3 more reviews

1. ›Attack the Block (2011) | Movie Review | John Boyega, Jodie Whitaker@gonklavez91833d

   

   The brits know what they are doing when it comes to science fiction, but they tend to go to it with their tongues glued in their cheeks. Hitchhiker's Guide. Doctor Who. It's almost a given that the collision between UK and ET will be a little absurd. So when the hilarious Joe Cornish (half of Adam and Joe) directs a movie about the alien invasion of a South London tower block, you expect jokes. Wryness. Maybe even hilarity.

   What you get does have laughs, but they're used as a relief after a brutal bit of action rather than being the film's point. Attack The Block is no comedy. Instead, it's 90 minutes of furiously paced action, with the jolting smarts to stand up against prime-period John Carpenter. Here, a gang of street kids encounter and then "kick the sh*t out of" an alien life form, precipitating a vicious ET assault on their turf. The kids themselves are nearly all fresh faces and put in sharp, appealing turns – Boyega as tough guy Moses and Alex Esmail as the bratty Pest are especially good.

   Making these adolescent scamps likeable is the biggest trick the movie pulls off (after the terrifying, ink-pelted and fluorescent-toothed aliens tearing through doors, walls and flesh) because there's no doubt that these boys are a Broken Britain nightmare. We first meet them, mugging a lovely nurse (played by Jodie Whittaker). Then, when the assault from outer space traps them together in Nick Frost's pot room, the characters come to an uneasy understanding. Still, it's to Cornish's credit that, while we warm to Moses and co, there's never any attempt to diminish the fact that the gang have done some pretty thuggish things.

   And that means their eventual heroism is even more affecting, dodging Little Britain parody for something both more complex and more sympathetic. The film builds through a series of tightly controlled action set-pieces inside the block (called Wyndham House – a neat nod to British sci-fi in its austerely intelligent guise) up to a pyrotechnic climax that will have you shaking your fist with unashamed patriotic pride. We might have an underclass of excluded youths, undervalued NHS workers and coppers who fold at first sight of a space beast, but damn, the brits know what they're doing when it comes to science fiction.

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2. ›Attack the Block - Movie Review@coldsteem3144d

   

   I immediately dropped Attack the Block into my streaming queue when I saw that the film was connected to Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.  Unfortunately, the films are tied together through Writer/Director Joe Cornish who was a minor player in those previous films.  It shows.

   The premise of Attack the Block is rather simple.  Spoofing the alien film genre, a group of neighborhood thugs end up ensnared in an alien invasion.  This invasion is not your typical world-wide assault.  It is more localized.  Localized meaning that the aliens are attacking a single apartment project in a shady part of London.  The youngsters are led by a bold fifteen-year-old, Moses (John Boyega), who is about to get "stepped up" by the local drug boss, Hi-Hatz (Jumayn Hunter). More recently, Boyega has anchored recent Star Wars films and Detroit

   

   We first meet the young thugs mugging a nurse (Sam, played by Jodie Whittaker).  Sam goes to the police, providing a description of her assailants.  The mugging is interrupted by the arrival of a meteor-like object.  When Moses goes to investigate, he is attacked by an alien.  A series of unfortunate events lead the thugs into a direct confrontation with Hi-Hatz, leading to a misunderstanding.  In an effort to survive, our mildly likeable "heroes" end up joining forces with Sam in an effort to survive aliens, the police and a very angry drug lord.

   

   The writing in Attack the Block is not nearly as fresh as Hot Fuzz.  While it attempts to take a zany situation and add a modern tongue-in-cheek spin to it, the end result falls short.  Conceptually, the film worked.  However, the set up (the mugging) created character inconsistencies that nagged at me.  The characters had weak back-stories and were only moderately explored in comparison to the better films in this genre.  What started as an intelligent concept for a spoof never fully realized its potential.  Better character development would have made this film more enjoyable.  The language was also a barrier.  The dialogue was sharp, but the slang was foreign to me.  Even with the subtitles turned on, I had to guess at the meaning of some words.  Without subtitles, you may be completely lost.

   

   Attack the Block introduced me to a cast that I was wholly unfamiliar with.  The cast featured several teenage actors, which may help this film appeal to younger audiences.  The only adult actors were Whittaker, who was decent and Nick Page, who I was mildly familiar with.  Page had a minor role in the film.  The weight of the film was carried by Boyega, who was difficult to accept as a fifteen-year-old.  His performance was believable in terms of his leadership and strength, but that has a lot to do with his perceived age in relationship to the other thugs.  None of the other cast members stood out enough to prompt me to mention them by name. 

