The whacked-out premise of Heslov’s directorial debut—that the U.S. military has been and continues to experiment with psychic phenomena—is intriguing and funny and also a bit unnerving, traits that screenwriter Peter Straughan tries to stir around in his largely fictionalized stew. George Clooney gets to revel in the Coen-Brothers-trained art of goofy geniality, Jeff Bridges gets to resurrect The Dude as a blissed-out soldier with an agenda, but Ewan McGregor gets stuck playing the straight man. For all that is good in it, the film is ultimately more scattershot than satirical, leaving us wondering if it’s making fun of its subject or presenting it as a higher calling. (Hollywood Jewel 16, Waco, TX)