July 2019 Movie Preview

After my brief stint of final exams, I’m finally back to the movies, and what a great time to do so! We have reached the peak of summer movie season, and there’s so much to look forward to – and so many reasons to be in a dark cinema with AC! With flashy summer action films (Spider-Man: Far From Home and Stuber), true crime documentaries to stream (I Love You, Now Die and The Great Hack) and classic stories we know and love once again on the big screen (The Lion King and Easy Rider 50th Anniversary) there’s so much to see this month! Welcome to our July 2019 movie preview, where we let you know about the noteworthy releases of the month and follow them up with 5 top picks. Hope to see you at the movies!

Noteworthy Releases

Spider-Man: Far From Home – July 2nd (Theatrical)

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever. (IMDb)

Directed by Jon Watts. Written by Chris McKenna and Eric Sommers.

Starring Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Martin Starr, Angourie Rice, Jacob Batalon and Tony Revolori.

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am – July 5th (Theatrical)

This artful and intimate meditation on the legendary storyteller examines her life, her works and the powerful themes she has confronted throughout her literary career. (IMDb)

Directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders.

Featuring Toni Morrison, Oprah Winfrey and Fran Leibowitz.

I Love You, Now Die – July 9th (HBO)

(review)

Teen Michelle Carter’s actions shocked a nation – but what really happened behind closed doors? This HBO special showcases the prosecution’s point of view and alternately the
defense’s. Which side do you fall on? (IMDb)

Directed by Erin Lee Carr.

Cities of Last Things – July 11th (Netflix)

This is a story about a common man who has extraordinary events in his mundane life. The film depicts the protagonist’s turns of events in three eras, three seasons, three nights, in the same city, as told with reverse chronology. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Wi Ding Ho.

Crawl – July 12th (Theatrical)

A young woman, while attempting to save her father during a Category 5 hurricane, finds herself trapped in a flooding house and must fight for her life against alligators. (IMDb)

Directed by Alexandre Aja. Written by Michael and Shawn Rasmussen.

Starring Kaya Scodelairo and Barry Pepper.

Stuber – July 12th (Theatrical)

(review)

A detective recruits his Uber driver into an unexpected night of adventure. (IMDb)

Directed by Michael Dowse. Written by Tripper Clancy.

Starring Dave Bautista, Kumail Nanjiani, Karen Gillan, Iko Uwais and Mira Sorvino.

Maiden – July 12th (Theatrical)

The story of Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old cook on charter boats, who became the skipper of the first ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1989. (IMDb)

Directed by Alex Holmes.

Featuring Tracy Edwards.

Point Blank – July 12th (Netflix)

To save his pregnant wife, an emergency room nurse teams up with an injured murder suspect in a race against time, rival criminals and renegade cops. (IMDb)

Directed by Joe Lynch. Written by Adam G. Simon.

Starring Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo, Marcia Gay Harden and Teyonah Parris.

Easy Rider 50th Anniversary – July 12th (Theatrical Re-Release)

Through the open country and desert lands, two bikers head from L.A to New Orleans, and along the way, meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap they are unaware of. (IMDb)

Directed by Dennis Hopper. Written by Hopper, Peter Fonda and Terry Southern.

Starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper.

Secret Obsession – July 18th (Netflix)

Recuperating from trauma, Jennifer remains in danger as she returns to a life she doesn’t remember. (IMDb)

Directed by Peter Sullivan. Written by Sullivan with Kraig Wenman.

Starring Brenda Song, Mike Vogel and Dennis Haysbert.

The Lion King – July 19th (Theatrical)

After the murder of his father, a young lion prince flees his kingdom only to learn the true meaning of responsibility and bravery. (IMDb)

Directed by Jon Favreau. Written by Jeff Nathanson.

Starring Seth Rogen, Donald Glover, Keegan-Michael Key, Chiwetel Ejiofor, James Earl Jones, Beyonce, Billy Eichner, Amy Sedaris, Alfre Woodard, Shahadi-Wright Joseph, Eric Andre and John Oliver.

Push – July 19th (Theatrical)

A documentary shedding light on the global phenomenon of the commodification of housing and consequent lack of affordability, especially through the eyes of Leilani Farha, a United Nations special rapporteur on housing who lives in Canada. (IMDb)

Directed by Fredrik Gertten.

The Great Hack – July 24th (Netflix)

The Cambridge Analytica scandal is examined through the roles of several affected persons. (IMDb)

Directed by Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim.

