The Men Who Stare at Goats

I was all set to dismiss this film as being amusing yet inconsequential, but after thinking about it for a little bit I thing it deserves more credit than that. The film's plot revolves around Ewan Magregor's character traveling around Iraq with George Clooney. The film flashes back and forth between them, and Clooney's time in The New Earth Army - a secret division of the Army that back in the eighties tried to create an army of psychic super heroes. Jeff Bridges led these self -described Jedi's and they engage in varying psychic experiments - culminating with Clooney's character appearing ti kill a goat just by staring at it (see how I worked the title in there).

The film doesn't really have any big message, and most of the enjoyment comes from the fact that you're never entirely sure if the characters really have psychic powers - or if they're just really lucky. The cast is also loaded (besides the aforementioned three, it also includes Kevin Spacey, Stephen Root, and Robert Patrick) which is important in a film that has a premise as slight as this. They're able to convincingly sell characters that are in all likelihood crazy (Clooney in particular) and as a viewer you feel drawn to their LSD inspired lunacy.

So while The Men Who Stare at Goats doesn't have a significant message or particularly deep story, it does have an affable charm and understated sense of humor (really) that makes for a pleasant viewing experience. Why I'm trying to sound like a morning show reviewer is beyond me.