Imagine a world in which the military trains soldiers not to kill enemies of the state, but to infiltrate their minds with the Jedi mind trick. A different political and military climate in which soldiers in camo sport long hair, have dance parties, and hold daisies in their hands. A military unit in which recreational drugs enhance the training, where drills include psychic exercises and the Privates’ chakras are open to the world. Grant Heslov’s The Men Who Stare at Goats plops the audience into this seemingly alternate universe with the admonition that “more of this is true than you would believe.”
Movies
Movie Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats
by Julia Rhodes
November 7th, 2009
In My Father’s Shadow by Chris Welles Feder
by Rochelle Jewel Shapiro
November 5th, 2009
Orson had become so famous for his villainous role as Harry Lime in The Third Man that the moment he appeared in public, somebody whipped out an instrument and began playing the theme song. When an organ-grinder began playing the theme while Chris and Orson were crossing Piccadilly Circus, Orson had had it with London. His driver took them way out in the country to picnic in an isolated spot surrounded by hedges. A man on a bicycle saw them, stopped short, and suddenly whipped out his harmonica to play The Third Man theme song.
Movie Review: The Maid
by Germein Linares
November 1st, 2009
It’s in this last third of the film that Catalina Saavedra’s performance as Raquel carries the film to excellence. Raquel’s character could easily have devolved into caricature. Instead, Saavedra allows her to experience these newly discovered truths with equal measures of joy and regret. Often, it’s just a face – a momentary expression of the eyes and mouth – that say so much about Raquel’s life in the shadows, the years lost to servitude.
Movie Review: Paranormal Activity
by Julia Rhodes
October 24th, 2009
The film falls short by arranging a regrettably thin layer of spooky occurrences beneath a thicker deposit of badly acted exposition and obnoxious characters. The couple and all secondary characters are total unknowns, which fits with the idea that audiences are privy to the lives of everyday citizens. The problem lies in the movie’s inability to create believable tension.
Movie Review: Amelia
by Zorianna Kit
October 23rd, 2009
Furthermore, Nair chooses to play it safe by directing an uninspiring paint-by-numbers biopic complete with voice-overs from the now dead Amelia (“We all have ocean’s to fly…”), montages to speed up time, black-white newsreel footage to add authenticity, and the flashing of newspaper headlines to show historical significance. One would think that Nair’s beautiful Bollywood films would have brought some magic touch to this very American story.
Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are
by Julia Rhodes
October 17th, 2009
Although studios balked at the film’s maturity, believing it might be too scary for children, it will appeal to kids and adults alike. Inside all of us there’s a child who yearns to break free, and the film’s beauty lies in its ability to portray unrefined human emotion and the vastness of the imagination. Expect Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are to ignite the minds of generations to come; spending 90 minutes inside a child’s mind has never felt so cathartic and enchanting.
Movie Review: Zombieland
by Julia Rhodes
October 3rd, 2009
Zombieland elicits comparison to both the Brit “romzomcom” (romantic zombie comedy) and Dawn of the Dead (1978). But though it’s alternately a comedy, a romance, a gorefest, and a buddy road-trip movie, Zombieland unravels many of the threads that make up the zombie genre. A good ensemble cast (three up-and-comers and the always-humorous Harrelson), great makeup effects, and fantastic writing create a lighthearted, fun homage to the classic undead movies of yore.
Movie Review: The Informant!
by Julia Rhodes
September 19th, 2009
Perhaps the most ingenious part of Whitacre’s affect (and the film) is his stream-of-consciousness inner monologue. He wonders about tie patterns, spews factoids about polar bears, and wrestles with the German language as he bumbles deeper into an FBI investigation he instigated. Whitacre is the ultimate unreliable narrator—someone whose world is entirely in his head, and whose actions are simply inconsequential.
Movie Review: 9
by Julia Rhodes
September 11th, 2009
The film is truly gorgeous to behold. Starz Animation has officially given Pixar a run for its money. Each surface is textured minutely; the film feels so real the audience could almost reach into the screen and scoop up a stitchpunk for themselves. The spooky brain monster against which the creatures must defend themselves is reminiscent of the machines in The Matrix—a glowing, glaring red eye centered in a mass of metallic tentacles. Though the voice actors are talented, the dialogue is few, far between, and unimportant to the film’s plot. This movie is eye candy.
