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Four Lions [RSC Film Club 13]


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We're starting off 2020 with a bang, quite literally!  Our genre for the first film club of the new decade is comedy, with the winning entry being the controversial Chris Morris film, Four Lions.  

Image result for four lions poster

Written and directed by incendiary British comedian Chris Morris (The Day Today, Brass Eye, Jam) Four Lions, released in 2010, is his film debut.  It stars Riz Ahmed, Nigel Lindsay, Kayvan Novak, and Adeel Akhtar as four radicalised British Muslims who want to blow something up.  They just don't know what, or how to do it.  Morris has always been a controversial figure in the British comedy world.  The special episode of his television show Brass Eye, "Paedogeddon", satirising the media hysteria and hypocrisy on the subject of p*dophilia, was the most complained about show in British history at the time.  Four Lions is as close to the bone as anything he has ever done, and in my opinion, makes the film not only more funny, but more eye-opening.  

This is a film that shows us that terrorism can be British, these atrocities aren't being committed by some unknown foreign menace, they're being done by us.  People living on our streets, and in our communities.  The film also shows us the everyday lives of these people, making them relatable in an almost uncomfortable way.  It never condones what these people are doing, but it does give us an insight into why they do it.  It's also incredibly funny.  I haven't seen this in over five years, but I can still quote all of the funniest lines and make myself laugh.  

Like all great satires, The Great Dictator, Jojo Rabbit, this treats the characters like they're buffons, total morons stumbling from one ridiculous situation to the next, but it always respects the seriousness of their intentions, which is a fine line to tread, but here Morris does it masterfully.  You'll be shocked to find yourself laughing at, and even liking these characters, then they talk about blowing up a building "full of Jews and slags" and it hits you like a punch in the gut, and you'll want these guys to change their outlook on life and make the right decision.  Whether they do or not, you'll have to watch to find out.

four lions GIF

rubber dingy rapids, bro!

And here's a little taste of the Brass Eye episode I mentioned, starring Morris himself as the host, and a young Simon Pegg as Gerard Chote.

 

Edited by LimeGreenLegend
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  • Con

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This looks crazy ... hahahaha ... not gonna read too much about it. My initial thoughts are...holy shit, these dudes had the guts to make a comedy around fucking Jihadists. Then I remembered that i will be watching JoJo Rabbit soon. :D

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I'm really looking forward to watching this again. It's made by Chris Morris, a man who firmly believes there is no subject that you can't make jokes about. It was also made in Sheffield, the city I live in, including the scenes of the "London" marathon. The first thing that comes to mind, without making any big spoilers I hope, is look out for the police marksmen debating whether the Honey Monster and Chewbacca count as "bears" in terms of fancy dress costumes.

Edited by djw180
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2 minutes ago, Sucio06 said:

I just got done watching this movie and it was fantastic!!! Funny and sad at the same time. The footage at the end was phenomenal. Awesome suggestion. 

Cool. I plan on watching it tonight. What’s your score for the film? You can use any scoring system you want. 

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15 minutes ago, Sucio06 said:

I just got done watching this movie and it was fantastic!!! Funny and sad at the same time. The footage at the end was phenomenal. Awesome suggestion. 

Welcome to the film club dude, good to have you :) 

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35 minutes ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

Welcome to the film club dude, good to have you :) 

Heck yeah. It will be interesting to see how his taste has evolved over the years, since we live 800 miles away. And although I may be older, he was always the more refined and distinguished one. :D

Edited by Con
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8 hours ago, Con said:

Heck yeah. It will be interesting to see how his taste has evolved over the years, since we live 800 miles away. And although I may be older, he was always the more refined and distinguished one. :D

Still a horror fan for the most part. Been enjoying Korean movies like "The Yellow Sea" and "I Saw The Devil" recently.

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2 hours ago, Sucio06 said:

Still a horror fan for the most part. Been enjoying Korean movies like "The Yellow Sea" and "I Saw The Devil" recently.

In the first post of this thread there are links to all the films we've done so far, including the Korean horror film Train to Busan :) 

 

 

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8 hours ago, Sucio06 said:

Still a horror fan for the most part. Been enjoying Korean movies like "The Yellow Sea" and "I Saw The Devil" recently.

