Best Films to Watch in London This Week
All the movies worth catching in the capital, from a quirky Southern river adventure to a famous sheep in space...
Out and about this week? Fancy a film but can’t make your mind up what to see? Look no further: we’ve assembled the best of what’s on in London and gathered them here to make choosing a great movie as easy as possible. Whether it’s the latest film from a French master or a classic horror movie back on the big screen for its 50th anniversary, WeLoveCinema has you well and truly covered…
The Peanut Butter Falcon
Sometimes a film finds a sort of magic in the chemistry of its cast alone, and that’s exactly the case with the oddly-titled, Deep South-set adventure that is The Peanut Butter Falcon. The debut feature from filmmaking duo Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, loosely based on Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Falcon stars Zack Gottsagen – a performer the directors discovered at a camp for disabled actors – as a young man with Down syndrome who escapes from his care home, teams up with a surly drifter (Shia LaBeouf), and goes in search of a legendary wrestling school. It’s a whimsical ride, but the sheer magnetism of the cast transcends the quirk: LaBeouf, particularly, has never been so likeable.
Get The Peanut Butter Falcon showtimes in London or read our full review here.
Official Secrets
Keira Knightley is back on our screens with Official Secrets, a thriller set in the murky world of journalism and politics. Based on the true story of GCHQ worker Katharine Gun, who was asked to work on a memo that revealed information about sinister US/UK tactics designed to intimidate the UN security council into backing the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The film – directed by Gavin Hood – outlines Gun’s decision to leak the document to the press and the subsequent aftermath, starring a plethora of British talent including Matthew Goode, Ralph Fiennes, and Matt Smith. An opportune film for these unfortunate times, complete with a great turn from Knightley, Official Secrets offers an intriguing and gripping look into the shadier sides of government practice.
Get Official Secrets showtimes in London or read our full review here.
Non-Fiction
Acclaimed filmmaker Olivier Assayas, who gave us masterpieces such as Summer Hours and Clouds of Sils Maria, returns with a comedy-drama about the changing face of publishing, set in contemporary Paris. Juliette Binoche (who worked wonders with Assayas on Clouds) returns here as the actor wife of an editor, played by Guillaume Canet, who finds himself struggling in this modern era of e-books. Assayas’ film is slyly satirical, targeting the sort of middle-class Parisian whose livelihoods is put at stake by their stubborn attitude towards shifting times. Still, with its intellectual dinner conversations, and lots of extramarital affairs, the very French Non-Fiction manages to be both funny and profound about it all. If not quite at the level of Assayas’ best, it fits nicely into his remarkable canon.
Get Non-Fiction showtimes in London or read our full review here.
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Those geniuses over at Aardman are back with a sequel to one of their best films, starring one of their most beloved characters. This time everybody’s favourite sheep, Shaun, faces his biggest adventure yet: helping a strange (and adorable) creature from space – named Lu-La – return home. Pursued by a shady agency, Shaun and his fellow flock must venture far from home in a bid to prevent a cataclysmic event known as (ahem) “Farmaggedon.” Beautifully animated, endlessly charming, and boldly going where no lamb has gone before, this is one of the studio’s best and most inventive movies yet – a brilliant showcase for non-verbal storytelling that’s sure to entertain parents and kids alike (though the kids really aren’t necessary).
Get A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon showtimes in London.
Mystify: Michael Hutchence
This documentary delves into the tragic life of INXS lead singer and songwriter Michael Hutchence, using an assemblage of home video footage, interviews with family members and friends, and clips from his most iconic performances. The result is a film that is sure to feel like something of a treasure trove for INXS fans, whilst providing an interesting gateway into the life of this beloved musician – who committed suicide at the young age of 37 – for those less familiar. Clearly made with love and affection by director Richard Lowenstein, who was also responsible for many of the group’s promos back in the ’80s, Mystify makes for powerful, emotional viewing: you don’t need to know the music to appreciate what it has to offer.
Get Mystify: Michael Hutchence showtimes in London.
Zombieland: Double Tap
Ten years after the first Zombieland comes Zombieland: Double Tap, a belated sequel that reunites the talents of Emma Stone (now an Oscar-winner), Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin for yet another ironic romp. This time around, the gang – up to their usual, bickering antics – are living in the ruins of the White House when Breslin’s Little Rock goes off grid and inspires a rescue mission. Double Tap sets about delivering the same laughs and zombie antics inherent to the first film (it’s almost like no time has passed), though its trump card arrives, unquestionably, in the form of Zoey Deutch. As an air-headed blonde stereotype clad in UGG boots, she pretty much steals the movie out from its A-list stars.
Get Zombieland: Double Tap showtimes in London.
The Day Shall Come
Arguably Britain’s greatest satirist, Chris Morris – the genius behind TV’s Brass Eye and the brilliant Four Lions – is back with his first feature film in nine years, one he claims is “based on a hundred true stories.” This time, Morris sets his sights on a story about an eccentric preacher whose terrorist schemes are funded by the FBI. Whilst the satire in The Day Shall Come seems more familiar than what we’re used to for a man of Morris’ ilk, this is still a welcomed return for a great writer-director, featuring fab performances from Marchánt Davis as the aforementioned eccentric preacher, and Anna Kendrick as a plucky FBI agent. It’s a film that’s over fairly quickly, and yet – espresso-like – it still manages to deliver a sharp hit to the system.
Get The Day Shall Come showtimes in London or read our full review here.
Judy
Renée Zellweger delivers arguably her best ever screen performance in this highly watchable drama based on the last years of screen legend Judy Garland. Spanning multiple timelines and co-starring Jessie Buckley and Michael Gambon, it zeroes in on Garland – addicted to drugs, drink, and on her fourth husband – as she relocates to London for a five-week-long sell-out show. Judy is a film that peels back the Hollywood glamour to tell a story of a woman whose life was ultimately ruined by the pressures of stardom. Zellweger is transformed here, giving a performance so raw, fragile, and broken that you quickly forget you’re not watching the real deal. Though the film itself is far more conventional, it’s worth seeing for Zellweger’s extraordinary, award-worthy turn.
Get Judy showtimes in London or read our full review here.
Joker
Nobody could have guessed that audiences and critics alike would go to war over the murky morals of Todd Phillips’ supervillain origin, Joker – it’s one of the most controversial and divisive movie in years. The question remains: is this a masterpiece or a shallow inditement of our times? The story concerns one Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a failed comedian whose contempt with the world at large transforms him into the iconic Batman villain of the title. Channeling the vibes of Scorsese classics like Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, Phoenix fully commits in an undeniably impressive performance. No matter how you look at it, there’s so much to unpack here – culturally, ethically, cinematically. See it and make up your own mind.
Get Joker showtimes in London or read our full review here.
The Shining
Not just in time for Halloween, but also for the upcoming release of the official sequel, Doctor Sleep, Stanley Kubrick’s undeniable work of horror genius, The Shining, is back in theatres for its 50th anniversary. Jack Nicholson stars as Jack Torrance, a frustrated writer whose stay at an isolated hotel goes very, very badly when he and has family find themselves plagued by terrifying visions and ghostly apparitions. The Shining has arguably more iconic moments than any other horror movie, and has left an unmistakable mark on pop culture at large. Who can forget the woman in room 237, “redrum,” those ghastly twins, “Here’s Johnny!” and that terrible hotel carpet pattern? Catch it while you can – on the big screen – in this stunning 4K restoration.
Get The Shining showtimes in London.
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