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July is a month for beach days, fireworks, and, of course, blockbusters. This month sees some of the year’s hottest movies arrive in cinemas: Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” has already sold out IMAX screenings across the country, “Moana” seeks to recreate the box office success of the animated Disney classic, and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” promises a fresh start for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.
But sometimes, you don’t want to make it out to the theater; you want to veg out with an old favorite or a new discovery on your own couch. Luckily, Netflix has some great options this summer. From one of the best “Godzilla” movies to recent Oscar contenders, queer coming-of-age movies and another Tom Holland Spider-Man movie, there’s plenty of films to satisfy all different types of audience members.
Keep reading for our picks for the best seven movies coming to Netflix this July.
“Godzilla” and Toho’s classic giant monster franchises are bigger than ever nowadays after the breakout success of “Godzilla Minus One,” but many of their earlier films deserve some broader exposure. July’s the perfect time, with Netflix adding some gems, including the three-part “Rebirth of Mothra” trilogy from the ’90s.
The standout pick, though, is 2001’s “Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack,” one of the best films starring the King of Monsters. A dark standalone tale, the film reimagines Godzilla as a creature possessed by the souls of those killed by Japan in the Pacific War, as he emerges from a deep slumber to enact vengeance upon a modern-day country that has forgotten its own crimes. Featuring bold visual effects work and some of the most thrilling filmmaking in kaiju genre history, it’s a worthy appetizer for “Godzilla Minus Zero” this fall.
With all due respect to the “Mank”-heads among us, “Gone Girl” is David Fincher’s last great movie, a razor-sharp, wildly entertaining thriller that faithfully adapts the propulsive, addictive adrenaline rush of Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel. Ben Affleck has never been more well-suited to a role than he was Nick Dunne, a writing teacher whose apathetic, smug demeanor proves disastrous to his public persona when his wife Amy abruptly goes missing.
A great supporting cast — from an always on-point Carrie Coon to a shockingly funny Tyler Perry — fills out the cast, but the true breakout is Rosemund Pike, whose acidic portrayal of the complicated Amy made her one of the 2010s most iconic — and debated — film characters.
Bennett Miller’s beloved “Moneyball” is the platonic ideal of a cable movie weekend watch — something easy enough to throw on during a slow day at home, but engaging and fulfilling enough to actually pay attention to. Brad Pitt stars as the real-life Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, as he uses sports analytics to assemble a competitive roster for the baseball team despite low funds. With engaging performances from Pitt and Jonah Hill, and an Oscar-nominated script that’s both funny and touching, it’s a perfect crowdpleaser, no matter the size of your at-home group.
“Hamnet” was one of the most argued-over films of the last Oscar season, with people either loving or despising its precisely engineered efforts to reduce audiences to a blubbering mess. Now you can see for yourself at home.
Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel stars Jessie Buckley, in an Oscar-winning performance, as Agnes, wife of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), as she contends with the death of their son Hamnet. Tackling the processing of grief through art and how we choose to remember the people we loved, the film, if nothing else, is a great vehicle for Buckley, who’s utterly heartbreaking as a parent living her worst nightmare.
Unlike most franchises that stumble when they extend into spinoffs and prequels, “The Hunger Games” series came back with its best movie after an eight-year hiatus. Based on the novel of the same name, “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” tells the origin story behind President Snow’s rise to power, serving as the mentor to Lucy Gray, a tribute in the titular “Hunger Games” tournament.
Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler prove able performers at capturing the twisted dynamic that develops between the leads, while franchise director staple Francis Lawrence supplies plenty of action and compelling political scheming. “The Hunger Games” has always had more to say than your average YA series, and as a portrait of the corrosive and soul-destroying nature of fascism, “The Ballads of Songbirds & Snakes” is the most compelling and persuasive the franchise has ever been.
For three seasons, “Heartstopper” has been the sweetest, most optimistic queer romance on TV, a portrait of two boys coming of age and falling in love that tackles some hard topics with the firm insistence that they can be overcome and conquered. Now, we get to see Charlie and Nick finally grow up, and get a sense of where life is taking them, with “Heartstopper Forever,” a feature film finale to the TV series.
With Nick heading to university, the couple attempts to navigate the pressures of a long-distance relationship, and whether they can make their relationship last. Whether they figure it out or not, expect Kit Connor and Joe Locke to give the same consistently excellent performances they have in the show.
In convenient timing, Netflix is adding one of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man films right before “Brand New Day” hits theaters this July. And it’s his best one at that; while “Far from Home” and “No Way Home” largely lost track of the core appeal of the character, “Homecoming” tells a classic teen coming-of-age story wrapped in a Spider-Man suit to effective and charming results.
Holland, in his breakout role, is a complete charmer as Peter, who struggles with navigating high school and his superhero career. Jon Watts stages some sharp action scenes, while Michael Keaton proves one of the MCU’s most interesting villains as the mercurial Vulture.
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