slice_men_who_stare_at_goats_george_clooney_ewan_mcgregor_title_logo_01.jpg

This is how you do a trailer. You take a film that no one's really been hearing about, and yes, it has stars. You could do a trailer that says "This film has George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, and Jeff Bridges" and just try to sell it mainstream and hope that people will come in based on the names. But instead, this trailer highlights what we love about these actors in the first place and now this film has shot to one of my most anticipated of the year. Hit the jump to find out why.

The Men Who Stare at Goats movie image George Clooney.jpg

Okay, so not only does it have Clooney, McGregor, Spacey, and Bridges, but folks who love character actors (and I'm one of them) are going to get J.K. Simmons, Robert Patrick, Stephen Root, Stephen Lang, and Glenn Morshower. It's a good thing I don't cut trailers because mine would probably just be those names and then "You should check this film out."

Here's the synopsis:

In this quirky dark comedy inspired by a real life story you will hardly believe is actually true, astonishing revelations about a top-secret wing of the U.S. military come to light when a reporter encounters an enigmatic Special Forces operator on a mind-boggling mission. Reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is in search of his next big story when he encounters Lyn Cassady (Academy Award winner George Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims to be part of an experimental U.S. military unit.

According to Cassady, the New Earth Army is changing the way wars are fought. A legion of "Warrior Monks" with unparalleled psychic powers can read the enemy's thoughts, pass through solid walls, and even kill a goat simply by staring at it. Now, the program's founder, Bill Django (Oscar nominee Jeff Bridges), has gone missing and Cassady's mission is to find him. Intrigued by his new acquaintance's far-fetched stories, Bob impulsively decides to accompany him on the search. When the pair tracks Django to a clandestine training camp run by renegade psychic Larry Hooper (two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey), the reporter is trapped in the middle of a grudge match between the forces of Django's New Earth Army and Hooper's personal militia of super soldiers. In order to survive this wild adventure, Bob will have to outwit an enemy he never thought possible. The Men Who Stare at Goats was inspired by Jon Ronson's non-fiction bestseller of the same name, an eye-opening and often hilarious exploration of the government's attempts to harness paranormal abilities to combat its enemies.

-

I feel guilty that I hadn't been following this film from the start but at least I now have the giddy excitement of only waiting two months to see it. Click over to Apple to see the trailer in HD (and must see this trailer). "The Men Who Stare at Goats" will premiere at this year's Toronto Film Festival and then the rest of us poor souls will have to wait until November 6th when it hits theatres nationwide.