The Men Who Stare at Goats

Bob Wilton is a small-town reporter whose personal life has fallen apart, and he heads to Iraq hoping to find a story worth telling. There he meets Lyn Cassady, a man who says he served in a secret U.S. Army unit trained to use paranormal abilities in combat. Cassady describes the New Earth Army, founded by an old hippie named Bill Django, whose soldiers were taught to read minds, pass through walls and influence living creatures with a stare. Bob, sensing the article of a lifetime, follows Cassady on a mission into the desert, and the journey becomes stranger than he expected.

The film is an adaptation of Jon Ronson's book about real attempts to use psychic powers in warfare. Grant Heslov directed it, his second feature after Par 6, working from a screenplay by Peter Straughan. George Clooney, who also produced, plays Cassady, with Ewan McGregor as Wilton, Jeff Bridges as Django and Kevin Spacey as Larry Hooper.

Made for about 25 million dollars, it took roughly 69 million worldwide, a solid return for a comedy. On IMDb it holds 6.2 from around 142,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6 from about 2,480. The critics' rating of 6 from 213 reviews places it close to the audience scores rather than above or below them.