Best Films to Watch in London and Stream This Week

From cinema releases to streaming gems, including a new take on an enduring fairytale and the return of one of the decade's best blockbusters

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

Babyteeth

Where to watch it: Get London showtimes

A powerful supporting presence in Little Women and Sharp Objects, Eliza Scanlen graduates to a starring role in this wrenching, yet funny, coming-of-age tale. Playing a seriously ill teenager who starts a whirlwind romance with an older boyfriend, Scanlen makes for a compelling lead, with a supporting cast containing some of Australian cinema's best and brightest, including the barnstorming coupling of Ben Mendelsohn and Essie Davis as Scanlen's parents.

 

Pinocchio

Where to watch it: Get London showtimes

Matteo Garrone makes a drastic departure from his previous film – the intense crime drama Dogman – to bring us a new take on one of cinema's most enduring fairytales. Garrone's Pinocchio carves out its own identity quite separate from the famous Disney version, keeping the sweetness you expect, but bringing back more of the original story's bite. In a neat meta touch, Roberto Benigni stars as Geppetto, and this should be a great way in for any parents looking to introduce their kids to European cinema.

 

Boys State

Where to watch it: Apple TV +

Already one of the year's most celebrated documentaries and a prize-winning highlight of Sundance 2020's slate, Boys State offers a sometimes-hopeful, sometimes-chilling portent of America's political future. As a thousand high-school boys descend upon Texas for a massive political exercise, directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss unearth incredible insights into the possible leaders of tomorrow.

 

My Rembrandt

Where to watch it: Get London showtimes or stream it on various services

An art documentary that plays like a thriller, My Rembrandt looks at how the love of some of painting's Old Masters can have far-reaching, unforeseen consequences. Dealers, collectors, art historians and more celebrate Rembrandt together and come to intellectual blows when his works come up for auction. Oeke Hoogendijk's film is a passionate ode to an artist who still inspires, centuries after his death.

 

Project Power

Where to watch it: Netflix

Netflix recruits Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt for a superhero crime drama that's part Amazon's The Boys and part Limitless, as an ex-soldier and a cop team up to find the source of a pill that gives its user a random superpower for five minutes at a time. A grittier, grimier take on the genre than we're used to from Marvel or DC, Project Power is an action-packed look at just how terrifying superpowers would be in reality.

 

Inception: 10th Anniversary

Where to watch it: Get London showtimes

Christopher Nolan's game-changing sci-fi is back in cinemas, celebrating its 10th anniversary and preparing us for the imminent release of his mysterious Tenet. Astonishing when it first released, Inception still has the power to drop jaws when it's on the big screen. Prepare yourself for one of 2020's biggest movies by returning to, arguably, the highlight of Nolan's filmography.

Still in Cinemas and Streaming

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 (read our full review).

 

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.

 

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).

Other Features

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20 Best Films of 2023 (So Far)

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Repertory Rundown: What to Watch in London This Week, From Mistress America to The Man Who Wasn’t There

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Reviews

The Innocent review – 60s-inspired heist movie with an existential twist

In his fourth feature film, writer-director Louis Garrel explores with wit and tenderness the risk and worth of second chances

Baato review – Nepal’s past and future collide in an immersive, fraught documentary

A mountain trek intertwines with a road-building project, granting incisive, if underpowered, insight into a much underseen world

The Beanie Bubble review – a grim new low for the “corporate biopic” genre

With none of the saving graces of Tetris, Air, or Barbie, this ambition-free look at the Beanie Baby craze is pure mediocrity

Everybody Loves Jeanne review – thoroughly modern fable of grief, romantic confusion, and climate anxiety

Celine Deveaux's French-Portuguese debut can be too quirky for its own good, but a fantastically written lead character keeps it afloat