Jane Got a Gun

Ever wonder what it would be like if Nicholas Sparks wrote gunfighter stories? Or if Sergio Leone was a romance novelist? Your answer may reside within the 98 minutes that make up “Jane Got a Gun” (2016). Boy goes off to war, girl gives up hope and makes new life, boy finds her and gets his heart broken, girl ends up needing him anyway because bad guys are coming, everybody starts shooting each other all to hell. The love triangle is slightly creepy but Natalie Portman and the scenery are both ruggedly hot. Some plot twists save the ending (sorta).

 

The Men Who Stare at Goats

LSD plays a prominent role in “The Men Who Stare at Goats” (2009). It also may have played a prominent role in the scriptwriting. The idea is funny and quirky enough. Take two seemingly polar opposites – the U.S. Army and New Age philosophy – and show how their moral relativism makes them highly similar and thus ripe for collaboration. Then start trippin’! What? You want the plot to be coherent? Dude, you’re bringin’ me down. Look! There’s Jeff Bridges! He plays a hippie Army commander. Ha ha! Get it? Movies like this make me think George Clooney has a mean streak.