Aside from the promise of flashy new titles, there’s also a pretty healthy library of hidden gems and old favorites, and among the ones that arrived on Paramount+ this month, highlights include action classics likeRoboCop, classics likeCinema Paradiso, and ifA Quiet Placehas you in the mood for more horror,28 Days Laterand the underrated wildcard action-horrorHansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.
Check out the details on all our picks for the best new movies streaming on Paramount+ in July below.
RELATED:‘A Quiet Place 2’ Review: John Krasinski’s Spielbergian Horror Sequel Silenced My Doubt
A Quiet Place Part II
Director/Writer:John Krasinski
Cast:Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cillian Murphy, Djimon Hounsou, Scoot McNairy
This month’s big-name release on Paramount+, the horror sequel was one of the early post-COVID-shutdown films to bring audiences back to theaters in droves, and now you can watch it at home. Following up on his 2018 breakout hitA Quiet Place,John Krasinskireturns to the super silent alien apocalypse withA Quiet Place: Part II. Following the attack on the family homestead in the first film, the sequel expands the scope and explores the world by followingEmily Blunt’s Evelyn and her children, Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Marcus (Noah Jupe) as they venture out in search of somewhere to survive the silent wasteland of the earth - with a newborn baby in tow. The core concept of a survival movie wherein the characters couldn’t speak or make noise was part of the hook that sunk into audiences with the first film, butPart IIrises above the appeal of the gimmick with a more active, story-forward approach, and perhaps even more unflinching commitment to the peril the Abbott family faces. It’s a hell of a sequel that proves further proves Krasinski’s talents as a filmmaker as much as it demonstrates the potential forA Quiet Placeto turn into an enduring franchise. With a spinoff film on the way fromMidnight SpecialandTake ShelterfilmmakerJeff Nichols, I can’t wait to see how the world continues to expand and evolve, and to see how another gifted filmmaker approached the challenge of the inherent hook. And not for nothing, this one might have my favorite opening scene of any movie in 2021 so far.
28 Days Later
Director:Danny Boyle
Writer:Alex Garland
Cast:Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns
IfA Quiet Place: Part IIhas you in the mood for moreCillian Murphybattling monsters in the apocalypse,28 Days Lateris the movie for you. Zombies have been a favorite of fear-seeking filmgoers ever sinceGeorge Romerochanged the game with his 1968 classicNight of the Living Dead. But for the most part, the undead, the walking dead, the living dead, or whatever you preferred to call the cannibalistic creatures, they more or less played by the same rules. EnterDanny Boyle’s28 Days Later, the early 2000s apocalypse horror that played a massive role in reviving the zombie genre for a new generation of audiences long beforeThe Walking Deadtook over TV.28 Days Laterwasn’t the first movie to do fast zombies, but it was definitely the movie that popularized it, and in the context of Boyle’s nightmare plague, it totally worked.
With a script byEx MachinaandAnnihilationfilmmakerAlex Garland,28 Days Laterreimagined the zombie apocalypse, not as the undead, but contorting, flesh-craving human beings infected by pure rage. Boyle’s frantic camerawork, Garland’s nihilistic world-building, and an exceptional ensemble led byCillian Murphy,Naomi Harris, andBrendan Gleesoncreated a terrifying update on the apocalyptic world where everything can change, violently, in an instant – whether it’s the heads of the infected snapping up when they spot their next prey or the sudden transformation of a loved one who just happened to look up at the exact wrong time. (No, I’m still not over it and I’ll never be over it.)28 Days Laterrules, holds up crazy well, and it’s easy to see why Boyle’s genre-bending film helped re-light the spark beneath the zombie craze that’s still going strong nearly 20 years later. Paramount + also has the sequel28 Weeks Later, a pretty great followup that lacks a bit in logic, but delivers plenty of rage-infected chaos and genuinely unsettling horror.
Cinema Paradiso
Director/Writer:Giuseppe Tornatore
Cast:Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, Antonella Attili, Pupella Maggio, Salvatore Cascio
Cinema Paradisois a love letter to the art of film in all its forms, from filmmaking to the now all-but-extinct craft of film projection, and of course, the way a love of movies can make life itself feel more full of art and wonder. Set throughout multiple periods in the life of Salvatore Di Vita as he explores his love of cinema while the world and film itself changes around him, the film takes us back to post World War II Italy, where young Salvatore soaks up ever moment of the movies he can at the local theater, Cinema Paradiso. Eventually, the projectionist teaches him how to cut film and run the projectors, only increasing the child’s fervent fascination with the movies, shaping the course of his life.
