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The Men Who Stare at Goats
2009
Comedy, Drama
1h 34m
A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's First Earth Battalion, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.
Directed by:
Grant HeslovThe Men Who Stare at Goats
2009
Comedy, Drama
1h 34m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 37.89% from 3730 total ratings
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Rated 21 Jan 2010
74
59th
For the most part this movie is superbly funny in it's sheer absurdity. Having seen the documentary this is based on, Crazy Rulers of the World, I knew what was fiction and what wasn't (and you'll be suprised by how much isn't fake). However the film's narrative nose-dives during the final act and the final 5 minutes completely fall apart. Still it has some fantastic humour in it that is grounded in reality, believe it or not.
Rated 21 Jan 2010
Rated 14 Jan 2010
35
19th
With such a fine cast and a decent premise it botched completely. I was only mildly entertained in the Bridges' psi corps initiation sequence.
Rated 14 Jan 2010
Rated 03 Apr 2010
70
56th
It's relatively funny movie that's main plot was not as good as the flashback sub-plot. The cast is really good and in worse hands this film could really have been a stinker. To me it's a movie that I enjoyed but probably won't watch again unless I happen upon it on TV.
Rated 03 Apr 2010
Rated 07 Dec 2010
59
50th
Disappointing, but not unenjoyable. The whole movie, but in particular the charactors themselves feel very two-dimensional. This is a real shame when you consider what a weird, funny & intriguingly uneasy read Ronson's book is. This film drops, excludes or simply changes most of books finest elements, and to be honest most nearly every amendment feels a mistake. Even so, there are a few laughs here, & some good performances (Spacey, Clooney), but this is sadly underwhelming & lacking charisma.
Rated 07 Dec 2010
Rated 05 Dec 2010
65
51st
Offbeat comedy that chronicles the history of a secret detachment of psychic super-soldiers during the 80s. Jeff Bridges and Clooney are both pretty good, but Kevin Spacey's character was woefully underwritten, he doesn't seem to have any reason for being such a dick. Lots of laughs (including, yes, a man staring at a goat), even if the preachy ending falls with a heavy handed, eye rolling thud. Bonus points to Ewen McGregor for not letting his accent slip once that I noticed.
Rated 05 Dec 2010
Rated 28 Aug 2010
45
0th
Had potential, but it ruined itself. Also, the trailer have the best scenes at all.
Rated 28 Aug 2010
Rated 06 May 2010
22
2nd
Staring at goats would have been more interesting than this drivel.
Rated 06 May 2010
Rated 10 Apr 2010
80
37th
This movie's gonna be recognized as a hidden gem eventually, I could tell. The cast is absolutely brilliant. Clooney is phenomenal and Jeff Bridges is the man - The best part is he pretty much plays The Dude if the The Dude worked for the government. This is full of laughs and great lines (The Silence of the Goats). Maybe its only problem is the plot which kind of isn't there - it jumps around and switches up every 15 minutes but this is a comedy and I was definitely laughing.
Rated 10 Apr 2010
Rated 12 Mar 2010
37
23rd
Starts off with a pretty funny concept, gets strangely dark, and then ends up being just strange. There are some pretty great moments, but a lot of the pieces don't really feel like they fit together.
Rated 12 Mar 2010
Rated 31 Jan 2010
65
53rd
I expected quite much from this movie. I thought the title was awesome! Great cast too, but I was kinda dissapointed. Thought the directing was a bit messy, the story was confusing. I did laugh a few times though. It wasn't a bad movie, but not fantastic either
Rated 31 Jan 2010
Rated 05 Dec 2009
64
43rd
The Men Who Stare At Goats is a bit of a misfire. The only thing I got out of this was the countless Star War references concerning Ewan McGregor.
Rated 05 Dec 2009
Rated 18 Nov 2009
60
28th
It's certainly not bad but its mainly funny in a I-see-what-you-did there way. Mainly I was laughing at people telling Ewan McGregor he could be a Jedi. He is! I sat through all three of those films dammit.
Rated 18 Nov 2009
Rated 11 Apr 2020
40
34th
Could've been a lot better were it not for Heslov, Clooney and McGregor (and I really like Clooney and McGregor normally).
Rated 11 Apr 2020
Rated 12 May 2017
50
12th
Yes, casting director, we get it. THE PREQUEL TRILOGY EXISTS.
