July 2022’s Best Streaming Titles: Hot Fuzz, Mad Max: Fury Road, Big Trouble in Little China, Stranger Things
Edgar Wright's buddy cops, George Miller mayhem, Jack Burton, continuing adventures in Hawkins, and more.
As Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, et al. add more content, it can be difficult to know what to look for amidst all of the newly added titles. So I’ve compiled a list of particularly noteworthy and interesting movies, TV shows, etc. to add to your streaming queues in the new month.
Amazon Prime Video
Hot Fuzz (Jul 1)
Nicholas Angel is London’s best cop. He’s so good, in fact, that he makes all of the other cops look bad. Which is why he gets transferred to the sleepy town of Sandford, where the crime rate is zero and nothing bad ever happens. But when locals start disappearing, Angel’s convinced something’s going on. Has Sandford gotten to him, or has he cracked the biggest case of his career? Inspired by classic buddy cop films like Lethal Weapon, Hot Fuzz is action comedy of the highest sort (read my review).
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (Jul 1)
After watching this charming and elegant documentary, you’ll never look at your job the same way again. You’ll certainly never look at sushi the same way again. Jiro Ono is the world’s most celebrated sushi chef, and his constant drive to hone and perfect his craft is inspiring, just as his joy in producing sushi is infectious. And yet, the documentary doesn’t shy away from the personal cost of such devotion. Read my review over at Christ and Pop Culture.
Kiltro (Jul 1)
When you think of martial arts cinema, chances are that Hong Kong and China are the first countries that come to mind. But Kiltro comes to us from Chile. Marko Zaror, who has previously worked as The Rock’s stun double, stars as a young thug in love with a local girl who’s the daughter of a local martial arts master. Soon, our hero is drawn into conflict with a mysterious sect of martial artists and must master a deadly skill to take on a new foe that threatens everyone.
Pieces of April (Jul 1)
In this Peter Hedges dramedy, a rebellious young woman (Katie Holmes) decides to host her conservative, uptight family for Thanksgiving dinner. While she struggles to make the meal, her family encounters plenty of issues of their own as they travel to her Manhattan apartment. Pieces of April is heartwarming in the best sense of the word; it gives us characters who are deeply flawed and yet also deeply sympathetic. As such, it’s hard to not get caught up in this messed up family’s plight, and want the best for them.
The Terminal List, Season One (Jul 1)
I hated The Terminal List when I (tried to) read it back in 2019; I described it as “revenge porn for the far right crowd” in my review. And yet, Amazon Prime’s adaptation is on this list, and for one reason: Chris Pratt. I know some like to dog on Pratt, but I find him eminently watchable, and director Antoine Fuqua knows how to make stylish films. That being said, I have very low expectations, and I’ll have no problem turning it off should it feature the novel’s lazy caricatures and sadistic violence. But hopefully, this will be everything that Without Remorse could’ve been.
Paper Girls, Season One (Jul 29)
It’s Halloween 1988, and four paper girls just want to finish their early morning delivery routes and get home. But when they find a mysterious time machine that allows them to visit their older selves, they become the target for a group of militant time-travelers that want to control the technology. Based on the award-winning comic by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, Paper Girls is definitely tapping into the same vibe as Stranger Things, but with a time travel twist.
Here’s everything arriving on Amazon Prime Video in July 2022.