James R | On 01, Nov 2021

With England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all navigating their way back to normality during the coronavirus pandemic, 2021 has seen cinemas fling open their doors once more, but studios are also turning to digital platforms as a way of reaching wider audiences in the living rooms sooner – including a new Premium VOD window that sees titles available to rent for approximately £15 a few weeks after their cinema debut.

For audiences at home, here’s our guide to the major movies and Premium VOD releases available to buy and rent from your sofa in the weeks ahead – plus exclusive premieres on subscription streaming services, whether it’s an arthouse release from MUBI or Amazon Prime Video’s acquisition of The Green Knight.

Need a quick recommendation for tonight? See our 5 films to watch this weekend.

For a full guide to VOD releases in the UK for this month, including TV shows, across all major VOD platforms (subscription and transactions), head to our Coming Soon channel.

 

The Courier – 1st November

This true-life spy thriller tells the story of an unassuming British businessman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) recruited into one of the greatest international conflicts in history. At the behest of the UK’s MI-6 and a CIA operative (Rachel Brosnahan), he forms a covert, dangerous partnership with ​Soviet officer Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) in an effort to provide crucial intelligence needed to prevent a nuclear confrontation and defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Paw Patrol: The Movie – 1st November

Your kids’ favourite pups go into the city for new adventures, more action, and even meet a new pup in this feature-length outing.

Available to buy/rent on Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / Rakuten TV / Google Play / Sky Store

Wildland – 1st November

An orphaned teen discovers her aunt is the head of a crime family in this supremely suspenseful Danish drama.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

The Harder They Fall – 3rd November

Starring Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo and LaKeith Stanfield, Netflix’s thrilling revisionist Western follows outlaw Nat Love (Jonathan Majors), who discovers that his enemy, Rufus Buck (Idris Elba), is being released from prison and rounds up his gang to track Rufus down and seek revenge.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

The Beta Test – 5th November

Jim Cummings (Thunder Road) co-writes, co-directs, edits and stars in this twisted black comedy. A married Hollywood agent receives a mysterious letter for an anonymous sexual encounter and becomes ensnared in a sinister world of lying, infidelity, and digital data.

Available on Curzon Home Cinema

Men Who Sing – 5th November

This humorous and melancholic portrait of a male voice choir begins when the filmmakers’ father, widower Ed, 90, sells the family home and arranges his own funeral.

His only remaining solace is Tuesday night practice, but with an average age of 74 and suffering a haemorrhaging of the bass section his beloved choir is facing a crisis of its own. They must act or face extinction.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Finch – 5th November

Tom Hanks stars in this drama about a man, a robot and a dog who form an unlikely family. Finch is a robotics engineer and one of the few survivors of a cataclysmic solar event that has left the world a wasteland. But Finch, who has been living in an underground bunker for a decade, has built a world of his own that he shares with his dog, Goodyear. He creates a robot, played by Caleb Landry Jones, to watch over Goodyear when he no longer can. As the trio embarks on a perilous journey into a desolate American West, Finch strives to show his creation, who names himself Jeff, the joy and wonder of what it means to be alive. Their road trip is paved with both challenges and humor, as it’s as difficult for Finch to goad Jeff and Goodyear to get along as it is for him to manage the dangers of the new world.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

A Cop Movie – 5th November

This bold, unpredictable and riveting dissection of policing and corruption is a playful documentary with a serious point.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

7 Prisoners – 11th November

An impoverished teen seeking to escape the clutches of a human trafficker must weigh living up to his moral code against his struggle to survive.

Available on Netflix UK

Rose Plays Julie – 8th November

Ann Skelly and Aidan Gillen are brilliant in this tense, unsettling psychological drama.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

The Suicide Squad – 8th November

James Gunn brings a playful sense of humour to DC’s darkly entertaining super-antihero reboot, getting a full disc and digital release after its premium VOD rental release.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

The Last Letter from Your Lover – 8th November

Journalist Ellie Hayworth (Jones) is researching an obituary when she uncovers a series of love letters from the 1960s. Reading them, she learns of a love affair between an American socialite (Woodley) in an unhappy marriage to a successful industrialist (Joe Alwyn) and a financial journalist (Callum Turner) writing a story about her husband. As she digs deeper into the affair, Ellie discovers complications in the relationship that she may be able to untangle. At the same time, she finds herself becoming closer to Rory (Nabhaan Rizwan), her researcher.

