From cinema releases to streaming gems, including the best British horror in years and an anime classic back on the big screen
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
Saint Maud
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
Morfydd Clark gives a mesmerising lead performance in Saint Maud, writer-director Rose Glass' terrifying, sensual debut – a horror movie that has been deemed The Exorcist for a new generation. Fusing aspects of both the psychological and the poetic, it finds its story in the titular Maud, a devout Christian and nurse living in a seaside town whose new assignment – a former dancer played by Jennifer Ehle – spins wildly out of control. Unpredictable, fascinating, nightmarish, Saint Maud is guaranteed to burrow under your skin… and stay there (read our full review).
Kajillionaire
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
Writer-director Miranda July returns with her first feature in nine years to tell a whimsical tale of a family of petty thieves, played by Evan Rachel Wood, Richard Jenkins, and Debra Winger. Their world is turned upside-down, however, by the arrival of a young woman – a brilliant Gina Rodriguez – whose presence alerts them to life's finer things. Balancing surprising emotional beats with a whole load of quirk, Kajillionaire stands as one of the year's most original films (read our full review).
Akira
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
Perhaps the most famous anime movie of all-time returns to the big screen with a stunning 4K restoration. Set in 2019 (!), Akira takes place in a futuristic version of Tokyo – a vast and neon-drenched megacity made up of waring bike gangs, endless skyscrapers, and evil corporations that carry out strange experiments on kids. It's densely written and stunningly animated: more than three decades after its first release, Akira has lost none of its power to explode minds.
The Forty-Year-Old Version
Where to watch it: Netflix
Filmmaker Radha Blank writes and stars in this playful comedy about a New York playwright whose success has began to stagnate as she approaches forty. Determined to refill her creative juices, she decides to reinvent herself as a rapper to increasingly awkward effect. Loosely inspired by Blank's own hip-hop persona, it's a fun and poignant ride through themes of compromise and disillusion.
Hubie Halloween
Where to watch it: Netflix
Adam Sandler's seemingly endless slew of Netflix comedies haven't exactly set the world on fire in the past, but his latest, Hubie Halloween, is more reminiscent of the films that brought him global stardom. Far from perfect, it's yet another messy exercise in the Sandman making a half-arsed comedy as an excuse to get his friends together and hang out – but this time, at least, it's actually pretty fun to hang with them.
Still in Cinemas and Streaming
On the Rocks
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
Sofia Coppola reunites with her Lost in Translation star for what might be her breeziest film yet. Laura (Rashida Jones) suspects her husband (Marlon Wayans) is cheating on her, so she enlists her philandering father, Felix (Bill Murray), man about town and old-fashioned New York socialite, to help her find the truth. On the Rocks might be fluffier than what we've come to expect from Coppola, but a poignant meditation on marriage and middle-aged bubbles beneath its screwball surface (read our full review).
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
The Social Network's acclaimed scribe Aaron Sorkin writes and directs this take on the true life story of the Chicago Seven and once again reaffirms his talent for witty one-liners and political grandstanding. Set in 1968, The Trial of the Chicago 7 follows the infamous group charged with government conspiracy and for inciting anti-Vietnam War protests. Despite its period setting, this is a timely story for these troubled times. Sasha Baron Cohen, Mark Rylance, Jeremy Strong, Michael Keaton, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt round out an all-star cast (read our full review).
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
Where to watch it: Get London showtimes
“Human beings have overrun the world,” laments David Attenborough, cutting to the gist of this moving and timely documentary. Now 94 years old, he's lived one of the most extraordinary lives of anybody on Earth. Here, the presenter and naturalist celebrates his achievements and findings, and muses on a love affair with the natural world that has made him a national treasure for the ages. But there's also an underlining sadness here, as he contemplates what will happen to the planet when he's gone.
The Boys in the Band
Where to watch it: Netflix
Based on the acclaimed 1968 play of the same name, this Ryan Murphy-produced film version of gay comedy-drama The Boys in the Band arrives with one heck of a cast in tow. A group of gay friends – Zachary Quinto, Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer, and Andrew Rannells – reunite in a cushy apartment to celebrate one of their birthdays, only for the evening to grow increasingly more unpredictable after a straight college roommate turns up on the doorstep unannounced. Hammy, for sure – but no less enjoyable for it (read our full review).
Dick Johnson is Dead
Where to watch it: Netflix
“Just the idea that I might ever lose this man is too much to bear.” Award-winning filmmaker Kirsten Johnson helms this poignant and hilarious documentary about her father – the titular Dick Johnson – and his battle with dementia. The film's inspired, irreverent conceit sees the pair staging his death in a variety of increasingly bizarre scenarios in a bid to help them both come to terms with the inevitable – and find the comedy in one of life's cruelest scenarios (read our full review).
