We gotta get out of the streets and back to the block - Review of Attack the Block

I finally got a chance to see attack the block yesterday and it did not disappoint. I say finally because for months, a lot of months, I have been eagerly anticipating it's release and now that I've seen it and I don't feel at all let down, but rather it was far better than I could of ever expected. Written and directed by newcomer Joe Cornish, there are those who expected this to become Shaun of the Dead for aliens, and whilst initially that is what had me sold on the movie, luckily it turned out to be something much greater. Attack the block is hilarious so in that sense, yes, it's like Shaun of the dead in that it's a comedy, with aliens. For me though, attack the block seemed closer to 80's classics like Gremlins and Critters. I'm finding it hard to think of any real criticisms for attack the block, the performances were all spot on - the main boys in the film are exactly like most of the kids you meet in south london (i live there), and their dialogue was perfect "they hit that bully van into my whip", but you can see why American's might require subtitles, the above means "They drove that cop van into my car". Moses, the main character was such a badass, that me and my friend had to restrain ourselves from rooting for him in the cinema. Nick Frost delivers a solid performance, although no different from his Shaun of the dead one really - but there's nothing wrong with that. The shot's are amazing and a lot is kept hidden and shrouded in mystery, the aliens are black as black can be and can only be spotted by their florescent teeth, they remain hidden in the dark and as you can just see two spots of light approaching, its very creepy. As it takes place on November 5th, Cornish uses the fireworks for a number of exciting scenes and shots, leaving behind an eerie trail of smoke and light that has you hanging off the edge of your seat in suspense. Its funny, it's badass, and the alien's are kept simple and sometimes aren't CGI, which is just cooler because CGI always looks a little shitty if you ask me, I'm more of a believer of puppets and models. The film also manages to fit in some pretty interesting messages about what's effecting youth culture today (and as the characters were perfect representations of yutes it felt real), there were obvious messages like family dynamics, but also about how their treated by police, how people judge them and about how people are happy to help children overseas but the kids here aren't "exotic" enough. It's a fantastic film and it's shot right up to one of my favourites, I suggest you all check it out as soon as possible, and i'm going to see it again like next week or something.