Astronaut – July 26th (Theatrical)

A lonely widower battles his family, ill health and time to win a competition for a golden ticket to space. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Shelagh McLeod.

Starring Richard Dreyfuss and Colm Feore.

Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood – July 26th (Theatrical)

A faded television actor and his stunt double strive to achieve fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood’s Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Starring Margot Robbie, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Al Pacino, Margaret Qualley, Kurt Russell, Damian Lewis, Luke Perry, Clifton Collins Jr., Lorenza Izzo, Maya Hawke, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, Lena Dunham, Scoot McNairy, Zoe Bell, Harley Quinn Smith, Rebecca Rittenhouse and Kate Berlant.

Share – July 27th (HBO)

After discovering a disturbing video from a night she doesn’t remember, sixteen-year-old Mandy must try to figure out what happened and how to navigate the escalating fallout. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Pippa Bianco.

Starring Rhianne Barreto and Charlie Plummer.

The Red Sea Diving Resort – July 31st (Netflix)

The incredible story of a group of international agents and brave Ethiopians who in the early 80s used a deserted holiday retreat in Sudan as a front to smuggle thousands of refugees to Israel. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Gideon Raff.

Starring Chris Evans, Haley Bennett, Michael Kenneth Williams, Greg Kinnear, Ben Kingsley and Alessandro Nivola.

Dan’s Top Five Picks of the Month

5. Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love – July 12th (Theatrical)

An in-depth look at the relationship between the late musician Leonard Cohen and his Norwegian muse Marianne Ihlen. (IMDb)

Directed by Nick Broomfield.

Why You Should See It: Leonard Cohen is an all time great, and although we’ve seen a fair share of documentaries on him, we’ve never really had a big screen portrayal of his influences or personal life. This deep delve into one of his most personal relationships and biggest inspirations is quite timely, and especially considering his unfortunate passing just over two years ago – making for a great opportunity to remember his legacy. Hallelujah to Leonard being back in the spotlight! (Who got that reference?)

4. The Farewell – July 19th (Theatrical)

A Chinese family discovers their grandmother has only a short while left to live and decide to keep her in the dark, scheduling a wedding to gather before she dies. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Lulu Wang.

Starring Awkwafina and Tzi Ma.

Why You Should See It: One of the most buzzed about titles at Sundance this year, which went to A24 in a major bidding war, is finally releasing to the public this month. Partially inspired by the life of director-writer Lulu Wang, this seems to be a moving and heartfelt story that will give us all the emotions this July. It’s especially exciting to see another fully east-asian ensemble in a post Crazy Rich Asians world, and especially for Awkwafina to grace us up on the big screen once again.

3. Midsommar – July 3rd (Theatrical)

(review)

A couple travels to Sweden to visit a rural hometown’s fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Ari Aster.

Starring Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor and Will Poulter.

Why You Should See It: With only one feature to his name, director Ari Aster has already earned auteur status for Hereditary, one of the most praised films of last year, and is back to haunt our nightmares once again. With quite a great cast and a very impressive visual aesthetic, here’s hoping to Aster doing for Swedish culture what he did for peanut allergies and tongue clicking in Hereditary.

2. The Last Black Man in San Francisco – July 5th (Theatrical)

A young man searches for home in the changing city that seems to have left him behind. (IMDb)

Directed by Joe Talbot. Written by Talbot and Rob Richert.

Starring Jimmie Fails, Danny Glover, Tichina Arnold, Rob Morgan, Mike Epps, Finn Wittrock and Thora Birch.

Why You Should See It: Visionaries and real-life best friends Jimmie Fails and Joe Talbot have collaborated here to tell a story of particular significance to their friendship, a jury-prize winner at this year’s Sundance film festival. An indie that’s portrayed at the grand scale of a blockbuster, I can guarantee you more than anything else that this is a special film that can’t really be compared to any other.

1. The Art of Self-Defense – July 19th (Theatrical)

(review)

A man is attacked at random on the street. He enlists at a local dojo, led by a charismatic and mysterious sensei, in an effort to learn how to defend himself. (IMDb)

Written and directed by Riley Stearns. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots and Alessandro Nivola.

Why You Should See It: One of our favorite films of SXSW this year, Riley Stearn’s sophomore film foot-punches and fist-kicks its way into theaters this month, and hopefully to your favorite films of the year list as well! Lovers of metal, being a man and anti-abduction tactics, as well as extreme deadpan humor and black comedy, this one’s for you!

Follow me on twitter @daniel_azbel and on letterboxd @danthemovieman.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram or like us on Facebook.

dannythemovieman