The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

Title: The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

Director: Grant Heslov

Cast: George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges

Writer: Peter Straughan based on the book by Jon Ronson

Sometimes, things that happen in the real world are a million times stranger then fiction. Take for example “The First Earth Batallion”. The First Earth Batallion was a secret U.S. Military group that was being trained to use psychic powers against the enemy! This group of soldiers was lead by a hippy/new wave activist/environmentalist Jim Channon. Basically, the U.S. Military gave Channon the okay to experiment with the idea of creating an army that could use mental powers in battle. Supposedly, these “warrior monks” were being trained to do all sorts of new agey bullshit like:

- moving things with the power of their minds

- phasing through walls

- seeing into the past or into the future

- talking to spirits

- having out of body experiences

- telepathy

- stopping the heart of an enemy with the powers of the mind

Of course, these soldiers never really developed any of these special powers (big surprise there!) and the project was shelved. I’m actually extremely surprised that the military actually went as far as they did with this whole stupid idea. They actually went ahead and bought hundreds of goats so that the “warrior monks” or Jedi’s (yeah they actually called themselves Jedi Warriors) could try and stop their hearts with the powers of their minds! There were manuals written, there were designs for special warrior monk uniforms, I mean, this thing got out of hand! Strangely enough, some of the psychological warfare tactics did crossover into real life practical use. The U.S. Army has been known to use psychological torture techniques that stem from Channon’s techniques and research. Like for example, the U.S. Army has been known to play the theme song to the Barney children’s television show for hours on end to Iraqi prisoners of war. But most of the other ideas Channon had to offer (like talking to spirits) were completely eliminated. A couple of years down the line, Jon Ronson -an English journalist- wrote a book on the whole thing which ended up being the movie I will be reviewing today. The Men Who Stare at Goats.

The book on which the film is based on

Basically, the movie follows Bob Wilton, an English journalist who decides to go and cover the Iraq war. While there, he encounters Special Forces operator Lyn Cassidy, who lets Bob in on his secret mission involving meeting up with the creator of the “New Earth Battalion” Bill Django. Will they ever meet up with Bill? Is this whole “New Earth Battalion” thing real? Do these guys really have any psychic abilities or super powers? Bob Wilton decides to follow Lyn Cassidy in order to get to the truth.

I found this movie really interesting for various reasons. Number one, I think it’s absolutely bonkers that the U.S. Military was involved in something like this. I mean, come on, talking to spirits? Phasing through walls? To me, this whole thing just proves one thing: the world is under the control of mad men! They actually spent time and money on this thing! In real life! But whatever, that point aside, the movie decides to take a very interesting route as well.

The religious leader of the "New Earth Battalion"

In the film Jeff Bridges plays the role of Bill Django, the man in charge of creating this new kind of warrior for the United States government. And in the film, he functions very much like a religious leader to this military unit. The soldiers have to repeat a prayer; they give themselves entirely to the guidance of Django, they have to congregate. For all intents and purposes Bill Django is their spiritual guide. So right there and then I said, the film is commenting on religion. On cults. Jamestown and Waco Texas instantly popped into mind. And its true, this is precisely what the film comments on. These men all put their trust in Mr. Django’s new agey philosophy and way of life. He tells them that they will all develop these special powers, that they will all be able to achieve these incredible feats, which by the way seem to come straight out of a comic book. But the unit goes with it, because they trust Django. They trust that he knows what he is talking about because he just seems so enlightened. Or maybe he knows how to talk a lot of bull crap really well?

George Clooney plays Lyn Cassady, the follower; the guy who’s put his complete trust in Django’s teachings. The guy who will do whatever Django tells him to. In many ways, Clooney’s Lyn represents the people who will follow a religious leader to the ends of the earth (something Lyn does in the movie by the way) and live and breathe by their leader’s teachings. One could say that Clooney is blindly following Bill, same way many people will blindly follow a religious leader. Cassidy reads fervently from a manual written by Django for his New Earth Battalion, kind of like the same way religious individuals can read from a holy book, like the bible, the Koran or the Book of Mormon. It is aluded in the film that Lyn was looking for something to believe in, and Django, through his New Earth Battalion, gave him exactly what he was looking for. Which is really what happens to a lot of people looking for spiritual guidance through a religion, they are looking for something to believe in, something to guide them and give them peace in this crazy world. Give things a purpose, an answer.