Rated 12 May 2017
Rated 16 Apr 2016
47
21st
Some promising stuff in this, but you know, at some point, I wish studios would just go "You know, if there was ever an interesting point to this movie, we lost it about five rewrites ago. Let's just cut our losses and go home." If this is what passes for mainstream subversive satire we're all very very screwed.
Rated 16 Apr 2016
Rated 12 Apr 2014
50
7th
Quite bad, the title had me interested, but I was disappointed in nearly every way. I didn't think it was funny and I felt there was no point at all. By the end I felt I would have been better off not having watched this film.
Rated 12 Apr 2014
Rated 01 Jun 2013
49
29th
A huge misfire. Pretty much wastes all of its potential, of which it had plenty of.
Rated 01 Jun 2013
Rated 27 Dec 2012
50
37th
Just reminded me I could be watching a good movie instead
Rated 27 Dec 2012
Rated 20 Sep 2012
58
61st
Proof that when planets align, nothing really happens. Astrologists, go home.
Rated 20 Sep 2012
Rated 04 Mar 2012
60
31st
Neither zany & funny enough, nor serious enough to really be anything in the end.
Rated 04 Mar 2012
Rated 17 Nov 2011
93
95th
Well, if the real armies were like this, we would be in a much more interesting world, but alas... (I don't know how much safer though). It is kinda like Hot Shots in the 2000s, but I really enjoyed it because it is based on the sad truth of the wars around us. If you can talk about psyche ops and criticize contract security companies at the same time, you are alright in my book. 4 finest horsemen of acting and a goat, what else could you want?
Rated 17 Nov 2011
Rated 27 Aug 2011
79
64th
This was a very bizarre movie and different than I expected. Enjoyable but definitely particular to personal taste.
Rated 27 Aug 2011
Rated 12 Jun 2011
53
11th
Sadly disappointing. There were some enjoyable moments when I first saw this, but trying to watch it a second time I just couldn't find it in myself to care and turned it off. The script lacks splendor and there's so much more that could have been done with the idea.
Rated 12 Jun 2011
Rated 01 Jun 2011
74
44th
Silly, shallow, and stupid at times. Still a fun ride if you don't try to think about it.
Rated 01 Jun 2011
Rated 12 Feb 2011
70
50th
This is a film that doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up ... A satire, a political documentary, a comedy, a humerous insight. Its a shame, because I enjoyed it, but was left wondering what it was for; what it was trying to say. With clearer direction it would have been fantastic. Great performances all round, expecially from the goat, and in truth, I could watch Bridges, Clooney and Spacey all day and not really worry whether I was truly understanding the point of the movie
Rated 12 Feb 2011
Rated 12 Jan 2011
30
13th
The trouble with this film is that the non-fiction book on which it's based is so hilariously absurd in the first place that any attempt to make a dramatisation seems almost redundant from the off. When the truth is much stranger than fiction, why bother making stuff up? The fictionalised part (the road-trip through Iraq) is the weak link - just flimsy padding on which to rest the flashbacks. The film has a great cast, and is occasionally funny, but most of it just seems inconsequential.
Rated 12 Jan 2011
Rated 24 Dec 2010
1
0th
It's smugness -- unleavened by wit -- that makes Goats so offensive.
Rated 24 Dec 2010
Rated 31 Aug 2010
15
23rd
man that was a waste of watching time i really should have stopped it but apparently that's "improper" you can't rate things unless you watch them that's bullshit i knew it was garbage i wasn't wrong i'm never wrong about that kind of thing
Rated 31 Aug 2010
Rated 10 Aug 2010
74
56th
Pretty funny at times. Looses some steam in the middle and isn't all that memorable, but it's okay.
Rated 10 Aug 2010
Rated 06 Jul 2010
66
44th
On its own, this is a peculiarly funny but ultimately frivolous exercise in intertextual casting references (Ewan's Star Wars and Bridges' Lebowski jokes are golden) and general absurdity. I would give it a higher score if the last shot were different - it contradicts the rest of it pretty badly.
Rated 06 Jul 2010
Rated 31 May 2010
65
42nd
Pretty entertaining acting all around but it seems too immersed in the comedy and new age esoteric aspect to do any real justice on the subject matter. The fact is the U.S. govt really did conduct drug (MKULTRA) and psychic experiments which caused an untold number of deaths. The film delves into this but more as light satire without the controversy. The last half of the film flounders around and falls flat with its attempts to be quirky. Would have been a good dark comedy in the right hands.
