Joe Cornish

  • The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)

    The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, December 2019) I had been waiting far too long for writer-director Joe Cornish’s follow-up to Attack the Block, and the result isn’t a disappointment: The Kid Who Would Be King brings the Arthurian Legend into modern schools by featuring a kid picking up Excalibur and defeating the evil that threatens the land. If this feels familiar, it may very well be that it’s in step with a spate of recent British movies (many of them also starting with the Arthurian Legend) consciously indulging in national myth-making. The movie doesn’t waste any time in portraying the current world as one that needs saving, preferably using homegrown magic and prophecies. Clearly, there’s a link with Brexit here that I’m not fit to explore—but as with so many things British these days, it’s almost enough to send a message overseas: Dear United Kingdom, is everything OK? Do you need any help in figuring this out? Signed: Your former colonies. At least Cornish is an able ringmaster in coordinating the various elements of his movie: Tons of special effects support an adventure that ventures across Britain, conjures up fantastic creatures and deals with teenage protagonists. Cornish does write a movie clearly set in modern times, reuses some plot structures from Attack the Block (notably in initially portraying two characters as deeply unlikable before zigzagging their way to a heroic finale) and know how to use a spectacle. It’s decently effective—the tone effectively zig-zags between despair and triumph, some clichés are overturned along the way, and the film remains effective both with teenage audiences and older ones. The kid actors are fine, but Angus Imrie gets a showcase role as the eccentric Merlin (also played by Patrick Stewart). Skillfully made, The Kid Who Would Be King revisits familiar places in new ways and provides quite a thrill to the audience. Sadly, the film earned good reviews but bad box office results—meaning that it may be a while before we get another Joe Cornish movie.

  • Attack the Block (2011)

    Attack the Block (2011)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On DVD, December 2011) Sometimes, all you need is a good old premise with new characters and setting.  So it is that Attack the Block, one of the most entertaining of 2011’s crop of alien-invasion movies, is basically “aliens invade inner-city London; the local hoods fight back.” It works pretty well, as long as you get over the opening narrative lump of portraying the local hoods realistically.  They’re reprehensible to the affluent white audiences most likely to watch the film, but writer/director Joe Cornish eventually walks the audience back to a tremendous amount of sympathy for his unlikely heroes.  The rest of the film is almost pure fun as the local street gang defends itself from hungry monsters from outer space.  Much of Attack the Block’s charm is pure execution: confident camera work, astonishing performances from a cast of mostly-unknowns (including headliner John Boyega), very clever creature design and a neatly wrapped script that manages to tie nearly everything together.  It’s a very unusual Science Fiction film in that it dares to explore a conventional idea with an unconventional cast of character; it speaks volume about Cornish’s work that by the end of the film, we have gained both understanding and respect for the street gang.  One essential tip: leave the subtitles on, as even the best-meaning audiences will have a bit of trouble understanding the thick South London inner-city street accent.