Best Films to Watch in London This Week
All the movies worth catching in the capital, from a monochrome-maritime nightmare to Clint Eastwood's latest deconstruction of heroism...
Fancy a film but can’t make your mind up what to see? Look no further: we’ve assembled the best of what’s showing in London and gathered them here to make choosing a great movie as easy as possible. Whatever you’re in the mood for, WeLoveCinema has you well and truly covered…
[New releases]
The Lighthouse
After gifting us with one of the best horror films of the last decade with The Witch, writer-director Robert Eggers has returned to blow us all out of the water with this unruly maritime nightmare, shot in beautiful black-and-white. Is it horror? Comedy? Try both! With a totally game-for-it Willem Dafoe as a salty sea-farer and Robert Pattinson reaffirming his place as one of his generation’s most brilliant actors, The Lighthouse unravels as a bold, unpredictable, and (ahem) flatulent fever dream. Don’t even get us started on the seagulls…
Get The Lighthouse showtimes in London or read our full review.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Mr. Rogers isn’t as well known here in the UK as he is stateside, where the man seems to be held with the same nationwide reverence as George Washington. There was only one guy capable of capturing the television presenter’s unique charisma, then, and that man is universally beloved actor Tom Hanks, appearing here in an Oscar-nominated turn. Marielle Heller, who did such wonderful work on Can You Ever Forgive Me?, directs this teary drama about a cynical reporter (Matthew Rhys) who tries to dig beneath Roger’s unshakeable spirit. Bring tissues.
Get A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood showtimes in London or read our full review.
Richard Jewell
Clint Eastwood continues his crusade to make only films about good men whose lives are turned upside-down by the very institutes they swore to serve (see American Sniper, Sully). Based on the true story of the security guard whose heroics foiled a terrorist bomb plot only to later find himself targeted by the FBI, Richard Jewell features a long overdue lead role for actor Paul Walter Hauser, whilst Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, and Olivia Wilde round out the cast. A gripping deconstruction of heroism.
Get Richard Jewell showtimes in London or read our full review.
Queen & Slim
This 21st century take on Bonnie and Clyde follows the misadventures of two twenty-somethings, played by Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya of Get Out fame, whose epic fail of a first date leads to an unexpected conflict with a racist cop and a life on the run. Directed by Melina Matsoukas, best known for her work on Beyonce’s “Formation” music, Queen & Slim is an undeniably angry movie for these unjust times, not to mention one that’s downright gorgeous to look at. Not sure about that sex scene, though.
Get Queen & Slim showtimes in London or read our full review.
Talking About Trees
Cinema is something we tend to take for granted in the UK, which is what makes this fascinating, warm-hearted, and hilarious documentary from filmmaker Suhaib Gasmelbari so vital, as it hones in on four Sudanese directors/best friends whose creativity has been silenced by a repressive government. Their mission? To bring cinema back to their native land, battling terrible odds in the process. Part history lesson, part buddy comedy, it’s also an ode to cinema, friendship, and the power of hope in dark times.
Get Talking About Trees showtimes in London or read our full review.
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[Still in cinemas]
The Personal History of David Copperfield
Though best known for his work on satirical shows like The Thick of It and Veep, Armando Iannucci has laid the snark and irony aside for his latest film, The Personal History of David Copperfield, based on the beloved tale by Charles Dickens. It’s the sort of charming – and totally swear-free – adaptation that can only come from a life-long love of the source material. Yet in opting for a “colour-blind” approach to casting, Iannucci injects new life into an old classic, uniting Dev Patel (brilliantly charming as David) with a plethora of famous British faces, including Hugh Laurie, Ben Whishaw, Benedict Wong, Tilda Swinton, and Peter Capaldi. In a word: lovely.
Get The Personal History of David Copperfield showtimes in London or read our full review.
Just Mercy
This gripping and timely drama stars Michael B. Jordan of Black Panther fame as a young Harvard graduate who sets out to help a man (Jamie Foxx) accused of killing a white woman in 1986 Alabama. It’s based on the work of real life attorney Bryan Stevenson, who offered frequent free legal advice to those he felt had fallen prey to an unjust and racist justice system. Written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Just Mercy co-stars Brie Larson, Rafe Spall, and Tim Blake Nelson and is, at times, an admittedly workmanlike film. Yet its dedicated cast and overall message help elevate it to greater heights.
Get Just Mercy showtimes in London.
A Hidden Life
Terrence Malick has taken a break from navel-gazing relationship dramas about people both beautiful and sad to bring us a three-hour-long epic set during WWII. A Hidden Life marks the divisive filmmaker’s first attempt to grapple with history since his underrated The New World; this time he finds inspiration in the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian pacifist who refused to fight for the Nazis. All the Malick trademarks – fish eye lenses, swirling camera movements, characters talking to God – are present, but A Hidden Life stands as his most complex and narratively satisfying work in years. A must-see for anyone who feels his recent output has mostly consisted of pretentious drivel.
Get A Hidden Life showtimes in London or read our full review here.
Bad Boys for Life
We don’t care how optimistic you are: there’s no way anyone – anyone – could have guessed that the third and basically unwanted entry in a franchise nobody has thought about in 17 years would turn out to be the best one yet. Somehow, though, Bad Boys for Life, which stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as two wise-cracking cops based out of Miami, has enough charm, action, and self-awareness to wrestle the title away from the original. Isn’t it nice to Martin Lawrence back on the big screen and being genuinely likeable? Maybe the key to this film’s success was in jettisoning the franchise’s most toxic element, Michael Bay, and replacing him with Belgian filmmaking duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallam (Bay is, sadly, back for a cameo).
Get Bad Boys for Life showtimes in London or read our full review.
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