ATTACK THE BLOCK Discussion Thread

Thanks to CHUD, I just got back from a screening of this.

"MOSES!  ... NINJA!"

Truth. 

I'm most impressed by the cast of young faces they put together for the film.  I loved these kids.  It would be so easy for these characters to come across irritating and fake, but the Cornish and his cast somehow manage to avoid the kid-actor curse completely. 

The filmmaking has the confidence I felt the first time I saw Shaun of the Dead at an advance screening without having any idea what I was in store for. 

I'm definitely going to go see this again, if only to be able to see it in a theater that really pumps up the volume.  The screening of the film I was at felt limited when it came to the moments that should've rattled me.  Gun shots felt tame.  Explosions felt muted (which took a lot of the oomph out of the final one).  Jump-scares not potent enough.  Alien shrieks not piercing to satisfaction.  And since I trust Renn when it comes to sound, I'm sure it wasn't the film's fault that those moments were slightly underwhelming.

The crowd loved the film. 

After seeing this and Sherlock recently... I need to start getting more excited about TinTin.  Hahahah

Great movie. Very resourceful for what was probably not a ton of money. The characters were very well done, especially because you sorta hate the gang at the beginning but completely come around as the story unfolds. Also, some fantastic set pieces-- loved the smoky hallway sequence. I'd love to say it's the best monster/alien invasion movie of the year but I haven't seen BATTLE:LA or TF3 [/snark]

25 cities last night, so there must have been more chewers who were lucky enough to see it! Let us know what you thought...

"No one's gonna call you 'Mayhem' if you keep acting like such a pussy."

Just fantastic. You're so correct Renn, in that I'm busting to over-gush to more friends about it, but gonna go the "Trust me, just see it when you can" route for fear of over-selling.

The sound was pretty great in my theater, and the crowd ate the whole thing up, beginning to end, laughing and jumping at all the right beats. Loved the score, which is somewhere between the club and classic John Carpenter. I can often get left behind trying to follow dialog that's mostly unfamiliar slang in an unfamiliar accent -- I have a tin American ear -- but that was rarely an issue. Chalk that up to both the script and the great kid actors. And probably Cornish, directing the shit out of them.

The aliens are probably my favorite monster design in I don't know how long, just utter menace in their simplicity. By making them pitch black with Tron-glowing jaws, they managed to get the best of both putting the monster on the screen and what-we-don't-see-is-scarier.

Thank you, CHUD!

I saw AlmightyShmun at last night's screening.  I did a call out in my introduction to CHUD but not a lot of people responded...

I'm glad people enjoyed it.  This was even better the second time.  Moses' arc in the film is really masterfully done.  When Sam goes through his flat, and sees this poor kid's hopeless life, it's pretty moving, and what's awesome about it is that the film doesn't stop to dwell on it - it moves like a Swiss clock and doesn't waste time.  Still in my top 5 films of the year.

Also, I just bit the bullet and ordered the import disc from Amazon.  Really needed this score bad.  Sucks that I can't dl it because of my region, but oh well.

Was it just me or did anyone else think the kid who played Moses have a mini-Denzel thing going on?

Our Attack the Block Review from GUY.com:

http://guy.com/2011/05/26/movie-review-attack-the-block/

It really is a great flick. It just kind of starts and then hauls ass until the end. My one small complaint is I would have liked a little more time/moments with pretty much any of the characters. But, wow - just great. So much fun. 

So happy this made it to Toronto. Saw the flick with a group of friends, and our theater was PACKED. I'm not sure how many people actually knew what they were in for, but I was blown away by the response to the film. The crowd reaction made this screening so special, and I'm sure it'll play like this to every audience it gets in front of.

Some of the friends I saw it with generally don't care for horror or science fiction films, but Renn's right - this is neither of those things. It blends genres so well, and feels like something completely different but completely natural. What a blast! Loved it. Who are these kids? I've never heard of them before, and now I want to see more of them!

