Spain. Gal has retired from the gangster life, and is sunning himself placidly beside the pool at his villa when a boulder comes crashing by, barely missing him. Soon, he and his pal Aitch, together with their wives Deedee and Jackie, are being threatened by a human boulder, Don Logan. Logan wants Gal for a high stakes vault break-in in London (masterminded by the cool and suave Teddy Bass), and he will not take no for an answer. Nevertheless, that’s exactly the answer Gal keeps giving him, even as Don gets more and more threatening. Meanwhile, Gal is plagued by dreams of a menacing, hairy beast. Just how far will Don (and Gal) go in this battle of wills? And what of Enrique, the pool boy?

Roland Rat, Margaret Thatcher; Rubik’s Cubes, the Royal Wedding; aerobics, skinheads… It’s 1983, and the schools are breaking up for summer. Shaun is 12 and a bit of a loner, growing up with his mum in a grim coastal town, his dad killed fighting in the Falklands War. On his way home from school where he’s been tormented all day for wearing flares, he runs into a group of skinheads, who against expectations turn out to be friendly and take him under their wing. Soon Shaun discovers parties, girls and snappy dressing, and finds some role models in Woody, Milky and the rest of the gang. But when an older, overtly racist skinhead returns home from prison, the easy camaraderie of the group is broken, and Shaun is drawn into much more uncomfortable territory. Based largely on his own experience as a youngster, this is Shane Meadows’ most mature and fully realised film. Handling the complexities of masculinity, violence and race with sensitivity and a lightness of touch, it’s hard to imagine a film that would better capture the mood of the time, or that could have any greater an understanding of the allure of being part of a gang.

The movie starts as a car has a hard time driving straight down the road in a residential area. We think some kid has stolen this car. Nah. It’s the dad driving his son to school, and he’s drunk. The teenage son must take over. So, adults give up all responsibility towards their children and mayhem can take place. The film shows one day in the life of several teenage students as they go in and out of classes. They live their student lives and we follow their steps through the corridors and doors, taking them as guides one by one, like avatars in a giant video game.