Best Films to Watch in London and Stream This Week
With lockdown lifted, we highlight the best of what's showing, including David Fincher's latest and Chadwick Boseman's final film
Fancy a film but can’t make up your mind? Look no further: we’ve assembled the best of what’s showing in London, plus the latest streaming releases, and gathered them here to make choosing a great movie as easy as possible. Whatever you’re in the mood for, either out in the world or in the comfort of your own home, WeLoveCinema has you covered…
[New Releases]
Mank
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes or watch it on Netflix
David Fincher’s first film in six years is a reinvention of the history of Citizen Kane: an ambitious, monochrome musing on the life and legacy of Hollywood screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, played here by Gary Oldman. As it grapples with themes of authorship, it repositions Orson Welles’ classic – “the greatest film ever” – and poses bold questions about the movies and our relationships to the things we create (read our full review).
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
The final film to feature the late, great Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a testament to his unique brand of talent and charisma. Directed by George C. Wolfe, it tells the true story of a 1927 recording session in which the titular “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey, played here with remarkable vigour by Viola Davis, clashes with her horn player (Boseman) The result is a jazzy yet dramatically weighty gem that deftly showcases the brilliance of its leads (read our full review).
Falling
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
Lord of the Rings’ actor Viggo Mortensen writes, directs, and stars in this offbeat drama about a gay man who’s forced to move in with his homophonic, dementia-suffering Dad – played by Hollywood sci-fi legend Lance Henriksen. Making his directorial debut with a film loosely based on events from his own life, Falling is proof that Mortensen is a director of considerable skill with a promising career ahead of him (read our full review).
Host
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes or watch it on various streaming services
What sounds like the least appealing idea in movie history – a horror film set over Zoom – is actually an unexpectedly scary delight in the hands of filmmaker Rob Savage and his talented cast. An occult ritual – and internet connectivity issues – cause big problems for a group of lockdown-addled teens in this sharply written and refreshingly lean horror yarn (read our full review).
County Lines
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes or watch it on various streaming services
Henry Blake’s bleak and gruelling debut focuses on the lives of teenagers who are pulled into the world of drug trafficking. To get his point across, Blake takes a relentlessly dour approach in telling the story of Tyler (brilliantly played by newcomer Conrad Khan) after he’s taken under the wing of a charismatic dealer. A vital conversation starter, to the say the least (read our full review).
#AD#
The Prom
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
Love him or loathe him, the Ryan Murphy train is showing no signs of slowing down. His latest – The Prom – takes the Glee creator into familiar waters – it’s a musical, based on the Broadway show of the same name, about a group of down-on-their-luck singers who descend on a teenage prom. With big stars like Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman leading the way, it’s hardly subtle. But it’s also an over-the-top, glittering explosion of campy fun (read our full review).
I’m Your Woman
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
The always great Rachel Brosnahan, best known for her role in Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, stars in this throwback of a film about a housewife who’s forced to go on the run as a result of her husband’s criminal connections. Packed with great performances, especially from Brosnahan, it’s a 70s inspired thriller that doesn’t skimp on the character work (read our full review).
Faith
Where to watch it: MUBI
High in the Italian mountains sits an isolated monastery where a kung fu master rules over an army of dedicated disciples. It might sound like the stuff of fiction, yet this film by the late director Valentina Pedicini is a documentary: a portrait of a very unusual Catholic cult that is disturbing and mesmerising in equal measure.
The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
Francis Ford Coppola has returned to the most divisive entry in his Godfather trilogy in order to make a few tweaks. But of all the changes, the most notable one might be the film’s title, which swaps the original Part III for The Godfather Coda as though to finally agree on its less meaningful place within the wider story. Thirty years later, it remains a strange and uneven film, but this is the most definitive edition to date and an improvement on the existing cut.
Crash
Where to watch it: Various streaming services
Nope, not the terrible Oscar-bait film from 2006 that’s often considered the worst Best Picture winner ever, but David Cronenberg’s divisive erotic drama about people who get their rocks off to horrific car accidents. James Spader and Holly Hunter play two people who find themselves integrated into a secret society of people driven by a fetish for vehicular collisions. It’s not quite Cronenberg’s best work, but it certainly leaves a disturbing impression. “Auto-erotic,” indeed (read our full review).
This post was categorised in Archive.