The Men Who Stare At Goats

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War is a strange backdrop for comedy, but it worked for M*A*S*H and Catch 22, while Full Metal Jacket was uncomfortably funny in places, even though it perhaps shouldn't have been.

Men Who Stare At Goats is just plain daft though. Allegedly inspired by a true story or FACT, Ewan McGregor plays a journo who uncovers a secret unit in the US Military in which soldiers are trained in the art of psychic powers. Their mentor is a long-haired hippie dooood (naturally played by Jeff Bridges), while his star recruit is smug, confident George Clooney, who among his many 'skills', can correctly 'guess' pictures hidden in envelopes and - brace yourself - stop a goat's heart beating.

Set mostly in US-occupied Iraq, it's tricky to deduce exactly what the point of the movie is. There doesn't seem to be any political commentary or clever satire, while the soldiers' superhuman powers are phoney at worst, and utterly useless at best. And taken simply as an oddball comedy, TMWSAG provides offbeat chuckles without ever really being rib-crackingly, laugh-out-loud funny.

But it's quirky inventiveness and the fact that governments could seriously be spunking cash on turning recruits into knife-wielding Derren Browns make it something you almost really, really want to see. TMWSAG is defintitely one of the year's most unique films. Make up your own mind!

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