I did a review for a British film called Ghost Stories (2017) it’s in the rate the last film thread, but I want you to watch the movie first cause I really want your opinion on it. 

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20 hours ago, Con said:

Heck yeah. It will be interesting to see how his taste has evolved over the years, since we live 800 miles away. And although I may be older, he was always the more refined and distinguished one. :D

Still a horror fan for the most part. Been enjoying Korean movies like "The Yellow Sea" and "I Saw The Devil" recently.

 

3 hours ago, Con said:

I did a review for a British film called Ghost Stories (2017) it’s in the rate the last film thread, but I want you to watch the movie first cause I really want your opinion on it. 

I watched Ghost Stories last year. I really enjoyed the reveal/twist at the end

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9 hours ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

In the first post of this thread there are links to all the films we've done so far, including the Korean horror film Train to Busan :) 

 

 

Train to Busan is one of my absolute favorites in the zombie genre. The Wailing was dope too

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1 hour ago, Sucio06 said:

I watched Ghost Stories last year. I really enjoyed the reveal/twist at the end

Same here! I thought the ending was cool as I did not see it coming and for a second I was mad but then it made so much creepy sense. Go check out my review since ya already seen it bros.

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Just now, Con said:

Back to Four Lions....I watched it last night. As soon as I’m done with my The Lighthouse review I’ll post my Four Lions opinion.  

I'd love something to read tonight at work if you get those done quick ;) 

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50 mins into it and I haven´t laughed a single time. Any attempt at humour feels just too over the top and too stupid...

Does it get any better towards the end?

Can´t find the will to watch any further today, anyway.  Maybe tomorrow.

 

Edited by Spinnaker1981
55 minutes ago, Spinnaker1981 said:

50 mins into it and I haven´t laughed a single time. Any attempt at humour feels just too over the top and too stupid...

Does it get any better towards the end?

Can´t find the will to watch any further today, anyway.  Maybe tomorrow.

Yeah it’s slapstick kind of stuff. You have to find that type thing funny. 

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3 minutes ago, LimeGreenLegend said:

Comedy is probably the most subjective genre, but I like hearing different opinions :) 

Yes, that is true, though I laughed more last night reading one of Clive Cussler´s NUMA books than watching a comedy, and that is not how that is supposed to go...

 

Maybe its the worldwide known British humour that I am not getting?

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22 minutes ago, Spinnaker1981 said:

Yes, that is true, though I laughed more last night reading one of Clive Cussler´s NUMA books than watching a comedy, and that is not how that is supposed to go...

 

Maybe its the worldwide known British humour that I am not getting?

You have to consider the situation....incompetent Jihadists...to be funny or it wont work for you. This reminds me of the people that said they didnt like Borat cause it didnt make sense, he was just travelling tricking people. lmao. Yeah that was the point, if they didnt find the concept funny, nothing he said or did would have made them laugh. Ive been there with comedies before, Freddy Got Fingered stands out, but Four Lions is way funnier than that turd-smoothie.

Edited by Con
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16 minutes ago, Con said:

You have to consider the situation....incompetent Jihadists...to be funny or it wont work for you. This reminds me of the people that said they didnt like Borat cause it didnt make sense, he was just travelling tricking people. lmao. Yeah that was the point, if you didnt find the concept funny, nothing he said or did would have made them laugh. Ive been there with comedies before, Freddy Got Fingered stands out, but Four Lions is way funnier than that turd-smoothie.

I did consider the situation... I just find it too stupid to be funny! I cannot find stupid stuff funny, I just find it stupid! ?

 

That is why I don´t find most comedies funny.

Comedy is, for me, what a musical is to you...

There are exceptions, but they are few and far apart!

 

EDIT: I have to be honest in here, I don´t find movies like the Hangover or Burhac or American Pie funny! I just cringe instead of laughing, so, maybe, just maybe, I am not the best one to make an honest review of this. I am, probably, biased.

But, no, at least the first hour of the movie isn´t funny!

Maybe the situation with Omar´s brother and his wife, but that is it!

Edited by Spinnaker1981
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