The Men Who Stare At goats

 This was one of the four DVDs I rented the other night. I watched it after Silent Hill. For some reason this film didn't play in any Hawkes Bay cinema, which was disappointing because a good film like this is a must on the big screen.
 It has a stella cast and they all deliver. George Clooney in particular is just outstanding. He plays roles like this like no other (Think Burn After Reading as an example) . It is a very Coen brother's type performance. Quirky and extremely humourous. Kevin Sapcey for me went off the boil for a while as an actor, but here is back to his best. Bridges and McGregor are also on form and deliver great supporting roles. The chemistry between the actors is strong and the movie gels together well for it. McGregor's disbelief in Clooney's character and the whole physic powers story is palpable.
 This is based on a book. Unfortunately I havent read it. But it reminds me so much of one of the Twentieth Century's greatest novels, Catch-22. It also, like The Men Who Stare at Goats, is a send up of the military and its bureaucracy. It is scathing and cycnical in a darkly black comedy type of way. There are some genuinely funny moments as you laugh at the absurdity of it all. Very Catch-22 like where you can't help but laugh out loud at the characters who take themselves so seriously but are in fact bordering on insanity.
 There really isn't much else to say on this film. I'm disappointed I didn't see it on the big screen. But if you wish to see a quirky, well acted film, with a quiet moral message, then this is a great film to see. The whole cast is great but watch it in particularly for Clooney and his mastery of  a character who has lost touch with reality. It is unmissable for that alone.
Click here for a synopsis and other facts;
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234548/
And again here:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/men_who_stare_at_goats/
And here for the official website:
http://www.themenwhostareatgoatsmovie.com/#home