Ranked as the 17th greatest British film of all-time by the British Film Institute (and perhaps a bit more surprisingly, finding itself on the Vatican’s top 45 “great films” – in the “art” category), 1951's The Lavender Hill Mob, written by T.E.B. Clarke (winning him the Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay) and directed by Charles Crichton (A Fish Called Wanda), is a clever send up of the crime caper. Setting out to write an authentic crime story, Clarke actually went to the Bank of England, looking for advice. The Bank formed a special committee, the screenwriter asking numerous questions as they basically laid out the only way such a heist could work (by today’s standards, this seems absolutely ludicrous), meaning that, what we see in this 1951 feature is an accurate portrayal of what it would have taken to rob this iconic institution.

For whatever reason, World War 1 films have never been popular fodder for Hollywood studios. Since World War 2, money makers have obsessed over this more modern conflict, leaving the War to End All Wars behind. Skewed some ten to one in favour of the 1939-1945 clash, it is refreshing to see Sam Mendes’ 1917 (which he co-writes and directs) coming out exactly one hundred years after the end of The Great War. Following Lance Corporal Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman – Tommen Baratheon in Game of Thrones) and Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay – Captain Fantastic), it is not surprising to first find them in a fugue-like state of nap. . . for they are now four years into a war that seems to have no end. Tasked with making a lengthy journey by dawn, the pair will have to deliver a message warning a battalion of sixteen hundred men, including Blake’s brother, Joseph (Richard Madden), that they are running into an elaborately plotted trap.

An interesting follow-up that learns from some of its mistakes while making a few more, Jumanji: The Next Level, once again co-written and directed by Jake Kasdan, flies into theatres just two short years after 2017's Welcome to the Jungle – a surprising amount of quality coming from the opportunistic sequel (that has a bit of a lackluster title). Jumanji: The Next Level, or as I like to call it, fantastical Indiana Jones-lite, picks up, like the sequel, a few years after the concluding notes of Welcome to the Jungle. The rag-tag high school team that accidentally entered the gonzo 90's style video game are now off doing their thing. . . queen bee Bethany (Madison Iseman) is helping people in impoverished countries, Anthony ‘Fridge’ Johnson (Ser’Darius Blain) is furthering his focus on fitness, while originally shy Martha (Morgan Turner) is now flourishing at college. . . nerdy Spencer (Alex Wolff) is the only one struggling a bit in his new life. Seeing his on again/off again girlfriend Martha enjoying life through social media brings him down a notch, a touch depressed in his less than fulfilling big city college world.

A sequel that picks up almost immediately where its predecessor left off, Police Story 2 finds our likeable officer, Chan Ka Kui (Jackie Chan) in a rather precarious position. . . reprimanded for his blatant destruction of the mall (in order to catch the villains at the end of the previous feature), not only is he demoted, but he also learns that all of his hard work was for naught – for drug kingpin Mr. Chu (Yuen Chor), who was supposed to spend life behind bars, has been released by a trifecta of doctors who have claimed that he only has three months left to live. Yet, this is only the beginning. . . throw in a spiralling out of control blackmailing case (in which a company’s holdings are being bombed), and more issues between Ka Kui and his spunky girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung), and we can easily say that he has his plate full.

The Swinging Sixties were a most unique time, especially in London. Often seen as a more traditional, conservative city, the growth of this young, wild child generation clashed with their aging parents and grandparents, a kaleidoscopic counter culture seeping into the stiff upper lip backbone of the nation’s capital. Capturing 1969 London in all of its variations, Double Face, co-written and directed by Riccardo Freda, follows one man’s unlikely journey through this often unnerving world. Klaus Kinski plays John Alexander (in a surprisingly reserved way), a wealthy, middle aged businessman with a much more traditional outlook. Quickly wedding extremely cash-happy Helen (Margaret Lee), it is a marriage that soon wallows into a depressing wake of clashes and affairs. Helen soon finds a lover, Liz (Annabella Incontrera), leading to questions of whether their union will last.