Attack the Block

In the effort to spend as little money as possible (you know, being a poor graduate student and all), I've been taking advantage of those free movie screening websites like Gofobo and Filmmetro. Fortunately the movies I've seen have been pretty good (for example, True Grit, Easy A, Get Low and a slew of others in the past year); then again, I choose to not see those movies that look like a steaming pile of horse dung (names redacted to protect the crappy).

Anyway, the most recent offering is Attack the Block, which shares the same producers from such films as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. (So if you're a fan of these films, this movie will be right up your alley). In short, Attack the Block follows a group of 12-16 year-old hoodlums who, during their mugging of a young woman, observe something fall from the sky and crash into a nearby car. During their investigations, they discover that the "thing" is actually a creature not of this earth. While they are able to overpower this alien, they find themselves under attack by a horde of bigger, nastier monstrosities. Can our ragtag group of teens fight off an alien invasion and protect their block?

Overall, the film is a breezy, summer popcorn flick whose quick action propels the story to its uplifting conclusion. The kids have good chemistry and you root for them, even though they are initially portrayed as criminals in training . Also, I found their heavy lower-class London accents to be a bit difficult to follow at first but it became more intelligible and charming along the way. Fortunately the movie was peppered with emotionally touching moments informing you of the kids' difficult lives in the projects. Apart from the acting (look out for a scene-stealing cameo from Nick Frost), the film's soundtrack is pretty badass, with some classic hiphop and a thumping score by Basement Jaxx and Steve Price. Do check the film out when it hits theaters near you.