Filed under: creativity, movies | Tags: alien movies, Attack the block, cloverfield, comedy mvies, District 9, Film 4, horror, humour, Joe cornish, monsters, sci fi, SHaun of the dead, Studio canal, Zombieland
I love Adam and Joe’s 6 Music show on a Saturday morning. It’s wickedly funny and brilliantly inventive in its humour, audience engaging and cod songwriting skits (Song Wars) so the notion of Joe Cornish writing and directing an Alien movie was intriguing, if difficult to predict what the outcome might be. But IMDB liked it so I went for it this afternoon.
Total audience?
Six.
The concept is built around what might happen if an alien invasion started in a council tower block scheme in South London and the band of brothers that inevitably unite to repel the invasion are a bunch of skanky kids and trainee villians.
It’s a nice elevator pitch, particularly when you throw in the fact that the only female in the posse is adopted, much against her will, after being held up and robbed by the bro’s in the opening scene of the film.
But I’m sorry to say it’s a bit of a curate’s egg if I’m honest.
The issue is that it can’t decide whether it’s a comedy (and if so would have been a challenger to Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland – and lost), a social commentary piece or a full-on monster movie (in which case it would be comparable to low budget shockers like Monsters, District 9 or Cloverfield – and lose to all three of them too).
In the event it’s all of these and none of them. And that’s the problem.
It’s partly let down by casting with most of the performances at best workmanlike and at worst either amateur (which I suppose most of the cast is) or caricaturised.
The special effects are really quite good, albeit done on a budget, but imaginatively so. In particular the monsters with their ultra-black bodies and fluorescent green teeth (nothing else) are a bit like honey monsters gone bad which gives them an air of the humorous but at times downright creepy.
I wanted to like this movie more and I suspect it’s Joe Cornish’s winning personality that has got him the funding for it and the, mostly, kind reviews.
But the truth is, it ain’t that great.
If you stumbled upon it on the telly I think you’d be pleasantly surprised but for a full ticket cinema admission it’s pushing its luck.
6/10
Filed under: Arts, creativity, movies | Tags: Chloe Moretz, cloverfield, hollywod, horror, Kodi Smit McPhee, Let me in, let the right one in, love story, matt reeves, vampire, vampires
I am ashamed to say I have not yet seen the original Swedish version of this movie although it is on my list of to do’s for the very near future especially after seeing the Holywood remake which is in one hyphenated word.; Jaw-dropping.
From the very first frames it captivates you with every cinematic tool available. The scary bits are very scary, the photography stunning and the acting beyond description for a cast starring two 12(ish) year olds. But then Kodi Smit McPhee has previous starring as “the boy” in The Road, another mature and beautiful performance. One wonders just how far he can go on the basis of these two Oscar quality performances. Abby, the vampire is played by Chloe Moretz who absolutely stunned in Kick Ass as Hit Girl.
It’s billed as a horror movie but it’s actually a love story and a very moving one at that. The quietness and intensity of the young couple’s illicit (in so many ways) relationship is at the core of the movie and their shared screen time are the real beating pulse of the movie. You will not see a better and more intimate love story this year.
Matt Reeves, as director, is surely one of the most promising Hollywood talents out there. His previous film, Cloverfield, is one of the most underrated films I’ve ever seen. Why is it not considered amongst the best aliens movie ever made? Anyway, you can be sure, that after this he will be moving onto the A list.
