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Capone loves locking eyes with THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS!!!
Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
You can file this under "story so utterly ridiculous that it has to be true." THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS is one of those tales you may have heard your favorite neighborhood conspiracy theorist mutter about over the years. The idea that the U.S. Army had a small unit of men singled out because they possessed even a hint of psychic abilities seems preposterous, yet if even one such soldier proved to have such abilities, the military immediately attempting to somehow capture and weaponize these powers seems all too believable. And according to newspaper man Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor presumably standing in for source material author Jon Ronson), that's exactly what happened.
Wilton was simply hoping to feel more like a man by going to cover the Iraq War for his outlet after his marriage collapsed. He's unable to indoctrinate himself in with the embedded journalists, and he stumbles upon Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a one-time member of the First Earth Battalion, a group pulled together years ago during the Cold War, when it was rumored that the Russians were experimenting with paranormal powers as part of their military operations. Much of the film goes back and forth between Cassady and Wilton barely escaping death in Iraq (perhaps because of Cassady's finely tuned abilities or maybe it's just dumb luck) and flashback to Cassady under the command of Bill Django (Jeff Bridges with a rope-like ponytail). Other members of this psychic army include Kevin Spacey as the envious Larry Hooper, whose meager powers don't come close to Cassady's, and the always reliable Stephen Lang as Brigadier General Dean Hopgood, who is so eager to possess these abilities that he concentrates with all his might and runs full force into walls, hoping to pass through them. What's even more incredible about the First Earth group is that their mission, as Django saw it, was not to win a war but to end all wars. As you might guess, no matter how successful this group was, it was doomed to failure.
Director Grant Heslov (who produced and co-wrote GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK with Clooney, and got two Oscar nominations as a result) has constructed one of the decade's great farces, but he's done so by simply laying out the facts in such interesting and entertaining ways that the humor just jumps off the screen. When Django goes missing, Cassady is called out of retirement to find him, but what he discovers along the way is something twisted, a perversion of the principles that Django instilled in his men. There is an absolute joy in watching George Clooney play a role like this, in which he is required to play a ridiculous man who takes everything he does with the utmost seriousness. I've seen both films coming out this fall starring Clooney (the other being UP IN THE AIR), and I can say without hesitation that in the one coming out in December, he gives us the greatest performance of his career. Without realizing it perhaps, it's the performance he's been building toward all these years. In THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, Clooney gives us the funniest work he's ever done. He's working decidedly against type. Gone is the charm and confidence; it's been replaced by nervous ticks, paranoia, abrasive personality, and a kind of delusional tone that is so unlike anything he's done to date. And he plays it like he's been doing it his whole life, utterly convincing.
Sometimes the comedy is subtle, and other times, well, it's not. Still, one of the great running gags involves the members of the psychic army referring to themselves as "Jedi Warriors." When Cassady explains this to Wilton, you can't help but laugh when Ewan (Obi Wan) McGregor asks "What's a Jedi Warrior?" The line wouldn't even be in the screenplay if McGregor wasn't the one delivering it. And for those of you who have altered your lives over the years to watch THE BIG LEBOWSKI a few more times a day, you're going to be in hog heaven watching Bridges play the closest thing to "The Dude" that he's played since that movie.
I will admit, the film's final act--when Clooney and McGregor finally get the entire picture of what has happened to the psychic battalion project--is not as strong as the rest of the film, if only because the reality of the situation is pretty grim and the laughs essentially cease for an extended period. Luckily for us, the collected talent on display in this film pulls us through to the end and leaves us with a wholly satisfying film-going experience. For most of THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, the laughs come at a dizzying pace. What's more, the film clocks in at just barely over 90 minutes, making the entire experience of watching it feel like a fucked-up fever dream that reveals to us a world where things that shouldn't happen do so with alarming regularity, and rarely with the intended results. Despite its weakened ending, I truly loved this smart, venomous work that reminds me that George Clooney is an actor who should never be underestimated.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
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I did it again!
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Nice to see all these people in GOATS, especially spacey who after seeing what happened to nic cage I hope has saved $.
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But "Good Night and Good Luck" was classy all the way. So I think I might give this a look.
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and Bridges is among the all-time acting elite, right up there with Brando. Both actors aren't afraid to look ridiculous if the role rwquires it, and both have excellent dramatic and comedic chops. This is a must-see movie for me. I wonder how Ewan's American accent will be this time around?
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when he does bad films. Which is more than I can say about some actors (*cough* Nicolas Cage *cough*). Yeah, George Clooney has been in some shit movies. But usually I walk away thinking "Man, that movie was shit", instead of "Man, George Clooney SUCKED in that movie." It's like, George Clooney will be in the occasional crap movie. But when people badmouth the movie, it seems like they're usually badmouthing THE MOVIE, rather than George Clooney.
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Clooney: Kick Cobra's ass?
BIG LOB: YEW READ MAI MIND!! -
Nov 06, 2009 2:46:29 AM CST
And McGregor, though he tries, can't do an American accent
by juansanchez
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Nov 06, 2009 3:23:53 AM CST
This looks like the best faux-Coen Brothers movie since...
by ronald raygun
Leatherheads.
