Benjamin Philipp (Benjamin_Philipp) Beautiful is the first word that comes to mind for me. Story telling in this movie is so well done, you can watch it several times and find nothing but confirmation. Shifts away from reality (through different kinds of animation) are used to ease in and out of the memories of an agoraphobe, reliving the story of what made him a shut-in; also signifying a reluctance to relive said story. The hand crafted animations and interesting characters in this well written story of the travels of two best friends add to the overall feeling of watching a well presented story unfold from the comforts of your couch (and your safe home) Love to detail, a really pleasant tempo and good actors weave a really well done picture.

Guy Plot: Two friends take a road trip through Europe.Thank God the UK Film Council was abolished, considering it was funding such repulsive tripe as this. The film is a self-indulgent mess that confuses quirkiness for humour. The jokes are uniformly terrible, the nadir being a sideways shot of a flaccid penis that is supposed to provoke laughter. The lead is a perpetual adolescent, a whining bore who won't stop sulking about his failure at life. I wanted nothing more than to reach into the screen, slap him and tell him to pull himself together and stop being such an infernal wuss. That the script seeks every opportunity to degrade and humiliate him provides no emotional sympathy, whilst revealing a deeply unpleasant streak in the film makers. The plot is predictable and the 'wacky' characters tiresome - with quirkiness used to try and disguise the lack of depth to both. There are one or two visually interesting moments using the home-made arts and crafts aesthetic dear to hipsters but it never matches the wild abandon of 'The Mighty Boosh', which is its clear influence.Worth no viewings.

Robots_In_Disguise Like most of you, I'm a big fan of the Mighty Boosh. Because of this, I was very keen to see director Paul King's latest project which featured cameos of my two favorite men, Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt. At first, I was a little perplexed as to why the two unknown leads were cast as Stephen and Bunny, when they looked exactly like Noel and Julian. I was also under the impression that they were 'The Flighty Zeus', which I now know is only half true. Another impression I had was that this film would be absolutely hilarious. Although I wasn't expecting much apart from a few laughs and a few cameos what I got out of this film was so much more.As the film begins, we are introduced to a character known as Stephen, who hasn't left his flat in over a year. Due to a rodent infestation, Stephen is forced to leave the flat, but not before retelling the tale of how he became so housebound. Using various objects around the house with special appearances made by Bunny, he tells the story of when the two of them traveled around Europe. Through the use of stop motion animation and amazing special effects, we travel back a year.The story provides a great deal of humor with a number of 'laugh out loud' moments. The cameos from Noel Fielding, Julian Barratt and Richard Ayaode are hilarious and yet, they never manage to outshine the leads. Previously unknown, Edward Hogg and Simon Farnaby bring something to the script that I don't think even the Boosh boys could manage. They are the heart and soul of the movie, and when you learn their story, your heart breaks.Throughout the film, I was in amazement at how original the idea was, how beautiful the effects were, despite such a low budget. I was also giggling non stop just at the thought of Julian or Noel in those crazy costumes. Then suddenly, as the film draws to an end, Bunny decides he must prove himself to Stephen by challenging a bull. Bunny takes off and Stephen follows him. 'Where did this all come from?' I found myself asking. Suddenly a beautiful clockwork bull charges at Bunny and directly spears him in the chest. He drops to the ground, my stomach drops as well. Stephen sits in the empty field next to Bunny's body and I find tears streaming down my face.The film then flashes back to Stephen in the apartment, for after all, this has just been a story he's been telling. We learn why he is so housebound, why he's been afraid to leave the house. Finally, with a few encouraging words from Bunny, who we find out, wasn't really there in the flat with him at all, Stephen gets his courage and leaves the house.What a beautiful bitter sweet story he has just told.

ihrtfilms Paul King worked on The Mighty Boosh, the much loved, surreal British TV show, so I hoped to get some of that in this. But alas not. Really the film is a road trip, one down memory lane as a obsessively compulsive agoraphobic man looks back on a trip through Europe with his best mate.On the trip they encounter a variety of characters including a young Spanish woman with whom he falls for and yet his friend beds. In the end through tragedy the man learns to see life differently and step into the outside world again.The film has so much potential, but it never seems to know what it's trying to be. British comedy is known for often being surreal, odd and quirky and this film tries to be all, yet it also tries to be too surreal, odd and quirky yet too clever, whilst never allowing the audience to engage with it's main characters who are either too placid or too grotesque. It also fails as it is never a serious drama, despite the elements of mental illness nor is it funny in a laugh out loud way or in a darkly comic way, instead you have a film that just drags along.One factor works in the film's favour and that is the production. Using surreal sets and backdrops, a snowscape inside a snow globe or a fairground made out of scrap metal, it is often a little overwhelming, but at times very clever. But at the same time the visual style becomes a little too much and draws away from the story line which may have come out better had the film used less quirk and more convention in telling it's story. Stick to the Might Boosh.More of my reviews at iheartfilms.weebly.com