The Playlist

Too Much Madness To Explain In One Text: On The U.K. Riots And 'Attack The Block'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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August 9, 2011 7:54 AM
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14 Comments

Joe Cornish's directorial debut "Attack the Block" has now been in U.S. theaters for about 10 days, having been rolling out in its native U.K. and elsewhere since May. We're sure you're fed up of the hype at this point, but it's a very, very good film: a nifty, witty, extremely well-executed little genre picture. It's also one that, like the best genre movies, has a socio-political backbone to it that in the last few days has suddenly struck a vein that few were expecting with the explosion of violence and looting that's taken place in London since Saturday night.

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In Theaters: 'Cowboys & Aliens' & 'Smurfs,' Oh My!

By Katie Walsh
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July 29, 2011 6:05 AM
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0 Comments

Listen, I know what you expect from me. After last week's showing, you're expecting me to wax poetic about Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling and all the man beauty at the box office. Nope. What Chris Evans and I have is special and beautiful and I will not sully it with that cad, Ryan. I will leave that salivating to the male portion of the Playlist, as Mr. Gosling is the designated man crush. I don't need to build him up anymore than the rest of these dudes have. He's a great actor with a wonderful sense of personal style. THE END. All I will say about Mr. Craig is that I hope his bum is insured by Lloyd's of London for as much as J. Lo's booty. Anyway! In theaters this week! The improbably premised "Cowboys & Aliens"! Rom-com for men, "Crazy, Stupid Love"! "The Smurfs".... You know it's not a week without a dumb movie for children! Let's do it to it.

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"I Don't Think It's Too Horrific" & More Learned From 'Attack The Block' Director Joe Cornish

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 27, 2011 6:00 AM
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1 Comment

The following is a reprint of our interview with director Joe Cornish at SXSW.

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Comic-Con '11: John Boyega Says His Performance In 'Attack The Block' Was Influenced By 'The Wire'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 22, 2011 10:41 AM
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Edgar Wright Says 'Ant-Man' Script Was Handed In This Week & That He & Simon Pegg Will Start Writing Third 'Cornetto' Film Next MonthBelieve, bruv. Riding a massive wave of hype since its world premiere at SXSW in March, Joe Cornish's debut "Attack the Block" has been championed by the geek set and with good reason. Compact, surprisingly complex and just flat out entertaining, the film offers a great twist on the alien invasion movie, placing the action in a council estate in south London and pitting a group of young teens against the vicious invading creatures who are black as night and sport an impressive array of glow in the dark teeth. Mixing newcomers with more established actors like Nick Frost, Luke Treadaway and Jodie Whittaker, the film moves with a street authenticity mixed with genre elements working at the top their game. With the film set to be released next week, the cast and filmmakers descended upon San Diego to talk up the film.

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Watch: New Trailer & Clip From Joe Cornish's Inventive Alien Invasion Pic 'Attack The Block'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 21, 2011 2:50 AM
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Even if you've been only half paying attention, you should already know by now that Joe Cornish's feature film debut "Attack The Block" is already something of a cult classic and it hasn't even hit theaters in the U.S. yet. Making its world premiere and playing to rave reviews at SXSW (where we first caught up with it) the film has continued to build its buzz with numerous advance screenings and festival appearances (we recently saw it again at Fantasia) and in case you have any doubt, we're here to tell you: Yes, it is that good.

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Fantasia '11 Review: 'Attack The Block' Is The Real Deal Bruv, Believe

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 18, 2011 2:41 AM
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0 Comments

We're just over seven months into 2011, and we've already seen a staggering number of alien-oriented films, and for the most part, they haven't been friendly. In "Battle: Los Angeles" a ragged military crew squared off against the space invaders, while in the upcoming "Cowboys & Aliens" Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford will use old-timey western know-how to fight off the creatures from beyond. But there is another interesting trend developing even among this this little niche of films: kids are frequently the ones being called upon to save the day. In J.J. Abrams' "Super 8" best friends and junior high classmates outwit their parents and the military to save their town and the Earth, and later this year, "The Darkest Hour" will find Emile Hirsch and Olivia Thirlby helping a group of youths against another batch of extraterrestrials. But between those two films will be the hotly buzzed "Attack The Block," a film that shares with "Super 8" a plot about some very young kids who find some very vicious creatures in their midst, but in all other respects is completely, refreshingly and excitingly different.

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Watch: Red Band Trailer For 'Attack The Block,' Believe It

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 16, 2011 3:10 AM
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3 Comments

While J.J. Abrams proved you could hold back the steak at the monster movie BBQ and still bring in fans, when you're a much smaller-budgeted Brit alien invasion flick with even smaller names leading the cast, you gotta do whatever you can to get people out. So while some may whine that the new red band trailer for "Attack The Block" shows far too much, just remember they are trying to get people to see a movie that, outside of geek circles and those lucky enough to see the film already, nobody has ever heard of.

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Summer Just Got A Whole Lot Better: 'Attack The Block' Begins Rollout In Theaters July 29th

By Oliver Lyttelton
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June 10, 2011 11:00 AM
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3 Comments

About six weeks in, and the report card for Summer 2011 isn't doing too badly: one instant near-classic in Paul Feig's "Bridesmaids," J.J. Abrams' mostly well-received "Super 8," a thoroughly decent animated sequel in "Kung-Fu Panda 2," two superhero entries that landed somewhere between better than expected ("Thor") and much better than expected ("X-Men: First Class") and a beguiling new Terrence Malick picture, plus a pair of excellent indies in the shape of "Beginners" and "Submarine." Sure there have been stinkers, like "The Hangover Part II" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," but overall the success rate is much higher than in the last few summers.

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New Pics From 'Super 8' & 'Attack The Block'; Hear Great Basement Jaxx Tune

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 4, 2011 8:36 AM
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2 Comments

An alien themed picture post for you, so buckle your seatbelts.

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Basement Jaxx Soundtrack For 'Attack The Block' Gets U.K. Release Date

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 3, 2011 4:29 AM
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8 Comments

Scores for films are no longer just the domain for classically driven composers. The past year has seen a crop of electronic-based artists take the reins with Daft Punk and Chemical Brothers powering "Tron: Legacy" and "Hanna," respectively, while Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor surprised everyone by walking away with an Oscar for his work on "The Social Network." And it's not gonna stop there.

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