Attack the BlockWritten & Directed by: Joe Cornish
Produced by: Nira Park, James Wilson, Mary Burke, Edgar Wright
Cinematography by: Thomas Townend
Released: July 29, 2011 (USA)
Summary: A teen gang in South London defend their block from an alien invasion.
REVIEW
I usually post movie (and other media) reviews at Cool Black Media . I don’t usually post movie reviews here at the ‘Nother Brother Entertainment Blog, UNLESS it is an independent film worthy of distinction and Attack the Block is such a film.
This is absolutely the best horror movie I’ve seen in a long time. Even though I’ve grown tired of the Final Destinations and Saws I have seen others like the remakes to Friday the 13th (2009) , A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) and sequels like Scream 4 (2011) and felt woefully unimpressed like I have from those original films. These new films failed to capture the peril and excitement and plain ole fun of those original films. Attack the Block made me feel like I did when I watched those originals - with black people to boot! To digress a little, these are black kids because it’s not set in America so they can’t be African American even though they are “negroes”. You can’t call someone like the British Idris Elba African American can you?
Back to the “Block” this movie had the usual horror movie prerequisites, teens trying to make sense out of numerous murders, and then trying to stop it themselves. This film took a conventional plot and injected a lot of originality and fun into it. The humor was balanced with real fear and suspense along with a kickass climax.
But don’t just trust what I say, and I don’t know why you shouldn’t, these are some other blurbs I found about the film.
Following its premiere at SXSW, Scott Wampler of The Examiner rated it A+ and said it was officially the best film of the festival and likened it to other debuts such as Neil Blomkamp's District 9 and Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs.
Matt Patches writing for Cinemablend said "Attack the Block, even on its small scale, may wind up as one of the best action movies of the year".
IGN gave it four stars saying "Cornish directs with the confidence of a seasoned pro" and calling the film "a blast from start-to-finish."
Block is fun and with its cast of mostly unknowns features some nice standout performances, particularly the kid who plays the leader of the hoodies, John Boyega (who's got great screen presence). –Hollywood ReporterI cannot agree more with the last quote. Those who know me and have read my writing know that I'm discerning and I don't really recommend anything that I don't think is of high caliber. When I see a great performance I recognize it.
Last year when I saw True Grit I thought the movie was good, but I was WOWED by the performance of Hailee Steinfeld (the little girl in the film) and was SHOCKED that she was only nominated for “Best Supporting Actress” and not “Best Actress” at the Academy Awards® for she was excellent. (You can read what I said about True Grit here )
Having said that, I think John Boyega (pictured center above) gave another excellent youth performance. Like the above quote stated, he had “great screen presence” which A LOT of actors do not have.
It’s a difference between being a “star” and having enough screen presence to be a lead. You not only rooted for this unlikely hero, but when he gave orders you could see why everyone in the film listened to him. He wasn’t just the hardass all the time either. You could see his vulnerability when dealing with his boss and the plight he was faced with in the film. I hope he has a long and prodigious career unlike other child phenoms like that Sixth Sense kid. Where is homeboy? LOL. In any case remember this guy.
It’s a difference between being a “star” and having enough screen presence to be a lead. You not only rooted for this unlikely hero, but when he gave orders you could see why everyone in the film listened to him. He wasn’t just the hardass all the time either. You could see his vulnerability when dealing with his boss and the plight he was faced with in the film. I hope he has a long and prodigious career unlike other child phenoms like that Sixth Sense kid. Where is homeboy? LOL. In any case remember this guy.
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| John Boyega |
Their trailer is below
MORE UPDATES
UPDATE: November 1, 2011: John Boyega has been cast in the lead of a HBO boxing drama being helmed by Spike Lee called Da Brick read all the news about the show at our sista blog Cool Black Media via the link more about it here
UPDATE: August 1, 2011
Attack the Block opened last weekend July 29-31 and became the HIGHEST GROSSEST FILM...however, according to the great site Shadow & Act-
UPDATE: August 23, 2011
Read about the current Box Office at More Attack the Block Updates at the post here
Related links-
Read a great interview with the Writer/Director of Attack the Block Joe Cornish and star John Boyega at Ebony/Jet.com here
Attack the Block opened last weekend July 29-31 and became the HIGHEST GROSSEST FILM...however, according to the great site Shadow & Act-
The film opened in only 8 theaters across the country making a total of $130,000 with an average of $16,250 per screen.If you know the business of film, "Per Screen Average" is a huge barometer of a film's success. Hopefully Attack the Block will soon be coming to a screen near you.
That makes it the highest grossing film per screen, better than The Smurfs which came in second with $10, 660 per screen average, though it opened in 3,395 screens nationwide.
UPDATE: August 23, 2011
Read about the current Box Office at More Attack the Block Updates at the post here
Related links-
Read a great interview with the Writer/Director of Attack the Block Joe Cornish and star John Boyega at Ebony/Jet.com here
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