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2009 | 2008 | 2006
1-20 of 51 articles from 2009 « Prev | Next »
The Notable Films of 2010: Part Two
16 December 2009 3:18 AM, PST | Dark Horizons | See recent Dark Horizons news »
Opens: January 1st 2010
Cast: Renée Zellweger, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane, Bradley Cooper, Kerry O'Malley
Director: Christian Alvart
Summary: A family services social worker thinks she has seen it all until she meets her newest, most mysterious case - a troubled 10-year old girl whose parents try to kill her. The social worker decides to take her in herself until the right foster family comes along.
Analysis: Despite the presence of promising German director Christian Alvart ("Pandorum"), 'Case' has sat on a shelf since late 2006 and is finally being quietly shuffled out this year for one very good reason - it stinks. Having opened in Australia a few months back, reviewers utterly savaged the film as both incredibly dumb and utterly ludicrous. Lead star Renee Zellweger also scored personal criticism to a level rarely seen in film reviews outside of comments about Nicole Kidman's 'more alien than the »
- Garth Franklin
Golden Globes 2010 Predictions: Best Picture – Comedy or Musical
20 November 2009 2:29 PM, PST | Alt Film Guide | See recent Alt Film Guide news »
2010 Golden Globes Predictions: Best Picture – Comedy or Musical The Informant! (above, with Matt Damon), d: Steven Soderbergh; scr: Scott Z. Burns A pathological liar helps the Us government nab a nefarious agribusiness conglomerate. Julie & Julia (above, with Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci), d & scr: Nora Ephron Julia Child starts cooking decades ago, while in the early 21st-century blogger Julie Powell decides to boil and broil every single recipe found in Child’s first book. The Men Who Stare at Goats (above, with Kevin Spacey), d: Grant Heslov; scr: Peter Straughan Us military "intelligence" and its use of paranormal activities. Nine (above, with Judi Dench, Penélope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Stacy Ferguson, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson), d: Rob Marshall; scr: Michael Tolkin, Anthony [...] »
- Andre Soares
Jon Ronson Talks Future Projects
10 November 2009 7:05 AM, PST | EmpireOnline | See recent EmpireOnline news »
Jon Ronson, the man behind The Men Who Stare At Goats, is a screenwriter as well as an author, and when we spoke to him recently he updated us on the state of his upcoming projects, from Them, which is planned for Edgar Wright to direct, to his new screenplay Frank, which he wrote with Goats screenwriter Peter Straughan.Here's what he had to say on those, as well as the small indie film he's involved with and why he's back to writing books as well. The Men Who Stare At Goats is out now. »
Exclusive: The Men Who Stare At Goats Scribes Have A New Project
9 November 2009 4:16 AM, PST | Screenrush | See recent Screenrush news »
While talking to Jon Ronson about the massive success that is The Men Who Stare At Goats, Screenrush learnt that the journalist/novelist is already looking to the future and has written a script with Goats screenwriter Peter Straughan for a film called Frank.
Ronson wrote the novel on which the much hyped film The Men Who Stare At Goats, starring George Clooney and Ewan McGregor, is based, and met and befriended Peter Straughan when Staughan took on the job of transferring Ronson's work to the big screen. Now the writing duo are combining their talents again and have written a highly fictionalised story about the music industry that is loosely based on Ronson's experiences as the keyboard player for the 80s indie band, Frank Sidebottom's Oh Blimey Big Band.
Take a look at the clip in the player below for the full story from the man himself:
Georgine »
Should a Scene Recalling the Fort Hood Tragedy Be Cut From The Men Who Stare at Goats?
7 November 2009 3:10 PM, PST | Vanity Fair | See recent Vanity Fair news »
In The Men Who Stare at Goats, which opened yesterday, there is a scene where a disturbed soldier runs amok in Fort Bragg, firing at troops during their morning exercises. The all-too-plain parallels with the tragedy that occurred at Fort Hood two days ago, when Major Nadil Malik Hasan opened fire on the base, killing 13, were cause for cringing and collar-tugging. While watching the movie—which starts off great thanks largely to an inspired performance by George Clooney as a benevolently deranged psychic spy but which had, by that point, begun to unravel—I wondered whether Overture films should omit the scene from future prints. The sequence is a self-contained clip in a montage; the movie wouldn't be diminished by its excision. Though the film deals with psychic powers, it's fair to assume screenwriter Peter Straughan had no premonition of the Fort Hood shootings, and therefore no intention of evoking it in the scene. »
The Men Who Stare At Goats Review
6 November 2009 6:52 PM, PST | Atomic Popcorn | See recent Atomic Popcorn news »
Seven out of ten times, I’m going to come out enjoying a film that operates on its own terms. It’s the first and best thing I can say about Michael Mann, which just adds to my fanboy nature when it comes to his work. As a more recent example, the Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man just acts as its own entity from beginning to end, and never makes any apologies for it. While not as brilliant or as great as that picture, The Men Who Stare at Goats is that kid we all knew in high school. You’re not really sure who he is or what he’s about, but you know that when you spend time with him, you’re going to be entertained.
