What films are out in UK cinemas this week? Reviews from Snow White to Flow

While she can be seen singing away in Snow White, Zegler's other new release is quite the tonal shift.

Apocalyptic sci-fi comedy horror Y2K sees Zegler take on one of the lead roles as a high school student who fights to survive when the year 2000 problem causes all technology worldwide to come to life and turn against humanity.

What starts off as a bunch of school students crashing a New Year's Eve party soon turns deadly as the machines rise up and ... well, we'll leave that for you to find out.

Elsewhere, Robert De Niro takes on the dual leading roles in The Alto Knights, Barry Levinson's new gangster drama that reportedly cost a staggering $45 million. In it, De Niro portrays feuding mob bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, with the script coming from Goodfellas co-writer Nicholas Pileggi.

After its success at the Oscars, Flow has now landed in cinemas, a tiny $3.5 million movie from Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis that beat the likes of Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot at the most recent Academy Awards.

Although we're still awaiting our reviews of Y2K and The Alto Knights, you can find our verdict of Snow White and Flow below.

Of course, several other great films are also still playing in cinemas – including Black Bag – and you can also find our reviews of the pick of the films still out in the UK below.

Read on for your weekly round-up of all the films currently showing in UK cinemas.

What films are released in UK cinemas this week? 21st - 27th March

Snow White

Rachel Zegler sings her heart out as the title character in Disney’s live action update of its first-ever animated feature. After her mother dies, Snow White’s father (Hadley Fraser) remarries before disappearing off to war. Following a period relegated to the castle kitchens, the innocent Snow White is sent to die in a forest by her jealous stepmother (Gal Gadot) – but our heroine instead stumbles upon a gaggle of friendly dwarves.

These seven no-longer-titular characters were a source of controversy during production, and the studio’s solution is to render them entirely in CGI to match their original 1937 designs, maintaining an air of cartoonish unreality. This only partly works, not least because the dwarves remain paper-thin as characters. Gadot, meanwhile, is far too buttoned-up to truly terrify as the story’s classic villain.

Yet, there’s still a lot to like about this remake; it remains a charming, if not necessarily timeless, fairy tale and provides a fine showcase for Zegler to embody – and carefully update – the original Disney princess. – Jayne Nelson

• Read our full Snow White review

Flow

Inventive Latvian animator Gints Zilbalodis returns after the triumph of 2019 debut Away with a slightly less abstract adventure, following a clutch of animals on a boat drifting through a drowned world.

Global warming? Zilbalodis does not say, in fact no words are uttered in this film, either on screen, in voiceover or by subtitle (just like Away), and we are forced to interpret the mews, barks, chirrups and squeaks of the timid cat, exuberant dog, avaricious lemur, arrogant bird and dozy capybara as they face one (not particularly urgent) challenge after another.

Zilbalodis made Away entirely on his own. This time his (still tiny) team conjures up a gorgeous-looking adventure, with particular care taken over the rendering of light, water and the huge inquisitive eyes of the cat, the hero character.

There's a touch of anthropomorphism, but it's not overdone. The only real criticism is that there's no strong dramatic thread, although as individual episodes it works brilliantly and is also undeniably very cute. – Steven Morrisey

Best of the rest still showing in UK cinemas

Black Bag

Steven Soderbergh and a crack cast have great fun with a stylish spy yarn that’s pitched, delightfully, as a domestic chamber piece. Dapper intelligence operative George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) is informed that there’s a mole in his workplace, and his elegant wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett) is one of the five key suspects.

Seemingly unfazed, George invites the unsuspecting parties (all of whom are romantically linked) to a dinner at his and Kathryn’s luxury London townhouse. Once he spikes the meal with truth serum, the gathering gets off to the races.

David Koepp’s witty, erudite screenplay recalls the acerbic drama of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf as the guests – played beautifully by Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Regé-Jean Page and Industry star Marisa Abela – are denuded of their inhibitions.

Words are louder than actions throughout, but Soderbergh’s deft handling of the material (as director, cinematographer and editor) ensures that the absence of any expected punch-ups never matters.

Fassbender proves a mesmerising presence throughout, whether putting his suspects through a polygraph test or facing the possibility his wife may be involved with stealing a device that would cause nuclear meltdown. – Jeremy Aspinall

• Read our full Black Bag review

The Rule of Jenny Pen

We all get what's coming to us in the end, says creepy care-home resident Dave Crealy (John Lithgow) in New Zealand writer/director James Ashcroft’s macabre horror. Based on the short story by Owen Marshall, the film follows an arrogant judge, Stefan Mortensen (Geoffrey Rush), who is confined to the home after a stroke. While he recuperates, he discovers that Crealy and his dementia doll, Jenny Pen, hold sway, terrifying the residents with late-night visits.

