10 British films worth your attention

Attack The Block

A street gang of kids must team up with a woman that they mugged earlier in the day as the vanguard against an alien invasion.

Writer/Director Joe Cornish was inspired to make this film when he was mugged (the mugging that starts the film is a recreation of how it happened to him) and realised that his muggers were just as scared as he was. Although the protagonists of this film are criminals, the film doesn't paint them as bad guys, but also doesn't make excuses for their behaviour.

A comedy-horror-action film, this has social commentary, some very cleverly original monsters, and is very funny. Anybody not used to British accents & slang will probably need subtitles, and maybe Urban Dictionary open in a tab.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD0gm7dHKKc

The Descent

6 women go spelunking, but soon it becomes apparent that they may not be alone.

This is a proper, old-fashioned horror film. It's not ironic, it's not a comedy, it's just about tension. And it's a slow-builder. It manages to wring plenty of tense moments just out of spelunking, long before the creatures show up.

Make very sure you watch the British cut, as the American cut has the ending changed, which makes it both lame and nonsensical.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSYg7Z1KS_I

Hot Fuzz

A policeman is stationed in a small country village because he's too good at his job and is making everybody else in London look bad. Once there he finds it hard to settle into the more laid-back country life.

The basic premise of this film is - what if you took a gentle rural British police story and filmed it like it was Bad Boys 2? If you want a grounding in British police story tropes, then this film has plenty, all used to great comic effect.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayTnvVpj9t4

In The Loop

A comical look at the political manoeuvring that led up to the invasion of Iraq.

Before he was Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi was best known as Malcolm Tucker, the very sweary spin-doctor of The Thick Of It. This is his big-screen outing. Splitting its time between the UK and US political entities, the film is fictionalised, but based on interviews with real people both in Downing Street and the White House, and politicians have commented that the kinds of ridiculous things depicted are the kinds of things that do actually happen in those places.

If you've seen Veep, then this is by the same people, and very much in the same vein.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQrqMkCuHqA

Kill List

A hitman is given some contract work, but is soon caught up in something horrible that he doesn't understand.

This is a horror film that is initially confusing, and which remains somewhat ambiguous throughout. Don't expect any easy answers, but do expect a dank, oppressive atmosphere throughout. There is some quite nasty gore, but the most notable aspect of this film is how grim and unpleasant it seems while you're watching it. That often wouldn't be seen as a recommendation, but that's exactly what it is in this case.

A proper, old-fashioned British horror film.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqkqF--v1tg

Kingsman: The Secret Service

A young delinquent man calls in a favour his dead father is owed and finds himself recruited by an independent organisation of secret agents.

This film is both a pastiche of Bond films, and a proper spy film in its own right. It never takes itself too seriously, but doesn't forget that there should be great action and a globe-trotting plot.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl8F-8tR8to

RocknRolla

A look at the lives of gangsters, centred around a real-estate scam.

Another film that doesn't take itself too seriously. There's a labyrinthine plot, but the main attraction for this is the characters. Lots of fun characters doing lots of fun things.

Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, and Snatch are the director's two previous films, and are generally better regarded, but I think this one is superior to both.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiQCdLIz3BY

Shaun The Sheep: The Movie

Shaun and the rest of the sheep have to head into the city to look for the farmer, after an accident sees him carried away in a caravan.

This is very silly. It's also very, very funny. There's no dialogue at all, which means that the animators had to work harder for every laugh. Obviously made by people who are very familiar with the work of the likes of Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, etc.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQvwiOWpj7o

Submarine

The growing pains of a 15 year old boy in Swansea in the 80s.

If Wes Anderwon were Welsh, then he might make something like this. It's a film that's about odd characters having life hit them in the face. It's charming, it's funny, and it's touching.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-WCCdkVDr4

Sunshine

A group of scientists man a mission to save the dying sun, but not everything goes as planned.

Part thriller, part horror, this is a film that starts off fairly straight forwards, but becomes weirder and weirder as it continues. To say more would be to spoil it, but it's also absolutely gorgeous.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR40ZrdMosc