Attack the Block

Attack the Block (a movie which has gained some unfortunate connotations since the English riots) finally came to Greenville, South Carolina. It’s a fun homage to 80’s monster and alien invasion movies that works wonders with its small budget.
The film opens with our “heroes” – a gang of multi-cultural teens living in a London council block – robbing a nurse at knifepoint. This scene is understandably controversial and will turn some viewers off the protagonists right from the start. But writer/director Joe Cornish (from the Adam & Joe show and co-writer of the upcoming Tin Tin movie) wants to show us that behind the loutish criminal behaviour lies real people with real emotions. The kids are forced to defend the neighbourhood they once terrorized when furry aliens with big glowing jaws start landing all over.
The film makes good use of mostly unknown faces (Nick Frost, the closest thing to a star, only gets about ten minutes of screen time) and like Shaun of the Dead plays the danger for real despite the laughs (most of the cast are dead by the end). John Boyega is particular impressive as Moses, the quiet but intense leader of the gang who gets to become a genuine hero, complete with slow motion run at the end.
The creatures are simple but effective, with Terry Notary (famous for choreographing those damn dirty apes in Planet of the Apes) inside the suit. The film may not be groundbreaking but it's an entertaining and sometimes surprising sci-fi movie that should show up in my top ten of the year.