The Men Who Stare At Goats

The story of physic spy wars as employed by the military and other more covert groups get a comic and psychedelic spin with The Men Who Stare At Goats. George Clooney and Jeff Bridges headline as the military types who use their minds more than their heads while Ewan McGregor figures as a journalist who ties the story together. Names have been changed but the story is based on the book of the same name by Jon Ronson concerning US military experiments and practical application of same. The Bridges character is based on Jim Channon who developed the First Earth Battalion booklet used in the movie. Other movies have also fictionalized black ops such as MK-ULTRA (Conspiracy Theory) or remote viewing (Suspect Zero) although those films didn't take the plainly wacky approach employed by Goats.
Kevin Spacey shows up as a foil to Bridges and employs his own bizarre sense of the paranormal that include tripping people out of their minds. Obviously Spacey's character is a fictionalized composite that suits writer/director Grant Heslov's view of story conflict. The ulterior motives behind the germ of the story were ecologically and philosophically in tune with nature while the nefarious plot diversions used here merely soften that message with typical spy meller hijinks. The Men Who Stare at Goats certainly offers up the laughs while food for thought will best be psychically projected.

Crude

Crude instantly caters to legal scholars and environmental activists. This carefully constructed documentary examines the consequences of manipulation of third world countries by multi-national corporations. Specifically it concerns a nearly 20-year lawsuit over toxic swamps caused by oil company malfeasance. Filmmaker Joe Berlinger has a track record of excellence (Paradise Lost, Brother's Keeper) and it serves him well as he delineates the issues on trial.
Although Joe Berlinger is a contemporary with someone like Michael Moore, Berlinger is a household name only to purists of documentary films. Blair Witch 2 aside Berlinger's output always makes you think no matter how trivial (Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) or important to social justice (Paradise Lost). Crude tracks a series of Ecuadoran Amazon oil junkyards over the period of a generation. Companies change ownership, political leaders lean one way then another, and of course lawyers get involved.
Does a corporation have a responsibility to the inhabitants of the area that they exploit? It would seem an open and shut issue except so many beautiful people giving conflicting views confuse those late to the party. Crude attempts to put the whole affair into perspective with an eye towards the legal maneuvering that eventually decides the outcome. We're talking chemical waste in the billions of tons, an amount so inconceivable its, well, inconceivable whether you live in a thatched hut or an air-conditioned condo. Some of the courtroom locations occur in Houston. Crude open Friday at the Angelika downtown.