Staff Reporter | On 01, Mar 2021

With England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all in their own respective lockdowns once again to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the start of 2021 has seen a number of planned cinema releases push back their theatrical debut or head to digital platforms instead. 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 the subscription streaming exclusives that would have been playing in a multiplex near you.

For a full guide to VOD releases in the UK for this month across all major VOD platforms (subscription and transactions), head to our Coming Soon channel. 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. And, if you’re trying to catch up with this year’s awards contenders, see our guide to where you can watch the BAFTA nominees online.

Ammonite – 26th March

Starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan the drama takes place in the 1840s, where acclaimed self-taught paleontologist Mary Anning (Winslet) works alone on the wild and brutal Southern English coastline of Lyme Regis. The days of her famed discoveries behind her, she now hunts for common fossils to sell to rich tourists to support herself and her ailing widowed mother. When one such tourist, Roderick Murchison, arrives in Lyme on the first leg of a European tour, he entrusts Mary with the care of his young wife Charlotte (Ronan), who is recuperating from a personal tragedy. They are two women from different worlds, yet they discover they can each offer what the other has been searching for: the realisation that they are not alone. Released as Premium VOD rental.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

The Banishing – 26th March

From Severance and Triangle to Creep and Black Death, Chris Smith is a director always worth watching. Here, he travels back to WWII for a haunted house story about a priest and his family who move into a manor with a nasty secret – and find themselves having to turn to black magic to save their daughter.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Six Minutes To Midnight – 26th March

Eddie Izzard and Judi Dench star in this period thriller, inspired by real events. Summer 1939. Hitler’s power is growing and tensions between the UK and Germany are at boiling point. The Augusta Victoria College, a finishing school for daughters and goddaughters of the Nazi elite on the south-coast of England, is under close scrutiny after the mysterious disappearance of their teacher Mr Wheatley. The school governess, Miss Rocholl (Judi Dench), hires English teacher Thomas Miller (Eddie Izzard) to replace Wheatley and help prepare the girls for the Anglo-German fellowship. Thomas slowly raises the suspicions of Ilse Keller (Carla Juri), the girls’ German tutor, who has secrets of her own. Caught in the crossfires, Thomas is framed for murder and goes on the run to clear his name and uncover Ilse’s true plan for the girls. Can he stop her before it’s too late?

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Tina – 28th March

A powerful portrait of a powerhouse musical icon, this will be available on Sky Documentaries and NOW, but will also be available to buy online via altitude.film on the same day. From 29th March, it will be available to buy online from other VOD retailers, including Apple TV, and will later be released on DVD and Blu-ray on 5th April, when it will also be available to rent online.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

The Kid Detective – 29th March

Adam Brody stars in this mystery about a once-celebrated kid detective who, now aged 31, continues to solve the same trivial mysterious between hangovers and bouts of self-pity. That is, until a naive client brings him his first “adult” case, to find out how brutally murdered her boyfriend.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

The Mauritanian – 1st April

Captured by the US Government, Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Tahar Rahim) languishes in prison for years without charge or trial. Losing all hope, Slahi finds allies in defense attorney Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) and her associate Teri Duncan (Shailene Woodley). Together they face countless obstacles in a desperate pursuit for justice. Their controversial advocacy, along with evidence uncovered by formidable military prosecutor, Lt Colonel Stuart Couch (Benedict Cumberbatch), eventually reveals a shocking and far reaching conspiracy. Based on Mohamedou’s New York Times best-selling memoir, this is the explosive true story of a fight for survival against all odds.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

The Dissident – 1st April

The new documentary from the helmer of the Oscar-winning Icarus examines the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The investigation plays out at the highest levels of power as it exposes the deceit behind Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul. Offering a wealth of never-before-seen footage and unprecedented access to those closest to the story The Dissident is a story of money, tyranny and technology.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Godzilla vs Kong – 1st April

Directed by Adam Wingard (You’re Next), this monster showdown sees Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home, and with them is Jia, a young orphaned girl with whom he has formed a unique and powerful bond. But they unexpectedly find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla, cutting a swath of destruction across the globe. The epic clash between the two titans—instigated by unseen forces—is only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the Earth. Released as a Premium VOD rental.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Minari – 2nd April

Starring Steven Yeun (Burning, Sorry To Bother You, The Walking Dead), this heartwarming film follows a Korean-American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amid the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the resilience of family and what really makes a home. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, it has been nominated for six BAFTA Awards, including Best Director, Best Film in a Foreign Language, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Supporting Actor, following its recent wins at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards. After its UK premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival in February, the film will be released on-demand in the UK on 2nd April. It will then, coronavirus pandemic allowing, be available in drive-in cinemas from 12th April and in cinemas as they reopen.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Chaos Walking – 2nd April

The film, based upon the best-selling novel The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, is adapted by Ness for the screen with Christopher Ford. Set in the not too distant future, it follows Todd Hewitt (Tom Holland), who discovers Viola (Daisy Ridley), a mysterious girl who crash lands on his planet, where all the women have disappeared and the men are afflicted by “the Noise” – a force that puts all their thoughts on display. In this dangerous landscape, Viola’s life is threatened – and as Todd vows to protect her, he will have to discover his own inner power and unlock the planet’s dark secrets. Released as Premium VOD rental.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

