Guy Ritchie's latest film The Gentlemen has been widely praised. Straight form making Aladdin, the director has gone back to the kinds of movie themes that made him popular in the first place. And after failing to impress in The Beach Bum, Matthew McConaughey has also made a quick comeback with a spirited performance in this film. And for that, we say alright... alright... alright.
In The Gentlemen, McConaughey plays Mickey Pearson, an American expatriate who runs a successful marijuana empire in London. It's a brilliant action film set in Britain, full of British characters and showcasing British life. If you watched it and liked it, we are glad to recommend others just like it.
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
It's Ritchie again. It isn't his fault that he is good, right? His directorial debut left plenty of people awed. Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels is a slick film with little thrills meant to shock and amuse in equal measure. It is also the film that introduced Jason Statham to a global audience. He went on to appear in dozens of Hollywood films but this remains one of his best.
In the movie, four guys are forced to find money to pay a local gang leader called 'Hatchet' Harry Lonsdale after losing a rigged card game. They are threatened with finger amputation if they don't find cash soon enough. So, what do they do? They decide that they are going to rob their next-door neighbors who happen to be drug-dealers. Not so smart.
Get Carter (1971)
The violence in Get Carter looks so real, you'd suspect the actors Michael Caine was landing real punches. You can even see the grimace on his face whenever he hits someone, implying that his fist is feeling the pain too. The movie was adapted from the1970 novel Jack's Return Home by Ted Lewis.
Caine stars as English gangster Jack Carter out for blood who goes on a rampage after discovering foul play in his brother's death. Since he has become a threat, a couple of people vow to take him out and the job is given to his brother's killer. What's worse is that Jack is sleeping with the girlfriend of a mob boss.
The Long Good Friday (1982)
Helen Mirren in a gangster flick? Ooh yeah! Feed it to us. In the movie, she plays Victoria, the girlfriend to a London gangster called Harold Shand. The ruthless Harold has a firm hold on the city. He controls the docks through which all the contraband goods and drugs enter the country. He also lives large, partying on his yacht and residing in a posh penthouse with Victoria.
One Easter weekend, fate hits him with a low blow. His Rolls Royce Corniche gets bombed and so does his pub. Another bomb is also discovered in his casino. He thus finds himself in a major dilemma because someone is targeting his empire yet a group of American mob bosses are about to come to town to discuss investments with him.
'71 (2014)
How cool is it for a movie title to be just a number? Sam Mendes must have gotten some inspiration from '71 fr his critically acclaimed World War I movie 1917. Just like 1917, the title '71 actually refers to the year in which the movie is set - 1971. There are plenty of foot chases and shootouts in '71 so be prepared for a wild ride.
The events of the movie happen over a single night. Jack O'Connell plays a young British soldier who gets abandoned by his unit by his mistake following a deadly riot in Belfast that forced the military to intervene. He is thus not sure who is the enemy and who is on his side. But in a violent populace, he must do whatever it takes to survive.
The Brothers Grimsby (2016)
Whenever you see Sacha Baron Cohen in a movie poster, you can be quite sure that there'll be an overabundance of weird but hilarious moments. The Brothers Grimsby is no different. It's a mixture of laughs and endless action sequences that will leave you switching between the statements "Did I just see that?" and "That is awesome!"
In the movie, Nobby (Cohen), an English soccer fan, reunites with his brother who happens to be an MI6 agent. The two attempt to prevent a terror attack in a soccer stadium. Nobby also happens to have 11 children with his girlfriend (Rebel Wilson). Yes, 11 children. Enough to start his own soccer team.
Interview With A Hitman (2012)
Interview With A Hitman is told in flashbacks. A former assassin called Viktor tells his story to a director who wants to make an interesting movie to save his career. Viktor narrates how he became popular in the underworld in Romania but fled to London after a bounty was put on his head.
In London, he meets a woman and falls in love with her. However, the woman ends up shooting him because it turns out that he killed her parents many years ago. There are marvelous twists and turns in the movie and Luke Goss is also quite convincing as the assassin Viktor.
Hot Fuzz (2007)
In Hot Fuzz, a Simon Pegg stars as Nicholas Angel, a London cop who is too good at his job. He gets a promotion and gets relocated to the village of Sandford. From the city to the village? Bizzare promotion. Anyway, Angel finds his new job boring until a series of deadly accidents occur and make him realize that there is something sinister going on. It's definitely one of Pegg's most outstanding performances.
Hot Fuzz was one of the first buddy cop films in the UK. Before that, police partnerships hadn't been explored much in British cinema. The movie received plenty of praise from critics. It currently has a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also hugely commercially successful.
The Veteran (2011)
If you are a fan of conspiracy films, then this is your best bet in British cinema. In it, a British soldier called Robert Miller returns from Afghanistan to find that his hood in South London Heygate Estate has been infiltrated by criminal youth gangs. The head of the gangs happens to be a local drug lord who wants Jones to work for him but he refuses. Well, Miller knows his worth.
He soon finds work as an undercover surveillance agent. Soon, he is hired by government operatives to monitor terrorist networks. However, he discovers that the government is, in fact, planning to set up terrorist attacks in British soil in order to invade the middle east and get oil.
Left For Dead (2005)
Left For Dead is like the British version of The Raid. Just like in the iconic Indonesian film, most of the actors in Left Ford Dead were unknown martial artists with no acting experience. And boy did they do a good job. The action keeps coming even when you've had your fill. But you won't mind.
The synopsis? Kincaid, a British crime lord is as ruthless as gangster can be. When one of his henchmen called Williams tries to quit his organization, Kincaid has him attacked and left to die. Seeking revenge, William teams up with a skilled kickboxer who also had his hands hammered by Kincaid. Together, they go on a rampage.
Snatch (2001)
Snatch is simply Guy Ritchie trying to remake Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. There is the same stylish method of direction. There is also a convoluted plot that you only get to understand later. Most of the actors are also the same. Surprisingly, despite having similar themes, Snatch still manages to feel better and superior.
The movie follows Turkish (Statham), a boxing promoter who finds himself in trouble when a gangster called Brick Top demands that he fixes a match. In a parallel plot, a diamond heist also goes down but the stone disappears. The angry boss who was supposed to get the stone decides to go to England to find out what's going on. Soon, the two parallel events intertwine.