EIFF 2012: Tim And Eric's Billion Dollar Movie Review

★★☆☆☆

It seems that if a television comedy duo is successful enough that a movie is inevitable. Unfortunately, it is very rare that these movies are actually worth watching - just think Ant & Dec's Alien Autopsy or David Mitchell and Robert Webb's Magicians. Hoping to buck that trend are Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, the creators and stars of Adult Swim television series, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!  The duo have presented us with Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie, which will no doubt appeal to fans of the television series. 

Tim and Eric are two filmmakers who are given a $1 billion dollar budget to make a film for the Schlaaang Corporation. However, with the budget squandered and results in only three minutes of usable footage  - the duo have no choice but to go on the run from vicious studio boss Tommy Schlaaang (Robert Loggia). In a harebrained scheme to raise the money, Tim and Eric find themselves trying to restore a derelict shopping mall.

Anyone familiar with the Saturday Night Live film productions like MacGruber will instantly recognise the formula of Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie. It is this predictable narrative arc that immediately works against the production - we know there is an inevitable fall out and eventual reconciliation and that Tim and Eric will successful rebuild the mall. Since the script structure offers nothing particularly original it is up to the comedy duo to add some interest through their gags and performances, and to an extent they do this successfully.

The humour ranges from enjoyably madcap to unpleasantly crude, never finding the right balance. A perfect example of this is where a drugged Eric goes to a 'Shrim' healing centre - we do not know what Shrim is, but are soon given a fun video representation hosted by Ray Wise. The comic talents of Ray Wise would have been enough for the gag, but Heidecker and Wareheim insist on taking the humour too far. How far? Well Eric drowning in a bath of children's faeces. It is just a crude, unpleasant and juvenile punchline.

The bantering exchanges between Tim and Eric spur on a few laughs, but most of the humour comes from the star power involved in Billion Dollar Movie. The film opens with Jeff Goldblum, posing as Schlaaang spokesman Chef Goldblum, offering the viewer tips on how to enhance their movie going experience - which is particularly fun. Will Ferrell's cameo as the mall's Top Gun obsessed former owner proves amusing as well, as does Zach Galifianakis' role of a self-help guru the duo hire. Unfortunately, most of these star turns suffer from incredibly poor writing and character development - notably John C. Reilly's supporting performance, which is just cringe inducing and not worth the actor's talents. 

Robert Loggia's appearance as villain, Tommy Schlaaang is the main scene stealer of the film, with the veteran star bringing his charismatic screen presence to the role. Unfortunately, the material he is given to work with is just as bad as Reilly's.    

Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie is a formulaic and unnecessary venture. Most of the humour's downfall is in its crudeness and lack of consistency. What should have been excellent supporting turns from well-known stars suffer from poor writing and a lack of development.

Andrew McArthur

Stars: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim ,Will Ferrell, Jeff Goldblum
Directors: Tim Heidecker ,Eric Wareheim
Release: 28th June (EIFF)

Loading from LongTail.tv...

Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie - Official Redband Trailer [HD] Published via LongTail.tv

EIFF 2012: God Bless America Review

★★★1/2☆

Bobcat Goldthwait established himself as one of the most exciting comedy directors in recent years after his excellent 2009 film, World's Greatest Dad. His latest film, a biting satire on contemporary culture entitled God Bless America, proves equally as enjoyable.

Frank (Joel Murray) has just lost his job, he is divorced and has just been diagnosed with a brain tumour. Growing continually disillusioned by the ever growing idiocy of our society, Frank decides to rid the world of some of its most obnoxious citizens. After taking out a repellent reality television star, Frank discovers he has an admirer - sixteen year old Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr). The pair venture out on an obscure road trip full of strangely feel good serial killing.

It is hard not to sympathise slightly with Goldthwait's view of contemporary culture, regardless of how extreme it is. This is perfectly captured in the opening where Frank flicks through television channels, capturing society's obsession with fame, celebrities and social networking. Frank falls asleep watching a contestant being exploited on reality singing contest 'American Superstars' and wakes up to see the said contestant, the talking point of Breakfast Television. Other delights that Frank witnesses include "Tuff Girls" where one girl throws a bloodied tampon at another. This may be a rather extreme and blatant depiction of contemporary culture, but there is an alarming truth in Goldthwait's message.

Goldthwait's film is consistently amusing and boasts an enjoyably twisted feel good quality. We all harbour a small hatred for the people that talk in cinemas, extreme religious fundamentalists and obnoxious children, so it is hard not to be on Frank's side throughout. Of course, you could compare God Bless America to a drunken Grandparent's rant - complaining about all the things that annoy them, as Goldthwait does have a tendency to preach to the viewer, regardless to how thought provoking some of his points may be. This is completely evident in God Bless America's limp finale where it appears Goldthwait's message has stretched as far as is possible - it is the equivalent of the drunken Grandparent now falling asleep.