And Nordling, I'm going to grab that import right now. Been dying to hear that soundtrack again. I want to say it gave the film its pulse, but the movie had so much going for it beyond the music. Need to see this again.

Thanks guys!

I did a review of this film on my you tube show, I am from blighty and i found the film quite a refreshing take on the whole aliens attack thing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf1ejtrkEqc

Check it out :)

Really needs to compete in any awards that have a category for ensemble cast: top to bottom, they sell the concept to perfection. Just loved it-- and it's an interesting (and superior) companion piece to Super 8.

Mostly just bumping since this is the day Attack the Block goes into general (though certainly not wide) release. Over at AICN today, Nordling has a passionate (pre-emptive?) "defense" of the film against anyone who feels it's overhyped and calls it the best film of the year (and, yes, he's seen Tree of Life). I was disappointed with Mick LaSalle of the S.F. Chronicle, though: whether I agree with him or not, his reviews have generally suggested that he might have two brains to rub together, but his contempuous dismissal of this film bordered on the irresponsible: even if, as he claims, he really did watch the entire film, it certainly feels as though he quit paying attention to it after about ten minutes.

I'm not very good with lists and "bests," but a month later I can still recall most of the film's key scenes as vividly as if I'd just seen it last night, which is a pretty good indication of its impact. It was easily the most fun I've had at the movies all year.

Saw this at a sneak preview screening a few months ago and I loved every minute of it. Completely blows away anything Hollywood is crapping into theaters this summer.

If you like John Carpenter and Walter Hill, this is a must-see. Surprised it didn't blow up in limited release, it's easily the best genre film of the summer. I won't go as far as Nordling, but I'm sure at year's end it will rank as one of the best of '11.

I'm not surprised it didn't blow up.  I don't know if it's the cause, but it felt like there were so many free screenings in those very cities a couple months prior to its limited release.  Anyone who would've been interested in the film this week probably already saw it.  I'd seen it 3 times for free before it came out.

FWIW, we saw that same rationale used when Serenity wasn't a hit. I suppose there might be something to it (the big difference, of course, being that ATB doesn't need to make as much $$ to be profitable).

Serenity was a big studio release. Attack the Block is being put out limited in the hopes for good weekend numbers to drum up the WOM. Spike Lee gave it his approval. The whole "free screening" thing is not really a good weapon against. Yes, people got to see it before it came out, and some of those people might have paid, but it's not just *us* at these screenings. The Hangover screened a lot before it came out, a number of films have. Pilgrim compares better to Serenity from a marketing standpoint - the problem is they never figured out how to sell it to the mainstream. I would say with Pilgrim they tried much harder than Serenity, but such is life. I mean, Serenity they were selling with the first trailer offering pullquotes from the DVD reviews of the TV show. Similar problem Grindhouse had. Any film that isn't a franchise that has to explain the appeal of the thing is DOA. The per screens on ATB are decent, above average. It will expand. Sony probably (or undoubtedly) picked it up cheap, and knows that even with a weakened DVD/Bu-ray market, there's at least a million or so in that, if not more.

The other problem is that we're in a recession economy, so people are much more choosy about what they see. Even if this film had "this film will blow you" WOM, there are just more people worried about dropping $20 or so to see a film.

Yeah, didn't mean to suggest it was any sort of "weapon"-- just that I recalled similar comments after Serenity went down, though the two cases are obviously dissimilar. Very much hoping to get see ATB  again this week, and would love a repeat of the packed-theater experience from the advance screening.

I really doubt the free screenings are the reason this didn't catch on.  If anything, those free screenings should've given the film great WOM, which would increase the probability of success.

I don't think it's surprising either.  The trailers and marketing materials weren't very enticing, and it features a group of kids with hard ghetto English accents.  I would've been surprised if it did catch on.  Not that any of this matters.  I still haven't seen it, despite it showing very close to me.  I just cannot find anyone who is even remotely interested in seeing it, and I can't blame them considering the trailers didn't wow anyone.  I really want to see it, but I cannot go to the movies on my own, it just feels strange.  I guess I'll wait for the Blu ray.    