On the film, Django wants to promote peace and love in the world. In Django’s book, the planet and nature are number one. Peace is the real objective of the New Earth Battalion; their main objective is finding resolution to conflict through the use of non lethal methods. All of Django’s teachings are based on these ideals. In my book, these ideals that Django teaches in the film are good and could actually help make the world a better place. I’m all for peace in the world, the unification of the countries, the end of war. But why did Django feel he needed to link fantasy elements (or the "hippy bullshit" as they are referred to in the film) along with these ideals? Phasing through walls and moving things with the power of the mind are a complete fantasy and go in contrast with the other very real teachings he promoted. Teachings about attainable things like peace, love and unification of the world. This is the same thing that happens in some religions, like Scientology for example, where they offer you this whole way of life that can supposedly help you achieve all your goals and dreams.Unfortunately, if you read the fine print you'll find out that you have to also believe alien warlords named Xenu, and in ghost aliens. Oh and add time traveling to that list. Some religions offer people a new positive way of life. Many of them have teachings based on love and compassion, which are all great things in my book. But why do they feel the need to lace that with a bunch of fantasies that don’t have an iota of truth to them? This is something the film addresses as well, I won’t comment any further so you’ll come to your own conclusions after you see the film.

Free the Goats from their mental slavery!

George Clooney shines as the Lieutenant Lyn Cassidy. He plays his character in a very goofy absent minded manner; a guy who has gone a bit coo-coo with Django’s teachings. He believes it all to be true, and in some ways this helps him get through life, and in others, it doesn’t. He often times gets into a lot of trouble because he thinks he has these special abilities. But also, by just thinking he has them helps him as well. In this way the film comments on how religion can become sort of a psychological comfort cushion. You think you got somebody watching over you, you feel more confident, you dare to achieve more. That’s fine and dandy, but me, I rather rely on my own inner strength and confidence to achieve things then in some mystical invisible being that’s supposed there yet we never see or hear. I guess some people need that additional psychological back up, and all those perfect pre-packaged shinny answers to everything, so as they say, more power to them. I like to live with my feet firmly placed on reaffirming reality. You want to tell me that love, peace and companion are things we have to live by? Sure, Ill buy that for a dollar. Just leave all the new agey hippy bullshit out of it!

Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Angels and Demons (2009)

Title: Angels and Demons (2009)

Director: Ron Howard

Cast: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgard

Review:

The Da Vinci Code was a controversial film upon its release in 2006 because it asked the question: Did Jesus get laid? And did he have kids? Wow, big freaking deal. I went to watch this movie expecting to see a shocking and sacrilegious piece of filmmaking, because of all the controversy and hype around it. What I saw was a film afraid to say what it had to say. Its main character was a non believer, a man of no faith at all,  yet it always seemed to me like the film was afraid to show this. The film in my opinion was not as controversial as it was made out to be. To top things of, it was a bit boring. And it just felt like Indiana Jones, but without the fun. Still, the controversy helped the film and it made kajillions of dollars worldwide. So fast forward a couple of years later and here comes its inevitable sequel, Angels and Demons. Again, lots f controversy surrounding this one. What’s all the controversy about this time around?

Illuminati terrorist want to blow up the crib of Catholicism - The Vatican - with anti-matter! You see, apparently, members of an ancient secret anti-religion group called “The Illuminati” have stolen anti-matter from a top secret science lab. They intend to blow up The Vatican right smack in the middle of conclave, which is Christian code for “lets choose a new Pope!” The terrorists have also kidnapped the four favorite cardinals who are running for Pope, and are slowly killing them one by one. Will the Illuminati succeed in eradicating the birthplace of Catholicism, along with all its popes and cardinals from the face of the earth? Or will Robert Langdon use all his knowledge on religion to help them find the hidden anti-matter and stop the Illuminati from killing the cardinals?

I for one found this movie to be way more entertaining then The Da Vinci Code. It’s a bit edgier with its themes. It dares to say more then the previous film did, but again, it does so with the utmost respect cause you know, we don’t want to insult all those raging Catholics out there who think their religion is the one and only true one amongst all the thousands of religions and sects in the world. So again, the film walks on egg shells when it asks Robert Langdon question like the ever popular “do you believe in God?” This was fine by me, because though the film was very respectful with what it was saying, it said what it wanted to say anyways. Like addressing many of the downright evil things that the Catholic Church has done across the ages, like for example killing off anyone who thought different then they did, like they did in the inquisition. They killed Galileo Galilei (one of the most popular examples of the ignorance of the Catholic Church) because he taught the idea that the earth moved around the sun as opposed to what the church taught, that it was the sun that moved around the earth and the earth remained still. We all now know who was wrong there. Eventually, empirical science proved Catholics wrong. And so, the Church realizing it had made a huge mistake said “I’m sorry, we were all wrong back in the day”. But that apology from the church came just the other day, on October 31 1992. Literally hundreds of years after they made Galileo’s life a living hell, simply for thinking differently. The film addresses these issues and mentions them clearly, which I loved. When the film begins, it feels as though the church’s sins are coming back to bite them in the ass, in a huge freaking way!

