Four Lions

Ar Scion

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Oct 27, 2009
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Anyone seen this movie?

Funniest terrorism movie I've ever seen. Had me laughing so hard I cried.

It's on megavideo if you're too lazy to get it legally.

Warning: British accents. Might need subtitles.
 


Haven't seen it yet, but if memory serves that's by Christopher Morris. He has a bit of an odd sense of humour but he is hilarious.

If you like that kind of comedy, search for the old BrassEye series. It's his best work.
 
Haven't seen it yet, but if memory serves that's by Christopher Morris. He has a bit of an odd sense of humour but he is hilarious.

If you like that kind of comedy, search for the old BrassEye series. It's his best work.
That was done by him? That was amazing, as well! :D The "Cake" episode was filmed at my old school :)
 
Anyone seen this movie?

Funniest terrorism movie I've ever seen. Had me laughing so hard I cried.

It's on megavideo if you're too lazy to get it legally.

Warning: British accents. Might need subtitles.

watched the trailer and didn't smirk once.. not my type of humor :[

Didn't smirk either, although I'm interested in watching it. I can honestly say this doesn't look like it's supposed to be a comedy really and if it is the movie is going to be fucking plagued by characters who are completely impossible to relate to and unrealistic (a British comedy staple)--making for a terrible, terrible movie. Still want to see it though.
 
Didn't smirk either, although I'm interested in watching it. I can honestly say this doesn't look like it's supposed to be a comedy really and if it is the movie is going to be fucking plagued by characters who are completely impossible to relate to and unrealistic (a British comedy staple)--making for a terrible, terrible movie. Still want to see it though.
It's funny, but not for the first part. It starts off being meh, but then has some hilarious bits. I haven't seen the advert.


*btw, not sure what you mean about British humour - what modern English comedies aren't relatable? I know there's Mr Bean, but that's an exception, really.
 
It started off weak, like most movies do. You have a hard time figuring out what the fuck Barry is doing in that picture.
 
It's funny, but not for the first part. It starts off being meh, but then has some hilarious bits. I haven't seen the advert.


*btw, not sure what you mean about British humour - what modern English comedies aren't relatable? I know there's Mr Bean, but that's an exception, really.

The Office, Benny Hill, Monty Python -- some of the "classic" comedy stuff to roll out of Britain is based around characters and situations that make no sense, aren't realistic and are impossible to relate to.

For example in America comedy is (I should say used to be) focused around "it's funny, because it's true!" where as in Britain it's always been "it's funny, because this would never really happen/that's contrary to our social norm/etc.". No offense, but you asked - so I thought I'd explain :D

The crazy thing is that Ricky Gervais is the closest thing to real comedy to come out of Britain and even he's been quoted as saying English comedy is completely terrible--and he's really not that funny himself. That being said, the Four Lions movie looks interesting as long as it has a clear direction. The trailer makes it look like it doesn't know if it's a comedy or a movie trying to make a statement (or a mix of both). Either way, failing to make that basic information clear is a tell-tale symptom of a terrible film maker/writer.

Still going to watch it though, I'm hoping I'm proven wrong! :food-smiley-010:
 
The Office, Benny Hill, Monty Python -- some of the "classic" comedy stuff to roll out of Britain is based around characters and situations that make no sense, aren't realistic and are impossible to relate to.

For example in America comedy is (I should say used to be) focused around "it's funny, because it's true!" where as in Britain it's always been "it's funny, because this would never really happen/that's contrary to our social norm/etc.". No offense, but you asked - so I thought I'd explain :D

The crazy thing is that Ricky Gervais is the closest thing to real comedy to come out of Britain and even he's been quoted as saying English comedy is completely terrible--and he's really not that funny himself. That being said, the Four Lions movie looks interesting as long as it has a clear direction. The trailer makes it look like it doesn't know if it's a comedy or a movie trying to make a statement (or a mix of both). Either way, failing to make that basic information clear is a tell-tale symptom of a terrible film maker/writer.

Still going to watch it though, I'm hoping I'm proven wrong! :food-smiley-010:

The British comedy that you are referring to is the comedy that the US has taken up and broadcast there, it certainly is not representative of current UK comedy.

The majority of UK comedy is sit-com and not farcical, that is just the stuff that you Americans have decided to buy from the UK and still watch for some reason (no one in the UK has watched Benny Hill for almost 30 years and is certainly not considered in high esteem). Monty Python was ground breaking comedy at the time and paved the way for a huge amount of comedy nowadays (most of the great comedy writers site Monty Python as one of their major influences).

Quite a few "Classic" US comedies were a bought-for copy of a UK one e.g. Three's Company, All In The Family. And the UK is very much seen as a pioneer in TV, with your most popular shows like American Idol being UK exports.

How is The UK Office a situation that make no sense, isn't realistic and is impossible to relate to? It's a mockumentary that follows very closely to the real life dynamics of an office. You obviously haven't watched it (and probably wouldn't understand the subtilty of the humor if you did).

Four Lions had such potential but in the end was boring crap and very unfunny. Give me Brass Eye any day over that tripe. Usually love Chris Morris's stuff.
 
It was pretty good i enjoyed it, definitely a good break from the regular Hollywood crap out at the movies. Fairly humorous bit more dry humour i guess.
 
Don't get me wrong I absolutely adore some US shows such as Seinfeld and Friends, but an awful show like Saturday Night Live, which is immensely popular there, really shows up a puerile sense of humor with very little breadth.

If you want to see a good reflection on how a lot of US comedy shows are made (and butchered) watch "Episodes" with Matt Le Blanc. It's a great reflection of how the big networks remove the soul from a show for the sake of chasing ratings.

And btw I am not from the UK and I watch both US and UK shows so my view is both impartial and with a wide range of experience of both.
 
