George Clooney is part of the A-list cast in this film Courtesy of Forum

Dir. Grant Heslov with George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges
As the preface to this movie says, “More of this is true than you would believe.” Anyone with a passing familiarity with the Iraq War can see grains of truth in “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” a satire about the US Army’s attempts to create a unit of psychic soldiers both to win America’s battles and to promote peace in the world.

Bob (Ewan McGregor) is a down-on-his-luck reporter who thinks he’s finally stumbled upon a big story when he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) in Kuwait. Cassady claims to have been trained by the military to have superpowers, and the two plunge into wartime Iraq on an unspecified mission.

Despite its impressive A-list cast, the comedic element of this film falls flat – maybe because some of the themes it touches on just aren’t that funny, or maybe because they’re simply missing a punchline. The actors seem comfortable in their psychologically manipulated characters, but they’d have been better served by a steadier hand behind the camera.

Hilary Heuler