Shane Meadows directs Bob Hoskins, Danny Nussbaum and Johann Myers in this sports movie where a dreamer tries to open a boxing club to keep the young men in his area out of trouble.

At times this can feel like a cavalcade of short films edited together to make a feature narrative. It is very independent, somewhat flawed (especially some of the acting) yet it is brimming with ideas, has a Britpop soundtrack to rival any release of the Cool Britannia revival and orbits a superb lead performance by the legendary Bob Hoskins. A lot of love has gone into this little film – a pean to hope and community that can be enjoyed as a simple rough around the edges boxing comedy or so much more. It can even survive a young James Corden guffing around its edges. No other DVD in my collection could. Shane Meadows has proven himself to be one of the most fascinating British storytelling voices to emerge in my lifetime. His proper feature debut can hold its own against his very best work.

9

Perfect Double Bill: A Room For Romeo Brass (1999)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/