A spooky scene shows them dancing, in silhouette, behind a red privacy curtain. What begins as a black comedy gradually turns into something much darker – a battle for supremacy between two men who seem to have lost their minds.

The leads attack their roles, and each other, with vigour, and there’s moving support from George Henare as Mortensen’s desperate roommate. Some viewers may find the film’s vicious moments too much, not least a horrible scene of sexual assault. Yet even as the final stretch starts to wander, it remains a memorably sadistic story. – Matt Glasby

Mickey 17

Robert Pattinson is the hapless soul who gets to die another day in this slick sci-fi comedic parable from Parasite director Bong Joon-ho. Pattinson’s Mickey Barnes escapes his troubles on Earth, signing up for a space colonisation mission led by Mark Ruffalo’s Trump-like megalomaniac.

A so-called ‘expendable’, Mickey gives his life to keep others safe. If he perishes, the boffins on board simply ‘re-print’ another iteration. But trouble brews when the seventeenth Mickey survives certain death and returns to the ship to find his follow-up clone.

A wild mix of physical comedy, especially from Pattinson, social satire and absurdist humour, it’s a visually engrossing ride into the future in much the way Bong’s 2013 film Snowpiercer was. Adapted from Edward Ashton’s novel, it’s packed with weirdness – from cute/creepy CG critters to comedian Tim Key in a pigeon costume to the most disturbing ménage à trois you’ll ever see (with Naomi Ackie and two Pattinsons). Like a demented twist on Douglas Adams, it’s another fearless work from the Korean filmmaker. – James Mottram

• Read our full Mickey 17 review

One of Them Days

Two roommates endure a crazy few hours in this likable LA-set comedy. Dreux (Keke Palmer) is a waitress aiming for a promotion, while friend Alyssa (singer/songwriter SZA) is an aspiring artist. But when Alyssa’s boyfriend Keshawn (Joshua David Neal) blows their rent money on a stash of T-shirts he’s hoping to sell, the girls have only nine hours to find $1,500 or face eviction.

From blood bank donations to selling trainers online, these two are willing to do just about anything to avoid being made homeless. Filled with energy, thanks to debut feature filmmaker Lawrence Lamont’s upbeat direction, this is lagrely driven by the easy-going chemistry between Palmer (Nope, Hustlers) and SZA, making her first foray into movie acting.

It’s crude, scattergun and treats gang violence a little too casually, but it’s not hard to get caught up in their increasingly frenetic, colourful adventures. Maude Apatow (daughter of director Judd and actress Leslie Mann) also shines as their new neighbour, in a cast bulging with fresh talent. – James Mottram

The Last Showgirl

Pamela Anderson shines in this wistful drama, and not just because she’s covered in rhinestones. Shelly Gardner has dedicated her life to Le Razzle Dazzle. However, with the long-running Las Vegas revue set to close due to falling ticket sales, it’s curtains not just for the show, but also for the 57-year-old showgirl’s whole purpose for being.

Director Gia Coppola’s endearing if featherweight film has noble intentions, focussing on the working-class performers who help the City of Sin sparkle. Shelly’s crisis as a woman being phased out because she no longer meets society’s impossible standards is touching and ever timely.

While the film is too reliant on needle drops and dreamy montage sequences, there are strong performances across the board. BAFTA-nominated Jamie Lee Curtis goes big as Shelly’s ballsy best friend Annette, while Dave Bautista is engagingly soft as Eddie, the doomed revue’s producer.

But this is Anderson’s movie – a triumphant comeback for an actor reckoning with her own age and taking control of her career after decades of press mistreatment. – Sean McGeady

• Read our interview with Pamela Anderson

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

Renée Zellweger returns as Bridget Jones for a splendid fourth feature. Bridget is single again, but this time she is a widow, her beloved Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) having died four years ago, leaving her with two children. She reluctantly enters the world of dating apps – meeting 29-year-old horticulturalist Roxster (One Day’s swoon-worthy Leo Woodall).

The well-crafted script nails exactly what it’s like to be middle-aged and female in the shark-infested world of online romance, and Zellweger is once again effortless in the central role. Director Michael Morris (To Leslie) smartly integrates returning characters – Hugh Grant has a riot as Bridget’s ex-boss – with newbies, including Chiwetel Ejiofor’s whistle-happy science teacher.