   

   This 88 minute comic spoof received an R Rating from the MPAA.  The rating seems to tie most closely to the gory violence.  The violence provides an element of black humor, but also has enough gore to make young viewers uncomfortable.  Nothing a teenage audience cannot handle.  In addition to the violence, which seemed to be the main indicator of the rating, Attack the Block also featured prominent drug use, drug sales (mostly marijuana) and prevalent strong language.  All things considered, I would suggest at least a teen audience for this film.     

   

   Attack the Block caught my attention due to its connection to two exceptional spoofs, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.  This film does not reach the same comic quality. Issues with character continuity combined with a less-than-compelling plot made this film merely tolerable.  It was mildly entertaining at times, but I am glad I didn't waste money seeing this at the theater.  The acting was decent, even with a relatively unknown cast of young actors.  The special effects were silly, but decent for this type of film.  If you are expecting Shaun of the Dead, don't.  If you like spoofs that are not National Lampoon (ick) quality, this one will do the trick.  Mildly recommended. 6/10.

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3. ›Attack the Block: A Must See Movie for Any Geek@hanshotfirst3460d

   I love to talk about movies with my buddies. If anyone new joins the group and asks if I have any recommendations for any new movies to watch, I immediately stop them. Before they spend time on any new movies, I always ask, "Have you seen Attack the Block yet?"

   
   

   

   
   

   Because, it was not a very popular movie (it made less than $7 million world wide when it was released in 2011) most people look at me like an inquisitive dog cocking its head wondering why that human is throwing out that perfectly good fat that was left on its plate. People usually ask, "What's it about? Is it any good?"

   This is where the fun starts.

   I usually just tell them the tag line and then gauge their expression as to whether or not I should continue. Attack the Block's tagline is...

   Inner City vs. Outer Space

   If I haven't lost them, I then explain that the "inner city" isn't in America, it is in South London. If they were semi-interested by the tag, most are full in when I mention this interesting tidbit. The movie is all about a bike gang in a rough London neighborhood.

   
   

   *No that was not a typo. These guys are not a "biker gang"... They are a gang of 15 year old kids on bicycles.*
   

   Without giving away too many spoilers, Attack the Block is about a gang of fifteen year olds (and a couple of 9 year olds) who have to do battle with aliens who fall from the sky into their neighborhood. It's kind of like The Goonies... if it were rated R and all the kids swore, smoked marijuana and robbed people.

   In order to gauge whether or not they will like it, I ask if they have ever seen any of John Carpenter's action/horror movies of the early 80s. If they liked Assault on Precinct 13, The Fog, or Escape From New York (especially this one) I think it is safe to assume they will like Attack the Block. It is almost as if the writers sat down and said, "Man I miss dark 80s action/horror movies. Let's make one just like that!"

   
   

   

   
   

   Everything about this movie reminds me of the style of Escape From New York (and I LOVED Escape From New York). The pacing, the use of music, the violence and the interesting characters are all there. There is also an awesome anti-hero. And I love a good anti-hero. Before I even knew what that phrase meant, Snake Plissken, played by Kurt Russell, was my absolute favorite. Attack the Block has an equally compelling anti-hero named Moses. Oh, this may interest you...

   Moses is played by John Bodega.

   Who?

   
   

   *Before he became Finn, John Bodega was Moses (I guess he has a thing for no last names).*
   

   Even though the cast is comprised of young "nobodies", they all did a very good job. The main female character, a nurse who the gang mugs and later befriends, is played very well by Jodie Whittaker. One of my favorite parts of the movie is trying figure out what the heck the kids are saying. They speak in a very thick South London accent filled with colorful slang. I have seen the movie a half dozen times and I still hear something new with each viewing. A primary source may need to correct me on this one, but to me, they all sound a lot like Alli G.

   
   

   *Respect!*
   

   There its one huge difference between this and the 80s movies it appears to be paying homage to: this movie has decent special effects. The up side of this is that the creatures actually look pretty cool and believable. The bad news is that the gore is a little too realistic for me. The movie is about predatory aliens with sharp teeth so when they attack, its a pretty gross. Personally I do not care for the gore, but I love everything else so much that I have watched this movie repeatedly.

   Because the film only had a budget of $13 million dollars, the effects are far from perfect. But when you factor in the fact that they needed to do this as cheaply as possible, it makes me appreciate the effects even more. The creatures are a bit "hokey" but I think that may be as a result of the desire to pay homage to movies like "The Thing". To me, I felt the effects were imperfect on purpose. This actually increased my enjoyment of the movie.

   If I still haven't convinced them to see the movie at this point, I dip into my reserves and point out that the movie was produced by Big Talk Pictures which also produced: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

   If that doesn't work, I tell them that the movie is only 82 minutes long. What do they have to lose?

   Have you seen Attack the Block? What did you think?

   Images Links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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