hilarious! :):D

[B-side]

Hm. Not bad. Kinda funny, kinda eh. I'm mixed, leaning toward anticipation.

[ledfloyd]

i've eaten up everything the heslov/clooney combo has thrown my way, yes, even leatherheads. i don't think this will be any different.

[megladon8]

Looks funny.

Really hated that line, though, "I went looking for a story, and he brought me an adventure."

Makes me want to choke to death on my own urine.

[Sven]

Gotta say, looks pretty funny.

[Sycophant]

I'll watch this.


Makes me want to choke to death on my own urine.

I am unfamiliar with this sensation.

[megladon8]

I am unfamiliar with this sensation.


You should try it.

It's what all the kids are doin' these days.

[number8]

Ah, yes, Peeboarding. Unpleasant.

[Rowland]

When I think of Heslov, the first movies that come to mind are True Lies and Congo. I grew up watching them both repeatedly on HBO, so I can't help it. Speaking of which, I wonder how Congo holds up...

EDIT: Congo was adapted by John Patrick Shanley? WTF

[Kurosawa Fan]

When I think of Heslov, the first movies that come to mind are True Lies and Congo. I grew up watching them both repeatedly on HBO, so I can't help it. Speaking of which, I wonder how Congo holds up...

EDIT: Congo was adapted by John Patrick Shanley? WTF

Congo is a movie I hate with every fiber of my being.

[Watashi]

When I think of Heslov, the first movies that come to mind are True Lies and Congo. I grew up watching them both repeatedly on HBO, so I can't help it. Speaking of which, I wonder how Congo holds up...

EDIT: Congo was adapted by John Patrick Shanley? WTF
John Patrick Shanley also wrote We're Back: A Dinosaur Story.

[Rowland]

Congo is a movie I hate with every fiber of my being.I just remember it being a goofy adventure movie I enjoyed when I was 10. Where does the hate stem from?

[D_Davis]

I just remember it being a goofy adventure movie I enjoyed when I was 10. Where does the hate stem from?

It choked him with it's own urine.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I just remember it being a goofy adventure movie I enjoyed when I was 10. Where does the hate stem from?

I read and loved the book, and it bastardized the book. I went to see it opening night, so freakin excited for an adaptation, and left with steam shooting out of my ears. I saw part of it on a pay channel a few years back and adaptation aside, because I remember next to nothing about the book 15 years later, the movie seemed really bad.

[Mara]

I thought the trailer looked hilarious. I will see this.

[Boner M]

http://incontention.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/The-Men-Who-Stare-at-Goats-movie-poster.jpg

[Watashi]

This was not received well at all at Toronto.

[Spinal]

Not a great film but a compelling topic. In fact, that's the film's main problem. It doesn't have much of a story and so what we get is more of a discussion about things that may or may not have occurred rather than a satisfying narrative. Clooney and Bridges have some funny moments. I imagine it probably works much better as a book. The implications the film makes about the American government are highly disturbing and yet the film is too lightweight to successfully explore the issues raised in regards to astonishing credulity at high levels of power.

[number8]

Yep, more or less. I think I was being too generous.

[MadMan]

After seeing the trailer, I have a feeling that I will love it. Hopefully I will be seeing it sometime next week.

[MadMan]

Well I do agree with Spinal that the film did not dive deeper into the fact that the military (and the government in general) sure love to twist a thing aiming for peace such as the First Earth Battalion into something evil and sinister. Yet, I really enjoyed this movie due to the performances, and the fact that it is indeed quite funny. Much of the movie left me wondering if Clooney had to do with it getting a wide release, seeing as many elements are quite strange. In a way, the whole thing has a kinship with the equally odd dark comedy Observe and Report, in that each film has comedy elements but really isn't quite a comedy per say. If that makes any sense.

[balmakboor]

Meh, my wife and I pretty much hated it. My review is here:

http://blogcritics.org/video/article/movie-review-the-men-who-stare1/

[Grouchy]

I wanted to like this a lot more, because the subject matter is really awesome, but the screenplay really doesn't work very well and the ending comes out of nowhere. It's worth watching once because of the actors and there's no denying it has funny scenes, but it's hard to believe they couldn't find a more compelling story that used these factoids. For example, I didn't find any attachment to the protagonist and really had no desire to see him succeed. George Clooney is the highlight. Jeff Bridges and Stephen Lang are also very funny, but their characters don't get the attention they deserve.

Now, a documentary based on the non-fiction book I'd sure watch.

[MadMan]

Grouchy I agree that a documentary covering the entire thing would indeed be far more interesting. I imagine the full truth surrounding all that happened would be far stranger and engaging than the actual movie itself, which in its end credits admitted that some names, events, etc. were either changed or combined. For obvious reasons, of course.

[kuehnepips]

Meh, my wife and I pretty much hated it. My review is here:

http://blogcritics.org/video/article/movie-review-the-men-who-stare1/

Thanks, I'll not see it.

Someone who's seen the dubbed German version told me Ewan McGregor asks "What's a Jedi?". Is this also in the original?

[balmakboor]

Thanks, I'll not see it.

Someone who's seen the dubbed German version told me Ewan McGregor asks "What's a Jedi?". Is this also in the original?

Something pretty close to that as I recall.

[kuehnepips]

Something pretty close to that as I recall.


Anything else funny? Except Clooney's moustache ...

[chrisnu]

Meh.

The reviews on Netflix talking about how people who aren't 'enlightened' or 'evolved' enough aren't going to get it make me roll my eyes. It seems like they're unknowingly proving one of the points of the movie I could decipher.