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nabster 

I really doubt the free screenings are the reason this didn't catch on. 

Bit early to reach that conclusion, innit?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeb 

 

Bit early to reach that conclusion, innit?

Probably.  Although, it's just a diagnosis of how it's done so far.  Things could always change, but I still think it's a hard sell.

The point is, I really doubt the free screenings have hurt the film in any way, I'd expect the opposite result.  If it's as good as some claim, the free screenings should give the film a lot of exposure and good word of mouth.  And the number of people that saw the film with free screenings is probably insignificant to its over all potential audience. 

I was a good movie goer and saw this last night with a friend who wanted to see Cowboys and Aliens instead. We chose wisely. Great flick, lots of heart and ingenuity. Cornish is definitely a man to watch.

Saw this at a screening about a month ago - hoping to go again this weekend.  Loved the alien design, the kids, the pacing.  Just an all around fun movie and great to see with a crowd.

That said, my brother told me I over-hyped this movie for him, and it didn't live up to his expectations.  I'm pretty sure the real problem is that his taste in movies didn't live up to my expectations.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grace 
I'm pretty sure the real problem is that his taste in movies didn't live up to my expectations.

Beautiful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pop Zeus 

Was it just me or did anyone else think the kid who played Moses have a mini-Denzel thing going on?

John Boyega definitely has a future as a leading man. Is he really only 15?

He is 19.

19 now.  17 when filming.

Definitely has a Denzel vibe.

Saw this today. Greatest John Carpenter film not made by John Carpenter.

It's so great to see a film that just moves. No detailed backstory. No bullshit melodrama, love story or Learning of Valuable Lessons. Just a great time at the movies.

Caught it last night and had a fucking blast with it. Oh god, after a summer of disappointment (overall), this was such a breath of fresh air. Lean, mean and hongry film; it doesn't waste a single god damn second. I love how we actually didn't like the gang: why are they robbing this woman? And then we learn to love them. Oh man, so good, will not stop gushing about this. Have to see it again.

It's a damn good B monster movie and a hell of a debut feature film for Cornish.  I loved the use of fireworks and smoke.  And some classic pothead humor.  It took me a long while for me to shake off the desire to see Ray Stevenson's Frank Castle wash those punks' mouths out with buckshot.  But yeah, they kinda grow on you as characters.  And there's an amazing use of slo-mo action towards the end that totally schools Snyder and his pretentious speed ramping.

That being said, I can already tell this is going to be the overhyped CHUD rabid cult movie of 2011.  The kind of movie where any comments on these boards that whiff of any negativity will get met with cries of blasphemy and a hail of rocks.

Agreed on the Denzel vibe.  Especially when he shed the one tear a la Glory.

http://www.chud.com/64563/exclusive-video-interview-john-boyega-talks-influences-the-london-riots-attack-the-block/

Finally saw this yesterday.

Wow. Just wow.

A smart movie with with well-defined characters that simply does not fuck around. Who would have thought such an animal could exist in 2011?

My favorite thing about movies like this is that they reinstill my faith in the magic of film-making, and make me remember why the 10 year-old me fell in love with movies in the first place.

Also, great interview Renn. Boyega has got the goods and is one to watch.

I finally saw this late this afternoon; I believe it opened just this past Friday in Orlando on the east side. I presume they chose that location as it's closest to the University of Central Florida campus. Despite that my screening was lucky if it had 10 people, including me.

