Drafthouse Films launches with release of ‘Lions’

Four Lions is now in limited release. It is playing in Austin at the Alamo S. Lamar.

Because the Alamo Drafthouse just wasn’t satisfied with simply being your favorite movie theater in town, owner Tim League and company have launched their latest venture – a distribution company appropriately titled Drafthouse Films.

The company is diving right in, and its first release will be “Four Lions,” the newest effort from British writer/director Chris Morris.

“I’ve been a huge fan of Chris Morris’ comedic television and radio for years. To launch our new distribution label with what I consider to be a modern classic is a dream come true,” League said in a press release announcing the deal.

It’s worth saying that “Four Lions” is probably the best terrorist comedy you’ll see all year.

Too bold?

How many terrorist comedies have you seen this year?

The film follows a group of bumbling, accident-prone Jihadists living in suburban Sheffield, U.K. After these Muslim Brits are radicalized, a colossal failure in Pakistan leads them to return to the UK to plan the perfect suicide bombing.

Terrorists may not seem like a recipe for comedic success, but the film’s distinctly British humor is both hilarious and strangely good-hearted.

Apart from the main characters’ dim-witted demeanors, “Four Lions” paints a surprisingly realistic portrait of a strange world in which middle-class suburbanites decide to blow up buildings without being overly sympathetic or being turned into cartoons.

“Four Lions” is a fresh comedic look at the other side of an ideological battle that so often infiltrates our headlines, yet is rarely illuminated in the way the film manages to do with humor and ease.