Rated 31 May 2010
Rated 08 May 2010
63
58th
there are a lot of genuinely funny moments in this one, and the ensemble cast couldn't be better. Bridges is especially worth mentioning, with his dead on portrayal of the new age guru. The premise of the movie is solid, but the story takes a left turn (literally) somewhere and isn't concluded well, lacking the long waited denouement.
Rated 08 May 2010
Rated 12 Apr 2010
68
35th
Can be better. Scratch that. MUST be better!
Rated 12 Apr 2010
Rated 29 Mar 2010
50
12th
Unexpectedly boring, nothing more then the trailer.. Waste of all that talent is really sad..
Rated 29 Mar 2010
Rated 29 Mar 2010
75
65th
Clooney's great.
Rated 29 Mar 2010
Rated 28 Mar 2010
34
12th
Disappointing because this fantastic pool of actors deserved a script with a sharper wit and focused message. We only get a vague sense of how this psi-op stuff is supposed to work and what is really true. It goes about its silliness in the worst way possible as it jumps from one (ultimately) meaningless aside to another. Like others are saying, there are some mildly amusing scenes (esp. from Bridges), but there's only so much I can take of "this actor was in Star Wars lol". Baaaaad.
Rated 28 Mar 2010
Rated 27 Mar 2010
50
37th
The second half drags down a promising first half and what could be an interesting story.
Rated 27 Mar 2010
Rated 25 Mar 2010
65
33rd
there are some good scenes in this movie.
Rated 25 Mar 2010
Rated 15 Mar 2010
66
46th
For a movie with such an amazing cast, the final result sure felt a bit underwhelming. One of those movies where essentially nothing of consequence happens. Normally, that doesn't have to be a problem, but apart from some individually entertaining scenes there just isn't any meaty content to chew on.
Rated 15 Mar 2010
Rated 12 Mar 2010
60
60th
LYN: "Every night I would dream about that goat, it's mouth opening and closing but without making a sound..." BOB: "The silence of the goats." Funny at some parts.
Rated 12 Mar 2010
Rated 10 Mar 2010
68
27th
A whole bunch of stars aren't a garantie for a good movie. "The Men who stare at goats" is another proof for this. There are some really funny moments, but the whole story is too abstruse, so I was missing a real plot. But if there's one reason to watch this movie, it's Jeff Bridges as weird love&peace drill instructor. Apart from this nothing special at all.
Rated 10 Mar 2010
Rated 09 Mar 2010
70
57th
This movie has an amazing cast, which probably increased my expectation from this movie and disappointed me. This isnt a unique movie in anyway. It has its funny moments, but doesnt make you end up rolling on the floor with laughter either. It really isnt bad nor is it great.
Rated 09 Mar 2010
Rated 07 Mar 2010
60
33rd
It started as a nice little story but then turned out to be rather silly (in a quite uninteresting way).
Rated 07 Mar 2010
Rated 25 Feb 2010
68
44th
Premise is better than the film. Each of our leading actors does an admirable job, but they can't save the film entirely from a disappointing script.
Rated 25 Feb 2010
Rated 01 Feb 2010
25
17th
The plot relies entirely on arbitrary events, coincidence and chance and has no flow whatsoever, and the characters are soulless empty shells who even when genuinely weeded up are about as funny as a wet sponge. The dialog is irrelevant, the themes are wishy-washy, and the only thing it manages to say about anything at all is along the lines of "so, listen, war is bad, mmkay". Given the potential it's a shame that this is what it is: a complete phone-in.
Rated 01 Feb 2010
Rated 28 Jan 2010
73
36th
Reasonably fun but it seems to be alternating between 2nd and 3rd gear, never getting into a groove. At times it feels aimless and disorganized but there are enough funny moments to make it worthwhile.
Rated 28 Jan 2010
Rated 24 Jan 2010
5
20th
You'll find a mildly amusing story in there somewhere, yet I found it very boring and just occasionally funny. It's an effort to sit through, which is why I took some 5 minute naps during the film; A writer's lazyness can have quite an effect on me.
Rated 24 Jan 2010
Rated 16 Nov 2009
74
59th
Without a doubt, a hilarious film, mostly because of George Clooney's stellar comedy, and a fairly interesting human commentary. Yet the plot really doesn't have anywhere to go storywise, and is more or less crippled by a cliched third act.
