Monday, November 9, 2009
There Were Men. And Goats. And Staring. So Much Staring.
I went to the movies on Saturday, for the first time in weeks and weeks.
You have to understand that there was a time when I practically lived at the movies. I would go every week or two. I even went when there was nothing new to see. And I had no qualms--
(Does anyone ever HAVE qualms?)
--about paying two or three times for a movie that I particularly enjoyed.
(Which is how I ended up seeing Jurassic Park in the theater 9 times. And The Phantom of the Opera a total of 12 times.)
(Of course, on both occasions I was in stiff competition with someone over who was crazier, but whatever.)
Anyways, this weekend, I saw The Men Who Stare at Goats.
Here's a little clip. I just dig George Clooney's 'do!
Here's the thing about TMWSAG. I really liked it. But I have no idea why.
Sure, Ewan McGregor is cute. George Clooney is, too, even with the goofy mustache.
(Or maybe because of it.)
It's supposed to be based on the true story of Army soldiers that were part of secret military experiments involving remote viewing back in the 80's. It could be true. Most of it probably isn't. But it was still fun to watch. A lot of the funny scenes were already revealed in the trailers, but are still good in the context of the film.
I had two issues with this movie.
One, it was too short. I'm sorry but when you are basing a movie on a book that is based on a true story, you aren't doing it justice by keeping the run time at only 90 minutes. It was painfully obvious that a LOT of information was left out. Information that probably would have made it easier to keep straight who was who and what they were doing and why I was supposed to care.
Two, I kept forgetting the plot. The story jumped a lot from flashback to present day, and while I enjoyed a few laughs, I kept forgetting what was supposed to be happening in present day. Although, looking back on it, I'm pretty sure they didn't make that clear until the end anyway. So maybe I wasn't as confused as I thought.
Basically, I liked the movie. The performances were good. Jeff Bridges plays the stoner-Army colonel (or something) that developed the New Earth Army. Kevin Spacey is the Army officer whose psychic prowess never matched George Clooney's Lyn Cassady. And Ewan McGregor plays the reporter that tried to bring the whole unbelievable tale to light.
Confused?
Well, I saw it and I still am too.
I think.
Honestly, if you're looking to just get out of the house and go see a movie, this probably won't disappoint you. But if you're the type that only gets to the theater once or twice a year, wait a few weeks and the Oscar stuff will be out. You can catch this one on video.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
20 comments:
"You know what they say. If you don't have anything nice to say about anybody, come sit by me."
~Clairee Belcher, Steel Magnolias