Kirsten Robek Movies

A curious little boy decides he's had all the bad luck he can take in this darkly comic short subject. While most kids look forward to their birthday, Timothy Higgins (Benjamin B. Smith) isn't the least bit happy about the fact he's about to turn nine, and he's dreading the party his parents are throwing for him. As it happens, Timothy has good reason to be depressed -- he lost his dog, he's been abducted by kidnappers, he's humiliated on a regular basis during gym class and his best friend has been kicked out of the country, among other travails -- and rather than wonder what sort of presents he'll be getting, Timothy ponders ways of doing himself in on his big day. Written and directed by Jamie Travis, the fourteen-minute The Saddest Boy In The World received enthusiastic notices at the 2007 Slamdance and South by Southwest film festivals, and won awards in 2006 at the Calgary International Film Festival and the Atlantic Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Its title notwithstanding, this zany made-for-cable comedy-fantasy is motivated by a lack of "beer money." While camping in the woods, a trio of impoverished party animals -- Tim (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), Rut (Nick von Esmarch), and Blank (J.P. Manoux) -- stumble upon a lovable E.T.-like space alien. Nicknaming their new "friend" Greenie, our dunderheaded heroes hope to sell the alien to a sleazy TV tabloid show, "Unbelievable Encounters," thereby keeping themselves in beer money for the rest of their lives. The problem now is to keep Greenie a secret from the local townsfolk until the TV deal is finalized. Producer/writer Rich Wilkes appears unbilled as Nick the Hollywood Snake. The sort of film that makes The Three Stooges look subtle, Beer Money debuted over the USA network on June 19, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi