I was quite disappointed when Attack the Block did not receive a proper screening anywhere close to the Movie Scum headquarters, especially after hearing so much advance acclaim from the gazillion festivals and select screenings it had. Yet, the film is now in reach at your local Redbox or Blockbuster and I highly recommend a viewing for many of the same reasons given before: this is flat out a fun movie experience.

Think back to when we (proverbially speaking of course) were kids and there were globs of adolescent empowerment films about kids saving the day while the adults were just sitting on their thumbs. Writer and director Joe Cornish is clearly a member of that generation as the best description I can give of this film is The Goonies meets Alien. Set in a not-so-nice part of downtown London, our core cast consists of a gaggle of delinquent youths, some legitimately of the tougher sort, some not. The gang, led by Moses(!) (John Boyega) holds up the meek and defenseless Sam (Jodie Whittaker) on her way back to her block, otherwise known as an apartment building for all us ignorant American-types.

The mugging is interrupted by a projectile that destroys a car nearby and Moses is attacked while scrounging in the car by an unknown creature. Moses, not the kind willing to turn the other cheek, hunts down the being and kills it. The group brings it to Ron (Nick Frost) in an attempt to identify it as a hairless orangutan or something else. While there, they top off with ample amounts of weed since Ron runs the cannabis business inside the block for Hi-Hatz. It is not too long after that more things fall from the sky right outside the building and the tough youngsters suit up to wage war. Little did they know they were up against a few dozen feisty aliens who target the kids wherever they may go.

I’ll warn you now that you may want to turn your subtitles on while watching this. I blame equal parts poor sound design (the music drowns out the dialogue in quite a few places) and some contemporary English slang that I was quizzical on until I had the proper context. Nevertheless, Cornish quite effectively crafts the characters by way of these terms unbeknownst to a guy like me. I’m no expert and this may or may not be representative of the linguistics of London’s young adults but the many dialogue exchanges (especially in the early parts of the film) feel genuine, especially with the delivery from all of the actors. Seriously, the cultural barrier may be a factor, but there is not a single performance that I doubted during the film.

Even though the film takes place entirely in a single building and in its immediate surroundings, it is quite an adventure as the group of kids are chased around from floor to floor, apartment to apartment, with little down time in the mix. What down time there is usually provides some quick comedic bits especially with Ron and Brewis as they sit and ponder an alien invasion while getting stoned or the preteen troublemakers Probs and Mayhem as they desperately try to keep up their delinquency with the big boys. The rest of the time though is used to effectively weave elements of action, sci-fi, and horror all together as those darn aliens creep up at the most inopportune times.

I must give Cornish and the special effects teams mounds of credit for the aliens as well. Their design is very minimalist yet effectively menacing and creepy especially as you see their pronounced features in the backgrounds of dimly-lit hallways or outside of windows. There are quite a few moments that, while not “scary” per se, are very tense with the monsters popping out after the group. While some of the cast is either in too few scenes to make a difference, there are many characters that stick out, either with random quips or complete character arcs. Of all, Boyega as Moses is one of the more compelling written and performed characters in a while as he gradually learns to embrace responsibility and self-sacrifice.

There is a ton more that I quite enjoyed in this film that I just briefly touched on, but suffice to say, all of the hype and acclaim that Attack the Block received is well-deserved. As a bonus, you can even make an effective drinking game out of the abundance of times bruv, fam, or innit are said.

***I DID NOT SEE THIS FILM IN 3D.***

Given its competition, Kung Fu Panda 2 is probably the last movie on most people’s list to go and see right now. I sincerely hope not, as Kung Fu Panda 2 is very enjoyable, even better than its predecessor and will entertain adults and children alike.

