Dead Man's Shoes

My personal favourite from the Shane Meadows collection. It has an epic performance from Paddy Considine with a truly chilling story of a man coming to terms with the loss of his brother and the revenge of his brothers abusers. It is a great masterpiece. As well as an incredible piece of directing from Shane Meadows and an unforgettable performance from Paddy Considine it is interesting to know the pair share the credit for writing the story of a troubled brother returning to town to get even with those who wronged his deceased brother. Other great performances came from Toby Kebbell and Garry Stretch.

Shane Meadows

I am a huge film geek and feel a sense of pride when I see great work from Britain. The likes of Danny Boyle, Ridley Scott, Tony Kaye to name a few directors which have brought to life some of the most amazing stories. Tony Kaye's 'American History X' has to be one of the greatest films of my generation. Danny Boyle's incredible work on 'trainspotting' and '28 days later' was outstanding and are cemented in my DVD collection. Ridley Scott has made an unbelievable impact on Hollywood with numerous hits such as 'Gladiator', 'Black Hawk Down' and a current favourite of mine 'American Gangster'. All amazing films showing incredible vision and cinematography.

Shane Meadows has had recent success with his work on 'This Is England' from 2006 but its not just his current work which I have found a great inspiration. 'A room for Romeo Brass' from 1999 and 'Dead Man's Shoes' from 2004 were great examples of powerful British cinema. The fact that I can relate to the stories, feeling it could be happening in the town I live makes me have a connection with the film which I cant find in some of the Hollywood pics.

He also has a sharp eye for talent by casting the likes of Paddy Considine and Thomas Turgoose who made the characters they played unforgettable.

Bronson

I was excited to see this film after weeks of talking with my friends about it. 'Bronson' was a surprise but not a disappointment. The film was a look into the events which have lead to his 34 year incarceration of Micheal Peterson  AKA 'Charles Bronson'. The story of his roller coaster time in prison was interesting but not breathtaking, however Tom Hardy's epic performance as a crazed and tortured soul of 'Bronson' was amazing. He was extremely convincing and delivered some unforgettable lines. What also amazed me was the physical transformation of Tom Hardy from his much slimmer character in 'RocknRolla' as 'handsome Bob'. 

In the film 'Bronson' continually narrated the sequences of events through an interesting switch to an old styled theatre scene where you see him physically performing to a crowd as the entertainer he thinks he is. This is where i feel the film was outstanding. 

 This film deserves credit for tackling a real story with such creativity and flair. Its a must see and another example of outstanding British cinema.