After a moderately slow Winter for theatrical releases, March and April saw the blossoming of many big films just as Spring began. After the multiple prominent releases that dotted June, both the major studios and the lesser-known independent ones have readied themselves for a big Summer movie season.
Just as Summer signals growth and nourishment in our seasonal calendar, it also symbolizes a new dawn for the film industry as the fruits of filmmakers’ labor begin the process of germination. With Summer movies pouring in at a rapid pace, these are just some of the current standouts screening in theaters as we jump around the month of July.
Updated July 15th, 2023: Originally written by Patrick Hayes, this list has been updated by Sean Shuman with more exciting films that are currently playing in theaters.
Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part One
The long awaited continuation of the Mission Impossible franchise, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part One, has finally arrived. After facing numerous setbacks during the coronavirus pandemic — including some viral blow-ups from the film's lead, Tom Cruise — the final product looks to be one of the best in the Mission Impossible franchise yet.
A returning Ethan Hunt and his team must track down a terrifying doomsday weapon across every corner of the globe, pushing them further than they've ever gone before. Ethan must eventually decide what's more important: the mission, or the safety of the ones he loves.
Mission Impossible is one of those franchises where, despite its age, it hasn't ever really let up; in fact, things have seemingly only gotten more and more intense with each new installment. This first exciting entry in a two-parter is sure to entertain newcomers and longtime fans of the series alike, with Cruise himself being incredibly vocal about his excitement for it.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Is Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny a perfect movie? Well, mixed review scores and bombing at the box office may say otherwise. The film has certainly had a polarizing effect on both casual audiences and longtime fans of the series. Some have even rightly praised the film for undoing the mess that was Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, as well as introducing brilliant actors like Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge into the series.
Despite the mixed reception, there's some fun to be had in Dial of Destiny. It's great to see Harrison Ford return to a role he genuinely enjoys, some of the film's action sequences justify its gargantuan budget, and there's a genuine grandiose adventure to be had. After all, it got a lengthy applause session at Cannes: clearly, it's doing something right somewhere.
Insidious: The Red Door
The next exciting entry in the Insidious franchise is here, terrifying audiences once more with Insidious: The Red Door. A direct sequel to Insidious: Chapter 2, this exciting horror flick features a returning Patrick Wilson both acting and directing as the Lambert family get themselves in a rut. Josh and a college-aged Dalton find themselves returning to The Further, going deeper than they've ever done before while facing horrors both old and new behind a sinister red door.
Featuring both James Wan and Jason Blum producing, it's safe to say that Patrick Wilson's directorial debut has been a smash hit with just about everyone. Despite its connections to Chapter 2, The Red Door can be equally enjoyed as a standalone picture, one with some incredibly tense moments amplified by Wilson's direction. But be forewarned, there may not be a happy ending in store for our traumatized Daltons anytime soon.
Joy Ride
Raunchy comedies are seemingly coming back, and Joy Ride is certainly one of the better ones to be released in recent years. A twist on a typical road trip movie, Joy Ride sees a group of four Asian-American friends (Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu) in search of a long-lost family member. Along the way, they'll find the true meaning of friendship amid extreme debauchery, copious drug use, and plenty of shock value.
Is it the most original film? Not necessarily. But even if Joy Ride utilizes a tried-and-true formula, it more than makes up for it in its stellar cast. A road trip movie lives and dies on its cast, and thankfully all four of our leads have immaculate timing and hilarious chemistry. The positives far outweigh the negatives in this gross-out comedy, making Joy Ride a treat for easy-viewing audiences.
No Hard Feelings
Speaking of raunchy comedies, we have No Hard Feelings. Co-starring Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Feldman, this adult comedy sees Lawrence playing an Uber driver who finds herself at risk of losing her home. But when an offer to date an introverted nineteen-year-old comes via a pair of wealthy parents, her financial worries may be a thing of the past. Unfortunately, nobody ever said things would be that easy.
A film that purposefully acknowledges its slightly-uncomfortable subject, No Hard Feelings is primarily a film about dealing with insecurities, though it's far from being sentimental or sappy. It's also a surprisingly strong comedic start for Jennifer Lawrence, likely opening the door for her to lead more comedies in the future. Until then, No Hard Feelings is certainly a proof-of-concept for the idea.
Asteroid City
Film geeks rejoice, Wes Anderson's next film is finally here. Asteroid City takes place in a 1955 desert town, wherein an ensemble cast create a play based on the events an alternate future version of a Stargazer convention, while simultaneously acting out said play. Admittedly, it's a bit of a mouthful.
Luckily, if you're a fan of Wes Anderson's work, you can expect his usual bag of tricks and then some. In addition to this, when we say an "ensemble" cast, we're not exaggerating. Just off the top of our heads: Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, and Steve Carrell are all in attendance. Quirky characters, unique cinematography, and an interesting premise make Asteroid City one of Anderson's more interesting entires in his filmography.
Biosphere
Biosphere has an incredibly simple premise: two men, played by Sterling K. Brown (Black Panther, Frozen II) and Mark Duplass (Creep, Zero Dark Thirty) are the last two human beings on Earth. Stuck inside a self-sustaining home in the post-apocalypse, Brown and Duplass are seemingly stuck in one place for eternity as they pass the time together.
Switching between comedy and drama on a moment's notice, Biosphere is one of those movies where the less you know about it, the better the surrounding movie is. Thankfully, both Brown and Duplass are thoroughly entertaining in their own right, with their combined performances amounting to a breezy viewing experience. If that's not enough of a sell, Biosphere also twists and turns into a pretty unexpected direction: but again, we won't spoil it for you here.
