B) Best of British - 4-5 stars

Brian Cox, Steven Mackintosh and Liam Cunningham are just a few talents who star in this British prison Drama.

Set at a fairly slow pace, yet a high standard of acting that keeps your interest throughout. The flashbacks keep your mind focussed on the story at hand and this allows for a chance to get to know the characters individually.

There was an element here which I feel was risky and brave, in that some of the Actors cast for the roles of the characters were in some senses, out of their usual comfort zones, particularly in the case of Damien Lewis, who seems an unlikely choice to play the King of the prison and yet all the characters worked really well and it was a risk which paid off.

I would love to think that this one will be widely enjoyed and that, I will have to wait and see.

Exceptional!!! Without doubt one of the best films that I have watched in a long time. A gritty, true to life storyline with very natural performances, particularly from the two main characters. This film held me from the get go and never failed to grab my attention throughout. Quite a frightening reality, which makes it a sensational Drama.

This is a film that should be on everyone?s ?must see? list (or at the very least every Brit?s ?must see? list).

People who are easily offended by bad language should probably give it a miss.

Surprisingly a very good film. If you're expecting a Hollywood Action film as I was (yes I didn't read up on it before I watched it) you'll be pleasantly surprised by this story. based on true events, told in a true London gangster tradition kind of way, with high ranking envolvement.

A very enjoyable Brit film, with a great cast. Statham is back playing the roles he is good at.

It?s nice to see Colin Farrell speaking with an Irish accent again, although there were parts, where I couldn?t help being reminded of Dougal in Father Ted (Brits will know what I mean), due to the comedy of the role.

I wasn?t quite sure how to take his humour at first, not realising how much of a comedy this was, but his unpolitically correct comments, made for some very funny scenes.

Ralph Fiennes, as the London Gangster, sounds like a cross of Reggie Kray and Ben Kingsley?s character from Sexy Beast.

It was an orginal idea for a comedy and one with an entertaining (black comedy) storyline. A film that will make you see Colin Farrell in a very different light.

This film left me utterly speechless. This great British Drama is shot as a devil's advoate kind of view, showing two sides to every story.

Certain parts of the film led me and (I'm sure others) to recall a very similar well known British case.

The actions to the film lead you to make your own opinions and your mind is questioning every part of this dilemma.

Superbly acted, gritty, emotional, real hard hitting stuff with a controversial issue. Amazing! Kudos to the Director and leading actor for this one.

Entertaining and different, a love triangle with unusual circumstances. An easy laid back watch.

Slow paced, but superbly acted, starring some of Britain?s most underrated Actors. The acting was so good, that parts had no dialogue at all and yet the storyline continued along its way. A gritty and realistic approach, which really added to the scenes of violence etc.

An insightful look into a world few people will ever experience and some wish they didn?t.

Coated brilliently, clevery written with some hillarious scenes. Packed full of recognisable British actors/comedians, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost truly are a great comedy duo. Bill Bailey's character was a very short tole, which is a shame but the whole film was pretty well put together.



VERDICT: For those who find British humour appealing this is a must see.

A great gritty British vengeance film, where vigilantes take a stand against the bullies in society.

Just when I thought Sean Bean was past his prime, he pulls off a part that suits him really well.

Shane Meadows has done it again with this semi biographical, realisticly frightening story about a gang of skinheads during Thatcher's Britain in the 80's.

In the usual 'Meadows' manner, the actors in this film weren't plucked from a stage school, but were just normal everyday people which has enabled him to come up with another 'unfaulted' cast. The main character played by Thomas Turgoose, gave a fantastic performance, however was not actually allowed in to see the film at first because of the 18 certificate.

One of the messages in the movie is that not all skinheads are racist, but that some cross that line.

There is quite a nostalgic trip in the beginning scene for anyon in England who will remember this era.

Additionally there is a second disc with extensive interviews with Shane Meadows, for those interested in the Director's view.

VERDICT: Strong, gritty realistic and scary, I'd recommend those that can look for the messages in this to check it out.

Gritty, emotionally powerful, raw and what British Films should be made of. With an almost frightening reality to it, none of the cast could be faulted in this and the acting was of such a high standard that parts could have been mistaken as a documentary.

VERDICT: An absolute must see.

An impressive (almost too realistic in parts) gritty Drama. Noel Clarke wrote and Acted in this film which shows a frightening reality and insight into the teen culture of England.

A truly intriguing tale which plays on all your emotions, from anger to empathy, to frustration and hope.

Nothing is hidden in this raw peek into a world, some people are completely oblivious to.

