For the first time in quite a while, the upcoming release schedule for films has veered back into some semblance of normal. There will still be several films that receive the treatment of being released in theaters simultaneously with a run on streaming services – either through a subscription such as HBO Max or paying for a movie while also having the streaming service, it will be available on such as “Black Widow” on Disney+. However, it would seem as if more and more films, both tentpole blockbusters and independent pictures.
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However, time will tell if this means an increase in quality with a few titles promising little more than standard action fare. However, even though it would seem that Marvel intends to dominate the conversation for the remainder of the year with “Black Widow” kicking off their planned four blockbusters of 2021, it’s the smaller, buzzier movies that are worthy of attention. Between the enormously hyped and long-anticipated “The Green Knight” starring Dev Patel and “Nine Days,” which garnered heaps of praises out of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, there are at least two films that will rise above and hopefully generate as loud a conversation as some of their contemporaries.
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“No Sudden Move”
Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh returns to the crime genre with stunning results and reunites with Don Cheadle and Benicio Del Toro as his leads. Set in Detroit in the 1950s, the film centers on a group of criminals brought together under mysterious circumstances for what should be a simple job. But when it all goes completely sideways, they have to uncover a much greater conspiracy. The film co-stars David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Brendan Fraser, Julia Fox, Kieran Culkin, Amy Seimetz, and Frankie Shaw. [Our review]
Release Date: July 1, via Warner Bros. & HBO Max.
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“Summer of Soul”
Over the course of six weeks during the summer of 1969, thousands of people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival to celebrate Black history, culture, music, and fashion. The footage went missing for years, but thanks to Roots drummer and musicologist Questlove, who makes his directorial debut, the footage of R&B, funk and soul legends like Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, The 5th Dimension, The Staple Singers, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Sly and the Family Stone, has been unearthed into a vibrant new doc. [Our review]
Release Date: July 2, via Hulu/Searchlight Pictures.
“The Tomorrow War”
“Lego Batman” director Chris McKay graduates to live-action with Chris Pratt for a high-concept sci-fi thriller about a man who is drafted to fight in a future war where the fate of humanity relies on his ability to confront his past. Yvonne Strahovski, Betty Gilpin, J.K. Simmons, and Sam Richardson co-star. [Our review]
Release Date: July 2, via Amazon Prime Video.
“Black Widow”
Marvel‘s “Black Widow” heroine may have passed away in “Avengers: Endgame,” but in this prequel set after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” Natasha Romanova goes back to her old stomping grounds of Budapest and Russian to revisit her past and the unfinished business she has with the former KGB’s Black Widow program. Scarlett Johansson stars alongside Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, and Rachel Weisz. [Our review]
Release Date: July 9, via Disney+ Premiere Access/Walt Disney Studios.