FROM MTV.COM: What went wrong with this movie? The subject — the U.S. military's apparently actual flirtation with paranormal warfare — has rich comic promise. And the cast — George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges — couldn't be much stronger. But while the trailer for "The Men Who Stare at Goats" suggests a quirky, Coen-esque romp, the picture itself lacks the Coen brothers' sardonic intelligence and deft pacing. It wanders and wilts and very quickly falls apart.

The story begins in 2003, with aspiring combat reporter Bob Wilton (McGregor) waiting in Kuwait for clearance to cross over into Iraq. Biding his time, he encounters Lyn Cassady (Clooney), a man with a strange tale to tell. Cassady says he's a "Jedi warrior" (wink, wink) in the New Earth Army, a sub-rosa military unit dedicated to psychic battle strategies — mind-reading, "remote viewing," the whole new-age imaginarium. He says he's been reactivated to locate Bill Django (Bridges), the ponytailed Vietnam vet who founded the NEA back in the early '70s and has now gone missing. Wilton senses a story here, and decides to tag along.

Continue reading 'The Men Who Stare At Goats': Destination Nowhere, By Kurt Loder

He may be best known for going to battle over his beloved red stapler in “Office Space,” but character actor Stephen Root has also stood out in several films with a darker edge, including “No Country for Old Men,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Leatherheads.” Now, the "Zelig"-like supporting star is working alongside George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges in one of the most eagerly-anticipated -– and oddly named –- films of this upcoming winter.

“It’s a movie about the late Seventies, when the army was in a dispirited state and was trying a lot of things,” Root said of “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” the sci-fi/drama/comedy directing debut of frequent Clooney collaborator Grant Heslov. “[The military] was open to a lot of hippie-dippie stuff.” Read more...

One of the films which went surprisingly unpurchased in the wake of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival was "I Love You, Phillip Morris," written/directed by the two-man team of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. Their 'based on true events' story of conman Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) is a fairly outlandish one, and the presence of Ewan McGregor - as Russell's lover, the titular Phillip Morris - only adds to the appeal for potential buyers.

Now Variety brings word that "Phillip Morris" has been scooped up for domestic distribution by Consolidated Pictures Group. A planned Valentine's Day release is mentioned, presumably in 2010, though the year is not explicitly stated. The distribution deal between Consolidated and financier EuropaCorp reportedly falls into the "mid-seven-figure" range. Read more...

It's nice to see Ewan McGregor back on the big screen, in the trades, and away from his motorcycle. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he's tapping into that daredevil side for his next film, "The Electric Slide" which will see him robbing the rich to ... well, feed himself. British actress Carey Mulligan is in talks to join McGregor.

Directed and scripted by newcomer Tristan Patterson, "Slide" is based on the true story of Eddie Dodson, a former antiques dealer who ran with with the rich and famous of Hollywood. In order to feed his heroin habit and impress his new girlfriend, he decided to rob a bank -- the first of 72 he would rob in his lifetime. Dubbed "The Yankee Bandit" for the Yankees hat he always wore, he always slipped away just as the authorities arrived. He was eventually caught, and died in prison in 2003. Read more...

Remember last year, when director Danny Boyle told MTV News that he was still very high on eventually filming “Porno,” the follow-up to his break-out hit “Trainspotting”? Turns out, Boyle said, the actors are now just as excited.

Now if they’d just lay off the goddarned moisturizer.

“Interestingly, they are about to put out yet another DVD of ‘Trainspotting,’ another edition, like they do, and they got all the actors together to do interviews for it and they all turned up, so I think they’re all starting to show a little appetite for it, for doing it again, and we’ve tickled them with this idea that it’s the same actors playing the same parts in the same city, but it’s got this fifteen year gap,” Boyle said of the long-gestating project. Read more...

- Director Matthieu Kassovitz rips into Fox for destroying his movie, “Babylon A.D.” "It's pure violence and stupidity.” (AMC)

- Jim and Ewan sitting in a tree…Lips lock in first official picture from dark comedy “I love You Phillip Morris.” (Jim Carrey Online)

- First trailer for “Fast and Furious” (4) pops up online. (IGN)

- Woody Harrelson to fight the undead in horror comedy “Zombieland.” (THR)