Looking forward to 'Adulthood'.

A great role played by Ami Ameen here, he stood out against all the others.

Very impressed! For those of you who like the down to Earth, gritty British films such as those by Shane Meadows, you'll love this.

Excellently captured the goings on a big coucil estate (in this instance just happens to be Leeds). Forget the political correctness, this film works because it's real life demonstrated at a level not everybody gets to see. As well as being gritty it is both humourous and serious too.

VERDICT: A definite recommendation.

Danny Dyer was made for roles like this. It?s a harsh lesson to the quick rise and fall of an underworld lifestyle, perhaps glamourised a little too much, but a pretty good watch all the same.

There are some great characters created here, in typical Brit crime to Spain fashion.

If you are easily offended by bad language, you may wish to avoid as this film really has quite a lot.

Absolutely hillarious, thi sman has to be the hardest working man in comedy. The running time on this is 2 hours and 21 minutes and during that time Lee Evans energy does not stop. He's so animated and visual.

Good performances all round, particularly from Natalie Press, about a relationship between two girls who share the summer together and the differences between them.

VERDICT: A really enjoyable film

Elijah Wood seems quite an unlikely candidate for this role, however the way the storyline was plotted it worked very well.



It?s a very realistic violent film, which is sadly all too true a side of the sport.

Found it even more hillarious this time around, great cast of British comedy performers, too many funny bits to mention, just a must see British film.

My favourite scene though has to be the one with the woman in the garden.

An incrediibly clever ganster movie, which sees Daniel Craig at his acting best. Some great characters, some clever twists and unexpected ending

Surprisingly enough I did enjoy this film. Rom Coms are not my usual choice of film, but the various stories held my interest and of course it was packed full of comedy stars.

I don't believe I have ever seen so many twists in a film. The plot I felt was brilliant, it's a shame that the acting didn't quite measure so highly, which was probably down to the obvious low budget.

VERDICT: It entertained and did the trick

A quirky film with some great characters. Toni Collette can look so different from one film to the next. This is certainly one of my favourite Hugh Grant films, as he?s slightly less typecast in this film than most of his others. There is a really nice underlying message to this film.

Easy watching, fun in parts and emotive in others.

At first impressions this film seemed to be quite slow moving and didn't seem to be heading in any particular direction, however as the storyline progresses you become emotionally involved with the intense performances by the whole cast.

Paddy of course is my favourite British actor and is the master of versitility, Samantha Morton, probably one of England's best actresses, but the person who really stood out in this film for me and has in other films recently is Djimon Housou. I can also not pass the opportunity to priase the two girls in this film who really showed great acting skills.

Directed by Jim Sheridan and based on events in his life, the extra features make interesting viewing and are worth taking a look.

Bill Bailey is one of my favourite comedians,m that will not be to everyone's liking I'm sure. His intelligent wit and tangent style jokes are origninal material and his musical talents provide great props throughout the show.

I'd be interested to know how Bill's humour goes down with people outside the UK?

One of Bill's quick fire jokes: "People often say, how do you think of your jokes? an I say, well I start with a laugh and work backwards"

Yet another intriguing Lynda La Plante Drama. Similar topic, different angle, fans of the crime writer won?t be disappointed with this one.

I can?t get enough of Paddy Considine, this tragic love story is one of a very topical theme. I?m sure it won?t be to everyone?s taste, because of the politics of the theme and it?s quite a slow moving plot, but performance wise all three main characters were supurb.

With part of the same cast as Lock, Stock and of course appearances by Brad Pitt and Benico Del Torro, this film shares the same principles of Lock, Stock, whilst raising the stakes. Themed with unlicensed fighting, this film takes you into a part of the criminal underworld, rarely shared. The characters are again developed well and intertwine nicely and comically.

The first film of the series to be made from the series of books written by J.K Rowling.

A huge magical adventure, with impressive effects, which could so easily been given to Hollywood. The fact this has remained British and has a full British cast and achieved the popularity it has, has to be a proud moment for British film making.

This fictional story based on the sequence of a true event, shows a glimpse in the British criminal underworld.

With a psychotic performance from Sean Bean and a sinester role for Tom Wilkinson, Essex Boys is a great film of it's genre with a nice twist.

Another excellent film from Shane Meadows and another outstanding performance for Paddy Considine. This film manages to lure you into a false sense of security and then shocks you. Again, gritty, realistic something that seems to be a pattern for Shane Meadows.

