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The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)
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This movie is based on the eccentric investigation by British journalist Jon Ronson into New Age psychological techniques within US military intelligence, but it may confound fans of the book and accompanying 2004 TV documentary. Screenwriter Peter Straughan converts the intriguing source material into a wacky, Catch 22-style war comedy set in Iraq that bashes many of Ronson's odder discoveries into the ho-hum shape of a road movie. Ewan McGregor plays the bemused reporter who takes off with reactivated “psychic spy” Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) on a suitably vague desert mission. Aside from a few slapstick set pieces and the welcome presence of Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey as fellow military mentalists, the film is dominated by expository narration and the action is related, not shown. It lacks the control of the Coen brothers, in whose image the movie has been only serviceably created by first-time director Grant Heslov, and merely encourages the audience to stare at an all-star cast for 90 minutes or so. AC
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Tell us what you think
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Running time
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93min
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Country of origin
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US
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Genre
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Comedy
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Original language
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English
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Screenplay
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Peter Straughan, from the non-fiction book by Jon Ronson
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Theatrical distributor
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Momentum Pictures
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UK cinema certificate
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15
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UK cinema release date
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November 2009
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Film certification logos reproduced by kind permission of BBFC |
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