Summer movies are off to an explosive start. July's new releases include a pandemic excavation from one of Hollywood's hottest horror directors, a sequel to a beloved Adam Sandler golf comedy, a documentary about a famous children's puppet and two sick romances — one involving a classic millennial situationship-gone-wrong and the other a forced intertwining of flesh.
'Eddington'
The latest film from Ari Aster, the director behind vicious and bizarro flicks like "Midsommar" and "Hereditary," contends with a horror that hits closer to home: the Covid-19 pandemic. "Eddington" takes place in a fictional New Mexico town in May 2020, where Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) goes up against Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) after the two disagree on masking. "Remember all of that anxiety, confusion, division and mistrust that erupted when people were told to stay home from work or mask up at the grocery store? Aster shoves it all in a blender and hits puree," said Brian Tallerico at Roger Ebert. Five years on, Aster paints the early days of Covid as a "massive trauma that fundamentally broke something inside us as a nation," said Alison Willmore at Vulture. (July 18, in theaters)
'Shari & Lamb Chop'
Most everyone knows Lamb Chop, the hand puppet with thick eyelashes, red mittens and no shortage of sass. Fewer people might know the woman who breathed life into that puppet, Shari Lewis. The pair made their TV debut together almost 70 years ago. A new documentary from Lisa D'Apolito ("Love, Gilda") spotlights Lewis' career as a dancer, singer and famed ventriloquist behind sock puppets Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy and Lamb Chop. "Before Fred Rogers and Jim Henson, there was Shari Lewis, a children's television pioneer whose whimsical characters and ebullient spirit have guided generations," said the movie's distributor Kino Lorber. (July 18, in select theaters)
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'Happy Gilmore 2'
Nearly 30 years after the release of cult classic "Happy Gilmore," Adam Sandler is reprising his golfer role in a sequel for Netflix. Despite the enduring popularity of Sandler's comedies like "Billy Madison," this is his first to get a sequel. The actor, along with his company Happy Madison Productions, signed a massive production deal with Netflix back in 2014 that has since been expanded twice, leading to 12 feature films thus far. That means "Happy Gilmore 2" won't see a theatrical release, a decision some fans lament. "Many of Netflix's streaming-only movies are quickly forgotten," said Edward Douglas at Collider, and "Sandler's biggest hits, like 1998's 'The Waterboy' and 1999's 'Big Daddy,' were movies that built on their positive word-of-mouth from opening weekend." (July 25, Netflix)
'Oh, Hi!'
While Sophie Brooks' sophomore feature begins like any typical rom-com, with a young couple on a bucolic getaway in upstate New York, it soon devolves into chaos. When Isaac (Logan Lerman) tells Iris (Molly Gordon) he isn't interested in a relationship, despite having wooed her for the past four months, she is distressed. Isaac's confession that he "loves emotional intimacy and sex but panics at the very idea of commitment," said Jourdain Searles at The Hollywood Reporter, is especially ill-timed because Isaac is still chained to the bed following the couple's foray into kinky sex. Iris decides to keep him tied up, hoping that she can convince her lover to get serious with the right sales pitch. "At its root, this is a surprisingly sensitive commentary on uniquely millennial romantic loneliness." (July 25, in theaters)
'Together'
If you are squeamish, look away. If you delight in the body horror mastery of David Cronenberg or found "The Substance" a pleasantly alarming watch, you might enjoy the stylings of Michael Shanks' "Together," starring real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie. They play Tim and Millie, a long-term, newly engaged pair who move from the city to the country and stumble on a devious supernatural force that wreaks havoc on their lives. (Most notably, their bodies start to stick together in gross ways.) "Together" is both a "squishy, fleshy, scream-worthy body horror movie" and a "love story," said Owen Gleiberman at Variety. (July 30, in theaters)
-
October 19 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's editorial cartoons include Pete Hegseth and the press, an absence of government, and George Washington crossing the Delaware
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelagoThe Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
AI: is the bubble about to burst?In the Spotlight Stock market ever-more reliant on tech stocks whose value relies on assumptions of continued growth and easy financing
-
Film reviews: Roofman and Kiss of the Spider WomanFeature An escaped felon’s heart threatens to give him away and a prisoner escapes into daydreams of J.Lo.
-
Broadway actors and musicians are on the brink of a strikeThe explainer The show, it turns out, may not go on
-
Tim Robinson falls out of a chair, chefs compete for Michelin stars and Martin Scorsese gets the documentary treatment in October TVthe week recommends This month's new television releases include ‘The Chair Company,’ ‘Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars’ and ‘Mr. Scorsese’
-
Frankenstein comes to life, the Alabama prison system is exposed and Rose Byrne goes full Crazy Mom in October moviesthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Frankenstein,’ ‘The Alabama Solution’ and ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’
-
Film reviews: Anemone and The Smashing MachineFeature A recluse receives an unwelcome guest and a pioneering UFC fighter battles addiction
-
The 5 best mob movies of all timeThe Week Recommends If you don’t like a good gangster flick, just fuhgeddaboudit
-
Hooray for Brollywood: the UK’s film industry is booming – for nowIn The Spotlight US production giants are flocking to film in British studios but Trump tariffs could threaten end of golden era
-
The 2025 Emmys: A big night for newcomersFeature The 77th Emmys were full of surprises, from shocking wins and moving speeches to a host’s charity stunt that backfired