Earth Mama
Another A24 outing has people talking. Written and directed by Savanah Leaf, Earth Mama sees Tia Nomore playing a pregnant mother with two children currently in foster care. With the weight of the world on her shoulders, she turns to the surrounding community of the California Bay Area in order to retrieve her older children from foster care while tending to her late-term pregnancy.
Sometimes, the most compelling films are the simplest. Earth Mama doesn't take any extreme twists or turns, but instead tells a heart-wrenching drama story with some experimental direction here and there. Earth Mama marks Leaf's feature-length debut, and through combining this practical approach with cold lighting and a brilliant leading performance, it's the hopeful start to what will likely be a successful venture into filmmaking.
The League
Baseball is as American as apple pie, but the sport has a lengthy history associated with it. Sam Pollard takes an intricate view at a particularly fascinating portion of baseball history in The League, a documentary that focuses on the apparent and not-so-apparent influences of "Negro league" baseball in a greater historical context.
If you weren't aware, the Negro leagues were exclusively made up of Black Americans, originally formed due to their exclusion from both major and minor leagues. They would be originally formed sometime in the late 1850s, before gaining national prominence in the 1920s and ultimately being dissolved in the 1960s.
But there's more to these leagues than just baseball. Pollard paints a historical view of the leagues through exclusive interviews and archival footage, incorporating them into both worldly events and the growing civil rights movement in the US.
Amanda
Written and directed by Carolina Cavalli, this independent Italian comedy-drama stars Benedetta Porcaroli as our titular lead. At 24-years-old, Amanda has lived a life of isolation, but despite the stigma attached to such an existence, she finds some comfort in it. However, spurred by happenstance, she finds herself compelled to reconnect with her best friend from childhood. If Amanda tries hard enough, she may be able to convince her old friend that they’re still attached at the hip.
Certainly an unconventional film, Amanda takes this concept and rolls with it to a logical conclusion. Ultimately a film about the difficulties of making friends in adulthood, it's a story that we can all likely relate to, albeit with a tad less narcissism.
Susie Searches
A college student (Kiersey Clemons) with a terminally ill mother and struggling podcast decides to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a popular classmate. Susie Searches is a dark comedy and borderline sinister thriller on the trappings of social media fixation. The need for belonging and a desperate desire for fame leads a seemingly sympathetic protagonist down a troubling path. The film makes clever use of voiceover narration, reaction shots, and deft camera placement to layer a narrative with twists aplenty, some you can spot a mile away, but the performances and directorial execution is very good. A funny supporting cast and tense direction from Sophie Kargman seal the deal on this thriller comedy.
Talk to Me
Talk to Me has already become one of the most acclaimed horror films of the year, and it's only been out for a few days. A group of Australian teenagers have discovered a new social media fad. A ceramic hand — allegedly encasing an actual human member — can open a dialogue with the souls of the dead. Mia (Sophie Wilde) and Jade (Alexandra Jensen) attend a party with some friends to see if the rumors about the hand have any merit. The pair have a long history as best friends, with Mia becoming an unofficial big sister to Jade’s younger brother, Riley (Joe Bird). Riley and Jade’s mother, Sue (Miranda Otto), also dotes over Mia, who lost her own mother to a drug overdose.
Mia, Jade, Riley, and Jade’s boyfriend Daniel (Otis Dhanji) all get to see the hand’s power in action: for exactly 90 seconds, a participant dissociates from his body and experiences a rush of euphoria. Everyone else in the room then get to watch as various spirits inhabit the participant’s body. Exceed the 90 seconds, and the spirits can take permanent control. At first, the kids love the novelty of talking to the dead. Then Mia makes contact with her dead mother, and things take a dangerous turn.
Oppenheimer
Christopher Nolan explores the life, controversial legacy, and significant scientific contributions of J. Robert Oppenheimer in a tense, superbly-acted biopic. Based on the biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the film chronicles the "father of the atomic bomb" through an unvarnished lens. Oppenheimer is one of the biggest films of the year, a massive epic that is more of a character study and courtroom drama than the typical explosive Nolan spectacle like Interstellar or Inception, but is infinitely gripping nonetheless.
Barbie
One of the most unexpected hits of the year, Barbie has taken audiences by storm and is on its way toward $1 billion. The dazzling pink blockbuster is a clever meta movie about the classic Mattel doll and its place in the world, and the many different things it represents, both good and bad. With a stunning cast led with perfect performances from Margot Robbie and a hilarious Ryan Gosling, and incredible production design, Barbie may be the most misunderstood movie of the year, but it's certainly a conversation-starter everyone should see to equip themselves in the culture war.
Haunted Mansion
Two decades after the abominable Eddie Murphy film version of a Disney theme park ride, Haunted Mansion does the impossible a creates a genuinely fun horror-comedy for the whole family. A grieving former scientist gets much more than he bargained for after volunteering to help a widow and her young son with pesky unwanted house guests. Haunted Mansion captures the spooky fun of the theme park ride with a gaggle of family-friendly humor. LaKeith Stanfield leads an all-star cast on a paranormal adventure loaded with banner visual effects. The film vastly improves on the 2003 adaptation by never succumbing to silliness. The opposite is true, as Haunted Mansion has a detailed storyline and solid emotional core. It runs a tad long with complexity but keeps the grins and goosebumps coming.