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keep Assimov away, he gets horny around goats, lol.
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Good thing you reminded us he was Obi-wan. Otherwise, us geeks might never have gotten that subtle joke.
By the by, since you haven't read the book... the line probably would be in the screenplay, regardless of McGregor, because those guys did refer to themselves as Jedi.
I wonder why they changed the characters names though? The General who ran into walls? He was a guy called Albert "Bert" N. Stubblebine III and he's a character. He's one of those retired army types that thinks a plane couldn't have hit the Pentagon on 9/11.
But then, he also thinks it should be possible to walk through walls... Hero of the truther movement, eh? -
Stephen Lang is getting a revival of sorts. He was in Public Enemies, this movie and will be in Avatar. And good thing, if you ask me. He's a too talented actor to go to waste as he has been in the past. Hope to see him more in more movies the future.
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That is all.
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I've heard Boston's "More Than A Feeling" more times this year than I have in all the years since the God damn song came out in 1976!
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Porto never had it so bad.
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The guy is such a left wing hack. I'd see his movies if he kept his views to himself, or weren't so vocal about them..........a lot of other people must feel the same way........his movies the past five years don't generally do all that well in terms of box office revenue.
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Pity it didn't find an audience.
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It was a great attempt at recapturing WWII-era comedy with slapstick, innuendo, and quickly-paced banter.
Unfortunately, Apatow-styles comedies were in vogue when it came out, so it fell between the cracks. -
The first 2/3 was pretty watchable. The last 1/3 was complete garbage. Felt like I was watching a completely different movie.
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Clooney always delivers. Always. Even back on The Facts of Life.
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Since it's come up. I've always wondered how that movie got made. It seemed like it was made for no one. I didn;t see it, but the ads looked to romancey for guys, too footbally for girls, and also...a period piece about football? I can't believe it got released.
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He's a fine dramatic actor but this film (quite possibly) and great work in such fine comedies as "Oh Brother.." and "Burn After Reading" lead me to think he's a comedic natural. "Goats" looks hilarious. I'll be there.
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are the right-wing tools who HAVE to inject politics into EVERY fucking talkback. Enough of that shit!
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I've been wanting to watch it. Looks good, and though McGregor's American accent is shite I still think he's a very talented actor. And Clooney is great.
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Who needs all those damned movies with that hippy Communist George Clooney like Good Night And Good Luck, Oceans Eleven & Twelve, Burn After Reading, Oh Brother Where Art Thou, etc. Just go see Old Dogs.
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Yesterday's thread about Dolph Lundgren reminds me of something I really like about both he and Clooney - they always give any role their best shot, no matter how minor or feeble the rest of the film is.
Also, they seem to really enjoy their jobs, and their enthusiasm goes a long way towards looking at the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. -
Nov 06, 2009 11:11:57 AM CST
Heard a snippet of the film with Jeff Bridges this morning...
by harrycalder
...fucking hysterical. And that shot of a goat, just keeling over? I'm so there.
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Politics is injected in a good percentage of the articles before anyone has a chance to post to the Talkbacks.
And pretty much not a bit of that is right-wing.
Clooney and his politics always interested me solely because of his outspoken stuff about Darfur. I always wondered what his stance on Iraq was. The reason I wonder is because if we had no right to go into Iraq, we have no right to go into Darfur. Can't have it both ways. -
I completely agree: Clooney never phones it in, well, not anymore, anyway (Peacemaker, Batman and Robin, um, those early days were rough). Same with Dolph. Like I said yesterday, he tries so hard... Can you imagine a Clooney/Lungren pairing?! I smell buddy-cop action movie gold!
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Nov 06, 2009 11:24:45 AM CST
Clooney's a defecting Russian spook. Dolph's a disgraced CIA off
by harrycalder
(gotta have them playing against type). And they both get caught up in an international assassination plot of some sort. With high-larious results!
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I'm telling you, Clooney and Lungren together would be great!
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That doesn't necessarily mean anything, since most of the staff of E Weekly are pantywaist, bleeding heart, left wingers who wouldn't know an original thought if it smacked them in the head, but still, you don't see them give many F ratings...
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I know they've fictionalized the story, but even so, Ronson, who McGregor's character is based on, is British. Weird.
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http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv92/MixedMartialArts03/weigh-ins.gif
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to load. Same scene, longer clip, easier to view, here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUICHDB2TJg -
when using his thespian talents to bang girls young enough to be his granddaughters. I hear he'll be "dating" Dakota Fanning in about 1.5 years. The man is a fucking Professional, and my fucking Hero.
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I thought it would be easier than watching a whole video on youtube.
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rofl
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Looks like another Ocean's movie next summer.
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There's a lot to like about it. Clooney, Bridges, and the first two thirds of the script are all aces. But Spacey is strangely ineffectual. The first-timer direction is lifeless. The ending annoyed the hell out of me (SPOILER- force feeding people psychotropic drugs is presented as a really cool thing to do-END SPOILER). And then to cap it all Ewan McGregor gives one of the worst performances of his career- it would have been annoying enough, but he caps it with the worst movie accent of the decade. Watch this movie if you like Clooney and Bridges, and are the type of person who can forgive a film its flaws. On the upside, if you like the Coens, this *is* a *bit* like some of their wackier stuff, and it's better than Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers. So it's got that going for it. But seriously, this is a renter.
