Gosford Park
We have been looking at the best British movies throughout the decades this week and today we round that off in the noughties.
The last decade brought us a whole host of wonderful British movies from horror, drama, book adaptations and heart stopping action.
For the last time we pick out some of the British films that really did stand out over the last ten years.
- Gosford Park (2001)
Gosford Park showed off the terrific writing talents of Julian Fellowes when it was released in 2001 as he teamed up with director Robert Altman.
The film brought together one of the best ensemble casts of the year as Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Kristen Scott Thomas and Michael Gambon all starred.
Gosford Park was released over ten years ago and it is still a beautifully crafted movie that is suspenseful and yet entertains.
Altman juggles all of the different characters and storylines wonderfully resulting in all of the strands coming together effortlessly.
The film was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture and won Best Original Screenplay for Fellowes.
Click here to buy Gosford Park on DVD
- 28 Days Later (2002)
The noughties was a decade were Danny Boyle really did make some fantastic movies and 28 Days Later was just one of them.
28 Days Later saw Boyle tackle the horror genre as he teamed up with script writer Andrew Macdonald.
The film featured some of the most iconic film scenes of the decade; the deserted streets of London being the one that particularly stands out.
28 Days Later remains one of the best British horror movies of all time as Boyle delivered a movie that was both edge of your seat as well as entertaining.
This is a film that pays homage to the horror movies of the past but still has a very contemporary edge - that is all thanks to Boyle's great direction.
28 Days Later was both a critical and commercial success and was a hit in the U.S., despite a very limited release.
Click here to buy 28 Days Later on DVD
- Casino Royale (2006)
There was a changing of the guard in the Bond franchise back in 2006 as Daniel Craig took over from Pearce Brosnan as 007.
To say there was a bit of backlash over Craig's casting would be a bit of an understatement but the actor proved everyone wrong when Casino Royale hit the big screen.
Directed by Martin Campbell this was Bond stripped bare like we had never seen before as Craig really got under the skin of this character.
But not only that this was perhaps the most violent Bond that we had ever seen as Craig really does deliver this character with a lot of menace - like the killer that he is.
Through in some excellent set pieces and a Bond girl that was more than just a bikini and you had a Bond movie that really did put the franchise back on track.
It was both a critical and commercial hit and was, at the time, the biggest grossing Bond movie in the franchise's history - that is now a title that belongs to Skyfall.
Click here to buy Casino Royale on DVD
- Atonement (2007)
One of my personal British favourites of the noughties was Atonement as it was such a wonderful and faithful adaptation of the book.
The movie saw director Joe Wright reunite with Keira Knightley after the success of Pride and Prejudice for what was only his second directorial outing.
Atonement was an adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel of the same name and saw Knightley play the lead role of Cecilia Tallis alongside James McAvoy as Robbie Turner.
This is an epic and grand movie that is romantic and heartbreaking as well as visually stunning.
The movie follows the doomed romance between Cecilia and Robbie after the latter is wrongly accused of rape - Knightley and McAvoy are just perfect together and the chemistry between the pair is incredibly powerful.
As well as a romance it is also a sweeping drama as the second half of the movie is set against the backdrop of the Second World War.
Wright captures some incredibly powerful images of Dunkirk and these are just one of the major highlights of this treat of a film.
Click here to buy Atonement on DVD
- Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
We have already mentioned Danny Boyle once but Slumdog Millionaire was another British movie that stood out during this decade.
Released in 2008 Slumdog Millionaire was a big screen adaptation of novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup.
The cast list was a mix of young talent such as Dev Patel and Freida Pinto and experienced stars such as Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan.
Slumdog Millionaire is the ultimate underdog story but it is told with so much life and vibrancy that you cannot help but be swept along by it.
Boyle really brings India to life and this colourful country is just as big a character in the film as Jamal or Latika.
The movie was a global critical and commercial smash as the audience fell in love with a story about love against all the odds.
Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for 10 Oscars and walked away with eight; including Best Picture and Best Director for Boyle.
Click here to buy Slumdog Millionaire on DVD
- An Education (2009)
An Education was another movie that really stood out in the noughties as it was to be the breakthrough movie for Carey Mulligan.
Directed by Lone Scherfig the movie was based on the memoir of the same name by Lynn Barber.
The movie follows schoolgirl Jenny who is seduced by an older man - putting her future at risk.
An Education is both a stylish and delightful movie that really allowed actress Mulligan to shine in the lead role.
Mulligan went on to pick up a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her role while the movie was nominated for Best Picture.
Click here to buy An Education on DVD
Other stand out movies of this decade include Son of Rambo, Billy Elliot, Bridget Jones's Diary, Bend It Like Beckham, Vera Drake and Bronson.
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