- I usually try to avoid qualitative spoilers of movies as best I can, but it’s been hard while sitting in line and overhearing people talking about stuff they’ve already seen. I hadn’t heard great things about this movie and so perhaps my expectations were significantly lowered, but I came out of it liking it way more than I thought I would.
- I have continuous fear of Ewan McGregor’s dubious American accents. We already know he can’t do a southern accent after his spectacular displays in Big Fish and Down With Love, but he’s managed to adopt a generic American (generican?) accent here that doesn’t keep twanging in your ear as being completely put on (it sounds worse in the trailer than it does in the movie). Also, remember when I used to love, love, love him? I checked IMDB and I haven’t seen him in anything since The Island in 2005. So, this is a bit of a reunion for us. (I’m sure he’s missed me too.)
- I have great fondness for George Clooney’s flashback wig in this. The moustache, not so much, but clearly the moustache is a douchey facial trademark for the First Earth Battalion.
- I’ve decided I’m not a fan of Jeff Bridges. He’s the same in everything.
- The running gag about the soldiers in the First Earth Battalion being Jedi Knights felt a little too in-jokey every time Ewan McGregor’s character would say “What’s a Jedi” or “You think I have Jedi powers?” Har har, yes, we understand that a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away he was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Stop winking at us, film. I’m sure that stuff would have been fine with another actor in the role, but it became very tongue-in-cheek with Ewan’s presence.
- Although this is apparently based on several true stories, one can’t help but interpret its politics as being a larger metaphor the war in Iraq with its delusions, fake missions, and ultimately no understanding of why anyone is there.
- Funnier than expected, since the trailer was not terribly funny.
- I can’t think of anything else, which is a shame because this was a lot more enjoyable than expected. This is the problem when it’s the first of three screenings in a day and you don’t write anything down.
The Men Who Stare At Goats
A little bit absurd but pretty entertaining.
IMDB Plot Synopsis A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's First Earth Battalion, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.