That's a damn shame, as I went into this movie knowing pretty much nothing about it and that was for the best. I greatly enjoy this film; while I haven't seen Super 8 yet, the negative things I've heard about that one makes me think I would have preferred this to that. This is the type of film I wish I could watch more often. It was a very fresh and entertaining take on the standard alien invasion story and they managed to make it believable that some punk teenage kids and a random nurse could take on some crazy wolf monkey alien motherfuckers with glowing teeth and for a budget in the span of a neighborhood block in South London and for an estimated 13 million bucks it looked tremendous. It was just a tremendous as entertainment as it was fun to watch and I wish that more people would watch it on the big screen. The crowd I saw it with seemed to enjoy it too but I imagine it'd be all the better to watch it with a packed crowd that went monkeyshit for everything. It usually doesn't happen around here but I'll actually agree with the consensus.

I haven't had this much legitimate fun seeing a movie, and then discussing it afterwards, in a long time. Such a tight, genuine, well-crafted film.

I'd see it again multiple times, just to show my support, if I didn't have to drive across town to the only theater playing it.

Think I'm interviewing Joe Cornish for GUY in a couple weeks while I'm in New York. I'll try to restrain myself but I just might kiss the man.

Full on the mouth for three Mississippis or it doesn't count.

My two word review: Pure Awesome.

I finally saw this and it's great.  I love the nod to E.T. at the beginning with the alien in the tool shed, but instead of throwing in a ball, they toss in some firecrackers. I knew then I was gonna like it.

And yeah, Boyega does resemble Denzel. Their eyes are eerily similar. 

I already have it on order from Amazon, but I just couldn't wait.....................so I hit up Redbox the other day.  Ended up watching it three times!  This movie is fucking fantastic!

I feel like the subplot with the kid trapped in a dumpster for most of the movie could have been better integrated. Other than that? Basically perfect. Could be my favorite movie of the year. The scene I loved the most, and which sort of summarizes the movie's brilliant pacing and story economy, is the montage of the gang fetching their weapons. In the space of like three minutes, we get a glimpse of each kid's home life, and each of those moments conveys a wealth of background about each character, which a lesser film would probably devote a scene each at least to expositing. It was watching that sequence that I knew I was in for something truly special.

I've seen this five times now and every time I get goosebumps when the title comes up. The ominous visuals of the falling meteorites/aliens, the emotion from the kids just whooping their first alien butt, and especially the music combine into one hell of a stirring moment.

I love the score too.

Got this from the Redbox yesterday, but only just saw it today. Loved it, and now I know why everyone has been drooling over it for the past few months. Definitely lives up to the hype. I'm looking forward to the sequel that Joe Cornish has planned. Moses on a horse leading a revolt against the aliens? YES PLEASE!

I'm only halfway through this, but I couldn't wait till it's over before saying something. This is the kind of a movie that makes me want to shout from the rooftops about it and tell everyone I know and everyone else in the world that they MUST see it. For once, I'm totally with everyone online praising a movie. I try to avoid using these words because they're so overused, but I can't think of a more accurate way to sum up my feelings than by saying FUCKING AWESOME.

I can't remember the last time a movie made me laugh so hard so consistently and at the same time, I'm marveling at the masterfully shot action and all the great new discoveries on display. This is what I always hope for and rarely get when watching new movies...the thrill of witnessing a new director and new actors who deserve to be and seemed destined to be (if there's any justice) future stars blossoming right before my eyes. I just regret that I didn't get to see this on the big screen.

This is also the kind of movie that makes me glad the Internet exists to raise awareness of less mainstream fare that puts most modern movies to shame with how well-conceived it is on every level. I'm deeply cynical about modern movies and most of my movie-watching is devoted to older flicks, but movies like this restore my faith in the future of movies. They prove that there are still film makers out there who can show me things I've never seen before and give the old classics a run for their money. I get the same kind of excitement watching this that I got seeing "Shaun of the Dead", "Dog Soldiers", "The Descent", and "Donnie Darko" for the first time. I don't think B-movies or indie cinema (whatever ya call it) gets better than this.

Totally.

Some of my favorite memories growing up would be when my older brother babysat me while my parents happened to be out, and he'd(in the wonderfully irresponsible older sibling way) allow me to just watch his collection of films he had stored in his room. And thus at a young age I got exposed to things like The Hidden, or Night of the Creeps. Smart, funny, and just well done genre pictures that are just perfect "cult" movies.

