bexandbarn

I thought this was going to be good. I like alien invasion films and I like British comedies. Should be good, I thought. I was wrong. Halfway through, my wife and I turned to each other and said in unison 'This is s**t!'. It was. In every conceivable way.

I've since read the reviews here on IMDb and am quite astonished at the amount of eulogizing. There are plaudits heaped on the acting, the script, the direction and the narrative. These people are so wrong and plainly do not understand what makes good cinema.

Firstly, the acting. There were some shocking performances. Nick Frost is just bad and lacks any real talent. The kids were so clearly middle class and straight out of drama school that it was embarrassing - one particularly bad performance was the white guy who came up with the notion that the aliens smell spores or something - he was just awful. The other performances weren't much better, except maybe the main guy, 'Moses', who was solid. But actors can only shine if they have a good script...

So, secondly, the script stunk. It was deeply contrived and devoid of any humor. The one-liners that were crow-barred in there were so glaringly obvious that it made me cringe. And then there was the element of social commentary, and the idea that these youngsters were having a journey towards an epiphany, which was so manufactured and tedious.

The direction, then. What direction? The actors clearly hadn't been directed to develop their characters (it would have been difficult any way because the script didn't allow it) but Joe Cornish clearly has no idea how to get the actors being true to their characters, so they remained fairly 2 dimensional throughout.

The most annoying aspect of this film was the editing. It was shocking. Far too many quick cuts, hence the reference to MTV in the title of this review. A story board was clearly lacking and the camera shots were so ad hoc, with these quick edits blurring events. It made the film quite confusing at times, and certainly irritating.

At a time when funding is being cut, it is a real shame that money is wasted on this mindless fluff. British cinema has a rich cultural history, but this is it at its very worst.

In a nutshell - lame, un-engaging and humorless.

Firstly, this does not deserve a 10 out of 10 rating because it is not perfect, but it certainly doesn't deserve the many 1 out of 10 votes it has received. I am ranking it 10 out of 10 to redress the unfair balance.

You will see by the reviews for this movie already that you are either going to love it or hate it, it will be very difficult to feel indifferent about it. And why? Because some people are not going to find this funny. If you haven't laughed once after the first 10 minutes then you might as well turn it off. It's not for you, was never intended for you, so keep your opinions to yourself and move on to something designed for your more mainstream sense of humor. DO NOT tell everybody else in the World not to watch it because you are denying a potential audience a comedy classic.

To say that this is the worst movie ever made, as some reviewers have done, is preposterous and is just a reflection on the reviewers' taste, not a true representation of the movie.

I'm a bit fair-weather with these recent comedies. I loved Superbad and Pineapple Express, was fairly indifferent about 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, and thought Zack & Mire was lame and puerile. As such, I was a bit skeptical about this film but I was wrong. This is better than all of the aforementioned because it appeals to my sick sense of humor and does not pull a single punch.

This film smashes so many taboos including police brutality, date rape, mental illness, alcoholism and racism. But it doesn't care. None of the above would be seen as any great topics for comedy but this film embraces all as if it is purposely trying to offend. It has clearly succeeded judging by the feedback here. But I loved it. Taboos are there to be exposed and smashed, and if you like your comedy to be near the knuckle and ground breaking then you will definitely love this film.

Seth is fantastic in the lead role. Very plausible and a definite deviation from his past roles. The supporting cast are also equally brilliant, especially his mother and Seth's co-workers. There is also no rationality behind this film so please ignore all the reviewers who claim certain aspects are implausible. Who cares? It is a comedy and the suspension of disbelief is paramount to the viewer's enjoyment.

In a nutshell, if you are not easily offended, like your humor to be in your face and boundary pushing (and most importantly, fairly sick) then you will love this film and laugh out loud throughout.

One other thing, the soundtrack is absolutely awesome with a great cover version of The Pixies' 'Where is my mind?' during one of the funniest scenes in the film, as well as a rocking song by Pyramid (a band I'd never heard of) during the end credits.

One of the best comedies I've seen in recent years, up with Bruno and Black Dynamite. And although it may not deserve the 10 out of 10 rating it is so close to comedy perfection.