With the country still in lockdown, we highlight the best new streaming releases, from charming comedies to fascinating docs
With the UK still in lockdown, we'll have to wait a while longer for the proper big screen experience. Fear not: we’ve rounded up the best of the latest streaming releases to keep you entertained until the capital's dream palaces return. Whatever you're in the mood for, from great documentaries to moving dramas, WeLoveCinema has you well and truly covered…
New Releases
News of the World
Where to watch it: Netflix
Bourne director Paul Greengrass changes lanes for this more traditionally-minded western starring Tom Hanks, who channels his everyman charm into a story of a Confederate soldier-turned-newspaper reader who must escort a young girl – played by the phenomenal Helena Zengel – home after her family are brutally murdered. Blending sweeping set-pieces, beautiful production design, and exceptional performances, it's as thrilling as it is heartwarming (read our full review).
Slalom
Where to watch it: Curzon Home Cinema
The murky world of sports abuse is sharply deconstructed in Charlène Favier’s unflinching portrait of a talented young skier and her relationship with a toxic coach. Featuring a brilliant central performance from Noée Abita, Slalom probes the dangerous “win at all costs” mentality though the lens of a female coming-of-ager (read our full review).
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Where to watch it: Curzon Home Cinema
Funny people Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo star two middle-aged Midwesterners who embark on a no holds barred vacation to Florida in this wacky comedy from director Josh Greenbaum, co-starring Jamie Dornan. Blending a heartfelt story of friendship with irrelevant hijinks, it's the best alternate for a holiday at a time when they're not possible (read our full review).
PVT Chat
Where to watch it: Various streaming services
Uncut Gems breakout Julia Fox plays a cam girl-dominatrix in this timely blend of drama and thriller from filmmaker Ben Hozie, a New York-set exploration of sex at the intersection of the real and the digital. Peter Vack plays a “professional” gambler obsessed with Fox's cam girl. Complications arise when he spots her in real life and tries to merge two worlds (read our full review).
If It Were Love
Where to watch it: MUBI
Patric Chiha’s kaleidoscopic documentary about touring dance troupe Crowd is an intoxicating and emphatic celebration of the senses. Honing in on the talented company, led by renowned choreographer Gisèle Vienne, it's intimate and deeply felt system shock, blending dance numbers with fly-on-the-wall filmmaking to truly transporting effect (read our full review).
Dead Pigs
Where to watch it: MUBI
The irreverent debut film from Birds of Prey director Cathy Yan finally gets a release outside of China – a timely tale of disparate lives brought together in cash-crazed Shanghai, based around a real incident in which thousands of dead pigs were found floating in the Huangpu River. Watching this, it's plain to see how Yan got the DC job.
Still Streaming…
Rams
Where to watch it: Curzon Home Cinema
The acclaimed 2015 Icelandic comedy-drama gets an Australian-set remake, shifting the action to a warmer climate but sacrificing none of the original's offbeat charm. Sam Neill and Michael Caton star as two sheep farmers who also happen to be estranged brothers, forced put aside years worth of resentment after their flocks are threatened. Miranda Richardson co-stars (read our full review).
A Glitch in the Matrix
Where to watch it: Various streaming services
Are we all actually living inside a computer simulation, just like in The Matrix? Room 237 director Rodney Ascher tackles the subject with his usual blend of archive footage, animation, and fan theories, not to mention interviews with the scientists and philosophers all pushing a theory that's growing in popularity every day. Mind-bending, at the very least (read our full review).
Greenland
Where to watch it: Prime Video
A Gerard Butler disaster movie that is not a disaster… who'd have thought? Based on the actor's previous forays into this much-maligned sub-genre, it would have been easy to assume the worst of Greenland. In fact, this is a far more restrained piece of work than you might expect, for the most part eschewing overblown CGI in favour of sharp thrills and genuinely felt family drama (read our full review).
Little Big Women
Where to watch it: Netflix
A stubborn matriarch (played by Grace Chen) must come to terms with the death of her estranged husband in this award-winning family drama from Taiwan, which was snapped-up by Netflix. Chen won the Golden Horse for Best Actress for her performance, but the entire ensemble shine bright in a film that's by turns moving, funny, and poignant (read our full review).
