Best Films to Watch in London This Week
All the best films to catch in the capital, from brand spanking new releases to old classics
Out and about this weekend? Planning to catch a film after a long day at work? We’ve sought out the best of what’s showing in cinemas across London and gathered them here to make choosing a great film as easy as possible. From classic visions of dystopia to Glasgow’s answer to Billy Elliot, Walloh have got your back. No need to thank us.
Mid90s
Millennials rejoice! Superbad’s Jonah Hill writes and directs this coming-of-age drama set in 90s California, complete with skateboarding, Super Nintendo, and Cypress Hill on the soundtrack. Mid90s eschews the heaviness of similar films like Larry Clark’s Kids in favour of a more identifiable story and an emphasis on nostalgia, helped out by Hill’s decision to shoot in a docudrama style. If you ever spent care-free afternoons playing Tony Hawks’ Pro Skater with your face pressed right up against the TV screen, this one’s definitely for you.
Click here for Mid90s showtimes in London.
Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story
Remember when Clint Eastwood cast the real-life heroes of the 2015 Thalys train attack in his dramatisation and everyone said, “No, Clint Eastwood, that was a bad idea.” Well, Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story is the film that proves sometimes casting the real guy makes sense – especially when they happen to be one of the world’s best ballet dancers. Chronicling the Cuban legend’s rise from football-loving youth to Royal Ballet dancer extraordinaire, Yuli is a crowd-pleasing take on the biopic that blends dramatisation and documentary to create something that is genuinely unique.
Click here for Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story showtimes in London.
Wild Rose
Jessie Buckley plays a wannabe country star in this Billy Elliot-esque musical drama set in Glasgow. Fresh out of prison, Rose-Lynn dreams of Dolly Parton-level stardom, but she’s also a single parent whose kids have been left in the care of her own mum, played here by screen legend Julie Waters. At first Wild Rose feels like it’s flirting with the formulaic, but it quickly reveals itself to be a far deeper and more interesting film than all that. There’s talk that Wild Rose is set to propel its lead actress to superstar glory. Watching it you’re unlikely to disagree.
Click here for Wild Rose showtimes in London.
Missing Link
From Laika, the studio that brought us stop-motion gems like Coraline and ParaNorman, comes yet another tale of the supernatural. This time the focus is on the titular Link, a Bigfoot voiced by Zach Galifianakis who – in a bid to find his family – is befriended by Hugh Jackman’s “myths and monsters” investigator. Laika are known for the quality of their output, and Missing Link does nothing to buck the trend. Funny, warm, and beautifully animated, it’s the sort of film that will have you asking why Bigfoot wasn’t cemented in stop-motion sooner.
Click here for Missing Link showtimes in London.
Cape Fear
Robert De Niro has spent most of his career playing bad eggs, but it’s Max Cady – the ex-con sex offender in Martin Scorsese’s remake of Cape Fear – who stands out as the baddest egg of all. De Niro is mesmerising here as the tattooed villain out to antagonise lawyer Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte), whilst attempting to seduce his teenager daughter (Juliette Lewis). Utilising the original’s iconic Bernard Herrmann score, Cape Fear feels like it exists in a heightened reality, as though self-aware of its remake status. Still, it’s one of Scorsese’s most unsettling pictures – even if you can’t quite escape thoughts of that Simpsons parody with Sideshow Bob.
Click here for Cape Fear showtimes in London.
A Deal With the Universe
A Deal With the Universe, cobbled together from a decade’s worth of video diary footage, offers a window into the plight faced by the film’s transgender director, Jason Barker, and his years-long struggle to give birth. Through extensive footage of Barker and wife Tracey, this meditation on gender identity and gender roles is both insightful and incredibly human. It’s also very funny, given Barker’s sideline as a comedian, and acute in its portrayal of a certain kind of Englishness. At its core, though, A Deal With the Universe is very much a story of a modern couple facing terrible odds whilst refusing to give up hope.
Click here for A Deal With the Universe showtimes in London.
Monty Python’s Life of Brian
Few films ask audiences to “look on the bright side of life” with the conviction – and audacity – of Monty Python’s classic comedy. The premise is ingenious, of course (what if the Three Wise Men went to the wrong hut and declared a normal bloke to be the Messiah?), which paves the way for the iconic comedy troupe to send up religion, the past, and themselves in a series of unforgettable skits and set-pieces. Back in cinemas this week for its 40th anniversary, Life of Brian demands the big screen experience (and preferably a rowdy audience with two or three beers inside them).
Click here for Monty Python’s Life of Brian showtimes in London.
A Clockwork Orange
Beethoven. Bloodshed. Or maybe you simply remember this as the film in which a hoodlum pummels a defenceless woman to death with a giant phallic object? Stanley Kubrick turned his unique eye on aversion therapy and ultra-violence in this infamous classic, based on Anthony Burgess’ novel. Controversial and visionary, this dystopian nightmare is sure to provoke a myriad of reactions, but comes with one guarantee: you won’t be able to watch Singin’ in the Rain the same way again afterwards. Part of the BFI’s on-going season celebrating Stanley Kubrick.
Click here for A Clockwork Orange showtimes in London.
Happy as Lazzaro
With its uncompromising narrative and brilliant performances, it’s no wonder Happy as Lazzaro is being hailed as something special. Set amongst a group of sharecroppers who live in debt to a rich landowner, the film follows the titular Lazzaro, the happy foolish type, who finds himself drawn him into a series of misadventures that may or may not take him into the past. A work that constantly upturns your expectations and refuses to be pigeon-holed into a neat box, it’s a weird, thrilling, dream-like parable that can be interpreted in a dozen ways. Whatever conclusion you come to regarding its meaning, you’ll be happy as Lazzaro you made the trip.
Click here for Happy as Lazzaro showtimes in London.
Blade Runner
Blade Runner still contains what is arguably cinema’s most influential vision of a nightmarish dystopia, casting Los Angeles as the ever-wet, neon-addled stage for Harrison Ford to hunt down escaped replicants. It prompted a surprisingly worthwhile sequel back in 2017, but it’s Ridley Scott’s original vision – now distributed as ‘The Final Cut’ – that offers the definitive Blade Runner experience. A blend of neo-noir and sci-fi as slow-burning as it is action-packed, it’s a film made great by its attention to detail. Vangelis’ moody score (his best) gives the film its unique atmosphere, whilst Rutger Hauer is exemplary as villain Roy Batty. If the film asks what it means to be human, then “to experience Blade Runner” seems like as good as answer as any.
Click here for Blade Runner showtimes in London.
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