The Office, Benny Hill, Monty Python -- some of the "classic" comedy stuff to roll out of Britain is based around characters and situations that make no sense, aren't realistic and are impossible to relate to.

For example in America comedy is (I should say used to be) focused around "it's funny, because it's true!" where as in Britain it's always been "it's funny, because this would never really happen/that's contrary to our social norm/etc.". No offense, but you asked - so I thought I'd explain :D
Yeah, I know what you mean about those things at the top - but I wouldn't say they're too representative - the Office is... meh. I've watched it a little bit, but never really found it that funny. Benny hill - yeah that's a bit funnier, but a bit repetitive. (funny when high though! :D ) Monty Python - yeah that's funny.

It seems though, that most of the comedy stuff that gets to the US from here seems to be a bit second rate compared to most of the stuff we have. Sitcoms are quite big here, some funny examples would be The Inbetweeners, Outnumbered, as well as the earlier seasons of My Family.

I think we have a pretty good mix of stuff - we've got a bit of "it's funny cause it would never happen" but I think sitcoms, and more relatable comedy is more dominant. I find the majority of the US people who say they "love British humour" are talking about something that basically no one over here actually finds funny, but somehow it's made its way over there! :p

And no offence either, was just interested :)
 
The British comedy that you are referring to is the comedy that the US has taken up and broadcast there, it certainly is not representative of current UK comedy.

The majority of UK comedy is sit-com and not farcical, that is just the stuff that you Americans have decided to buy from the UK and still watch for some reason (no one in the UK has watched Benny Hill for almost 30 years and is certainly not considered in high esteem). Monty Python was ground breaking comedy at the time and paved the way for a huge amount of comedy nowadays (most of the great comedy writers site Monty Python as one of their major influences).

Quite a few "Classic" US comedies were a bought-for copy of a UK one e.g. Three's Company, All In The Family. And the UK is very much seen as a pioneer in TV, with your most popular shows like American Idol being UK exports.

How is The UK Office a situation that make no sense, isn't realistic and is impossible to relate to? It's a mockumentary that follows very closely to the real life dynamics of an office. You obviously haven't watched it (and probably wouldn't understand the subtilty of the humor if you did).

It's funny you say the above about the original The Office because I was going to mention that--the UK version is actually something people can relate to, it feels realer. I have to say while both versions of The Office are obviously mockumentaries they're both really poorly done as such (I mean the format of the show, especially the U.S. version - completely unwatchable IMO).

Don't get me wrong I absolutely adore some US shows such as Seinfeld and Friends, but an awful show like Saturday Night Live, which is immensely popular there, really shows up a puerile sense of humor with very little breadth.

If you want to see a good reflection on how a lot of US comedy shows are made (and butchered) watch "Episodes" with Matt Le Blanc. It's a great reflection of how the big networks remove the soul from a show for the sake of chasing ratings.

And btw I am not from the UK and I watch both US and UK shows so my view is both impartial and with a wide range of experience of both.

You like sitcoms, like you said, so you wouldn't like SNL most likely. SNL has been huge here because it's always sketch comedy around current events -- i.e driving home my point of "it's funny because it's true". Then again SNL is much, much more than just a television show--it's been a ridiculously huge influence in a lot of ways. If you can I seriously suggest you try to appreciate the humor in it, you'll have a shit load of seasons to watch if you do.

Yeah, I know what you mean about those things at the top - but I wouldn't say they're too representative - the Office is... meh. I've watched it a little bit, but never really found it that funny. Benny hill - yeah that's a bit funnier, but a bit repetitive. (funny when high though! :D ) Monty Python - yeah that's funny.

It seems though, that most of the comedy stuff that gets to the US from here seems to be a bit second rate compared to most of the stuff we have. Sitcoms are quite big here, some funny examples would be The Inbetweeners, Outnumbered, as well as the earlier seasons of My Family.

I think we have a pretty good mix of stuff - we've got a bit of "it's funny cause it would never happen" but I think sitcoms, and more relatable comedy is more dominant. I find the majority of the US people who say they "love British humour" are talking about something that basically no one over here actually finds funny, but somehow it's made its way over there! :p

And no offence either, was just interested :)

I'm not quite sure what's available in the UK so I can't really comment on it, but I believe you. It's interesting how we're basically just trading one anothers shitty television since all the bad TV from the UK blows up here and vice versa.
 
I get the impression that the bigger comedies from the US are written by a team of writers? Kind of feels like jokes by committee. I can't help thinking the UK ones are written by a single individual or a well versed duo and can get deeper and more entwined.
Saying that tho Two and a Half Men rocks...
 
If you want to find real, great British comedy then the best I've found recently was the political comedy called The Thick Of It (see avatar). The reason I'm guessing it hasn't been picked up in the US is because there are a lot of references that don't make sense because of the different political systems / culture.

That said, it's still in my opinion probably the sharpest comedy writing I've seen in many years.

The was a film version called In The Loop you may have seen, but the BBC original series was much funnier.

Although I think you're probably right that we trade shit TV. That's because most people like shit TV, so why spend all that time and money writing new stuff, when we can just trade already proven shows and tweak them a little. Much like porting a winning campaign from Adwords to Bing I suppose.
 
The movie isn't that bad I guess. Im about to go to the nearest video rentals and look for it. Watched the trailer and looks like fun.
 
I thought it was a good film. I do not feel that it suffered from "not knowing whether it was a social commentary or a comedy." It was well-written, well-acted, well-edited, and addressed some of the most important issues facing society.
 
Lol'd. Also see:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mWvqPVBsZk]YouTube - TERE BIN LADEN - OFFICAL TRAILER[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgA0Zr7kE0U]YouTube - The President Is Coming - Theatrical Trailer[/ame]