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The one that had a naked soldier shooting at other soldiers at Fort Bragg. Really weird to see it on screen.
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after some nut job went around shooting people at a military base.
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Capones review is spot-on. Also, the scene where *spoiler* Spacey gives l.s.d. to the soldier as an experiment, and he ends up shooting himself in front of the training soldiers *end spoiler* was a little strange. I think any other time it would have gotten a bigger laugh. As it is, it was one guy cackling, and a bunch of nervous laughter. But the movie is definitly worth checking seeing.
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Yeah, I started to laugh when the guy walks out buck ass naked, but after he started shooting a lady said "We shouldn't laugh at this". My friend sitting beside me was former Army and whispered "shit.. Just like yesterday".
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Sounds just like the character in "Burn After Reading". I don't mind that capone liked the performance for that but it sounds like is is essentially what he was doing in "Burn". I'm pretty sure Clooney used his cache to get his buddy Heslov a directing gig. Might see it but with low expectations. Seems like a vanity project/passion project for either Heslov or Clooney. The book wasn't bad but it goes into darker detail about these experiments. For instance, Guru military trainer wanted to fight the enemy using music to bring love and peace in the 1960's that evolved into the torture via constant loud annoying music of Operation Enduring Freedom and Gitmo. Also the end of the book deals with the death of a gov't agent who was tapped to be experimented on with LSD and he threw himself out of a window due to side effects I believe. The end of the book deals with that man's family trying to get justice for his father as the real details were covered up by the gov't.
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great movie, funny and just plain fascinating, my dad was in the Navy in the early 80's and he says that there was an air about this stuff in the military, that allot of people were fascinated with the paranormal and the new age movement and what not
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solider shooting at people was just plain disturbing
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Nov 06, 2009 9:48:13 PM CST
oh and Entertainment Weekly is insane for giving this an F
by the_crimson_king
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Was Spacey talking about subliminal messages, and then saying "Ooh, Twizzlers! I love these."
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What the fuck was that? But yeah, I wonder if that part of the story was true? The Dum Guy- Yeah, it was all laughs leading up to that point in our theater, but when that happened...yeah. Just the one guy laughing. How was the reaction for everyone else?
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I don't what is wrong with me today, but that shouldn't be funny anytime, ever, and I don't think they meant it to be funny. The scary thing is, is that this was an actual experiment they used to do on soldiers. They used to experiment on soldiers using MDMA.
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it's not funny enough to be a comedy or serious enough to be a drama. just weak satire.
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Clooney, a mash up of Oh Brother & Burn After Reading, Bridges playing Lebowski. Spacey kinda L.A Confidential. I haven't seen it mind you but this is what I've gathered from what I've seen on the trailers. Maybe they edited it this way so people would think this, especially with Lebowski. For some people Bridges playing such a character again is enough for people to but a ticket.
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I just don't think there is a significant audience for a movie like this. Doesn't make an interesting enough statement to get past the boredom.
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This movie could have been better, but it felt terribly unfocused, and not just because of the flashbacks. Goats is a rental, if that.
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Might make 15 mil by Monday. Why is Clooney an actor?
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But I freakin' loved this movie. I can't imagine how anyone who wanted to be a Jedi at some point in their life wouldn't love this movie. I mean I've tried using the Force. We all have right? And I used to read up on remote viewing, lucid dreaming all that stuff, and I have thought that my life was ruined by psychic attacks. So LOL yeah this movie was perfect for me.
Clooney was great, I have to admit. He's always seemed like a great guy but now I'm finally willing to call him an actor. The funniest thing for me personally that had nothing to do with the actual movie is that I used to have a huge crush on him back in the "Facts of Life" days. But ever since he grew up, not so much. However the minute I saw him with the long hair I was in love again. LMAO I'm so awful. But back to the movie, I think this should get one of the 10 spots at the Oscars this year. It was THAT good, imo. And it has to, HAS TO, win that SAG ensemble award. If I was forced to complain it would be less Spacey, more Lang. But I'm still saying 10/10. -
because box office determines whether a movie is good or bad (which is why Transformers Revenge Of The Fallen is the best movie of the year), why do people give a shit about box office?
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I said it was a flop at the box office. I never said it was good or not. I said it didn't make money. You're just an asshole.
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Just.... pointless film.
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Yes, laughed my dick off. You're a douche, lockes.
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Maybe they don't have much say, positive or negative. Which is telling in itself. [No, I haven't seen it either.] I may just go and take one for the team then.
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save your money !!!
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Saw it Sat. night and there were some good laughs, but the movie never seemed to figure out what it wanted to be: absurdist comedy? Syriana with jokes? some kind of weird Star Wars homage? And Clooney sucked ass! WAY too much mugging, "hey look at me being funny!" type moments. I really hoped for much better...
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Forgot to mention that. He always rocks. At one point, when my mind was drifting, I thought, "Can't wait for Tron 2!"
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At least I'm not a tasteless shit like you.
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