If looks could kill

Today I am reviewing the film, The Men who stare at goats, I do hope you find this of some use.

FILM ONLY REVIEW

Bob Wilton is a small town reporter who is trying to get a big story to impress his ex girlfriend. He gets sent to a small story to report on a man who believes he stared at his hamster and killed it. Bob discovers that the guy did stun his hamster and he was once part of a undercover Army corp. called the New Earth Army. Bob gets the names of a few of the other guys who were also part of the corp. so he has investigate the claims.

His investigations do not go to well and he decides to head over to Iraq to try and find some danger and a bigger story so he can impress his ex-girlfriend and try to win her back but as he is not able to get into the country he goes to stay in his hotel. When at the hotel he accidentally meets Lyn Skip Cassidy who he recognises as being part of the Earth Army he was told about. He strikes up a friendship with Lyn and manages to talk him into taking him into Iraq.

The pair set off to Iraq and bob starts to question him about the Earth Army and soon makes some startling discoveries. Just what will Bob discover and what is the real reason Lyn is in Iraq?

I has heard god things about this film and really wanted to watch it so I was very pleased when it came on the TV as it meant I did not have to fork out any money. I have to say that I was slightly disappointed by what we saw and thought that it lacked in comedy despite being classed as one. The storyline was good if not a little far fetched at times and the acting was also very good but for me there was just something missing to make this story seem genuine and more believable.

Ewan McGregor took the role of bob and he did a good job, he took very well to the part and was a nice likable man. He seemed a nervous man around danger and seemed very uncomfortable with some of the things he was being told. He did deliver all of his lines with ease and had a good on screen partnership with the role of Lyn. Lyn was played by George Clooney and he too did a good job with his role. There were a few times during the film when he seemed a little distant and strange but as the story developed we got to understand why this was. I did enjoy seeing the past scenes where George Clooney was made to look a little like a hippy as his appearance and mind frame was very funny.

We did have some very good support roles in the film and some of the actors included, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey and Robert Patrick. We did have a good mix of characters in the film and it made for some diverse and fun viewing.

The film was mainly set a few years ago when the Iraq conflict was at its highest and the settings and scenery for these parts were all very good and fitting. The costumes did not need much work on as they were normal clothes and so to were the vehicles and props. The settings for the Iraq parts of the film were detailed and look authentic and worked and fitted into the film very well. Hubby has been to Iraq and he said they gave a good representation of the country and deserts we got to see. During the film we did get flashbacks to the time when the Earth Army was taking off and the recruits were being trained. We also had good costumes and props for these parts of the film and it meant we were easily able to work out what time zone we were in and not get confused.

The film is classed as a comedy and for me I felt it was lacking n a few big gags. We did have a lot of laughs but they were more subtle ones and I just loved the mentions and references to the Star Wars film which came out a lot in the film. Both me and hubby laughed out loud when Ewan McGregor was being talked to about Jedi code and becoming a Jedi master due to the other films he has been in! We had some noticeable visual gags but they did not happen very often and the majority of the humour came in the form of spoken one liners.

The film had a good soundtrack which was quite mixed. We had modern songs for the present day scenes and old tracks and hippy music for the flash blacks. It did all work very well despite being so mixed. The special effects were also very good and they fitted effortlessly into the film and looked very good.

This is a film only review so there are no bonus features to speak about. The running time of the film is 94 minutes and the rate is a 15. I do agree with this rate and do not think the film is suitable for younger viewers due to the amount of bad language. The film can be bought on DVD for £5 now in a variety of stores and I do think it is worth this price.

Both me and hubby did enjoy this film so I am giving it a good 4 stars and a recommendation. I have had to drop one star due to the fact that some of the storyline is a little far fetched and there was a lack of big gags. This is well worth a watch and the £5 price tag.