The Men Who Stare At Goats
By Christopher Calicott · 0 Comments · Leave a Comment
Blown away, I was not. That having been said, The Men Who Stare At Goats is an enjoyable movie, undoubtedly benefiting from the comedy timing and classic deadpan style of George Clooney in key scenes. Ewan McGregor's character is... meh, I don't know what to say about him. To be perfectly honest there is something about his American screen accent that always seems something of an obvious sham to me, and in this movie, it stood out more than usual, to my mind. He will always be a sympathetic character to me, though, and I never don't like him. As far as I am concerned, he can make 100 so-so films based on his performances in Trainspotting and Moulin Rouge! alone. He's got street cred. And oh, yes... he is a Jedi.
That brings up a good point - or at least a good question: Is it fair for someone to get to play a Jedi in more than one movie? I digress... Jeff Bridges is almost re-imagining his role as The Dude from The Big Lebowski, only as a neo-hippy warrior with a lot of motivation to motivate... not a great deal to say there. Kevin Spacey - I'd say he's at a career low, in this one, though it's probably not his fault. His character was just a self-absorbed ass and there wasn't anything there to like about the role, really, as it was sparse, and one-dimensional. It kind of makes me wonder if he lost a bet to take the role or if he was just plain old bored and wanted to work.
All in all, the movie was slightly above average, and fell into that big pool of movies that I feel like are worth going to see for entertainment value as long as you know you're not about to watch a masterpiece that is going to change the world forever for you. Movies don't have to be true works of art in order to be enjoyable, and this one was. I give it 6 out of 10.
Now, what might be more interesting to you is the fact that parts of this movie are actually based on a true story. Which parts? Who knows? The tie-in to Las Vegas, though, is that the person that George Clooney's character is based upon actually lives here in Las Vegas. There is even a "remote viewing" convention in Las Vegas, and one was back in June at Green Valley Ranch. There is an interesting article in the Las Vegas Sun about Retired Colonel John Alexander, the Las Vegas resident, who actually participated in Army intelligence experiments with psychokinesis and other psychic abilities. That's really, really interesting to me. If you read this, Colonel, I'd love to talk with you!
