Watch This!

I'm a pretty avid movie watcher these days mainly because my roommates and I are too cheap to pay for cable and because, one way or another, I can get my hands on just about any new film, mainstream and independent alike, with relative ease. Watching so many films you tend to notice that most of them begin, progress and end in a similar fashion with nothing really that creative or memorable ever being produced. Given that I have little else to write about right now, I thought I would start by talking about some of the amazing and/or orginal independent films I have seen recently that you might not have heard of but should most definitely check out.

The first film I'm gonna talk about goes by the name of Four Lions (2010)and is directed by Chris Morris from across the pond in England. It depicts the planning and execution of a suicide bombing during the London Marathon told from the perspective of the four-man Muslim terrorist cell involved. If after a brief description like that you jumped to the conclusion that this film is likely wrought with loads of tension and controversy, you could not have made a less accurate assumption. The fact that this film is about such a potentially offensive topic is rendered moot simply because only one of this fictional cell's members can be assumed to have an IQ above that of a donkey.

Omar, the clever leader of his inept group of friends starts their quest for martyrdom by travelling to his home of Pakistan accompanied by his idiot best friend Waj in order to gain the religious and tactical approval of their attack from the higher ups. Meanwhile, back in England the dimwittedly doomed Faisal and the reckless, loud-mouthed Barry try to calculate an ideal target that would take as many unbelievers as possible. A clash of ideologies combined with a total lack of common sense leads the group tumbling from an impassioned Jihad into what becomes an uproarious escapade which is nothing short of complete and utter buffoonery.

So if you're looking for a fresh, original comedy that combines the outrageousness of the Hangover with the satire and sarcasm that only the Brits do best, Four Lions should be rushed straight to the top of your Netflix queue.

Note:

You may find it difficult to understand their accents/slang and as result some of the comedy may be lost but try and give it a little extra attention so you can fully grasp the film in it's ridiculous entirety. If you want, places like www.subscene.com have free downloadable subtitles so, however you get the film, just get the English subtitles and put the .srt file in the same folder as the movie and they should run (you may have to turn subtitles on in your viewer).