In the first Kung Fu Panda, we met Po (Jack Black), a panda with a goose (James Hong) for a father and devoted fan of the Furious Five, a group of Kung Fu masters.  He defeated Tai Lung and attained the title of Dragon Warrior. In the sequel, China faces a new villain, a peacock named Shen (Gary Oldman). Shen has vowed to destroy Kung Fu and has developed a deadly weapon to help him accomplish this goal. While fighting a pack of wolves stealing metal for the weapon, Po notices a symbol and suddenly has a flashback of his mother. This prompts him to ask his father Mr. Ping where he came from, as clearly he could not have been born of  geese. He learns that this is true, but the story he is told does not reveal much more than him being found as a baby panda in a crate in the back of Mr. Ping’s restaurant. Mr. Ping took him in a raised him as his own. Still having many unanswered questions, Po is often distracted in his battles with Shen and his minions. This irritates Tirgess (Angelina Jolie) as she fears this is compromising their mission.

Panda 2 is one of those sequels that somehow vastly improves from the first film. The jokes are funnier, the story is darker and more complex, Jack Black is less Jack Blackier. There is a lot more fighting and action. It just really takes the awesomeness of the first film makes it exponentially better.

As an adult, this film is very satisfying. It is visually quite stunning. The jokes aimed for adults are quite witty. What grown ups will most appreciate is the much darker and deeper story line. It’s just as interesting than any live action film’s plot and ties together very nicely.

Even more impressive is at the same time, every kid in the theater was just as engrossed in the film as I was. It successfully captures the interest of both kids and adult at the same time, rather than alternating captivating one and alienating the other scene after scene.

Even though you kind of know what will ultimately happen in the end and even if it hadn’t ended on a cliffhanger, the film makes you want to see more of this story. The first film did a nice job of introducing us to these characters, and the sequel delves deep in to the character development of Po. In the first film, we know very little about him, other than his fanaticism for the Furious Five and his hilarious ineptitude.  This chapter starts telling us who he is and where he came from while simultaneously furthering his relationship with the Five on personal levels. I am very interested to see this progress.

I had a feeling I would enjoy this movie, but my expectations were exceeded. Thoroughly enjoyable and there isn’t anything not to like.

I almost feel kind of bad for giving a horrible review about a kids film. But I assure you, this film deserves it.

Alpha and Omega is an animated version of the classic love story that involves a boy and a girl from different social backgrounds, in similar fashion of Romeo and Juliet or West Side Story. This one has wolves. Kate is an Alpha wolf. Alpha’s are more serious and responsible. Humphrey is an Omega wolf. Omega’s tend to have fun more and try to keep peace. It is arranged for Kate and Garth (another Alpha) to be married, however, Humphrey has a bit of a crush on Kate. Garth is a pretty boy, but has a weak howl, and apparently wolves mate (when not in arranged marriages) when their howls are the same. Some party happens and all the wolves are there. When Kate and Humphrey are alone talking, they both get hit with tranquilizer darts and wake up in a national park in Idaho. A goose that plays golf and his duck caddy inform them that they were brought to the park to mate and produce offspring (standard plot for a children’s movie). Humphrey has no problem with this and is ready to get down. Kate however, does not like that, and within seconds is trying to find away back to Canada. Thusly, Humphrey follows this plan, realizing that he will not be doing it wolf style anytime soon.

This film is unbelievably bad. The script was filled with bad jokes, things that I think were supposed to be jokes but weren’t and just amazingly bad dialogue in general. The trip home consisted of about 2 incidents of “danger” in which their crusade may have been put in jeopardy. I have more adventure walking to the store. The animation was not very impressive. I saw it in 3D and it did nothing to enhance the viewing. I found Larry Miller’s (he played the goose) French Canadian accent to be quite irritating and inconsistent. Justin Long’s (Humphrey) voice just kept transporting me to his other films. The runtime is 88 minutes which while makes it seem like the film was hastily thrown together, did make the unpleasantness rather short. It’s use of a basic story that has been told time and time again made the film rather predictable, and as soon as the main conflict is revealed, you will know how it ends.

There are many films that a child and adult would both enjoy. I would hate to think that the film makers just assumed that because it was a children’s movie, they could just bang out an animated picture without originality or redeeming qualities. I mean, adults are the ones driving the kids to the theaters and buying the tickets.

True, a kid will not dissect a picture in this fashion. However, my almost 4 year old asked twice, while watching this, if the movie was over yet.  Just saying.