Byzantium

Byzantium

We have already been treated to some wonderful British movies so far this year with the likes of Trance and I Give It A Year being films not to miss.

And if you are looking to get away from all of the big budget blockbusters that are heading out way this summer then there are some fantastic British films heading our way.

We take a look at some of the excellent movies that will be hitting the big screen over the coming months... and all of them are not to be missed.

- Byzantium - released 31st May.

It all kicks off this week as Neil Jordan returns to the director's chair for the new vampire movie Byzantium.

If you are not a fan of all the lovey-dovey vampire drivel that we have been drip fed over the last few years then fear not as this is a very different portrayal of the vampire world.

Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan team up for the first time as they play mother and daughter in the movie. Jordan is also no stranger to this genre having brought up Interview With The Vampire.

Two mysterious women seek refuge in a run-down coastal resort. Clara meets lonely Noel, who provides shelter in his deserted guesthouse, Byzantium.

Schoolgirl Eleanor befriends Frank and tells him their lethal secret. They were born 200 Years ago and survive on human blood.

As knowledge of their secret spreads, their past catches up on them with deathly consequence.

This is one of the May movies that I am really looking forward to as it is unlike any other film that we have seen in this genre for quite some time.

Byzantium is set to be a vampire movie not to miss and will kick of a summer of British movies that will light up the big screen.

- Summer In February - 14th June

One of the movies that I am really looking forward to comes in the form of Summer In February, a movie which sees Christopher Menaul return to the director's chair.

If some of you are Downton Abbey lovers then this movie is for you as it sees Dan Stevens take on a lead role.

He is not the only bright British talent on show as Dominic Cooper is also on board, while Aussie Emily Browning will complete this love triangle.

Summer In February focuses on the wild and bohemian Lamorna Group, dominated by the charismatic AJ Munnings (Dominic Cooper).

The incendiary anti-Modernist Munnings, now regarded as one of Britain’s most sought-after artists, is at the heart of the complex love triangle, involving the young aspiring painter Florence Carter-Wood (Emily Browning) and Gilbert Evans (Dan Stevens), the land agent in charge of the Lamorna estate. Renowned painter Laura Knight is played by Hattie Morahan.

- Spike Island - 21st June

Mat Whitecross will return to the director's chair this summer in what is his second feature film Spike Island.

Whitecross made his feature film directorial debut with Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll and his new movie is a coming of age story about friendship and a love of music.

The film is set to introduce us to some great new British acting talent as Elliott Tittensor, Nico Mirallegro, Jordan Murphy and Adam Long are all on board - Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke is also on board.

Shadowcaster are a four-piece band from Manchester. Or more accurately, they are five lads with guitars and a garage and an ambition to forget school, forget their troubled home lives, forget GCSEs and see their heroes, The Stone Roses, as they play the biggest gig of their career.

As the defining concert of their generation is announced, the band are convinced that all they need is to get tickets, get to the gig, meet Ian Brown, give him their demo tape, and the rest, as the saying goes, will be history.

A simple enough plan, right? But with no tickets and a sold out gig to contend with, the boys embark on a road trip in a 'borrowed' florist’s van to Spike Island. Along the way friendships are tested and their futures shaped - together or apart.

- A Field In England - released 5th July

Director Ben Wheatley was behind one of the best British movies of 2012 - of course I am talking about Sightseers, and now he is back with A Field In England.

It is great to see at the helm of another movie so quickly as he has once again teamed up with Amy Jump to pen the screenplay.

There is already a lot of excitement and intrigue building around this film and it could well be one of the British movies of the year.

England during the Civil War. A small group of deserters flee from a raging battle through an overgrown field. They are captured by two men: O'Neil and Cutler.

O'Neil (Michael Smiley), an alchemist, forces the group to aid him in his search to find a hidden treasure that he believes is buried in the field.

Crossing a vast mushroom circle, which provides their first meal, the group quickly descend into a chaos of arguments, fighting and paranoia, and, as it becomes clear that the treasure might be something other than gold, they slowly become victim to the terrifying energies trapped inside the field.

Julian Barratt, Michael Smiley, Reece Shearsmith and Peter Ferdinando all star and A Field In England is set to be a great slice of summer horror.

- The World's End - released 19th July

If you are looking for comedy this summer then look no further than The World's End as Edgar Wright reunites with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

The trio have already brought is Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz and this is their first project together since the latter.

Wright is back in the director's chair while he had Pegg have joined forces to once again pen the screenplay.

Pegg and Frost lead an all star British cast list as Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan and Rosamund Pike are all also on board.

20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hellbent on trying the drinking marathon again.

They are convinced to stage an encore by Gary King (Simon Pegg), a 40-year-old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their hometown and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub - The World’s End.

As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realise the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind’s. Reaching The World’s End is the least of their worries.

Wright, Pegg and Frost have proved to be a comedy movie dream team over the years and The World's End promises to be just as great as the movies they have made before.

Other movies that are also worth looking out for include Blood, The Stone Roses: Made of Stone and Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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