So why won’t this appeal to the masses? Very simply because of the script, which goes off the rails midway through the picture. »
- Philip Barrett
Movie Review: “The Men Who Stare at Goats”
6 November 2009 11:38 AM, PST | screeninglog.com | See recent screeninglog news »
Seen on: November 5, 2009
The players: Director: Grant Heslov, Writer: Peter Straughan, Cast: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Rebecca Mader, Stephen Lang
Facts of interest: Inspired by Jon Ronson's book.
The plot: A journalist may finally find his big story when meets a man who claims he is a psychic soldier with paranormal powers.
Our thoughts: Grant Heslov’s “The Men Who Stare at Goats” is a bizarre little film, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it’s as funny as it’s awkward, and that’s certainly a good thing. This light comedy may not be very meaningful, but it’s filled with a solid dose of witty moments and a bunch of excellent acting performances. »
- Franck Tabouring
Men Who Stare at Goats, The | Review
6 November 2009 9:00 AM, PST | SmellsLikeScreenSpirit | See recent SmellsLikeScreenSpirit news »
Director: Grant Heslov Writer(s): Jon Ronson (book), Peter Straughan(screenplay) Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is a small-time newspaper reporter from Ann Arbor, Michigan. When Bob finds out that his wife Debora (Rebecca Mader) plans to leave him for his editor, he decides that he needs to prove his manhood – and what better place to prove your manhood than Iraq in the mid-aughts. But when Bob finds himself stranded in Kuwait, with no valid excuse to cross the border, he meets a guy by the name of Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Bob recognizes Lyn’s name from an interview he did earlier in his career with a seemingly self-proclaimed psychic spy, Gus Lacey (Stephen Root). Bob realizes that it is his destiny to learn more about Lyn – who Gus previously cited as one of the foremost psychic spies. Next thing we know, »
- Don Simpson
Interview: Jon Ronson, the Author of The Men Who Stare at Goats
6 November 2009 8:00 AM, PST | Slash Film | See recent Slash Film news »
While journalist and documentarian Jon Ronson is currently undergoing a metamorphosis into a screenwriter, the first film to bear his name is not from one of his own scripts but has been fictionalized, and rather heavily so, from his non-fiction book The Men Who Stare at Goats by Newcastle scribe Peter Straughan. What Ronson set down on paper as a darkly comic and increasingly scary investigation into the American military’s more fanciful, or eventually insane, experimentation and research has become an oddball comedy with a tinge of the surreal. Many of Ronson’s ideas run between the lines of Straughan’s invented plot, though I don’t think I personally could have found the film to feel any more different to Ronson’s book or in-parallel TV documentary. It’s a win-win, though, as far as the book is concerned because those who love the film (and as you »
- Brendon Connelly
The Men Who Stare At Goats Review
5 November 2009 11:14 PM, PST | FilmJunk | See recent FilmJunk news »
The Men Who Stare At Goats Directed by: Grant Heslov Written by: Peter Straughan (screenplay), Jon Ronson (book) Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges Since the dawn of modern warfare, people have fantasized about the concept of super soldiers, enhanced human beings that could defend their homeland and give them the edge over their enemies. At this point, we're not just talking about fictional characters like Captain America, either; today's soldiers really are trained to push their body beyond its physical and mental limits, and outfitted with bleeding edge technological advancements. Military interests drive scientific research like few other fields, leading to all kinds of wacky pills and biological experiments. But would it surprise you to learn that U.S. military has delved into even stranger realms in the past, and may still be doing so today? In his 2004 book, The Men Who Stare At Goats, Welsh »
- Sean
Clooney's 'Men Who Stare at Goats' Fun But Forgettable
5 November 2009 9:25 PM, PST | CinemaSpy | See recent CinemaSpy news »
At times, The Men Who Stare at Goats seems like it could be a minor entry in the Coen brothers’ filmography. Quirky dialogue and a few Coens alumni—George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, and Stephen Root—populate the film, and it certainly veers toward the surreal. Though the movie gets a few laughs with its absurdist humor and winks at the audience, it never reaches the inspired lunacy of the Coens’ previous work, or even approaches the heights of similar war satires such as Three Kings and Catch-22.
