Odeon - win tickets
18 November 2009
YOU could be forgiven for thinking The Men Who Stare At Goats (15) is a comedy about a group of drunken males who stumble into a farmyard during a stag night and dare each other to outsmart the residents, but you'd be so wrong.
The film, directed by Grant Heslov, and boasting an all-star cast, is a drama about a top secret division of the US military.
Reporter Bob Wilton, played by Ewan McGregor thinks he has the scoop of the century when he meets Lyn Cassady, (George Clooney), part of an experimental unit of psychic 'Warrior Monks'.
The 'holy men' claim to read minds, walk through walls and kill goats simply by staring at them.
Oh, and their goal is to put an end to war as we know it.
When the unit's leader Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) goes missing, Bob tracks him down to a secret training camp run by clandestine psychic Larry Hooper who can only be played by serial baddie Kevin Spacey.
Hooper has his own plans for the monks and you can bet your life his motives are anything but peaceful.
The film is based on the book of the same title by author Jon Ronson, who investigated attempts by US military forces to harness psychic powers.
* Not a million miles away genre-wise but infinitely darker and unusually these days, British, is thriller Harry Brown (18), directed by Daniel Barber and starring the legendary Sir Michael Caine.
The star plays the title character who has just lost his wife but didn't get to the hospital in time to say goodbye because he is too scared to go under a South London council estate's thug-patrolled underpass.
After ignoring the drug-dealers and vandals for too long he slowly begins to get pushed towards the edge and finally snaps when his best mate gets brutally killed.
That's when he finds being a former royal marine comes in quite handy and he is soon dishing out a slice of vigilante justice.
But during dispensing with the gang one by one he comes to the attention of the police who never take too kindly to have-a-go heroes, well not in movie land anyway.
The part required Caine, who now lives in the comfortable environs of Surrey, to return to his roots where he was quick to defend hoodlums as 'the victims of society', according to reports in the national press.
The film also features Emily Mortimer, Iain Glen and Jack O'Connell.
* Contrary to last week's cinema review, Stephenie Meyer's double bill of Twilight at 9.30pm and New Moon at one minute past midnight is tonight (Thurs), with advance booking advisable.
* The Weston and Somerset Mercury has teamed up with the Odeon to offer five lucky readers the chance to win a pair of tickets to see a film of their choice, subject to availability.
To enter the competition, simply answer the following question: Who plays the baddie in The Men Who Stare At Goats?
Send your answer on a postcard, along with your name, address and telephone number to: Odeon Competition, Weston & Somerset Mercury, 32 Waterloo Street, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 1LW, or alternatively, log onto www.westonmercury.co.uk by 10am on November 27.
Usual Archant Rules apply and the editor's decision is final. Please check availability with Weston Odeon box office before arriving with your winning tickets.