July 2024 Movie Preview

Action/Comedy - dir. Mark Molloy
Streams on Netflix beginning July 3

After revisiting Coming to America with the 2021 Prime Video release Coming 2 America, Eddie Murphy now returns to his most successful franchise (well maybe we should forget that third film), the progenitor of the 80's action-comedy, Beverly Hills Cop. This debut feature from director Mark Molloy finds Detroit detective Axel Foley visiting Beverly Hills with hopes of seeing his daughter (Taylour Paige). When her life is threatened, Foley teams up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old friends Taggart (John Ashton) and Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) to uncover a conspiracy. Fans of the original films can expect to see Paul Reiser and Bronson Pinchot reprise their roles, and fans of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon will be happy to see Kevin Bacon as Captain Grant.

Foreign/Drama - dir. Levan Akin
In theaters July 19 (and streams on MUBI beginning August 30)

Writer-director Levin Akin's follow-up to And Then We Danced tells the story of Lia (Mzia Arabuli), a retired teacher from Georgia who travels to Istanbul to find her long-lost transgender niece, Tekla. Tagging along is her young neighbor Achi, and together they meet Evrim, a lawyer fighting for trans rights, and explore the hidden parts of the city. Recipient of the Jury Prize from the Teddy Award jury for LGBTQ-themed films at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival, the film has earned excellent early reviews.

Action/Comedy/Sci-fi - dir. Shawn Levy
In theaters July 26

Snarky Deadpool and sincere, suffering Wolverine are paired up for this fourth-wall-breaking buddy comedy, the third film to star Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The previous film, 2018's Deadpool 2, actually has a Metascore one point higher than the original, as well as a slightly bigger box-office haul, which represents a rarity in superhero sequels. Can this third film top them both? Adding Hugh Jackman to the mix won't hurt. This is director Shawn Levy's third consecutive feature starring Reynolds, beginning with Free Guy and continuing with The Adam Project, which shares a time-travel plot element with this latest Deadpool adventure. Marvel's first R-rated release features returning players Morena Baccarin, Karan Soni, Rob Delaney, Brianna Hildebrand and Leslie Uggams as well as newcomers Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova, Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Paradox, and a couple of superheroes from the past—Tyler Mane's Sabretooth and Jennifer Garner's Elektra.

Animation/Family - dir. Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage
In theaters July 3

Since the release of Despicable Me in 2010, the animated franchise has been a cash cow for Illumination Studios, producing now a fourth movie following 2 and 3 (thanks for the blessedly uncomplicated titles), two Minion spin-off features—Minions and Minions: The Rise of Gru (with a third expected)—as well as games and TV shows. The latest adventure in the main series finds Gru (Steve Carell), his wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig), and their three adopted daughters (Margo, Edith, and Agnes) joined by Gru Jr., who is intent on being a troublemaker. Gru's life is further complicated by escaped criminal Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell), whose desire for revenge forces the Gru family to go on the run. If that's not enough plot, there are also five Mega Minions (Dave, Gus, Tim, Mel, and Jerry) who now have superpowers. Early reviews are slightly better than those for the last film, but some critics do find it a little overstuffed.

Comedy/Drama - dir. Sean Wang
In theaters July 26

Writer-director Sean Wang's impressive feature debut won two awards at this year's Sundance Film Festival—the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic competition and a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Ensemble for the performance from its cast. Izaac Wang stars as Chris, a Taiwanese American kid growing up in Fremont, California with his mother (Joan Chen), grandmother (played by Wang 's grandmother Chang Li Hua), and older sister Vivian (Shirley Chen), who's about to leave for college. Set in 2008, this slice of 13-year-old life beautifully captures the awkward missteps and small triumphs of growing up in an online world during the last month before high school.

Rom-com - dir. Greg Berlanti
In theaters July 12

Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum star in this romantic comedy set during the space race of the 1960s. Johansson's Kelly Jones is a marketing genius hired to solve NASA's PR problem and then serve as the producer of a fake moon landing, just in case the real mission, led by launch director Cole Davis (Tatum), fails. Longtime TV and film writer-director-producer Greg Berlanti (Love, Simon) is at the helm of a film that should appeal to ScarJo, ChaTum, and conspiracy fans alike.

Foreign/Action/Drama/Thriller - dir. Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
In theaters July 4

If you're looking for an action extravaganza in the vein of John Wick this month, look no further than the latest from writer-director Nikhil Nagesh Bhat. Featuring plenty of brutal, close-quarters combat from Se-yeong Oh, the same fight choreographer who worked on Bong Joon Ho's Snowpiercer and with his partner on this film, Parvez Shaikh, on War, it's the non-stop action of The Raid but set on a train. The simple story follows army commando Amrit (Lakshya) as he boards a train to propose to his true love, Tulika (Tanya Maniktala), who is engaged to another. But when a gang of thieves begin to terrorize innocent passengers, Amrit has no choice but to do what the film title says, and a lot of it.