Despite elements that make it seem more science fiction than non-fiction, the debut from actor/writer Grant Heslov is based on Jon Ronson’s factual book. Ewan McGregor employs a slightly distracting American accent to play Bob Wilton, an Ann Arbor journalist. In investigating a routine story, he interviews Gus Lacey (Root). At first, Lacey's stories about life as a psychic spy seem crazy, »
New “The Men Who Stare at Goats” TV Spot And Posters
4 November 2009 12:59 PM, PST | Filmofilia | See recent Filmofilia news »
A brand new TV spot as well as four new character posters for “The Men Who Stare at Goats” have been released. Check them out below.
“The Men Who Stare at Goats” Poster
Grant Heslov-directed dark comedy is based on the 2004 book of the same name by the Guardian columnist Jon Ronson – from the script written by Peter Straughan (”How to Lose Friends & Alienate People”) stars George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Rebecca Mader and Terry Serpico.
“The Men Who Stare at Goats” Poster
A reporter (McGregor), trying to lose himself in the romance of war after his marriage fails, gets more than he bargains for when he meets a special forces agent (Clooney) who reveals the existence of a secret, psychic military unit whose goal is to end war as we know it. The founder of the unit has gone missing and the trail leads to »
- Fiona
The Men Who Stare At Goats (Review)
4 November 2009 7:47 AM, PST | SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news »
The Men Who Stare at Goats Directed by Grant Heslov According to Jon Ronson's book The Men Who Stare At Goats, the U.S. government has experimented with various extra-sensory ‘abilities,’ such as remote-viewing and mind control, since the 1950s. These highly classified sub-divisions of the Army were developed in the hopes of creating a different kind of warrior, one who could harness mental abilities to destroy his adversary. Although many of these divisions were kept under wraps, journalist Ronson (known as Bob Wilton in the film) got wind of a low-profile Army project after having met Jim Channon, the former colonel who wrote a manual for the creation of the ‘First Earth Battalion,’ an army unit to based upon New Age principals. The book, which inspired the film, charts the absurd journey that began with this chance encounter. It contains a wild, often questionable, but ultimately fascinating story of introspection and destiny. »
- Myles Dolphin
Latest 'Men Who Stare At Goats' trailer, the Goats get Paranormalized
4 November 2009 7:35 AM, PST | Monsters and Critics | See recent Monsters and Critics news »
The strange but true story of the Us Government's bid to harness mind power is satirized in Grant Heslov's "The Men Who Star At Goats." The film opens November 6, 2009. Directed by Heslov, with the screenplay turned in by Peter Straughan, this film is produced by the Smokehouse gang of George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Paul Lister. The film boasts a stellar cast of heavyweights including producer George Clooney, with Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Stephen Lang. The latest trailer is a Goat's Nightmare: The premise: A dark comedy inspired by a real life story about a top-secret wing of the U.S. military which come to light when a reporter (McGregor) »
- April MacIntyre
Head Games
4 November 2009 4:18 AM, PST | ifc.com | See recent IFC news »
Bearing a snarky, double-take title and a premise like a glazed pig on a platter, Grant Heslov's "The Men Who Stare at Goats" can't help but get us salivating -- be it Chayefskyian satire or schizoid paranormal headtrip or Coenesque destiny farce, we'll gobble it down, especially if it is, as this movie is, based on reported fact. American military new age telekinetic absurdism! The brown-acid substance of reporter Jon Ronson's book by the same name is the dizzying crucible at hand -- too ludicrous and all true to resist, and yet so much the sum of its chortlesome vignettes that filming it would require either the cargo-cult undergroundism of a Craig Baldwin or the imposed narrative arc of an over-punctuated Hollywood biopic. Regrettably, Heslov and screenwriter Peter Straughan and producer/star George Clooney have opted for the latter. Which is to say, the madness has been dressed for dinner, »
- Michael Atkinson
Can you stare at a goat? See new posters from The Men Who Stare at Goats and Win prizes from the film!