Movie Review: The September Issue
by Brenna E. Fitzgerald
September 8th, 2009
From pink to black and from Paris to Bryant Park, this flashy documentary by R.J. Cutler (The War Room) lets us peep behind the veil of Vogue and glimpse into both the goblins and the glory of glamour. Following the magazine’s steadfast fury to produce its largest page-count ever in 2007 (a whopping 840), we see what it takes to work for a high-end fashion publication, but more importantly we get a portrait of the ice-queen in charge.
CLR's most popular articles
- Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are (4,449 views)
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (4,330 views)
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett (3,823 views)
- Movie Review: Paranormal Activity (2,764 views)
- Erotic Art of Ancient Pompeii (1,927 views)
- Photo Essay: North Korean Propaganda Posters (1,690 views)
- Frida Kahlo at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (968 views)
- The Greatest Show On Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins (967 views)
- Images from How To Photograph an Atomic Bomb (694 views)
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy (502 views)
- Photo Essay: North Korean Propaganda Posters (67,617 views)
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (30,571 views)
- Erotic Art of Ancient Pompeii (23,033 views)
- The Strange World of Quantum Entanglement (18,716 views)
- Images from How To Photograph an Atomic Bomb (16,703 views)
- Frida Kahlo at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (14,559 views)
- Susskind Quashes Hawking in Quarrel Over Quantum Quandary (13,067 views)
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett (12,980 views)
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy (11,426 views)
- Who Killed JFK? - An Interview With Lamar Waldron (11,229 views)
Get The Latest California Literary Review Updates Delivered Free To Your Inbox!
Powered by FeedBlitz
Recent Comments:
- Sudden Onset: Margie notes: Iwoke up one Sat. morning this past July + felt alittle numbness in my legs + next thing i know was in ahopital with everyone looking at me wondering what happened to...
- The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell: Jo Ann Fredin notes: So disappointed. Read the whole Scarpetta series in order and was anxiously awaiting this new book. Too many angry/moody people, and...
- Movie Review: Paranormal Activity: That Guy notes: This review is very well written, regardless of your viewpointon the film. I fall into the group who thought this film lacked everything but...
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett: Peg notes: Having grown up a middle-class white girl in a small southern town in the mid-sixties, I was bowled over by this novel in sometimes troubling and complex...
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows: Donna in Florida notes: Have read the book twice. It was recommended by a friend but is also on the reading...
- A Visit With Author Colleen McCullough: Nancy Beggin notes: Thrilling! My husband and I read On-Off and never had a clue to the killers. We thought everyone could have done it. We knew to reread...
- The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell: Andrew notes: Your last point is excellent.
- Festival of the Earth: Rabindranath Tagore’s Environmental Vision: KUMUD GHOSH notes: It is a nice article about the environmental awareness of Kabiguru.
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows: Joan Elmont notes: A fascinating book! Also so true. My husband was one of the Guernsey evacuees! The...
- Brian Jungen: Strange Comfort at The National Museum of the American Indian: Charlie H. Sark notes: Very intriguing and different. I think it tells a story of indigenous people from a different...
topics
- Africa
- African American
- Agriculture
- Animals
- Anthropology
- Archeology
- Architecture
- Art
- Art & Design
- Australia
- Balkans
- Belgium
- Best Books
- Biography
- Business
- Canada
- Caribbean
- Children's Literature
- China
- Classics
- Crime Fiction
- Dance
- Death
- Denmark
- Disability
- Economics
- Education
- Egypt
- Environment
- Espionage
- Food
- France
- Gay and Lesbian
- Germany
- Graphic Novels
- Great Britain
- Historical Fiction
- History
- Horror
- Humor
- India
- Iran
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Linguistics
- Literary Themes
- Mathematics
- Medicine
- Mexico
- Military
- Movies
- Movies & TV
- Music
- Mystery
- Mythology
- Native American
- Nature
- Netherlands
- Pakistan
- Performing Arts
- Philosophy
- Photography
- Poetry
- Politics
- Psychology
- Religion
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Science
- Science Fiction and Fantasy
- Sex
- Short Stories
- Sociology
- Southeast Asia
- Spain
- Sports
- Theatre
- Thrillers
- Travel
- True Crime
- Turkey
- Vietnam
- Westerns
- Writers
Follow the California Literary Review on Twitter: @calitreview
