Hot Fuzz

Where to start, where to start...

Spaced... the best British-made sitcom, always funny, ever rewatchable, still quoted [“Mine’s a pint of the black stuff.” “You can’t drink a pint of Bovril!”], inspiration of a ridiculous running joke Sam and I had at uni about being followed by squirrels [there are a lot of squirrels in Nottingham], and occasionally filmed in my old local, the Corrib in Queens Park, NW London [and if you've never seen it before you can apparently catch most episodes here.]

Shaun of the Dead... which, when watched on US telly and they edit out half the swearing, loses a certain je ne sais quoi, but otherwise … well, same as above. My sister still gets the giggles any time someone says “exacerbate” to her:

Liz: It's just that with Ed here, it's no wonder I always bring my flatmates out, and then that only exacerbates things.
Shaun: What you mean?
Liz: Well, you guys hardly get on, do you?
Shaun: No... what does 'exacerbate' mean?

And now Hot Fuzz. I was lucky enough to get an invite to the cast and crew screening this morning [thank you Working Title] introduced by none other than Messers Pegg, Frost & Wright, and Nira Park – and it was so worth getting up at 8 on a Sunday morning for. Seeing as it’s not released for another three or four weeks, I’m not sure how much I should [am allowed to…] say, but it’s utterly brilliant. The casting is just genius [Edward Woodward! Timothy Dalton! And Paddy Considine still looking hott even with his '70s pornstar 'tache!] There's gore galore. And it references one of the best films ever, Point Break (ahhh what I wouldn't have done for Keanu Reeves when I was 13 or 14).

And you know the best part about it all? That something so original and so well-written is homegrown.

With these guys around, perhaps there's hope for British film after all.