National Science and Media Museum

Aquaman

• 
• 2018
• US
• 2h 23min

• Directed by: James Wan
• Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman
• UK release: 14 December 2018

Jason Momoa stars as the heir to Atlantis in the latest DC superhero flick.

Arthur Christmas

• 
• 2011
• UK/US
• 1h 37min
• U

• Directed by: Sarah Smith
• Written by: Peter Baynham, Sarah Smith
• Cast: James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen, Ramona Marquez
• UK release: 11 November 2011

Arthur Christmas (McAvoy) is the overlooked star of the Santa team, but when it looks like a small girl's present may not get delivered, he enlists the help of his curmudgeonly grandfather (Nighy). With characters boringly reflecting different degrees of niceness, this contrived family feud lacks the wit that made…

Beautiful Boy

• 
• 2018
• US

• Directed by: Felix Van Groeningen
• Cast: Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney
• UK release: 18 January 2019

David (Carell) is a successful freelance journalist whose son Nic (Chalamet) becomes dependent on meth. True-life story of family breakdown, capturing the never-ending cycle of rehab and relapse; handsomely photographed but repetitive and a bit formulaic, but Chalamet is outstanding.

A Beautiful Planet

• 2016
• 45min
• U

• Directed by: Toni Myers

A breath-taking portrait of the planet captured from the International Space Station.

Bolshoi Ballet Live: The Nutcracker

• 2017

Sugarplum Fairies and Rat Kings live from Russia.

The CBeebies Christmas Show: Thumbelina

• 2018
• UK
• 1h 10min
• U

Special Christmas show from CBeebies.

Disobedience

• 
• 2018
• UK / Ireland / US
• 1h 54min
• 15

• Directed by: Sebastián Lelio
• Cast: Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, Alessandro Nivola
• UK release: 30 November 2018

Ronit (Weisz) is a photographer from an Orthodox Jewish family who comes home after her father’s death to find her teenage lover (McAdams) has married her father’s protégé (Nivola). Dour but engaging portrait of a cloistered community, intimate and authentic but also a little clumsy.

Free Solo

• 
• 2018
• US
• 1h 40min
• 12A

• Directed by: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Documentary about free solo climber Alex Honnold and his ambition to ascend El Capitan in Yosemite national park. Insightful and exhilarating, showing how Honnold’s personal life and background have affected his climbing, and how the filmmakers themselves had to take special efforts not to distract him into making a…

The Greatest Showman

• 
• 2017
• US
• 1h 45min
• PG

• Directed by: Michael Gracey
• Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya

A musical version of the life of showman and genius of hype PT Barnum (Jackman), and how he went from running a museum of ‘curiosities’ to promoting Swedish soprano Jenny Lind (Ferguson). Jackman has rock-star charisma and Gracey delivers a kaleidoscopic, family-friendly spectacle.

It's A Wonderful Life

• 
• 1946
• US
• 2h 9min
• U

• Directed by: Frank Capra
• Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers

Small-town boy Stewart runs into financial difficulties and is on the brink of suicide when an elderly angel descends to earth to show him all the good his life has done for those around him. Archetypal Capra sentimentality with a superbly detailed fantasy framework and one of Stewart's most lovable performances. One to…

Mary Poppins Returns

• 2018
• US
• 2h 10min
• PG

• Directed by: Rob Marshall
• Cast: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep

Long-awaited sequel to the Disney classic, featuring Emily Blunt as the titular magical nanny.

Metropolitan Opera Live: La Traviata

• 2018

Verdi's opera about the passionate, consumptive Violetta, conducted by Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Mysteries of the Unseen World

• 2013
• US
• 39min
• U

• Directed by: Louis Schwartzberg
• Written by: Mose Richards

Educational film.

National Theatre Live: Antony & Cleopatra

Simon Goodwin's adaptation of Shakespeare's play with Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo in the titular roles, broadcast live from the National Theatre.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

• 
• 1993
• US
• 1h 16min
• PG

• Directed by: Henry Selick
• Written by: Tim Burton (story), Michael McDowell (adaptation), Caroline Thompson (screenplay)
• Cast: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Ken Page
• UK release: 25 November 1994

Jack Skellington, the skinny trickster king of Halloweentown, is restless with success and needs a new challenge, so he hatches a plot to kidnap Santa and creates a mixed-up Yuletide which isn't quite what the kids expected. Produced and based on a story and characters by Tim Burton.