One of the strongest elements of God Bless America is they dynamic between the characters of Frank and Roxy. To Frank, Roxy provides a welcome alternative to his vile daughter - sharing his distaste of American culture. Roxy finds an escape from the tedium of her everyday life in the company of Frank. What results is a completely charming, relationship between the two - bonding over their various hates in society.

Joel Murray's understated performance is particularly fascinating, with the actor managing to capture Frank's struggles as a man who has been told he does not have long to live, alongside his growing hatred towards society and his somewhat sociopathic tendencies - yet still be completely likeable. After a shaky start, it is hard to find yourself not warming to Tara Lynne Barr's performance - with the eager young sociopath becoming quite endearing.

God Bless America is a thoroughly entertaining watch, which may also help challenge the way we look at contemporary culture. Goldthwait's message ultimately runs out of steam in the end, despite magnetic lead performances from Joel Murray and Tara Lynne Barr throughout.

Andrew McArthur

Stars:Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
Release: 29th June (EIFF),4th July (UK, Limited), 9th July (UK DVD)
Rating: 15 (UK)
Pre-Order/Buy God Bless America On DVD

Loading from LongTail.tv...

God Bless America Trailer Published via LongTail.tv

Win ATTACK OF THE HERBALS On DVD!

Nazis in gasmasks, a foul-mouthed kilt-wearing land-baron, zimmer-frame wielding flesh eating pensioners… what’s not to love?? Scottish comedy-horror ATTACK OF THE HERBALS is strangely charming and never takes itself too seriously!

Jackson McGregor has returned after years of exile to his grandparent’s home in a small sleepy Scottish village, a village where the daily routine consists of eating, sleeping, fishing and drinking tea. However the local’s way of life is under threat from a large corporate retail machine headed up by a monster named Bennett who wants to buy land for a new development.

After discovering a crate of herbal tea washed up on shore, Jackson hatches a plan to sell the tea and save the village. However the new lease of life the tea seems to give people soon turns into a nightmare, and Jackson finds himself in a village of Zimmer-frame wielding, flesh eating pensioners.

Can Jackson save the village, redeem himself and stay alive? Attack of the Herbals puts the Tea back into terror, an outrageously funny horror comedy that is quite simply Scotland’s answer to Shaun of the Dead....

To celebrate the release of David Ryan Keith’s home-grown Scottish comedy-horror, ATTACK OF THE HERBALS, we copies of the film 2 give away on DVD courtesy of our friends at Showbox Media. To Win a copy of this film please answer the following question: 


Q. As tea is made with water, what George C Romero film did the residents of a town go insane after drinking the local water supply?


Send your answer , name, address, to have your email to  cinehouseuk@gmail.com header As ‘herbals’. Deadline:July 15 th, 2012 (2359hrs) .

ATTACK OF THE HERBALS - UK Trailer from Showbox Media Group Ltd on Vimeo.

Attack Of The Herbals is available from today 25th June on DVD.

Terms and Conditions

• This prize is non-transferable.
• No cash alternatives apply.
• UK & Irish entries only
  The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse and Showbox Media have the right to alter, delay or cancel this competition without any notice
• The competition is not opened to employees, family, friends of The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse, Showbox media employees
• This competition is promoted on behalf of Showbox media
• The Prize is to win Attack of The Herbals on DVD, 3 winners
• To enter this competition you must send in your answer, name, address only, Deadline July 15th, 2012 (2359hrs)
• Will only accept entries sent to the correct email (cinehouseuk@gmail.com), any other entry via any other email will be void.
• The Peoples Movies, Cinehouse takes no responsibility for delayed, lost, stolen prizes
• The competition is opened to Aged 16  and over 
• Unless Stated Please  Do Not Include Telephone Numbers, we don’t need them
• The winning entries will be picked at random and contacted by email
• By sending your entry for this competition you are confirming you have read and agreed to these Terms & Conditions.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
UK Competitions and Prize Draws at UKwins
Loquax Competitions
Free Competitions
ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

Gianax's PANTY AND STOCKING WITH GARTERBELT Coming To UK This July!

This is probably one of the weirdest names for Japanese animation  but Gianax's PANTY AND STOCKING WITH GARTERBELT has a cult following and in July UK&Irish fans can now own the series on DVD!

Panty and Stocking - the Anarchy Sisters - are two nasty angels who got booted from the pearly gates for being foul-mouthed bitches! Now they spend their days blowing up ghosts in the lecherous abyss between Heaven and Earth. Panty likes sex, Stocking likes sweets, their afro-sporting main man Garter Belt has a fetish we can't mention. Together, they're keeping the streets free of bodily fluids. Ghosts don't have a prayer against their panty pistols and stocking swords, and if this debaucherous duo can collect enough Heaven Coins, they just might get their halos back. They've got a slim chance in hell, but rolling commando is the best way to get lucky - especially with Panty and Stocking!

