Best Films to Watch in London This Week

Out and about this week? Fancy a film but can't make your mind up what to see? Look no further: we’ve assembled the best of what’s on in London and gathered them here to make choosing a great movie as easy as possible. Whether it's a gripping political thriller about the CIA's shady torture practices or a zombie comedy featuring the music of Taylor Swift, WeLoveCinema has you well and truly covered…

 

Marriage Story

Noah Baumbach has already established himself as one of the defining filmmakers of his generation, turning up intellectually-minded comedy-dramas in the vein of Woody Allen and Éric Rohmer like Frances Ha and Mistress America. His new film, however, might be his best yet. Loosely based on the director's divorce with Jennifer Jason Leigh, Marriage Story stars Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as a couple in the midst of a complicated split, told with the insight, humour, and sadness that we've come to expect from a filmmaker of Baumbach's calibre. It's a beautifully realised and complicated work, packed with outstanding performances (Laura Dern and Alan Alda are marvellous in supporting roles), not to mention a sure-fire contender for Best Picture at next year's Oscars. Driver, especially, delivers the turn of his career.

Get London showtimes for Marriage Story or read our full review here.

 

Le Mans '66

Le Mans '66 is the sort of old-fashioned, petrol-soaked charmer that's sure to please Dads everywhere. But it's also a car movie that will appeal to even those who couldn't care less about them. That's down to the lead performances from Matt Damon and Christian Bale, whose bromance ensures that this biographical blockbuster pulls you in for all its 152 minutes, and the unwaveringly affable tone that makes it a breeze to sit through. Based on the true story of Ford's attempts to beat Ferrari at the 24 hour race in La Mans, director James Mangold – best known for Logan – has basically assembled a western from car parts: it's crisply shot, well-acted, and packed to the brim with bravado driving sequences. Proper bang for your buck.

Get London showtimes for Le Mans '66 or read our full review here.

 

The Report

It's a great week for Adam Driver fans. He's here, too, commanding the screen – proving yet again he's one of the best actors around – in Scott Z. Burns' deft political thriller The Report. In the vein of investigative dramas like Spotlight and All the President's Men (and based on a true story), The Report zeroes in on the plight faced by one Dan Jones, a Senate staffer tasked with filing a report on why the CIA authorised the destruction of paperwork relating to post 9/11 torture methods. It's a film that, free from the usual Hollywood clutter, thrives on its ability to portray the facts and isn't afraid to take the CIA into account for its shady practices. If you like competent people being obsessed with the truth, this one ticks all the boxes.

Get London showtimes for The Report or read our full review here.

 

Little Monsters

It's pretty obvious that Abe Forsythe, the director of Lupita Nyong'o-starring Little Monsters, is a big fan of Shaun of the Dead. His new film is, after all, a similarly-minded tale of a loser (Alexander England) who's forced to get his act together during an unexpected zombie outbreak – specifically as it threatens his little nephew, his nephew's classmates, and their adorable teacher during a field trip to a petting zoo. It's a fun, unfussy premise for a film that's packed with gags and zombie killing mayhem, uneven but never not entertaining. Of course, it's Oscar-winning Nyong'o- whose unexpected turn as a sweet-natured, Taylor Swift-on-a-ukelele-singin' teacher forced to dispatch the undead – who really makes this trip worthwhile.

Get London showtimes for Little Monsters or read our full review here.

 

2040

What does the future hold for the children of today? It's a question that has obsessed Australian environmentalist-turned-filmmaker Damon Gameau to the extent that he's made an entire documentary about it. Aware that his daughter will reach adulthood in the year 2040, he sets out to explore the potential state of things several decades from now, looking at the ways in which we can ensure a better life for future generations by making small changes. If that sounds like it could be both insufferable and a poor way to spend your Friday night, 2040 actually takes a fairly level-headed approach and doesn't force ideas that seem implausible or outlandish; and it helps that Gameau is an optimistic, likeable presence throughout.

Get London showtimes for 2040.

 

The Irishman

Just when you thought Martin Scorsese had said everything he could possibly say about the mob and gangsters, along comes The Irishman, his most ambitious movie yet – and a sure-fire candidate for best film of the year. As one of Scorsese's longest gestating passion projects, based on a 2004 true-crime book, it zeroes in on the life of former mob hitman Frank Sheeran, who narrates the story of his long and morally dubious career from the confines of an old people's home. Much has been said about The Irishman's gargantuan, three-and-a-half-hour length, not to mention the de-aging technically that allows Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino to appear as much younger men, but it's in the sadder, more melancholy moments where the picture truly thrives – like one epic funeral for the entire gangster genre.

Get London showtimes for The Irishman or read our full review.

 

The Aeronauts

Up, up, and away! Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones reunite after their first pairing in Oscar-winning film The Theory of Everything, with Redmayne back as yet another scientist – the real life Victorian meteorologist James Glaisher, whose belief that the weather can be predicted urges him on a record-breaking hot air balloon voyage to the stars. To carry out his experiment, he teams with plucky pilot Amelia Wren, played here by Jones in a movie-stealing turn. The Aeronauts might fall short in the script department, but director Tom Harper (Wild Rose) still manages to deliver an old-fashioned, euphoric spectacle packed with stunning visuals and an array of heart-pounding set-pieces. See this one in IMAX.

Get London showtimes for The Aeronauts or read our full review here.

 

The Good Liar

Strange, but true: Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen, two great British talents ideally suited to one another,  have never appeared in a movie together – until now. The Good Liar – directed by Bill Condon – finally gives us a cinematic union for the ages in the form of a thrilling mystery that unfolds with the twists and precision of a proper page-turner. Makes sense, given it's based on a bestselling novel of the same name by Nicholas Searle. The plot zeroes in on a career con man, played by McKellen, who targets an unsuspecting widow in an attempt to steal her fortune (Mirren). Nothing, however, is as it seems. It's an implausible ride, sure, but the sort that indulges in its Patricia Highsmith-esque antics to marvellous effect.

Get London showtimes for The Good Liar or read our full review.

 

Doctor Sleep

You have to hand it to anyone willing to take the reins for a follow-up to The Shining, Stanley Kubrick's seminal horror masterpiece and a film that has somehow managed to avoid a sequel for close to four decades. Best known for his work on TV series The Haunting of Hill House and horror yarns like Oculus and Gerald's Game (also based on a book by Stephen King), writer-director Mike Flanagan manages a visually stunning – if narratively muddled – continuation of the story as we catch up with a middle-aged Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) battling alcoholism and a vampirish death cult who prey on children who “shine.” It's a slow-burner, packed with great performances, and – in its final act – heaps of fan service.

Get London showtimes for Doctor Sleep or read our full review here.