Movies coming to Netflix and Amazon Prime in July 2024
A selection of titles you may have missed (but maybe should catch up on)
The following is a selection of movies that are coming to Netflix or Amazon Prime in July 2024. I’ve chosen these to highlight for various reasons, whether because I suspect they’ve been under-appreciated, or there is something particularly interesting that might be worth a look.
The Age of Innocence (1993) – Amazon Prime, 1 July
Martin Scorsese’s poignant and gorgeously filmed adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel about love among the upper crust of late nineteenth century Manhattan. Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder are terrific as a romantic triangle of restrained desire and societal obligation. To viewers who didn’t think there was enough “action” Roger Ebert said, “If you think this movie is dull, then you have no idea what is actually going on.”
American Hustle (2013) – Netflix, 1 July
Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Jeremy Renner have a blast in David O. Russell’s account of con artists, Mafia thugs, FBI agents, and politicians getting up to complicated shenanigans the New Jersey of the late 1970s and early 1980s. But it is Amy Adams who I most remember, an absolute beacon of charisma and star power.
Blue Velvet (1986) – Amazon Prime, 1 July
Essential David Lynch, if you want to understand why Lynch was such a creative force in the eighties. This strange thing – sort of a surreal film noir – is compelling and creepy and full of unexpected bits.
Bone Tomahawk (2015) – Netflix, 15 July
I have special fondness for movies that start as one genre and then you realize it is another one altogether. This starts out looking and acting and smelling like a western, with Kurt Russell and Patrick Wilson, but it is actually a horror story of astonishing brutality, involving cave-dwelling cannibals. It is really well made by director S. Craig Zahler. However, it is also really violent and chilling.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) – Amazon Prime, 1 July
Stanley Kubrick’s dark, dark comedy about a possible end of the world is the funniest, and most cynically pessimistic, movie about the nuclear age and one of the best pictures ever. Brilliant filmmaking on so many levels. Peter Sellers plays three roles, George C. Scott and Sterling Hayden are both hilarious, which is hard to believe, and the final scene in the War Room is unforgettable.
Sleepy Hollow (1999) – Amazon Prime, 1 July
Perhaps my favorite Tim Burton film, which I realize is a minority opinion. I just like the approach he took to Washington Irving’s tale of the Headless Horseman terrorizing a village near the Hudson River. Johnny Depp plays Ichabod Crane as straight as he’s played any character, and he and Christina Ricci are aided by a troop of character actors who know what they are doing, including an elaborate cameo by Christopher Walken.
Zombieland (2009) – Netflix, 1 July
The most fun you could possibly have with a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies. Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and Abigail Breslin are perfect, and Bill Murray provides a brief fantastic Bill Murray thing. But the real standout to me was Emma Stone; it was the first time I fully recognized her huge talent and how the camera absolutely loves her.