Ok this isn't you straight up anime nor is it the dreaded Hentai, its naughty, sexy, funny and the mix of stereotypical anime style and ren&stimpy visuals may appeal to a wider audience. Manga Entertainment are releasing the series (season one) on DVD in UK&;Ireland on July 30th, pre order your copy and check out the UK trailer below. 

Loading from LongTail.tv...

Panty And Stocking With Garter Belt Trailer Published via LongTail.tv

EIFF 2012: Trailer For EDDIE THE SLEEPWALKING CANNIBAL

Moonnazi Daydream Read Our IRON SKY Blu-Ray Review

Raise An Eyebrow For Japanese Trailer for Mask the Kekkou Reborn

DVD Review: LUCKY LUKE

DVD Review: TINY FURNITURE

Those Dirty Danes! Watch Red Band Trailer For KLOVN:THE MOVIE (Clown) NSFW

REVIEW: Damsels in Distress

DVD Review: Il Boom (50th Anniversary)

Review: Electric Man

Review: Tiny Furniture

★★★☆☆

Mumblecore may have grown up and moved out, but its vestiges of post-collegiate hang-ups and foibles still remain in Tiny Furniture, the low-budget sophomore effort from 24 year-old New York writer/director/actress Lena Dunham, new out this week.

A paper-thinly veiled autobiography of sorts of Dunham’s own recent life starring Dunham herself, the film follows the first few post-graduate weeks of 22 year-old liberal arts major Aura, an endearingly frumpy aspiring creative, who, jobless and relationship-less, returns to the comforts of the family nest—a modernist-boheme, interior design dream loft in Tribeca. Whilst welcomed back nonchalantly by her sister Nadine, played by her real life sister Grace Dunham, and mother Siri, played by her real life mother and art world photographer Laurie Simmons, Aura’s presence soon becomes a bit of an anchor for all those involved.

Stuck in the water, Aura soon gains impetus after discovering her mother’s journal from when she was Aura’s age, and finds out that she then had a bevy of relationship issues, sex with different men, esoteric interests; in essence, a life. What kind of life Aura wants to carve out for herself during this formative period becomes the central question, and when standing in the shadow of a successful artist mother and burgeoning success-story sister (an athletic, award-winning 19 year-old poet in the film, and in real life), it proves an overbearing one.

Though this may sound like a carbon copy ‘my woeful life on screen’ vanity project on paper, Aura’s quest for sexual, societal and creative significance taps into the anxieties of a very real and thriving 20something subculture —one that barters in 21st century buzz-terms like ‘hipster’, ‘mumblecore’ and ‘unemployed’— though Tiny Furniture is well equipped to deal with any anti-apathy epithets you may want to throw at it: Aura gets a job within the first 20 minutes, it’s rather sharp and incisive in its portraiture, and Dunham is by far her own worst critic, painting Aura as a somewhat pathetic sympathetic. Tiny Furniture is not about a social outcast, at the mercy of the job market and scummy men, but rather a confused and flawed young adult, desperately seeking that ‘next step’ and succumbing to a few pitfalls on the way.

One of those pitfalls is amusingly embodied in Aura’s destructive pre-school friend Charlotte, who ends up reconnecting with Aura at a house party. Played with minx-like relish by Jemima Kirke, supposedly channeling childhood friend Paz de la Huerta, Charlotte’s engorged sense of entitlement, trust-fund lifestyle and wild personality is both a comedic crutch for the director and a cautionary warning.

Other warnings flare up in spades, such as when Aura meets minor YouTube celebrity Jed (Alex Karpovsky), and eagerly offers to let him stay at her place after he half-heartedly convinces her that he’s in town for meetings with television executives citing a possible development deal in the pipeline. This, of course, is fooey, but his manipulative worming is evident to all but Aura, who’s just lonely and desperate enough to pursue a relationship, even after he outrightly refuses.

Aura’s emotional nadir is driven home in one surprisingly poignant moment late in the film, in which we see her naked in the shower after an embarrassingly awkward sexual encounter designed to make the audience laugh. In the scene, shot from outside the bathroom door peering voyeuristically in, we watch her re-assume the sexual position she had just been in moments earlier, as if trying to relive the moment. It’s a sad and private revelation that helps reign in the film’s emotional core, with laughter subsiding to reveal the human tragedy underneath, and succeeds in setting up the enigmatically ambiguous ending — an ending which, I must say, provides a subtlety and artistry so unassuming, it sheds a refreshingly mature light on everything that comes before.

Reviewer: Pierre Badiola
Release Date: 30 March 2012
Director: Lena Dunham
Writer: Lena Dunham
Cast: Lena Dunham, Grace Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Jemima Kirke, Alex Karpovsky

I'm All Shook Up! Jesus, Satan & Elvis In Short Film

Competition: Win HOLY CIRCUS On DVD

Let's Play A Game Quizmaster, Trailer For Dick Maas QUIZ

Trailer For Indonesian Film #REPUBLIK TWITTER

Watch The ‘Silently Funny’ THE ARTIST Blooper Reel

Review: CARNAGE