Attack the Block – review | Film | The Guardian

Finally got round to seeing this. Think I avoided it because, despite having a great concept, I was worried it’d be a disappointment. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case:

As well as excitement and laughs, [Director Joe] Cornish provides some sharp social comment on the subject of aliens and alienation. Now, there are many who will feel they have consumed enough hand-wringing analysis from the concerned commentariat about aggressive youths in Broken Britain controlling their turf, and yet as scared as babies of moving anywhere beyond these “ends”. Cornish tackles the same idea but with a light touch and a cheerful, unfashionably optimistic belief in a happy outcome somewhere along the line. His sci-fi urban pastoral is also a satirical fantasy. What if enemies or opposing groups were suddenly confronted by a common foe? Might they not discover common ground that should have been cultivated anyway?

Some random observations:

1. The film was a financial flop, that much we already know. Did it fail because it dared to present social undesirables as heroic? Or was it because audiences couldn’t understand the street slang spoken by the cast?
2. Even though I didn’t quite catch everything they were saying (subtitles will be switched on for repeat viewings), the young cast were excellent, by turns fearsome and vulnerable. Funny, too.
3. Given that it’s set on Bonfire Night (4th November), why was it given a summer release in the cinemas? It’s just as well, because the social commentary (such as it is), uncannily prefigures the London Riots that took place shortly after.
4. Surprised to see that the Daily Mail gave it such a thoughtful and positive review. Again, this view might have changed post-riots.
5. The design of the monsters were clearly inspired by the creatures that adorned the sides of the Space Invaders arcade cabinets, way back in the eighties.
6. The soundtrack by Basement Jaxx is brilliant.
7. Finally, if this isn’t a tribute to the films of John Carpenter, I’m going to shred my blogger’s union card and sprinkle it over my cornflakes for breakfast.

RA Podcast: RA.230 Alan Howarth

FREE mixtape of John Carpenter’s greatest soundtracks:

You may not know the name Alan Howarth, but you’ll surely have heard his music before. He’s been involved with the sound design of movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Poltergeist and all of the Star Trek movies. Some of his finest work, though, has come in collaboration with John Carpenter, whose soundtrack to Escape from New York has been beloved, rinsed and re-edited by countless DJs. Renowned for his murky and unstable atmospheres, Howarth’s work is perfect for this time of year, which is exactly why we asked him to delve into his archives to provide a special Halloween mix in honor of his performances at this year’s Unsound festival.

Download the MP3 here. It’s 61 minutes long, 74MB large. No tracklisting, unfortunately.