The Old Man and The Gun

• 
• 2018
• US
• 1h 33min

• Directed by: David Lowery
• Cast: Robert Redford, Casey Affleck, Sissy Spacek
• UK release: 7 December 2018

Based on the true story of Forrest Tucker (Redford), a career criminal and perpetual prison escapee, who’s being chased by Texas lawman John Hunt (Affleck). Redford says it’ll be his last film and it’s a fitting ending: playful, highly entertaining and made with great skill.

The Polar Express

• 2004

• Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
• Cast: Tom Hanks

A boy travels on a magical train bound for the North Pole and Santa Claus.

Purple Rain

• 1984
• US
• 1h 51min
• 15

• Directed by: Albert Magnoli
• Cast: Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day

A talent for music is one thing, but when an aspiring singer, Apollonia, approaches The Kid (Prince) he discovers that talent alone isn't the only thing he desires.

Shoplifters

• 
• 2018
• Japan
• 2h 1min

• Directed by: Hirokazu Koreeda
• Cast: Kirin Kiki, Lily Franky, Sakura Andô
• UK release: 23 November 2018

A family in Tokyo lives by shoplifting, and then Osamu (Franky) and Shota (Kairi) bring home a little girl who seems to be homeless. The humanity of the performances and the loving attention to visual detail are of a piece in what’s ultimately a film about love.

Sorry to Bother You

• 
• 2018
• US
• 1h 51min
• 15

• Directed by: Boots Riley
• Cast: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler

Cassius (Stanfield) is a downtrodden drudge who becomes a star at a call centre after fellow telemarketer Langston (Glover) tells him to ‘use your white voice’. Brash, unruly and frequently funny satire on race, power, corporate greed and work; it doesn’t really know how to end, but it’s full of attitude and anarchy.

Space Station

• 2003
• Canada/US
• 47min
• U

• Directed by: Toni Myers

Narrated by Tom Cruise, this big screen IMAX 3D presentation follows real astronauts into the big blue. Impressive, but not as awesome as it should have been.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

• 
• 2018
• US

• Directed by: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
• Cast: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Nicolas Cage

Miles Morales (Moore) is an average kid living in a New York where Spider-Man exists, but he then gets bitten himself by a radioactive spider and starts developing familiar abilities. Hugely imaginative animated adventure which dispenses with the familiar origin story and looks like a comic come to life. Hilarious…

Stan & Ollie

• 
• 2018
• UK / Canada / US

• Directed by: Jon S. Baird
• Cast: Steve Coogan, John C. Reilly, Shirley Henderson, Danny Huston, Nina Arianda, Rufus Jones, Susy Kane

The true story of Hollywood’s greatest comedy duo act, with Steve Coogan and John C Reilly as the iconic pair.

Three Identical Strangers

• 
• 2018
• UK
• 1h 36min
• 12A

• Directed by: Tim Wardle
• Cast: Bobby Shafran, Eddy Galland, David Kellman
• UK release: 30 November 2018

Documentary about three men, Bobby Shafran, Eddy Galland and David Kellman, who had never met but who discovered in adult life that they were triplets. Wardle uses dogged journalistic focus and expert filmmaking to tell each jaw-dropping revelation, in a powerful and emotional study of family and identity.

Walking with Dinosaurs: Prehistoric Planet

• 2016
• 42min
• E

• Directed by: Richard Dale, Barry Cook, Neil Nightingale
• Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch

This BBC Earth film follows the story of a herd of large, plant-eating dinosaurs. Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch.

The Wild Pear Tree

• 
• 2018
• Turkey / Republic of Macedonia / France / Germany / Bosnia and Herzgovina / Bulgaria / Sweden

• Directed by: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
• Cast: Dogu Demirkol, Murat Cemcir, Hazar Ergüçlü

Sinan (Demirkol), recently graduated from college, returns to his home village and an uncertain future. Elegiac and somewhat meandering tale of a prodigal son and an errant father, beautifully filmed and impeccably acted, confirming its director’s status as a modern-day Chekhov.

The Wizard of Oz

• 
• 1939
• US
• 1h 42min
• U

• Directed by: Victor Fleming
• Cast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley

Miserable Dorothy runs away from home but is soon whisked up into a magical land where her adventures teach her that happiness is to be found in her own back yard. Classic stuff indeed, just chockful of great songs, characterisation and memorably garish design. Perhaps marginally less enjoyable for the curmudgeonly…