Available on Curzon Home Cinema

The Collini Case – 8th November

Based on the internationally bestselling novel, The Collini Case is a masterful courtroom drama where the sins of the past are laid bare. Fabrizo Collini is accused, without any apparent motive, of murdering the respected industrial magnate Hans Meyer. As Casper delves deeper, he unravels the dark secret past of the family.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Honest Thief – 8th November

Notorious thief Tom Carter (Liam Neeson) has stolen $9 million from small-town banks while keeping his identity a secret. He decides to come clean about his criminal past, only to find out that he has been double-crossed by two ruthless FBI agents.

Available on Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / Rakuten TV / Google Play / Sky Store

Passing – 10th November

Adapted from the celebrated 1929 novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, Passing tells the story of two Black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Ruth Negga), who can “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the colour line during the height of the Harlem Renaissance in late 1920s New York. After a chance encounter reunites the former childhood friends one summer afternoon, Irene reluctantly allows Clare into her home, where she ingratiates herself to Irene’s husband (André Holland) and family, and soon her larger social circle as well.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Red Notice – 12th November

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds, the film follows a daring heist that brings together the FBI’s top profiler (Johnson) and two rival criminals (Gadot, Reynolds). Director Rawson Marshall Thurber, who has previously worked with Johnson on Skyscraper and Central Intelligence, also penned the script.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – 12th November

Marvel Studios’ latest blockbuster stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must face the past he thought he left behind and confront his father, leader of the dangerous Ten Rings organization. The film also stars Awkwafina as Shang-Chi’s friend Katy, Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, and Florian Munteanu, with Michelle Yeoh as Ying Nan and Tony Leung as Xu Wenwu.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Jungle Cruise – 12th November

Join Dwayne Johnson as wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff, and Emily Blunt as intrepid researcher Dr. Lily Houghton, in a rollicking thrill-ride down the Amazon in this family blockbuster.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Home Sweet Home Alone – 12th November

Max Mercer is a mischievous and resourceful young boy who has been left behind while his family is in Japan for the holidays. So when a married couple attempting to retrieve a priceless heirloom set their sights on the Mercer family’s home, it’s up to Max to protect it from the trespassers – and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep them out. This remake/reboot/sequel stars Ellie Kemper, Rob Delaney, Archie Yates, Aisling Bea and more.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Natural Light – 12th November

Dénes Nagy’s riveting drama follows a lieutenant in a Hungarian special unit as he hunts partisans in occupied Soviet Union during the Second World War.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

You Will Die at Twenty – 12th November

Based on Sudanese writer Hammour Ziada’s short story, Sleeping at the Foot of the Mountain, You Will Die at Twenty follows the life of Muzamil (Mustafa Shehata) from birth until his 20th birthday. Muzamil’s religious Sufi village lies between the Blue and White Nile in Al Jazira state, Sudan, and at the boy’s baptism ceremony, a sheik prophesizes that Muzamil will meet an early death at the age of twenty. Based on Sudanese writer Hammour Ziada’s short story, Sleeping at the Foot of the Mountain, You Will Die at Twenty follows the life of Muzamil (Mustafa Shehata) from birth until his 20th birthday. Muzamil’s religious Sufi village lies between the Blue and White Nile in Al Jazira state, Sudan, and at the boy’s baptism ceremony, a sheik prophesizes that Muzamil will meet an early death at the age of twenty. Beholden to the grim fate, his mother, Sakina (Islam Mubarak), becomes overprotective and forbids his education or travelling, and his despairing father, Alnoor (Talal Afifi), leaves home for many years.

Available on Curzon Home Cinema / BFI Player

The Colour Room – 12th November

Clarice Cliff (Phoebe Dynevor, Bridgerton) is a young factory worker in the industrial British midlands of the 1920s. Bursting at the seams with ideas for colours and shapes, this is the story of how she broke the glass ceiling and risked everything to become one of the great Art Deco designers – ensuring the survival of her co-workers through the Great Depression and becoming a household name.

Available on Sky Cinema / NOW

GI Joe Origins: Snake Eyes – 15th November

Henry Golding stars in this origins story for the iconic GI Joe character.

Available on Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / Rakuten TV / Google Play / Sky Store

Sweet Thing – 15th November

This intimate coming-of-age drama is a movingly honest ode to the resilience of youth.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star – 18th November

When a priceless relic is stolen, Queen Margaret (Vanessa Hudgens) and Princess Stacy (Vanessa Hudgens) enlist the help of Margaret’s audacious look-alike cousin Fiona (Vanessa Hudgens) who teams with a dashing, mysterious man from her past to retrieve it… rekindling the sparks of a tantalising Christmas romance and resulting in a very unexpected switch.

