homersimpson_esq
Posts: 19969
Joined: 30/9/2005 From: Springfield
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I first encountered Adam (Buxton) and Joe (Cornish) watching the cunningly titled The Adam and Joe Show back in the late 90s. A light-hearted show, the highlights for me were the recreations of classic and recent films using stuffed toys. This cinematic passion has clearly been long-gestating because Joe Cornish has now directed his first feature film with Attack the Block (2011). The premise is beautifully simple. Aliens invade but, instead of hitting major (and often American) cities, they land in London. The rough end. As one of the taglines reads, “outer space meets inner city”. A group of youths, out for a spot of night-time mugging, are interrupted when an alien crashes into the Volvo across the street. after attacking the leader, Moses, the alien bounds off, followed closely by the wise-cracking, no-nonsense kids. Of course, this particular alien is only one, and a lot smaller than the ones that will follow… Firstly, it’s great to see a genre film set in the UK. That being said, the setting is devoid of geographical identifiers. save for a fluttering Union Flag, and localised slang being spoken, the locale could be any rundown inner city. This, I suspect, should widen its appeal worldwide. It’s a world that is recognisable being attacked by an utterly, well, alien one. Of course, the film isn’t really about aliens. What science fiction film is really about the science fiction? There’s a deeper message at play, and it’s shown most poignantly as Sam, the nurse (lucky, that) they mug at the start who gets stuck with them, walks through Moses’ flat, realising his living arrangements, and the poverty and circumstances of his life. It’s a somewhat obvious message – street kids are just misunderstood and in need of a sympathetic guiding hand – but it’s handled well in a non-invasive way. It’s difficult to empathise with a group of children who we meet mugging a woman at knife-point. Yet, by the end, we do. There’s an understanding, begrudgingly teased out: there is no single moment where the kids realise the error of their ways, but a series of little moments that betray humanity beneath the faceless hoodies and silent scarves. There is also, for gore-fans, a good deal of alien-busting throat-ripping, leg-hacking action, involving samurai swords, machetes, firework rockets, baseball bats, and, ah, water pistols… It’s a film that may attract a cult following, but will hopefully enjoy a great deal of success. Joe Cornish has shown great talent here, and I look forward to what he does next. With Moon (2009), Monsters (2010) and now this film this year, I wonder what British-directed SciFi film 2012 has to offer.
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That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne. TREK WARS
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