Horror/Thriller - dir. Oz Perkins
In theaters July 12

Filmmaker Oz Perkins has consistently made dread-filled horror films (The Blackcoat's Daughter, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, Gretel & Hansel), and his latest promises to continue that trend. Maika Monroe (It Follows, The Guest, Watcher) plays FBI agent Lee Harker, who is tasked by her boss, Agent Carter (Blair Underwood), to investigate a series of what appear to be murder-suicides save for a letter written in code and signed Longlegs placed at each crime scene. With echoes of The Silence of the Lambs, plenty of gruesome, blood-spurting violence—plus Nicolas Cage in the role of Longlegs—Perkins has created a procedural permeated with evil.

Documentary - dir. David Hinton
In theaters July 12

In this David Hinton documentary, Martin Scorsese leads viewers through the work of filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, including, but not limited to The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, I Know Where I'm Going!, A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, and The Tales of Hoffmann. Scorsese has a personal and professional attachment to Powell, having brought him to America and introduced him to his wife Thelma Schoonmaker, Scorsese's longtime editor. Since Powell's death, Schoonmaker has had a role in restoring the duo's films, which viewers should seek out before enjoying Scorsese's walk down memory lane.

Horror - dir. Ti West
In theaters July 5

Writer-director Ti West and muse Mia Goth complete their horror trilogy that began with X, flashed back with Pearl, and now resumes with Maxine in the 1980s. She has found success in porn but dreams of crossing over into more mainstream fare, and she gets her chance when she's cast in a supporting role alongside Molly Bennett (Lily Collins) by Elizabeth Debicki's Elizabeth Bender, the director of the buzzy horror movie The Puritan II. Meanwhile, Kevin Bacon plays a private detective causing trouble for Maxine while the Night Stalker is haunting the streets of Los Angeles while being pursued by two LAPD detectives (Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale), who have a few questions for Maxine as well. Giancarlo Esposito, Halsey, and Moses Sumner round out the cast.

Drama - dir. Luke Gilford
In theaters July 12

Photographer Luke Gilford makes his feature directing debut with this story inspired by his book National Anthem: America 's Queer Rodeo. Charlie Palmer stars as Dylan, who works odd jobs in rural New Mexico to support his little brother and alcoholic mother. When he takes a gig working at House of Splendor, a home for a community of queer rodeo performers, a new world opens up to him as he is drawn to drawn to Sky (Eve Lindley). Gilford smartly and movingly challenges people's preconceptions around identity and sexuality.

Foreign/Drama/Rom-com - dir. Monia Chokri
In theaters July 5

Actor-writer-director Monica Chokri's third feature (following A Brother's Love and Babysitter) follows the romantic adventures of Sophia (Magalie Lépine Blondeau), a married 40-year-old philosophy professor who begins an affair with Sylvain, the craftsman renovating her country house. Their passionate affair hits a few bumps along the way as Sophia tries to reconcile her wealthy, intellectual background and Sylvain's working-class roots. Chokri creates an entertaining and perceptive romantic comedy, exploring female desire, class differences, and social pressure.

Drama - dir. Greg Kwedar
In limited release July 12 / expands nationwide August 2

In this follow-up to his Oscar-nominated work in Rustin, Colman Domingo plays Divine G, a wrongfully imprisoned inmate at the infamous New York prison of the title who finds purpose in acting in a theater group based on the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program. Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley, the duo behind Jockey (Kwedar directs this time), cast real-life ex-convicts (including Clarence Maclin) who graduated from the program to work alongside Domingo and Sound of Metal's Paul Raci, who plays a sympathetic teacher leading the group.

Documentary - dir. Jeff Zimbalist
In IMAX theaters July 12 / streams on Netflix beginning July 19

Jeff Zimbalist (Nossa Chape) directs this documentary on Russian rooftoppers Vanya Beerkus and Angela Nikolau, who once admired each other's work from afar before teaming-up and eventually becoming a couple known for scaling some of the tallest structures in the world (oftentimes illegally) and posting evidence of their feats on social media. If it is death-defying thrills you seek (and you don't suffer from acrophobia), see it on an IMAX screen before it comes to Netflix.

Action/Thriller - dir. Lee Isaac Chung
In theaters and IMAX July 19

In the summer of 1996, cinematographer turned director Jan de Bont made good on the success of 1994's Speed with Twister, which finished the year second to Independence Day in box office success. It's almost surprising that it has taken this long to get another summer movie out of the made-for-thrills premise of a group of scientists driving toward the destructive power of a tornado. This time, Minari writer-director Lee Isaac Chung is the conductor of the windblown chaos. And trying to continue his hot streak after the commercial success of Anyone But You and critical praise of Hit Man is Glenn Powell, who stars as Tyler Owens, a "tornado wrangler" who aids Daisy Edgar-Jones' Kate Carter, a former storm chaser who returns to the open plains to help her friend Javi (Anthony Ramos) during a particularly intense storm season (as is revealed in the trailer - "We got twins! Twins!).