Tag Archives: Aliens

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At The Theater 2011 #7: Attack the Block

Saw the new Harry Potter and are still jonesing for a cast of Brits fighting against the unworldly? Then you need to go see Attack the Block.

It was hard to get behind the protagonists initially in Attack of the Block. They start the movie robbing a woman at knife point and follow that up by acting like the loud, obnoxious teenagers that they are. I won’t lie, for a little while I was rooting for the aliens to dismember them and took a fair amount of glee when the aliens took out the teen who I found the most annoying. The aliens aren’t picky about who they kill though; a likable character is just as likely to buy it as a highly unlikeable one. Well, maybe not just as likely, but still very high.

The aliens are very cool looking in Attack the Block. They’re these eyeless ape-dog hybrids with rows and rows sharp, iridescent teeth and fur that’s darker than the night. They’re vicious, speedy and deadly, which made for a movie full of great thrills.

Nick Frost is hilarious as a constantly stoned pot dealer.

I’m used to Nick Frost movies being really funny, but Attack the Block doesn’t have as much humor as Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz did, and if you go to this movie expecting amount of humor from those movies, you might be disappointed. But it works great as a thriller. If you’re a fan of movies like Gremlins or Aliens, I highly recommend it. Catch it while you can in the theater.
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On The Couch 2011 #7: Away We Go

When Away We Go came out, I avoided it. From the previews and print ads, it seemed like it was just trying a little too hard to be the indie jewel of the moment. A pregnant main character, Allison Janney in a supporting role, pencil animation opening credits…wait a second, is this Juno 2?

Now that I’ve seen it, I regret avoiding it. Away We Go is a very good movie. The strength of the film comes from the supporting characters, who are all varying degrees of crazy. Without a doubt, my favorite of the crazy friends were the neo-hippie couple led by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Her scenes alone make Away We Go worth watching.

As great as Gyllenhaal is, the best line in the movie belongs to the sweet little kid who explains what he knows about babies…and infanticide by suffocation.

A lot of the dialogue is witty, but I guess that’s to be expected when Dave Eggers is the writer.

I’ve noticed in the rankings so far this year, that all of the movies I received on a disc from Netflix are ranked higher than every movie I’ve watched on instant streaming. Does this mean the instant streaming selection is bad? Is it that I’ve seen all the good movies available on instant streaming already? Wait, Aliens is available and I haven’t seen that yet. Why did I watch Wedding Daze instead of Aliens? Am I just bad at picking movies on instant streaming?