Attack The Block (2011)

I'm sure that a few of the things I've written about some films, must seem very disjointed; e.g.  'i liked it but it was horrible. You should see it for yourself...' Attack The Block may suffer worse from this than any other posts i've written.
I was disappointed by it but it's incredibly well directed by Joe Cornish. I guess the crux of my problem is that i thought it would be really funny cos it's Joe from Adam & Joe.
Don't get me wrong - there are jokes, lots of jokes but the tone of the film is so hard-edged that the brief moments of broad respite don't really cover that.
On paper, it's a great idea - teenage boys on a council estate start a war with aliens and i've been excited to see it since I heard Cornish was making it. But I think there's an innate problem there, before you start- what does it mean if teenage gang members are killing aliens? I mean if it's just thugs beating up aliens, who do you root for? and this something the film never quite makes peace with.
Now obviously, the boys are plastic gangsters essentially and their intention is to be fairly heroic but they start off the film mugging the female lead character, played by Jodie Whittaker and though they become more likeable as they become more heroic in their actions, they still don't come across as nice people to be around, even if you were in the gang.
Maybe I feel uncomfortable with the fact, that though most of the dialogue is written in South London patios and I'm sure credible to how kids today talk, and it's probably inverted racism on my part but i couldn't get passed the fact this is written by a white guy in his late 30's (at least) from Cornwall or Devon or thereabouts. That just niggled away at me, i guess. That said, Cornish does include a severely middle class character called Bruce,  played by Luke Treadaway, who embraces black culture but knows full-well he'll never be embraced back.
So this means that Cornish is aware but persists with these messages of 'it's just these mischievous young men acting ' followed by 'Irresponsible actions have consequences' which confuse because then how much do these boys need to do to redeem themselves? Or is it not even that big a deal, how abrasive the guys are- they're a product of their environment and this is acceptable behaviour there?
Like I say, this could just be my perception and maybe it's just me but then there's this side plot where the local gangster wants to seek retaliation towards these boy for messing up his car- i don't understand what the point of that whole part of the story was meant to signify.
But I still say Joe Cornish is a major asset to British film and deserves to be supported and allowed to experiment with fun in this way. Maybe just another surehand on the writing prehaps?...

(This blog was only late because Blogger's server was and not because I started at 11pm)

I watched Attack The Block (2011) at the cinema.
My 2011 in Movies will return with A Woman Under The Influence (1974)...

Paul (2011)

Who can deny the charm of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost sharing the screen?
Yeah, you liked Pegg before you'd ever heard of Nick and if you see Nick turn up in something, you get a cosy feeling but they're never as effective as when they're working together. I mean they're obviously great friends and would never tire of each others company but it totally translates on screen too.
So the idea of watching Paul, something they both wrote too is a simple prospect to accept. But after a half-hour into watching Paul, there was one guy I couldn't stop thinking of. Edgar Wright. Damn my cynical brain but I was less watching a film with Pegg & Frost but a film that wasn't directed by Edgar Wright. I've always had a weird feeling coming out if his films but now I realise what it was. When I saw Shaun Of The Dead and when I saw Hot Fuzz, I was very confllicted. I knew I had really liked what I had saw but I felt a bit batter and bruised and tired. These feelings were even more extreme after seeing Scott Pilgrim. But I think I understand what it meant now. An Edgar Wright production packs so much entertainment into every frame, be it action or comedy- that it just knackers me out. It's exhausting. So watching Paul has helped me in the respect of figuring out that mystery. But sadly I can't judge Paul singularly by it's own merits and the style of Edgar Wright in conspicuous by it's absence. But let me be clear, this is no diss to Greg Mottola. I love him and I liked Adventureland and LOVED Superbad. It's just that Paul, while I did enjoy it and it's funny... It's not firing on all cylinders; it's just a cultureshock to see Pegg and Frost in this paired down visual style I guess and that's me; that's no else's fault.So if you can get passed that overwrought and basically unfair point; there is a lot to like about this movie. A great American cast of some of my favorite current comedy actors like Bill Hader and Jo Le Truglio, who both were in Superbad- who play dumb FBI (!?) agents and Kristen Wiig who's currently on SNL with Hader. These are all guys, if I find out they are in a movie-I will endeavor to see it. You already know I unashamedly love Seth Rogen so i'll simply say he's quite good in his part as a Seth Rogen alien. But all is not right in the world of Pegg and Frost.For some strange reason, they've swopped roles. Yeah. In this one, they've decided after those 1,2-2 films, that they've grown weary of Frost playing the silly one and Pegg playing the grown-up one and they've swopped. I know i shouldn't be so frumpy about what's such a sweet and pleasant film but Frost and Pegg swopping roles was a bit of shark-jump for me. Please go see Paul as such endeavors should be encouraged but don't go expecting an Edgar Wright production. It's like watching the side-project of a band you like and you're just kinda willing it to be just as good.


I watched Paul (2011) at the cinema.
My 2011 In Movies will return with the mammoth double bill of Troll 2(1990) / Best Worst Movie (2009)...