Review (DVD): The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

5 Star, Culture, DVD - Light, Empire, Sorrows, Hubris, Blowback, Intelligence (Government/Secret), Military & Pentagon Power, Reviews (DVD Only)
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5.0 out of 5 stars Five if you are former CIA or SOF, rest of world will not get it

May 7, 2010

George Clooney, Jeff Bridges

An extraordinarily talented and experienced international law enforcement officer watched this on loan from me before I saw it, and hated it. Now that I have watched it myself, I understand–if you have not been deeply engaged with CIA and all of its idiocyncrasies including remote viewing, acoustic-kitty, the pigeons that came before Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), and then over to SOF (Special Operations Forces) where “unconventional” had to go covert to survive the straight-leg generals with no clue, you will simply not appreciate this movie.

DanD nails it–this is satire and also a brilliant documentary of what can only be decribed as a well-intentioned long-running Goat F..k. The movie is a collage of several different real initiativces including the First Earth Battalion (I knew a couple of the principals, decades ahead of their time); the Peace Warrior initiative, and of course Remote Viewing, the CIA's notorious MKULTRA and LSD for unwitting victims, and so on.

At one point in the movie the two principal actors are discussing the remorse–the angst–over having used his power to actually kill a goal, and the other guy pops in with “Silence of the Goats.” That just about sums it up–this is, for someone steeped in the well-intentioned lunacy of the past–a perfect five, and I have to believe that the world-class actors that decided to do this did it knowing that it would be misunderstood by many, but a real hoot among the veterans of the seventies and eighties.

The only thing not in here, certainly worthy of a sequel to this movie, is extra-terrestial encounters, leveraging extra-terrestial technologies, warnings from extraterrestrials [humans now being in a state of quarentine for being stupid squared], and the exotic, wasteful, and generally hilarious methods used to keep Area 51 and related projects “secret.”

See also:
Peaceful Warrior (Widescreen)
First Earth Battalion Operations Manual: Reprint of Original Manual from the 70's
On the Psychology of Military Incompetence
Psychic Warrior
Psychic Warrior: The True Story of America's Foremost Psychic Spy and the Cover-Up of the CIA's Top-Secret Stargate Program
Memoirs of a Psychic Spy: The Remarkable Life of U.S. Government Remote Viewer 001
Hidden Secrets: The Complete History of Espionage and the Technology Used to Support ItHidden Truth: Forbidden Knowledge
Disclosure : Military and Government Witnesses Reveal the Greatest Secrets in Modern History
Hidden Truth: Forbidden Knowledge

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Review DVD: Michael Clayton (Widescreen Edition)

5 Star, Capitalism (Good & Bad), Reviews (DVD Only)
DVD Clayton
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Superb on Multiple Levels, Closes Beautifully, February 27, 2008

George Clooney

There are some really fine reviews. I will just say I consider this a five star film, not the average of four as shown. It was so very good that I paused it each time I had to get up for anything, and then watched the last four segments again this morning to ensure I had not missed anything.

At three different levels, a small boy and his dad talking about a fictional empire, at the street level, and at the strategic level of big law firms, I found this film extremely engaging and worthy.

For the first time I can remember, I actually read all of the closing credits because the producers had the brilliant idea of having Clooney take a taxi ride while his face did this whole range of reflective expressions that kept me glued to the screen.

Here, in priority order, are ten other DVDs I recommend–the first, Fight Club, is not at all what you would expect from the title, and I only watched it on my teen-ager's recommendation. He was right, it's a DVD for intelligent people. All these I list I own and recommend for purchase, not just rental.
Fight Club (Widescreen Edition)
The Departed (Widescreen Edition)
Live Free or Die Hard (Unrated Edition)
The Lives of Others
Seven (Single Disc Edition)
Firewall (Widescreen Edition)
Primary Colors
Lord of War (Widescreen)
Pulp Fiction
Batman Begins (Widescreen Edition)

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