Bovie Movie

Broken Lizard, the zany American troupe behind Broken Lizard’s Club Dread and Super Troopers, unleashes another daft but likeable comedy. A fratboy-style drinking film that’s best watched half-soaked, it follows American siblings (Erik Stolhanske and Paul Soter) on a trip to Munich’s legendary Oktoberfest to spread the ashes of their ale-loving grandfather. Competing in the underground beer games tournament of the title, the boys are soundly beaten and then further humiliated when their heritage is slandered by their German cousins. What follows is Rocky with booze rather than boxing gloves, as the losers assemble a motley “dream” team and prepare for a climactic rematch one year later. At its most absurd, the tale is hilarious, reminiscent of John Landis’s early work. However, despite some priceless “frog-milking” and sausage gags, the boisterous frivolity runs out of steam — only redeeming itself in a predictable yet endearingly stupid finale. The 15 certificate cinema version was re-edited to an 18 certificate on DVD. 

This charming and disarming family film offers wish fulfilment to all but the most cynical of youngsters. Rebecca Harrell plays a nine-year-old girl, recovering from the death of her mother, who finds an injured reindeer and thinks it belongs to Santa Claus. Unfortunately, her grief-stricken father (Sam Elliott) is struggling to save their farm from the bailiffs and has little patience with his daughter’s attempt to nurse the beast. Sentimental without being mawkish, with the grown-ups given as much character as the children, this is lump-in-the-throat stuff from start to finish. 

It might not have the Disney stamp, but this wonderful Warner Bros version of Ted Hughes’s The Iron Man is a first-class achievement in cartoon virtuosity that liberally borrows images from 1950s comic-book art and science-fiction movies to stunning effect. To a soundtrack of American Graffiti-style hits, this heavy metal ET tells the riveting tale of nine-year-old Hogarth, the giant alien robot he saves from electrical overload, and the fiercely protective relationship that develops between them. But the real thrills begin when a Communist-hating FBI agent arrives who is convinced that the walking Meccano set poses a Cold War threat. With political allegory and clever nostalgia for the adults, and dazzling visuals and excitement galore for the children, this poignant fairy tale is outstanding on every artistic level. 

The tired format limps on here with Scary Movie 3 director David Zucker returning — but now well past his Airplane! prime. The intersecting parodies include the Saw films, The Grudge, War of the Worlds and The Village with nods to Million Dollar Baby and Brokeback Mountain thrown in for good measure alongside pop culture references to Oprah and Michael Jackson. Anna Faris gamely plays the naive, accident-prone Cindy Campbell for the fourth time, in a fatigued franchise that is still recycling the most ancient slapstick and toilet gags. Witless, obvious and completely devoid of anything remotely funny, even the most undemanding audience will find little to laugh at in this practically unwatchable dud aimed (presumably) at the post-pub DVD rental market. 

Butch and Sundance are the two leaders of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Butch is all ideas, Sundance is all action and skill. The west is becoming civilized and when Butch and Sundance rob a train once too often, a special posse begins trailing them no matter where they run. Over rock, through towns, across rivers, the group is always just behind them. When they finally escape through sheer luck, Butch has another idea, “Let’s go to Bolivia”. Based on the exploits of the historical characters.