The Best Films Out Now

THE BEST FILMS OUT NOW theartsdesk recommends the top movies of the moment

theartsdesk recommends the top movies of the moment

There are films to meet every taste in theartsdesk's guide to the best movies currently on release. In our considered opinion, any of the titles below is well worth your attention.

Enola Holmes ★★★★ Millie Bobby Brown gives the patriarchy what-for in a new Sherlock-related franchise

The Haystack, Hampstead Theatre review - a chilling surveillance state thriller

★★★ THE HAYSTACK, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE A chilling surveillance state thriller

This flawed but trenchant new spy drama asks who's watching the watchers

With counter-terrorism an urgent concern – and specifically how best to find, track and use the data of suspected threats, without sacrificing our privacy and civil liberties – it’s excellent timing for a meaty drama about the surveillance state.

John le Carré: Agent Running in the Field review - fake news, Brexit and Cold war echoes

★★★★ JOHN LE CARRÉ: AGENT RUNNING IN THE FIELD A sharply contemporary thriller from the master spy writer

Masterly spy writer's latest is a sharply contemporary thriller

That John le Carré! It turns out the agent isn’t so much running in the field as playing badminton. The master of the spy novel, of the foibles fantasies and sadnesses of our imperfect world – with the occasional excursion to excoriate Big Pharma and the like – has produced a magnificent slow burner.

Killing Eve, Series 2, BBC One review - the award-winning show returns

★★★★ KILLING EVE, SERIES 2, BBC ONE The relationship between the spy and the assassin continues to fascinate

A new writer/director makes the relationship between the spy and the assassin as fascinating as ever

At the end of the first series, MI6 spy Eve (Sandra Oh) stabs psychopathic assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) in the stomach as they’re together on the bed in Villanelle’s gorgeous Paris flat ("chic as shit" according to Eve). “I really liked you! It hurts!” cries Villanelle. Series two doesn't mess about. It starts 30 seconds later, as Eve rushes down the spiral staircase, gasping, distraught, carrying a bloody knife.

Summer of Rockets, BBC Two review - pride and prejudice in 1950s Britain

★★★★★ SUMMER OF ROCKETS, BBC TWO Pride and prejudice in 1950s Britain

Real-life experiences make Stephen Poliakoff's Cold War drama ring true

Hallelujah! At last the BBC have commissioned a Stephen Poliakoff series that makes you want to come back for episode two (and hopefully all six), thanks to a powerful cast making the most of some perceptively-written roles.

Deep State, Series 2, Fox review - covert conspiracies in Africa

★★★ DEEP STATE, SERIES 2, FOX Mali is new battleground for superpower skulduggery

Mali is the new battleground for superpower skulduggery

Last year’s first season of Deep State featured cloak and dagger exploitations of chaos in the Middle East by the capitalist West and its intelligence services. Judging by its opening episode, this second iteration is about to do something similar, except moving the target area left and down a bit to Niger and Mali.

The Rubenstein Kiss, Southwark Playhouse review - slick spy drama doesn't quite come together

★★★ THE RUBENSTEIN KISS, SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE Slick spy drama doesn't quite come together

Excellent performances aren't enough to cover the holes in this fictionalised account of the Rosenbergs

It's an ideal time to revive James Phillips's debut The Rubenstein Kiss. Since it won the John Whiting Award for new writing in 2005 its story, of ideological differences tearing a family apart, has only become more relevant. Joe Harmston directs a slick production at the Southwark Playhouse, which never quite manages to coalesce into something great.