The Night – 2nd April

Kourosh Ahari’s disorienting ghost story books a guilt-laden Iranian couple into a hell of mirrors.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

2021 Oscar-nominated Short Films – 2nd April

A compilation of the nominees for Best Short Film at the upcoming 2021 Academy Awards, including: The Present – Farah Nabulsi (Palestine), Feeling Through – Doug Roland and Susan Ruzenski (USA), Two Distant Strangers – Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe (USA), White Eye – Tomer Shushan and Shira Hochman (Israel) and The Letter Room – Elvira Lind and Sofia Sondervan (USA).

Available on: Curzon Home Cinema

Undine – 2nd April

Paula Beer plays a water nymph who can’t escape her fate in Christian Petzold’s beautifully made fantasy romance.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Rose: A Love Story – 5th April

Gothic romance meets survival thriller in Jennifer Sheridan’s wonderfully atmospheric debut.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Synchronic – 5th April

Starring Jamie Dornan and Anthony Mackie, this new thriller from Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead follows two New Orleans paramedics who encounter a series of horrific deaths linked to a designer drug. After a Premium VOD release earlier this year, it now gets a full home entertainment release.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Thunder Force – 9th April

In a world where supervillains are commonplace, this Netflix comedy follows two estranged childhood best friends who reunite after one devises a treatment that gives them powers to protect their city – and the other can’t resist the urge to try it. Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer star.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Palm Springs – 9th April

The romantic comedy, starring Andy Samberg alongside Cristin Milioti, follows carefree Nyles (Andy Samberg) and reluctant maid of honour Sarah (Cristin Milioti) who have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding. Things soon get complicated when the pair find themselves unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other. Another Amazon Prime Video acquisition, this will be released in the UK early 2021.

Our review – plus where to watch it online

Sound of Metal – 12th April

Riz Ahmed stars in this film about a punk-metal drummer Ruben (Riz Ahmed) who begins to experience intermittent hearing loss. When a specialist tells him his condition will rapidly worsen, he thinks his music career — and with it his life — is over. His bandmate and girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke) checks the recovering heroin addict into a secluded sober house for the deaf in hopes it will prevent a relapse and help him learn to adapt to his new situation. But after being welcomed into a community that accepts him just as he is, Ruben has to choose between his equilibrium and the drive to reclaim the life he once knew. Using innovative sound design techniques, director Darius Marder takes audiences inside Ruben’s experience to vividly recreate his journey into a rarely examined world.

Available on: Amazon Prime Video

Final Days – 12th April

Johnny Martin’s zombie flick about the unfolding of a pandemic dramatises the damage that isolation can do to a person.

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

Promising Young Woman – 16th April

Nominated for 6 BAFTAs and 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Emerald Fennell’s feature debut stars Carey Mulligan as Cassie, a wickedly smart but focused woman, who in order to overcome events from her past lives a double life by night. Following an unexpected encounter, Cassie is given the chance to right the wrongs of the past.

Available on: Sky Cinema / NOW

Black Bear – 23rd April

Aubrey Plaza stars as a creatively blocked filmmaker at a lakeside retreat in this engaging and intriguingly structured indie thriller.

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

Spring Blossom – 23rd April

Suzanne Lindon revisits elements of her life in her directorial debut, which stars her as a gawky, awkward teenager who never seems to quite fit in. She only has eyes for 30-something actor Raphael (Arnaud Valois) who works at the theatre she passes each day. Curiosity gradually turns to infatuation in a tale of first love in sun-kissed Montmartre.

Available on: Curzon Home Cinema

Without Remorse – 30th April

Tom Clancy’s John Clark getting the feature film treatment in this thriller an elite Navy SEAL John Clark who uncovers an international conspiracy while seeking justice for the murder of his pregnant wife. Michael B Jorrdan stars as John, who joins forces with a fellow SEAL (Jodie Turner-Smith) and a shadowy CIA agent (Jamie Bell).

Available on: Amazon Prime Video

Nomadland – 30th April

Chloe Zhao’s awards frontrunner follows Fern (McDormand), who, after the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. The film is being released on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland as part of the recently launched Star section, at no extra cost to subscribers.

Available on: Disney+

The Mitchells vs the Machines – 30th April

A new animated family comedy from the humans who brought you Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse and The Lego Movie. If follows Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson), a creative outsider who is accepted into the film school of her dreams. But her plans to meet “her people” at college are upended when her nature-loving dad Rick (voiced by Danny McBride) determines the whole family should drive Katie to school together and bond as a family one last time. Suddenly, the Mitchells’ plans are interrupted by a tech uprising: all around the world, the electronic devices people love – from phones to appliances and an innovative new line of personal robots – decide it’s time to take over. With the help of two friendly malfunctioning robots, the Mitchells will have to get past their problems and work together to save each other and the world.

Available on: Netflix UK

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