A superb performance by Ben Kingsley who had the accent and style of talk down to an absolute ?T?. The film itself and storyline seemed to lack something I can?t quite put my finger on. Less convincing to British viewers was the idea of Ian McShane, aka Lovejoy as the top guy.



Ben Kingsley?s performance is definitely the biggest contribution to the amount of stars but just have to mention how great Amanda Redman looked in this, especially as a Brunette.

Slightly corny, low budget English film and one I have watched so many times, a comedy slant on London Gangster's brought to you by an all star British cast. With music by Oasis and various comical kareoke songs, this film will have you laughing and wincing at the same time, my favourite watch over and over type of film.

Great roles played by both Ken Stott and Billy Connelly, vengeful and violent, makes great viewing

A great combination of British actors. I watched the four episodes in one sitting, which made great viewing. The attraction of this series is the friendships/relationships and history between the 6 main characters. A definite recommendation for fans of great British Drama.

A very well put together story, intertwining the lifes of several people who have become involved in an escalation of events. The film that made Guy Ritchie and Jason Statham a name. Great characterisation used and good use of soundtrack. A film I never seem to get bored of watching.

?Sliding Doors? is a film that when released, finally made sense of those thoughts we all have of ?what if?? It?s a thought provoking piece which leads you to question, whether or not there is such a thing as destiny or fate and ponder many an alternative scenario.

I actually prefer the basis of the story in this film to the Romantic Comedy side of things (no surprise there!) and Gwyneth was someone I found to be an interesting Actress around that time. Paltrow was one of the first American Actresses to come over to the UK and use an English accent, at the time I thought she did a good job, but on re-watching now, it does sound a little forced.

Great British Cast, who wouldn't enjoy this film?

One of my favourite British films, so many well know faces in this film, both big stars like Ray Winston, Robert Carlisle and Phil Davis, along with lots of others that Brits will recognise.

A story of a robbery that turns into a dog eat dog competition of greed.

I think Robert Carlisle has to be one of the best British actors at perfecting different regional accents.

VERDICT: Quite an old film now, but if you've not seen it, give it a watch, I have probably watched this film around 10 times at least

If you're easily offended by bad language do not watch this film. It's a very gritty down to earth story of one family's troubles.

Kathy Burke and Ray Winstone's acting were very believable, they did an amazing job. Brits will also recognise many of the rest of the cast too.

I've lost count how many times I've watched this film now.

The Harsh shocking reality of Danny Boyle's film adapted from the novel by Irvine Welsh, was a controversial revolution at it's release and it still remains (in my opinion) the best film of it's genre, a timeless classic highlighting the problems of this huge epidemic.

The film that brought Ewin McGreggor to fame and by far his best performance to date. All the actors were cast extremely well included Carlyle's portrayal of 'Begsby' proving the hard man doesn't need to be a big mean looking man.

Actor Phil Davis takes a Directional role in perhaps one of the best films within the football hooligan theme. Set in the 1980?s, amidst the height of the much publicised football violence in Britain, I.D. is perhaps, not perfect in it?s acting, but an interesting undercover story and one that is definitely worth watching.

Good British cast, good storyline about greed

Old but pretty funny, Unfortunately as an English girl, this film represented the more upper class section of people and I tend to prefer more gritty English films.

The tragic and touching tale of the wrongly imprisioned Guilford Four, plus others, is brought to life by Director Jim Sheridan, with a first class cast, led strongly by Daniel Day-Lewis and Pete Postlewaite.

This true story is a harrowing watch of corruption and cover ups and delivers a strong, powerful storyline.

A phonominal true story brought to life by the fantastic performances of Daniel Day Lewis and Brenda Fricker.

This Jim Sherridan film really grasps the poverty of the era which really gives you a sense of a working class family during this time. Also captured well was the Mother and son relationship and the strength of a family that stands together.

Powerful, emotional and brilliant.

I remember watching this film many years ago and thinking what great make up on Jack and how fantastic the metamorphosis scene was, of course compared to what we see today, it does seem quite dated, but the actual storyline isn?t and is still very watchable.

Such a huge musical production adapted from the Charles Dickens novel, which captured the era and it?s class divide so clearly. The film also managed to show an authentic look of London during the 19th Century, made possible from a huge ensemble of people working on the set design and build.

Impressive casting abilities allowed for a perfectly selected group of Actors to bring the already established characters to life and do them justice and have made the characters, people whom weve all come to know and love today.

Music and lyrics by Lionel Bart set the mood of scenes throughout and have become well-known sing along classics.

Some interesting ?Behind the scenes? footage appear on the special features and are worth taking a look at.

Oliver is a must see of Classic musicals.