From The Alias Men Blog

Rating: 5/10 (14 November 2009)

We are Don and Albert, The Alias Men. We love movies and review the newest and most talked about movies on our blog, The Alias Men. Here are some excerpts from our reviews of "The Men Who Stare At Goats."
Albert's Take: "To me, a comedy is never better than when it's about a collective sense of humor, a cockeyed worldview, rather than about individual jokes. Failing that, as 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' does, I at least want to walk out with some zingers for the water cooler. But wouldn't you know it, practically every gag and comedic situation in this film falls flat.
"Oh, no doubt it's got the makings of a great comedy -- an A-list cast, a treasure lode of material for satire, topicality. But the graceless directing, which renders the jokes badly timed and too insistent by half, does a tidy job of canceling those out. And then of course there's the  shapeless  narrative ..."
Don's take: "We all know 'em. They are stubborn in their beliefs. Their beliefs form the cores of their souls; they define them. If the truth is contrary to what they believe, even if it is plain as day, staring them in the face, they'll find a way to continue to believe They'll make logical leaps, will assign meaning to the meaningless; they'll even dismiss cold hard facts in service of their beliefs. Take, for example, believers in the Loch Ness Monster, or conspiracy theorists.
"Leading the cast of 'The Men Who Stare At Goats' is George Clooney who is earnest and funny as the woefully deluded 'psychic' spy, Lyn Cassady. So deep in his delusion is he that at one point, he takes credit for the dissolution of a cloud. 'Cloud bursting,' he proclaims. 'It keeps me in shape.'
"A charming and affable Clooney stands out in an otherwise mediocre film that will quickly be forgotten but is perfectly serviceable as a winter diversion during what has been a slow season for movies. He revisits the wackiness we enjoyed so much in his turn as Ulysses Everett McGill in 'O Brother Where Art Thou,' and seems to be having a great time doing it; it rubs off a little on you. The film is not replete with gut-busting laughs like I had hoped, but I did find myself smiling easily throughout most of the film thanks in large part to Clooney's performance and I did laugh out loud a handful of times."
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