Summer streamin’, having a blast. Sure, movie theaters are still closed, but thanks to streaming services, we’re still getting our film fix on. And this weekend, July 10-12, brings four great new movies to watch at home, whether it’s from your couch or a sweet outdoor theater setup.
The four new movies have something for everyone: rom-com lovers will fall for Palm Springs on Hulu; war movie buffs and dads everywhere can salute Tom Hanks in Greyhound on Apple TV Plus; action fans should get a kick out of Charlize Theron in The Old Guard on Netflix; and the horror flick Relic will give you the chills via video on demand.
- July 2020 movies in theaters, streaming and on demand
- All the new TV shows airing this month
- The best streaming services to watch your faves
Until movie theater chains like AMC and Regal reopen, streaming is where it’s at. Last week brought us Hamilton on Disney Plus (which you can rewatch for the second or 200th time this weekend, too). Here's what to know about the four big movies that debuted today.
Palm Springs (Hulu)
“It’s like Groundhog’s Day … but both sides of the couple have deja vu.” That’s essentially Palm Springs in a very small nutshell. This rom-com gives the old-hat, rewind-the-day premise a fresh and funny update that feels eerily timely. Nyles (Andy Samberg) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti) are forced to relive their friends’ wedding day over and over and over and over again. As they move forward and backwards in this infinite time loop, they start engaging in wilder, crazier and sometimes deadly behavior — just out of sheer boredom and curiosity.
Thus, Palm Springs is truly the movie that encapsulates These Pandemic Times. Nyles and Sarah are all of us, living the same day with the same people in the same place again and again with seemingly no end in sight. Yet, there’s hope! Maybe if these two crazy kids can build a real relationship, they can escape. Maybe we can, too, someday (until then, wear a mask).
How to watch Palm Springs on Hulu
Greyhound (Apple TV Plus)
Call your Dad on Zoom so you can watch Greyhound together, because if there was ever a Dad Movie, this is it. Tom Hanks as a World War II naval commander in a story based on real events? Your dad, my dad, all the dads are going to eat … it … up. Hanks himself wrote the screenplay, based on the novel The Good Shepherd by C.S. Forester. And of course, he stars in it, too, as Commander Ernest Krause, who finally gets his first command of the destroyer USS Keeling (call sign: Greyhound).
Greyhound has all the hallmarks of the typical war movie: harrowing battle scenes, tense moments of decision-making, reflective ruminations of self-doubt and inspiring speeches to the troops. No, Greyhound doesn’t break the mold or introduce new stylistic flair but it’s solid, well-made and well-performed. Like we said, total Dad Movie.
How to watch Greyhound on Apple TV Plus
The Old Guard (Netflix)
Charlize Theron can kick some serious ass, as she’s proven many times in her career and most spectacularly in Mad Max: Fury Road (the best movie of 2015, fight me). She brings that particular set of skills to The Old Guard as Andy, a warrior who leads a team of immortal mercenaries. They’ve worked together for centuries to combat the evils of the world, as new recruit Nile (KiKi Layne) learns when she’s brought on board. When their abilities are exposed, Andy and Nile fight against a greedy corporation that wants to weaponize and monetize them for their own nefarious purposes.
The Old Guard is packed with action, but director Gina Prince-Bythewood and screenwriter Greg Rucka (who penned the graphic novels) bring a lot of humanity and vulnerability to the characters. You can see how much history lays between all of them. That, and the mission-based nature of their superheroic work, makes a tantalizing prospect for a franchise. Old Guard, assemble.
How to watch The Old Guard on Netflix
Relic (video on demand)
In Relic, a haunted house serves as a metaphor for the terrifying effects of dementia; it’s a horror movie about the horrors of Alzheimer’s. The always fantastic Emily Mortimer plays Kay, a woman whose mother Edna (Robyn Nevin) goes missing. Kay and her daughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) journey to their family home to find her. There, they discover the house in disarray, with black mold growing everywhere.
When Edna turns up a few days later, she can’t say where she went. Her dementia has worsened. Echoing her condition, the house takes on a malevolent, sinister personality that preys on Kay and Sam. What do you do when the haunted house is in someone’s head? As Relic shows, there are no good answers.
