December's Best of British

Continuing our look at the best in upcoming British films, here are the details of the best of British hitting cinemas in December…

December is a strange time of year on the British film calendar. Fearing the might of Hollywood heavyweights like The Hobbit and Life of Pi, British films find it hard to compete around the Christmas season.  Seasonal favourite Nativity is getting a sequel but that came out last month and it’s too early to release serious Oscar contenders.  However there are still a few little gems to watch out for if you fancy a Brit-flick at the cinemas this month.

First up is the wonderful sounding Seven Psychopaths from Irish director Martin McDonagh.  Returning for the first time since 2008’s In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths again stars Colin Farrell who is this time joined by a fantastic cast including Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson.  It is the story of a struggling screenwriter Marty (Farrell) who inadvertently becomes embroiled in Hollywood’s criminal underworld after his eccentric friends (including Walken and Rockwell) abduct the pet Shih Tzu of a psychopathic gangster. Early reviews have not been wholly positive but it sounds like a clever film that tackles writing screenplays in its screenplay and violence in film through violence in the film. Wacky, gory and killer fun!

Life Just Is is more typically British fare with a cast of unknowns playing university graduates having trouble making the move into adult life. Debut director Alex Barrett graduates from shorts to his first feature that finds the 20 somethings searching for a spiritual answer to life's meaning and hoping to not get hurt in relationships again.  Meanwhile two of the ex-students look to be falling in love.  It promises a lot of moping, tears and staring into the distance from the giving it their best cast but it will all be down to Barrett’s script to get the audiences emotions flowing.

A co-production with some funding from the Irish Film Board, Grabbers looks like an insane amount of fun from the Emerald Isle. Off the coast of Ireland, an island is invaded by bloodsucking aliens with long tentacles. The heroes discover they have to get drunk to stop the aliens feeding on their blood.  It looks from the trailer as much fun as that sounds! 

Others to look out for this month are Boxing Day and Dead Europe.  

November's Best of British including My Brother The Devil and Sightseers

October's Best of British including Skyfall

What British films will you be watching this month?