Available on Netflix UK

No Time to Die

Daniel Craig bids farewell in his final outing as 007.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

tick, tick…BOOM! – 19th November

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s film is an adaptation of the autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson, who revolutionised theatre as the creator of Rent. The film follows Jon (Andrew Garfield), a young theatre composer who’s waiting tables in 1990 while writing what he hopes will be the next great American musical. Days before he’s due to showcase his work in a make-or-break performance, Jon is feeling the pressure from everywhere. With the clock ticking, Jon faces the question everyone must reckon with: What are we meant to do with the time we have?

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Arsene Wenger: Invincible – 22nd November

Featuring remarkable access and previously unseen archive footage, directors Gabriel Clarke (Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager, Finding Jack Charlton) and Christian Jeanpierre draw back the veil on the enigmatic football manager who discusses the football “addiction” that was both his driving force and his fatal flaw.

Available on Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / Rakuten TV / Google Play / Sky Store

Reminiscence – 22nd November

Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman), a private investigator of the mind, navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client, Mae (Rebecca Ferguson). A simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession. As Bannister fights to find the truth about Mae’s disappearance, he uncovers a violent conspiracy, and must ultimately answer the question: how far would you go to hold on to the ones you love?

Available on Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / Rakuten TV / Google Play / Sky Store

Shiva Baby – 22nd November

Anxiety and comedy collide in Emma Seligman’s funny, surprising and remarkable debut feature.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan – 22nd November

Steves (Steve Stamp), Chabuddy G (Asim Chaudhry), MC Grindah (Allan Mustafa) and DJ Beats (Hugo Chegwin), the legends behind pirate radio station Kurupt FM, head to Japan for this feature-length outing.

Available on Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / Rakuten TV / Google Play / Sky Store

Robin Robin – 24th November

Aardman and Netflix team for this animated short, which follows Robin, whose egg fortuitously rolls into a rubbish dump, leaving her to be raised by a loving family of mice. As she grows up, her differences become more apparent. Robin sets off on the heist to end all heists to prove to her family that she can be a really good mouse – but ends up discovering who she really is.

Available on Netflix UK

Bruised – 24th November

Halle Berry directs and stars in this sports drama about a fighter who reclaims her power, in and out of the ring, when everyone has counted her out.

Available on Netflix UK

A Boy Called Christmas – 26th November

The origin story of Father Christmas is re-imagined in this live-action adventure starring Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent, Sally Hawkins, Toby Jones, Michiel Huisman, Kristen Wiig, Stephen Merchant and newcomer Henry Lawfull. An ordinary young boy called Nikolas sets out on an extraordinary adventure into the snowy north in search of his father who disappeared attempting to find the fabled village of the elves, Elfhelm. Taking with him a headstrong reindeer called Blitzen and his loyal pet mouse, Nikolas soon meets his destiny.

Available on Sky Cinema / NOW

A Castle for Christmas – 26th November

Netflix’s logically titled festive film follows Sophie (Brooke Shields), a famous American author who travels to Scotland and finds herself wanting to buy a castle, as you do. But the prickly owner, Myles (Cary Elwes), who just happens to be a Scottish duke, is reluctant to sell to a foreigner. Working to find a compromise, the pair constantly butt heads, but along the way they just may find more than they bargained for (which may or may not involve a castle).

Available on Netflix UK

’Twas the Fight Before Christmas – 26th November

This documentary follows the story of a North Idaho neighborhood turned upside down by one man’s obsession with bringing Christmas cheer to all, through the biggest community Christmas event America has ever seen. Christmas-loving lawyer Jeremy Morris’ plan hits a snag when the home owners’ association informs him that the event violates the rules of the neighborhood. A contentious fight over the festivities erupts and things snowball out of control. As the situation escalates, the film asks the question, who wins when different rights and interests collide? Director Becky Read pieces together the polarised perspectives in this quirky Christmas tale about freedoms, with a message about differences and tolerance at its heart.

Available on Apple TV+

 

For films coming to Netflix UK, see our guide to what’s coming soon here. For films coming soon to Amazon Prime, click here, and for films coming soon to Sky Cinema, click here.

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