From cinema releases to streaming gems, including two Seth Rogens for the price of one and a touching tribute to a Disney musical icon
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, 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, out in the world or in the comfort of your own home, WeLoveCinema has you well and truly covered…
New Releases
Howard
Where to watch it: Disney +
Disney lyrical legend Howard Ashman is the subject of this tender and warm-hearted documentary. Working with Alan Menken, Ashman was behind the iconic soundtracks of films like Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid, but his life was tragically cut short by AIDS. A towering talent gone too soon, Ashman's life story makes for a documentary that is both moving and exciting, as well as offering insightful glimpses into the creative process.
Around the Sun
Where to watch it: Various streaming services
A high-concept, meta romance that's perfect for our times, Around the Sun sees its central couple in perfect, socially distanced isolation as they tour an empty chateau, discuss literature, and ruminate on the possibilities of the multiverse. A gently winding story that shifts through time, Oliver Krimpas's debut film is a true original, made with boldness and confidence and promising bright things ahead.
Perfect 10
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes or stream it on Curzon Home Cinema
A teenager manages grief and gymnastics in this debut coming of age tale. Set in Brighton, Eva Riley's first feature centres around two striking performances from first time actors playing long-estranged half-siblings. It's an earnest and sweet look at tumultuous teenage lives, announcing some firecracker talents both in front of and behind the camera.
An American Pickle
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
Seth Rogen pulls double duty in a zany but warm-hearted fish-out-of-water comedy in which a man is perfectly preserved for 100 years by the brine of a New York pickle factory. Playing both a typical stoner slacker and his own, disapproving, ancestor, Rogen aims for his usual silly laughs, but also finds a new dramatic spark, examining loss and heritage and what it means to be Jewish in New York.
Papicha
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes or stream it on Curzon Home Cinema
1990s Algeria is the setting for this ambitious and rebellious feature debut (the title literally means 'rebel girl'). As closed-minded Islamist authorities bear down on the women at a university campus, they respond by throwing a provocative fashion show. Writer-director Mounia Meddour finds an empowering energy in this semi-autobiographical film, giving a voice to a world rarely seen on screen.
Young Ahmed
Where to watch it: Curzon Home Cinema
The Dardenne Brothers added to their heaving Cannes trophy case last May with this controversial study of Islamic extremism in a Belgian school. Unnerving and fascinating in equal measure, Young Ahmed dives deep into the process of radicalisation, as well as the hard work required to undo this particular brand of brainwashing. One of the Dardennes' more uncomfortable films, Young Ahmed adds a new string to the bow of the legendary social-realist auteurs.
Sundance London
Where to watch it: Passes available
Coronavirus has decimated the film festival calendar this year, but Sundance and Picturehouse have still endeavoured to bring at least a little of the iconic American festival to people's homes. Opening with witty familial road trip drama Uncle Frank, Sundance London's centrepiece screening is Luxor, a hard-hitting look at aid work in the Middle East, while the much-feted political documentary Boys State serves as the closer.
Still in Cinemas and Streaming
Proxima
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
The latest in a long line of sad space movies, though made markedly different on account of its female lead, Proxima finds Eva Green's troubled astronaut preparing for a voyage to the stars. It's the new film from French writer-director and indie darling Alice Winocour, an intimate and gripping family drama about a mother and daughter whose relationship is tested by the weight of a dangerous mission (read our full review).
Make Up
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes or stream it on Curzon Home Cinema
A teenager becomes convinced her boyfriend is cheating on her during a Cornwall camping holiday in elusive thriller-drama Make Up. It's an atmospheric and deliciously weird debut from acclaimed short filmmaker Claire Oakley, packed with great performances, bizarro touches, and echoes of The Shining and David Lynch (read our full review).
Summerland
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
Gemma Arterton plays a lonely writer with a mysterious past in this pleasant period drama, set in the years before World War II, whose feelings are stirred when a young man turns up on her doorstep unannounced. But what is her connection to a beautiful young woman, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw? Directed by Jessica Swale, Summerland serves as a handsome if not familiar diversion (read our full review).
Saint Frances
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
The comedian and actor Kelly O'Sullivan writes and stars in a funny, life-affirming drama about a woman who befriends the six-year-old she's hired to nanny, unraveling, almost, as a series of interconnected vignettes about growing up, womanhood, and facing up to reality. O'Sullivan is masterful in the lead role; this dense and lovingly detailed film is a showcase for her talent (read our full review).
