Flickreel’s Five Films You Can’t Miss in July
It’s that time of year again when the sun is beating down outside, and yet the once place you really want to be is inside an air-conditioned, cosy dark room immersive yourself in the lives of others. With (most) schools out for summer, it’s naturally the true beginning of blockbuster season – but that’s not all – there are some little gems out this month too, so let’s run through the five we feel you simply will not want to miss.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
After a brief cameo in Civil War, Tom Holland is back as Spidey, in Jon Watts’ exhilarating entry into the MCU. Free of the shackles of an origin piece, instead we get right into the heart of the action, meeting a revamped Spider-Man – younger, more curious and more impulsive, and the film benefits greatly as a result. Also featuring Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man – the primary antagonist falls into the lap of Michael Keaton, playing the Vulture. Would love to have been a fly in the wall in the meeting where the studio proposed the idea of him playing a man in a bird suit again.
War for the Planet of the Apes
Matt Reeves presents a dark, disturbing and downright electrifying end to this remarkable trilogy of films. With Andy Serkis back as Caesar – WFTPOTA is a defining war classic, evidently taking pointers from the likes of Apocalypse Now, while the film’s chief villain Colonel is played by a sinister Woody Harrelson channeling his inner Marlon Brando. But the beauty of this film is that truly there are no heroes or villains, as Reeves blurs the line between good and evil to cast a primitive eye on the notion of war, and the results are simply compelling.
The Beguiled
Sofia Coppola returns to the director’s chair with The Beguiled, a remake of the 1971 classic. Set during the Civil War (not the Marvel one), this is a sensual drama with star turns from the likes of Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning and Colin Farrell. With a positive critical response from Cannes to its name, here’s a film that, as the title alludes to, should have you completely absorbed.
Dunkirk
Chris Nolan has spent the last few years tackling supernatural, fanatical elements on screen, with high-concept narratives that have taken us to the heart of Gotham City, or into the depths of the galaxy. But now he’s back with a more human-driven piece, utilising his credentials as a filmmaker to depict the devastating, real-life events that occurred during the fierce battle of Dunkirk during the Second World War. Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy star – and there’s even a role for a certain Harry Styles, famous for being in some boy band or something.
The Wall
Though much of the publicity surrounding director Doug Liman is on his forthcoming sequel to Edge of Tomorrow, and his other Tom Cruise-collaboration in American Made, before that we have The Wall, a story of two American soldiers trapped by a sniper – with only a wall between them. Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and John Cena, this incredibly intense thriller looks set to have you on the edge of your seat, left in reliable hands where this filmmaker is concerned. Only thing missing is Tom Cruise.