I enjoyed how the film depicts the whole process of choosing a new Pope. This is a process that I have always found interesting. Thousands of Catholics waiting in front of the Vatican for God to choose his next representative here on earth. I always ask myself, do this people actually believe this man is going to be chosen by God? Don’t they read history books? Choosing the next pope has always been a process that’s been filled with betrayals, murders, poisonings and this film addresses these same types of situations with its storyline. Across the ages, Popes have killed other popes and bribed voters just so they could take over the papacy. Just check out the story behind Pope Alexander VI! He even has incest in his resume! And he is not alone. What baffles me is how Catholics call the pope the hand of god on earth. If this is the representative of God on earth, then we have one messed up God! So Angels and Demons plays around with these themes, but it doesn’t do it out of “maliciousness” as it has been accused of by more then one reviewer. The film is fiction, yes. But its based on fact. Often times, these Popes are seen as holy by the ignorant masses, ignorant to the things that really go on behind closed doors. What I hate is how hard the Church always tries to hide the fact that these awful things happened within the Vatican walls. I also liked how Ron Howard chose to augment the feeling of chaos going on out in the streets. People screaming, complaining, boycotting, marching, singing...the confusion brought on by religion and politics is very well depicted on this film!

Angels and Demons is a good adaptation of Dan Brown’s book. I read the book and everything I read was in there, almost exactly how I had envisioned it, which was kind of strange! Its one of those films where you go “wow, that’s exactly how I imagined it in my mind!” Of course, it did cut a few things here and there to quicken the pace of things. But hey, it’s understandable, and the changes were minor. The part I missed the most that was left out of the film is the part where Robert Langdon visits the scientific lab where the anti-matter is created. The labs are still on the film, but they used them only as a means to open the film with something quick and interesting, the creation of the anti-matter and then we move on to other matters. On the book, Langdon actually visits these laboratories and all hell breaks loose as he is there. Filmmakers decided to cut this out and just cut to him going to the Vatican immediately. But for the most part, the movie is the book.

The Catholic Church thought that The Da Vinci Code was an offensive film, so they did not allow Ron Howard and crew to shoot Angels and Demons in any of their churches, and much less, inside of The Vatican itself. So Ron Howard’s production crew had to recreate many of the locations from pictures they took of the locations they wanted. Some of the locations were recreated by building sets; others were recreated with the help of computer animation, which was excellent in my book.

Again, I thought the film was very daring with its themes. The evil within the church, the dangers of fanatism, the secrets of the history of papacy. How the church distorts things, from how they really happened, to what they want you to think happened. How being raised in a religion from birth can actually turn you into a dangerous and even psychotic individual. These are all fantastic themes! The film plays with themes of religion vs. science and religion vs. non believers, it also addresses the fact that the history of the Catholic church is not as squeaky clean or as holy as it wants to be. In fact it’s filled with many dark passages which continue to be written to this day. This film was very entertaining, and thought provoking. Catholics opted to label this film as “harmless entertainment not to be taken seriously” that its followers can see it, but that they should let others know that its “a fable, based on malicious myths”. They decided to take this stand with the film, because they thought that if they decided to boycott film completely, it would only make people want to see it even more, which is what happened with The Da Vinci Code. Angels and Demons went on to become a huge hit anyways, the fourth biggest money maker of the year, so I guess their little ploy didn’t work very well.

This was a fast paced, enjoyable flick that surpasses The Da Vinci Code in every way. It has an incredible climax that has to be seen to be believed! I not only loved it because of its themes, but also because it was highly entertaining, it was well acted, and it speaks certain truths that more people should know about, this isn’t just a film to be dismissed as some simple curiosity, it speaks about a very real truth that not many people want to face. Popes are only human, and as such have the same capacity for evil as you or I. They are not holy men with a special direct line to God. They are just humans, thirsting and coveting that desired seat of power as much as the next guy.

Rating: 5 out of 5