Give these films a chance

Sam Boyd, Sports Editor

The typical alien invasion movie moves into South London as a gang of teens try to survive the night and destroy the threat with a ragtag collection of weapons: golf clubs, samurai swords, baseball bats and water guns. This film beautifully combines sci-fi with the dark horror comedy that can only be found in films like “Shaun of the Dead,” plus an additional supply of British slang. Actor John Boyega gives an amazing performance as the troubled gang leader, Moses. Remember his name as he has been rumored to lead in new “Star Wars” and “Terminator” films.

Bottom line: This film is comical due to the several wannabe gangsters and doesn’t skip out on the gore and terror that aliens can provide. This Oscar-nominated movie is cinematically stunning and introduced Quvenzhane Wallis as the wise and bold Hushpuppy, a very young girl who has to deal with both her quick-tempered father and a flood that has destroyed her home in the “bayous” of Louisiana. Watching the anger and love Hushpuppy and her father have for each other is both joyous and tear-jerking. At times, it is difficult to tell whether Wallis is acting or if this is her real life; because there is no way that a six-year-old can be so great at playing with heart strings. But she is.

Bottom line: “Beasts” is well-shot and visually appealing, complete with a legitimate story of family, love, loss and economic struggles. Kevin Smith’s most underrated film follows a group of teenage boys who are lured to their demise by fake promises of sex from members of a fundamentalist group, much like the Westboro Baptist Church. This may seem like a horror film, but it soon turns into a farce of the FBI (and the ATF) as the organization kills the people it attempts to save, while the fundamentalist group resorts to shooting to create peace and tranquility. The film has many notable performances from the fear-inducing turn of Michael Parks as the fundamentalist leader who seems a lot like David Koresh to the dark laughs brought by John Goodman as the ATF organizer.

Bottom line: This is a disturbing yet funny film that mocks both the people of Westboro Baptist and the FBI in such a way that scares out the laughs.