5 good movies to watch on HBO Max in July

The best of next month’s movie additions to HBO Max

As the streaming market constantly expands, with numerous new services competing for your time and money, HBO Max has orchestrated a rather successful rollout particularly by boasting a broad, appealing catalog. Their hub-based content covers a LOT of interests, ranging from family-friendly films to moody classics to superhero movies and everything in between.

In fact, as Netflix Life previously reported, HBO Max is releasing more than 200 movies and TV shows in July alone. With that in mind, we thought it would be helpful to share our advice for where to start with July’s new additions. Keep in mind that all these movies are coming to HBO Max starting in July and that there are tons of great movies already on HBO Max for you to explore at your quarantine, social-media-dependent, Tenet-delayed leisure.

Here are our five unranked picks for good movies to watch on HBO Max in July:

1. Blazing Saddles (July 1)

Oh, Blazing Saddles. Where does one start to describe the glory of this 1974 Mel Brooks film? A satire of racism, Hollywood viewership and western film genre tropes, often at the same time, Blazing Saddles is a delightfully vulgar comedy that directly speaks to issues still prevalent today. Full of one-liners, black humor and fart jokes, the movie intends to provoke and push boundaries – it did so in 1974 and continues to do so in 2020.

Its story centers around Bart, the first black sheriff of the fictional Western town Rock Ridge, appointed by scheming politician Hedley Lamarr in order to force the town’s residents to leave to make room for a railroad. What happens next evolves into a madcap sequence of insanity, brimming with fourth-wall breaks, hilarious recurring bits and stellar performances from Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder and Harvey Korman, to name a few. It’s no less than a must-see.

2. Kill Bill: Volume 1/Kill Bill: Volume 2 (July 1)

Yes, I’m technically cheating, but if Tarantino counts this as one whole movie (and if you have plenty of time to make it a double feature), then I do too!

Uma Thurman iconically stars as the Bride, who pledges revenge on the coterie of assassins who attempted to murder her and her unborn child on her wedding day. In true QT fashion, the movie serves as an homage to grindhouse stylings, Asian martial arts films and numerous other genres.

The two halves contain, frankly, some of the best action sequences, gore, and gorgeous film pictures I’ve ever seen. Kill Bill hosts kick-ass needle drops out the wazoo and a compelling cast, with notable emphasis on the female characters. Do the honorable thing and watch this one.

3. Space Jam (July 1)

If only for its relation to current culture (The Last Dance, the upcoming Lebron James sequel), now’s the time to revisit the 1996 animated/live-action classic. Between Michael Jordan’s 1993 retirement and his 1995 comeback, Space Jam details how the best basketball player of all time joined the Looney Tunes to play a basketball game against the Monstars, who intend to hold the Tune Squad captive in an amusement park if they lose. It’s certainly not a documentary, but I like to think it is.

The movie features the acting abilities of many 1990s basketball superstars, as well as your favorite Merrie Melodies gang. A testament to 90s culture (the soundtrack still slams), check this one out before getting in that digital line to bring your kids to Space Jam: A New Legacy, scheduled for 2021.

4. The Exorcist (July 1)

Arguably the best horror movie of all time, The Exorcist is bound to be an unforgettable viewing experience. William Friedkin directed this chilling 1973 blockbuster fresh off his Academy Award-garnering run for The French Connection and orchestrated some of the most disturbing images ever put to film.

As the 12-year-old daughter of an actress begins to exhibit increasingly disturbing behavior, two priests are recruited to save her from the demonic force living inside her. The film came to be the first Best Picture-nominated horror movie, engraining itself in pop culture for better or for worse. Kudos to you if you can get through it more than once.

5. Catch Me If You Can (July 1)

Spielberg. DiCaprio. Hanks. Walken. Adams. Williams. Convinced yet?

Based on the life and times of con artist Frank Abagnale, this 2002 cat-and-mouse crime movie follows a young man who scams millions of dollars in check fraud and the FBI agent one step behind him.

This movie displays some of Spielberg’s most effective moments, including a title sequence for the ages, the Miami airport scene and Leonardo DiCaprio posing as his public school’s French substitute teacher, to name a few. After watching this one, I hope you’ll “concur” that it’s one of Spielberg’s, DiCaprio’s, and Hanks’s best.

What are you looking forward to on HBO Max’s July film offerings? Let us know in the comments!