3 November 2009 11:06 PM, PST | Movie Jungle | See recent Movie Jungle news »
See new posters from Overture Films' "The Men Who Stare At Goats," starring George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, J.K. Simmons, Robert Patrick, Stephen Root, Stephen Lang, Rebecca Miller, Glenn Morshower, Terry Serpico and Nick Offerman. Grant Heslov directs as well as producing alongside his Smoke House partner George Clooney. Peter Straughan adapts the screenplay based on the book by Jon Ronson. »
Contest - The Men Who Stare At Goats - Win an official “No Goats, No Glory” T-shirt and a copy of the book!
2 November 2009 8:59 PM, PST | Movie Jungle | See recent Movie Jungle news »
To celebrate the release of "The Men Who Stare At Goats," MovieJungle.com and Overture Films are pleased to present a wonderful opportunity for one lucky winner to take home an official “No Goats, No Glory” T-shirt and a copy of the book! The film opens on November 6th and stars George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, J.K. Simmons, Robert Patrick, Stephen Root, Stephen Lang, Rebecca Miller, Glenn Morshower, Terry Serpico and Nick Offerman. Grant Heslov directs as well as producing alongside his Smoke House partner George Clooney. Peter Straughan adapts the screenplay based on the book by Jon Ronson. »
The Men Who Stare At Goats - New film clips and interview clips!
26 October 2009 11:18 PM, PDT | Movie Jungle | See recent Movie Jungle news »
Check out new clips from Overture Films' "The Men Who Stare At Goats," starring George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, J.K. Simmons, Robert Patrick, Stephen Root, Stephen Lang, Rebecca Miller, Glenn Morshower, Terry Serpico and Nick Offerman. Peter Straughan adapts the screenplay based on the book by Jon Ronson. Grant Heslov helms and produces alongside his Smoke House partner Clooney. In this quirky dark comedy inspired by a real life story you will hardly believe is actually true, astonishing revelations about a top-secret wing of the U.S. military come to light when a reporter encounters an enigmatic Special Forces operator on a mind-boggling mission. Reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is in search of his next big story when he encounters Lyn Cassady (Academy Award®winner George Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims to be part of an experimental U.S. military unit. According to Cassady, the New Earth Army. »
Second “The Men Who Stare at Goats” Trailer And Four Clips
26 October 2009 1:12 PM, PDT | Filmofilia | See recent Filmofilia news »
The second trailer for “The Men Who Stare at Goats” and four new clips from the movie have been released.
Grant Heslov-directed dark comedy is based on the 2004 book of the same name by the Guardian columnist Jon Ronson – from the script written by Peter Straughan (”How to Lose Friends & Alienate People”) stars George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Rebecca Mader and Terry Serpico.
Reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is in search of his next big story when he encounters Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims to be part of an experimental U.S. military unit. According to Cassady, the New Earth Army is changing the way wars are fought. A legion of “Warrior Monks” with unparalleled psychic powers can read the enemy’s thoughts, pass through solid walls, and even kill a goat simply by staring at it…read the full synopsis here »
- Fiona
Contest! Men Who Stare at Goats
26 October 2009 8:41 AM, PDT | GreenCine | See recent GreenCine news »
In The Men Who Stare at Goats, a comedic look at real life events that are almost too bizarre to believe, a reporter (Ewan McGregor) discovers a top-secret wing of the U.S. military when he accompanies an enigmatic Special Forces operator (Academy Award-winner George Clooney) on a mind-boggling mission. The film's outstanding cast also includes: Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Robert Patrick, Stephen Root, Stephen Lang and Rebecca Mader. Men Who Stare at Goats, which opens November 6, is directed by Academy Award-nominated Grant Heslov (Good Night, and Good Luck) from a screenplay by Peter Straughan (How to Lose Friends & Alienate People) based on the book by Jon Ronson. And now, thanks to GreenCine and Focus Features, you can win our new Men Who Stare at Goats contest.
One (1) very lucky winner will receive a copy of The Men Who Stare at Goats book and a movie T-Shirt. »
- underdog
2009 | 2008 | 2006
1-20 of 51 articles from 2009 « Prev | Next »
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