Critical Consensus: “The Interrupters” and “Attack The Block” Top Very Busy Week of Indie Releases
In a remarkably busy week for new specialty releases, a tight race for the top rated film on criticWIRE saw both Steve James’ “The Interrupters” and Joe Cornish’s “Attack The Block” receive exceptionally warm notices. While “The Interrupters” technically was the top pick, both had “A-” level averages and are among the best reviewed films on criticWIRE so far this year. Oddly enough, both films revolve around street gangs, but in vasty different ways. “Block” follows a London street gang who have to defend themselves from rowdy alien invaders, while “The Interrupters” is a documentary about three Violence Interrupters who try to protect their communities from the street gang violence they once employed.
Check out indieWIRE critic Eric Kohn’s review of “The Interrupters” here, and “Attack The Block” here.
Beyond those two, numerous other warmly received films make their debuts this weekend, including a trio of Sundance 2011 alums in Miranda July’s “The Future,” John Michael McDonagh’s “The Guard,” and Kevin MacDonald’s “Life in a Day.” Altogether, they mark a considerable way to cap off July’s specialty release calendar, which so far has already included the acclaimed likes of Errol Morris’ “Tabloid,” James Marsh’s “Project Nim” and Mike Cahill’s “Another Earth.”
Check out the links below for more extensive takes on “The Interrupters” and “Attack The Block,” as well as “The Future,” “The Guard,” “Life in a Day,” and others. Also offered is the top 10 criticWIRE scores for films already in theaters, which is currently topped by James Marsh’s “Project Nim.” Note that only films with four or more grades have their averages included.
iW Film Calendar & criticWIRE:
criticWIRE | Opening this week | Opening this month | All Films A – Z
criticWIRE: Films Opening This Week
NOTE: The averages listed here are current as of the publishing of this article. They are subject to change as new grades come in, and will be updated in next week’s edition of this article.
The Interrupters (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: A-
Attack The Block (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: A-
The Guard (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B-
The Future (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B
Life in a Day (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B
The Devil’s Double (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: C+
El Bulli (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: TBD
Good Neighbours (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: TBD
Point Blank (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: TBD
criticWIRE: 10 Best Bets Already In Theaters
1. Project Nim (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: A-
2. Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: A-
3. Page One (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
4. Buck (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
5. Terri (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
6. Submarine (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
7. The Trip (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
8. Tabloid (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
9. Passione (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B+
10. Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (iW film page)
Average criticWIRE rating: B
Previous Picks of the Week:
July 13: Mike Cahill’s “Another Earth”
July 13: Errol Morris’ “Tabloid”
July 6: James Marsh’s “Project Nim”
June 29: Azazel Jacobs’ “Terri”
June 22: Rodman Fletcher’s “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop”
June 15: Andrew Rossi’s “Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times”
June 8: Michael Winterbottom’s “The Trip”
June 1: Richard Ayoade’s “Submarine”
May 25: Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life”
May 18: Woody Allen’s “Midnight In Paris”
May 11: Lu Chaun’s “City of Life and Death”
May 4: Koji Wakamatsu’s “Caterpillar”
April 27: Clio Barnard’s “The Arbor”
April 20: Denis Villeneuve’s “Incendies”
April 13: Janus Metz’s “Armadillo”
April 6: Kelly Reichardt’s “Meek’s Cutoff”
March 30: Michaelangelo Frammartino’s “Le Quattro Volte”