Attack of the Block brought back all those memories for me. And I loved every bit of it.

Just finished it. I'm happy to say it never stepped wrong from start to finish. I'd like to add that I also loved the design of the creatures, both aesthetically and functionally. They looked terrific with their florescent fangs and it was novel and clever how they were blind, but could sense by pheromones. Every character was appealing in its own way too, and I love the dialog. I saw a review complaining that they're not likable and this drags down the film, and I could not disagree more. Yes, they're obnoxious, and yes, they start the movie as nothing but rotten, thieving little bastards, but eventually their obnoxiousness grew on me and they definitely evolve in positive ways as the movie progresses. By the end, Moses has matured into a more heroic and moral individual who regrets his misdeeds in a way that's natural and believable. We see him grow as a character and it's convincing.

The movie was also chock full of splendid one-liners, without being forced. I was particularly taken with "This is too much madness for one text!" and "It's a big room. Full of weed. And it's Ron's." The irony of one of the kids telling Sam she has a potty mouth was hilarious too. I don't know if I've ever seen a movie that worked on so many levels of genre - it was a home run as an action movie, but also as horror, sci-fi (due the explanation of how and why the creatures hunt), and even comedy. I laughed a lot, I was captivated by the violence, and the surprisingly tense scene with the smoke in the hallway actually gave me a genuine scare (I can't remember the last time a movie did that). I understand why there's talk of sequels or even a TV series spin-off, but I found the movie so perfect, I'm a little wary of that. I fear that those things could not possibly live up to this. It certainly won't be easy.

Lauren, I'm on the same page as you regarding this movie taking you back. Towards the end, it was definitely making me feel younger, like a teenager. It also reminded me of how I felt a few years ago when I saw "Evil Dead II" for the same. I was out of the teens by then, but watching it recaptured the adolescent thrill of discovering something so astonishingly crazy and different that it shakes up my whole perception of what movies are (and can be).

This movie feels like an instant classic to me. I can imagine it meaning to today's teens what a movie like "Evil Dead II" means to our generation. I can see them talking about their nostalgia for it on message boards ten years from now. It has cult classic written all over it, and deservedly so. I hope Joe Cornish, John Boyega, and the rest of this cast have long, fruitful careers after this. They've made a fan out of me.

Have teens even found it yet? Right now I'm skeptical that its status as a festival darling which 30+ year olds love to death is going to bring the teen crowd runnin'.

Just finished this.  Good, solid film that doesn't drag from the get-go.  Really well shot, written, acted and imagined.  Had almost zero idea going in besides the fact that the intarwebz was having a collective geekgasm over it.

Geekgasm not warranted.  This is no watershed moment in people's lives, well maybe not America.  Fine little gem but well forgotten this time next year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TzuDohNihm 

Just finished this.  Good, solid film that doesn't drag from the get-go.  Really well shot, written, acted and imagined.  Had almost zero idea going in besides the fact that the intarwebz was having a collective geekgasm over it.

 

Geekgasm not warranted.  This is no watershed moment in people's lives, well maybe not America.  Fine little gem but well forgotten this time next year.

I'd rank it a bit more highly than you, but yeah I feel mostly the same way. Worth watching? Hell yes. On the same level as Shaun of the Dead? Not at all, as that movie is nearly perfect*.

Good to great performances from (mostly)non-actors. Incredibly solid direction. Nice ideas, especially how the whole thing got started and why it's confined to a small area. Rad score. Really cool monster design. Amazing combination of score, effects, and slo-mo near the end.
Yet, I still don't care about most of the thugs. That's the biggie.

Awesome debut. Enjoyed it a lot, especially on the second viewing. Still behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes as far as great pleasant surprises of the year.


*Yet Attack of the Block is a movie I can find very few flaws with. Hmn.