This is a mature and incisive outing, beautifully shot, and blending humour and emotion into the perfect movie martini. – James Mottram

• Read our full Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy review
• Read our interview with Renée Zellweger
• Read our interview with Leo Woodall
• Read our interview with Michael Morris

I'm Still Here

Director Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries, On the Road) returns to his native Brazil for an elegant drama that blends the political and the personal. Oscar-nominated for best picture, this true story, set in Rio de Janeiro in the early 1970s, follows the Paiva family – former congressman Rubens (Selton Mello), wife Eunice (Fernanda Torres) and their five children.

With Brazil ruled by a military dictatorship, Rubens is arrested, with absolutely no information passed to the family as to his fate. Much of the focus is on Eunice, who herself suffers in this oppressed regime; the sublime Torres, an Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance, plays the character with real strength.

Adapted from the book by Eunice's son Marcelo Rubens Paiva, this is subtly directed by Salles, who creates a fine film about resistance. Notably, I'm Still Here also offers a reunion with Fernanda Montenegro – Torres's real-life mother and star of Salles's 1998 Oscar nominee Central Station – who plays the older Eunice, in the film’s poignant coda. – James Mottram

The Monkey

Writer-director Osgood Perkins follows up his breakout hit Longlegs with another horror film – albeit one operating in a very different mode.

Adapted from Stephen King’s short story of the same name, The Monkey follows mismatched twin brothers Hal and Bill (played in dual roles by Christian Convery as children and Theo James as adults) after the discovery of a cursed wind-up monkey among their father’s old junk. When the toy suddenly resurfaces 25 years later, a series of increasingly gruesome deaths provokes the now estranged brothers to re-establish contact.

Perkins displayed a great command of atmosphere in his previous film, but the tone here is far more jumbled, never finding the right balance between its hit-and-miss comedic elements and the more overt horror. It does raise some interesting points about the random, chaotic nature of death, while the elaborate kill scenes are carried out with gleeful invention. But there’s not enough substance to sustain a feature, especially as the narrative becomes increasingly wayward in its second half.

Meanwhile, in his dual role, James turns in half a good performance; impressive as the disillusioned Hal but failing to convince as the more deranged Bill. – Patrick Cremona

The Brutalist

As an upside-down Statue of Liberty drifts into view; it’s clear that The Brutalist will not be a straightforward, flag-waving take on the American Dream.

Director/co-writer Brady Corbet (The Childhood of a Leader) takes his film-making to another level with the ambitious story of fictional architect Laszlo Toth, who arrives in America following the Second World War.

After an ignominious start, this Hungarian Jew is taken under the wing of Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr (Guy Pearce), who commissions him to work on a cultural centre in tribute to his late mother. The building’s construction takes its toll on both men, while later Laszlo is reunited with his wife (Felicity Jones) and niece (Raffey Cassidy).

This richly detailed film speaks volumes about America’s uneasy relationship with immigration. It captures the poison chalice of philanthropy through Pearce’s searing portrayal of the monstrous Van Buren, with Brody nailing the torment of a proud, talented man who cannot help but absorb the hatred of others.

Seven years in the making and shot in the defunct large-scale VistaVision format, the film is epic in its length, weight and ambition, like a modern-day Orson Welles picture. It’s a timely examination of how modern America came into existence, and the resentments that lurk beneath its surface. – Emma Simmonds

• Read our full The Brutalist review
• Read our interview with Felicity Jones

A Complete Unknown

Timothée Chalamet excels as Bob Dylan in an absorbing biopic that charts the iconic singer/songwriter’s early career, with a dash of dramatic licence.

The narrative follows the aspiring musician’s arrival in New York in 1961, continues through his burgeoning success and popularity, and culminates four years later when Dylan incurred the wrath of folk purists by going electric.

Director James Mangold and co-screenwriter Jay Cocks take a few liberties with events, times and names, but nonetheless paint an evocative portrait of a superstar in the making and his growing disenchantment with fame, thanks to a compelling, layered portrayal by Chalamet. The actor projects his subject’s physicality and speech patterns perfectly, and especially impresses in his performances of the generation-defining songs, eloquently capturing the essence of Dylan.

In a strong supporting cast, Edward Norton stands out as Pete Seeger, the folk music traditionalist and civil rights activist who became Dylan’s most important mentor. He superbly conveys conflict and heartbreak as his role in the singer’s ascent to the A-list shifts from proud father figure to reluctant adversary. – Terry Staunton

• Read our full A Complete Unknown review
• Read our interview with Timothée Chalamet

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