Attack the Block. Like Stomp the Yard? Verb the Noun!
“It’s inner city versus outer space.”
I’ve got to say I’m not sure about this one. Seeing as it is from the producers of Shaun of the Dead (which I love) and Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World (which I don’t hate) this flick could have some potential. Here’s the basic plot from IMDB:
A teen gang in South London defend their block from an alien invasion.
Sounds complicated. Here is the first of the 2 trailers.
As per usual, here is a movie of the times. Like Shaun of the Dead which was timed perfectly with at the beginning (you could argue was a catalyst toward) an entertainment zombie boom, Attack the Block is poised to ride the wave of movies that are focusing on Aliens invading, and kids coming together for the adventure (Super 8). However, the Alien invasion movies have not really been catching much steam like the zombie infestation.
To be honest, I never even thought of the possibility of rebooting the Short Circuit franchise. I didn’t think they had to anyways since the loveable and cute Wall-E garbage bot completely f–king ripped off the Johnny 5 image anyways.
Dubya Tee Eff? ? ?
I loved the two Short Circuit movies as a kid and always wanted my own Johnny 5 robot to follow me around and make funny quips and observations about our organic-lifestyles. Now when I watch the films I become a little nauseous seeing how ridiculous it all seems in this day and age, which is the case with a lot of movies and cartoons from our childhood.
So I suppose it’s time for a reboot even though the masses aren’t exactly clamoring at the gates for one. And who better to bring a self aware, kid friendly robot from the 80’s forcefully back into our lives than Tim Hill, the director of the recent kid hit “Hop“. Check out the snippet from Deadline below:
Dimension Films is making a deal with Tim Hill to direct its reboot of Short Circuit, the 1986 film about an experimental robot manufactured to be a weapon until a lightning strike fills it with intelligence. It runs away and befriends a fractured family, the military in hot pursuit. Hill directed the Illumination pic Hop and Fox’s Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Seriously let’s face it, Hill can absolutely mine the box office gold out of this one. He made $183 million worldwide for a movie about the Easter Bunny’s son who shits out jelly beans for Cthulu’s sake! I’m sure he can have Johnny five rolling along the street crapping batteries and kids will go nuts. I say go for it Mr. Hill, as long as there is an audience willing to pay then go for it. One request I have is to please not have Johnny 5 voiced by the increasingly annoying Russell Brand. In my opinion that guy’s ship has sailed past the point of tolerable to the falls of un-f**king-bearable. I can’t stand him. Sorry to all you Brand fans, but you can join him if you wish.
I actually have another request. I would emphatically request that in this reboot they bring back the Los Locos, the most politically correct, well spoken group of individuals you will ever see. Watch the video below for their mission statement.
People have to be on alien overload right now! Falling Skies on TNT, Cowboys and Aliens, Attack the Block, Skyline and Battle: LA are the most recent alien invasion movies to hit the screens. Out of all of those movies I truly only enjoyed Battle: LA. Attack the Block I have yet to see, but I’ve heard it is most excellent. I would say that the Darkest Hour was just another alien invasion flick but it does look to have it’s own identity in the form of the alien’s appearance.
Check out the trailer starring Emile Hirsch whom I haven’t since in a movie since the puke-fest that was Speed Racer:
Sure it’s another alien invasion flick, but the part that intrigues me is that the aliens are energy based lifeforms. How the hell do you fight something like that? It looked a little ridiculous with them having some sort of alien zapper guns, but I’m interested in seeing how humans could fight aliens that you can only see when they are around electronics.
Alien-Vision!
They actually reminded me of the phantoms in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within in terms of detecting their presence. We’ll see if the movie is at least decent come December, but I’m not holding out much hope. I think it will still be better than the oft delayed Apollo 18.
Grizzly Bomb 