Rated 16 Nov 2009
Rated 16 Nov 2009
30
3rd
Very funny in places, but overall lacking in direction. Very forgettable.
Rated 16 Nov 2009
Rated 14 Nov 2009
77
62nd
amazing potential ruined by the unproven claims of cassady, it could have been a genre-less masterpiece, but instead is riddled with dead weight. bridges, clooney, and mcgregor do a great job, but the script could have used a great workover.
Rated 14 Nov 2009
Rated 11 Nov 2009
60
28th
Totally preposterous premise which kept me saying could the Army really be that stupid: yes, no, no, yes, yes, no, yes--and of course we don't really know which because we were told at the beginning that some of it is true, so it sort of ended up being like this run on sentence, a lot of statements jammed up against each other to the point of loosing any point they might have originally intended, but in the end no one really cares because the "silence of the goats" was the only joke that hadn't
Rated 11 Nov 2009
Rated 18 Apr 2024
90
52nd
Wow! Finally got to this one and really enjoyed it! Though quirky, love the ensemble cast and found myself laughing.
Rated 18 Apr 2024
Rated 10 Oct 2023
8
74th
Wacky and weird with lots of funny moments.
Rated 10 Oct 2023
Rated 10 Dec 2020
66
70th
The Men Who Stare at Goats is a bizarre film. With snappy dialogue, absurd characters and situations, and less than concrete plot direction, the film has a Coen Brothers feel to it. An impressive cast deliver good, but unimpactful, performances. It was fun watching Clooney explain Jedis to McGregor (an inspired casting choice), though the latter's American accent is a little forced. For a film about truth and redemption, it is delightfully quirky and entertaining, even if it is a bit shallow.
Rated 10 Dec 2020
Rated 23 May 2020
80
27th
Such an ambitious idea for a film! It can't quite live up to the concept, but the concept is so good, who cares?
Rated 23 May 2020
Rated 08 Apr 2020
70
25th
It's odd in every way. An impeccable cast does not translate to an impeccable screenplay with full laughs and triumphs. It attempts to subvert you from lack of coherency with the odd moment of laughter and delight. As if you will forget their is little of anything substantial happening around the laughs.
Rated 08 Apr 2020
Rated 15 Feb 2018
25
28th
Rated 15 Apr 2016
62
41st
Consistently amusing but rarely funny. I was entertained for the 90 minutes running time, but overall the film felt like it fell short of what it could have been with the strong cast and intriguing premise.
Rated 15 Apr 2016
Rated 15 Dec 2014
50
9th
About as safe and generically mediocre as movies get. Heslov makes his producing partner's directorial efforts look positively revolutionary in comparison. That music. Holy hell.
Rated 15 Dec 2014
Rated 23 Nov 2014
92
97th
Quirky, slyly subversive satire. Somehow, it's tone reminded me of "I [heart] Huckabee's", one of my favorite movies of the last 15 years, and I loved it almost as much.
Rated 23 Nov 2014
Rated 14 Aug 2014
50
47th
The Men Who Stare at Goats is a funny movie about, among other things, men who stare at a goat. But it's mostly about some of the training that happens in the army -- it takes a funny and satirical look at that. It has good performances from a great cast, even though much of the supporting work goes to waste. The flashback scenes are more interesting and far funnier than the ones taking place in present day, and it's the latter which hold the film back from really working all the way.
Rated 14 Aug 2014
Rated 01 Jul 2014
69
44th
Points for having an excellent cast, points off for them not really doing much but rehash their old roles. Points for being quite amusing, points off for not being pointed enough to properly satirise anything. Points for providing a very accurate depiction of psychedelics, points off for being in no way imaginative for cinematic purposes with it. Is there anything this film can't make me feel positive yet mixed about? (McGregor's usual pish American accent, probably.)
Rated 01 Jul 2014
Rated 11 Apr 2014
83
73rd
I found myself laughing out loud more times than I was expecting at the funny and well delivered script, Jeff Bridges and George Clooney deliver excellently.
Rated 11 Apr 2014
Rated 11 Jan 2014
65
23rd
Had the potential to be one of the greatest, most surreal comedies of the last few years (especially with a cast like that!), but ended up being one of the most surrealistic movies solely because of how boring it is.
Rated 11 Jan 2014
Rated 03 Jan 2014
46
34th
i have to agree that it had tremendous potential that went squandered with bad production decisions
Rated 03 Jan 2014
Rated 14 Jul 2013
70
44th
Not as good as it could have been, a few obvious weaknesses. But not bad, either.