There’s a lot to love aboutCinema Paradisoas a sprawling character drama, but when I think about my favorite parts of the film, I always go back to those childhood scenes and Salvatore’s infectious enthusiasm for film in every form. Maybe it’s because projection has become such a lost art with the rise of digital technology, but the focus on theatrical presentation, projection, and communal filmgoing as a craft and essential component of the cinematic experience is a powerful reminder about the breadth of ways movies touch our lives - and that the matter of who frames (or censors) our stories can be just as important as the stories being told and who tells them.
Jack Reacher
Director/Writer:Christopher McQuarrie
Cast:Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Werner Herzog, Richard Jenkins, Jai Courtney, Robert Duvall
Tom Cruisemay not be theJack Reacherthat book fans imagined, but dang do he andChristopher McQuarriemake some great action movies together, so if you dismissed this one due to the initial blowback, it’s one I strongly recommend watching on its own terms. Inspired byLee Child’s beloved ass-kicking, crime-solving character, the 2012 action-thriller follows Cruise’s Reacher as he investigates a military sniper who shot down five random, unsuspecting victims. McQuarrie’s action is as clean and elegant as ever, and Cruise once again proves himself an all-time great action actor, channeling his old-school movie star charm and often under-celebrated bonafide acting skills into a gripping crime thriller led by his righteous if sometimes blood-thirsty drifter. If that’s not enough to sell you, filmmaking legendWerner Herzogappears to be having the time of his life as the film’s villain, a truly inspired casting choice from McQuarrie and a one-of-a-kind, well-savored performance from Herzog that’s worth the watch all on its own.
RELATED:‘Jack Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson on Scoring the Lead Role in the Amazon Series and What Fans Can Expect
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Director/Writer:Tommy Wirkola
Cast:Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Peter Stormare, Derek Mears, Pihla Viitala
Forget what you may have heard about this wild 2013 horror-tinged fairy tale adaptation, if you have a taste for over-the-top action, practical effects and creative world-building,Hansel & Gretel: Witch Huntersis well worth the watch. Directed byDead SnowhelmerTommy Wirkola, the film reimagines the fairy tale characters (played byJeremy RennerandGemma Arterton) as famed witch hunters in a land overrun by monstrous, murderous witches. Decades after their childhood encounter with the witch in the candy house, they find themselves at war with the Grand Witch (Famke Janssen) and her coven, who plan to sacrifice 12 children during a Blood Moon ritual. It’s a bloody, bonkers adventure jam-packed with practical effects, including a genuinely stunning and emotionally engaging troll named Edward, played with equal parts brute and sensitivity by creature-performing great Derek Mears. Renner often feels like he’s an out-of-place straight man in this chaotic universe and there’s no denying the middle act is a bit of a slog, but the worthwhile qualities more than outweigh the underwhelming ones, from the stunning effects work to Wirkola’s kinetic command of his blood-soaked, high-intensity action scenes, to the lovely friendship between Gretel and Edward. It’s a film I revisit more than most, and it’s always a wild, good time.
Director:Paul Verhoeven
Writers:Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner
Cast:Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Robert DoQui, Ray Wise
Nobody does hyper-violent action satire likePaul Verhoeven, andRoboCopis one of his best.Peter Wellerstars as a cop killed in the line of duty who is resurrected at the behest of a mega-corporation and repurposed as a cyborg crime-fighter who doles out merciless mercenary justice.RoboCopis as bloody and outrageous as it is wry and quick-witted in its takedown over corporate overstep, unchecked capitalism, and perverted justice. It takes a filmmaker like Verhoeven to balance the tricky tonal shifts and deliver a film that works as an action-packed romp while also prodding at much darker, deeper questions. Paramount+ is gettingRoboCop 1-3this month, so you can also settle in for a franchise binge if you want, but it’s the 1987 original that’s an absolute must-watch.
Romeo + Juliet
Director:Baz Luhrmann
Writers:Craig Pearce and Baz Luhrmann
Cast:Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Sorvino, Diane Venora
Forget the Film Twitter feuds and trending tirades - whether you’re looking for a nostalgia trip or a one-of-a-kind Shakespeare adaptation,Romeo + Juliettruly delivers. Despite the contemporary setting and striking stylized choices,Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 take on the classic tale of doomed lovers remains one of the most faithful and thoughtful cinematic adaptations out there, and not just because they keep the old-timey dialogue. Delivering some of the best of his signature dazzling aesthetic, Luhrmann’s adaptation not only captures the dizzying swoons of first love, he embraces the full scope of Shakespeare’s tragedy of warring powerful families for all its violent consequences.
Leonardo DiCaprioandClaire Danesare radiant as the iconic lovebirds, but the ensemble is also full of standout supporting performances, fromJohn Leguizamo’s rageful warpath as Tybalt toHarold Perrineau’s scene-stealing work as the exuberant Mercutio. As a literary adaptation and cinematic experience alike,Romeo + Julietis vibrant, coursing with life, and a testament to the endless potential of retelling classic stories.