Rated 14 Jul 2013
Rated 12 May 2013
40
18th
Tries to be funny. Fails, mostly. Isn't as quirky as it pretends to be.
Rated 12 May 2013
Rated 24 Feb 2013
4
91st
Unexpectedly lovely satire about tree-hugging war-mongers. Mileage may vary, depending on how familiar you are with Ronsons work and new age/occult conspiracy stuff though.
Rated 24 Feb 2013
Rated 21 Dec 2012
90
80th
I really liked this story of a drugged out Colonel and his unit using the power of the mind to wage war.
Completely nuts.
Bridges and Clooney are excellent.
Rated 21 Dec 2012
Rated 23 Oct 2012
60
31st
Sub-Coen brothers comedy that never works as well as it should despite an interesting idea and a game cast. The movie has it's moments, but is suprisingly underwhelming when it's all said and done.
Rated 23 Oct 2012
Rated 26 Aug 2012
53
39th
A Lebowski meets Star Wars meets Manchurian Candidate both bizarre and silly satire of Iraq war, that loses its main strengths not because of the jokes -- that aren't all bad --, but the narrative voice: it goes back and forth, but can't provide a regular, decent tone to the film.
Rated 26 Aug 2012
Rated 15 Jun 2012
74
38th
Great cast, lopsided writing
Rated 15 Jun 2012
Rated 13 May 2012
75
68th
There was a certain childlike gentleness to it that I appreciated. There'll always be a place for anti-war films filled with blood, guts and assorted atrocities, of course, but it's nice that it can be done nice ala MASH and this piece. Great cast too, despite McGregor's bad American accent.
Rated 13 May 2012
Rated 28 Mar 2012
65
23rd
Expected more from this release. Overrated in my view although does make a great statement on the absurdity of war.
Rated 28 Mar 2012
Rated 02 Feb 2012
75
71st
This movie is really friggin weird, but also pretty funny, in that darkly comic sort of way. My only really significant complaint is that there are far too many flashbacks (and in one case, a flashback within a flashback) and some go on for so long that you can forget what was going on in the "present".
Rated 02 Feb 2012
Rated 27 Dec 2011
90
59th
funny!
Rated 27 Dec 2011
Rated 17 Dec 2011
77
64th
This is a funny movie that has a silly premise. If you like quirky films that have some laughs then definitely check this film out. George Clooney is good and Jeff Bridges is in full dude mode.
Rated 17 Dec 2011
Rated 15 Nov 2011
54
20th
funny, but no substance.
Rated 15 Nov 2011
Rated 16 Sep 2011
70
5th
Uh ........ What?
Rated 16 Sep 2011
Rated 03 Jul 2011
67
34th
War als hirnlos-Movie ganz lustig, wenn auch viel zu sehr auf die Skurrilität gezielt. Das Ende hat auch ein wenig zerstört.
Wobei ich sowieso mittlerweile einen Narren an Ewan McGregor gefressen habe, deshalb war ich ein wenig parteiisch und kam gut klar, einfach sinnlos zuzusehen.
Rated 03 Jul 2011
Rated 13 Jun 2011
70
61st
Funny and irreverent.
Rated 13 Jun 2011
Rated 31 May 2011
3
22nd
Retains an amusement factor throughout, with a brand of wit and sometimes Black Comedy that reminds me of the Coen Bros (in fact, this could easily be mistaken for one of their 'lost" lessor films). The narrative is fairly consistent, and it moves along at a good clip, but unfortunately the ending falls flat on its face. A shame really, otherwise an enjoyable look at the world in terms of fact and fiction through the means of a war satire.
Rated 31 May 2011
Rated 23 May 2011
57
20th
With such a great concept, I wish this film had achieved what it could have. Instead, it fell flat and I became pretty bored half-way through. Zaney enough, at times, and just dumb at others with a very disjointed narrative. The best part of the film is its title.
Rated 23 May 2011
Rated 21 May 2011
74
66th
Although sometimes you don't know what the hell is going on, the absurdness of this film really makes it a hilarious piece of fun. Especially towards the end with (SPOILER) U.S. Army on LSD i couldn't keep from laughing out loud (No I won't type LOL).
Rated 21 May 2011
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Directed by:
Grant HeslovCollections
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