Netflix Is Stealing All The Good Movies In July For Streaming

Streaming Netflix

July is a month built for movies. It's the perfect time to park in front of the TV, next to the AC, with snacks at the ready and a remote in hand. Netflix knows July is too hot to do anything other than Netflix and literally chill, so the streamer has totally stacked its offerings for the month.

Yes, you could binge another great TV series returning to Netflix, like Seasons 1 through 6 of "Lost" to finally understand the ending, or only watch Season 9 of "Suits," daydreaming of a time when the "Suits" universe will finally expand. But watching hours of TV requires so much energy to follow. Energy that is stolen by the sun, which grows only hotter as the intervals between clicking "yes, I'm still watching" grow longer.

Movies, on the other hand, have a little less lore to wrap a melting mind around. You can have a cool viewing experience every night and not have to keep track of any character for too long ... unless a post-credits scene is involved. A streaming movie is basically a popsicle to the brain, in a good way. You deserve a treat, and Netflix has got you covered. From smash hit classics to B-movie marvels — and some buckets and buzzsaws thrown in for good measure — Netflix is stealing all the good movies in July for streaming. This, of course, only applies to the U.S. Netflix, as its offerings vary by country. Read on for our summer movie picks on the platform.

American Hustle

"American Hustle" is an awards darling that came out during star Jennifer Lawrence's reign of dramatic performances. This 2013 con artist comedy is dark as midnight, with a totally star-studded cast. David O. Russell directs Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Jeremy Renner, Michael Peña, and Amy Adams in a '70s-set crime caper full of screaming, kissing, jokes, hairpieces, unscripted kissing scenes, and funky-dressed men being chased around various hotel rooms and hallways.

Lawrence is far from in Katniss mode in "American Hustle," even though her con-man's wife character is surviving the best she can. While the extended cast is full of character actor heavy-hitters like Shea Whigam, Adrian Martinez, and even "Clue" actress Colleen Camp, one of the movie's meatiest moments is between mega-stars (and acting legends) Lawrence and Adams. Come for the big hair and stay for the big drama — not to mention a Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 92%.

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy

Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man walked so Andrew Garfield's Amazing Spider-Man could walk faster so Tom Holland's Spider-Man could run. Before the idea of a mammoth Marvel Cinematic Universe was a glimmer in Kevin Feige's eye, Sam Raimi and his crack cast of Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, and Willem Dafoe took the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to cinema screens in the early aughts. The movies pack in more iconic superhero moments than you can count on two webbed Spidey hands, including great villain turns from Dafoe and Alfred Molina and a deliciously cringeworthy dance scene in the third film.

Whether you know and love the trilogy already, or have yet to experience the movie magic of MJ (Dunst) and Spidey's (Maguire) legendary kiss, (which likely singlehandedly earned the movie its 90% Rotten Tomatoes critics score) this is the time to check it out. Netflix is making it easy to respect Tobey Maguire, the elder statesman of Spidey Sense, and beloved horror filmmaker Sam Raimi by streaming 2002's "Spider-Man," 2004's "Spider-Man 2," and 2007's "Spider-Man 3" in July.

Big Daddy

What feels more retro: a time when Hollywood actually made big studio comedy movies or an Adam Sandler movie that isn't set in Hawaii? 1999's "Big Daddy" happens to be that rare jewel of a film that combines big laughs, questionable amounts of heart, and Sandler shooting a movie in New York City. It shockingly has a relatively low Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 39%, proving the devil is not just in the details, it's in the Tomatometer. Was that joke based on a reference to the not-dissimilar Adam Sandler movie, "Little Nicky"? We'll never tell.

"Big Daddy" follows Sandler's Sonny Koufax, a man-child to put it nicely, as he adopts a kid to impress a girlfriend who left him for a more mature man. The movie is high-concept in a way only Adam Sandler movies in the '90s were allowed to be. Plus, the actors who play Koufax's adopted kid, Julian "Frankenstein" McGrath? None other than Cole and Dylan Sprouse, of "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" fame.

The siblings Sprouse aren't the only stars of this movie that would go on to be a pretty big deal in TV. Jon Stewart plays Koufax's lawyer in the movie, which came out in 1999: the same year Stewart would become the host of "The Daily Show."

The Back to the Future trilogy

It's fitting that a time travel trilogy might just be the ultimate nostalgia watch. Robert Zemeckis' "Back to the Future" movie trilogy hits Netflix in July, which is a perfect time to revisit the movies that made the phrase "I'm your density" famous, not to mention "jumpin' gigawatts!" But the movies are so much more than a collection of catchphrases often repeated by ever-elder millennials and Gen Z-lovers of the Broadway musical adaptation. It's a showcase for Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. The movies have been critically adored, too, with Rotten Tomatoes critics scores of 93%, 63%, and 81%, respectively.

Part of why 1985's "Back to the Future" and the subsequent films have stood the test of time is its because they're actually about how we feel about time. The movies are heartfelt, funny comedies with just enough heartbreak in them to remind us how easy time can be to lose track of, and how we run out of time right when we figure out the truly most valuable thing to spend it on: our loved ones, and ourselves.

All that, plus "Back to the Future Part II" predicted way too much stuff to be ignored, and "Back to the Future Part III" has the Old West and the Time Train. Get your remote up to 88 miles per hour, and start streaming.

Matilda

Despite the candy sweetness of "Wonka," Roald Dahl knew how to write a twisted tale for children. 1996's "Matilda" is one such tale, and the first big-screen adaptation of the Dahl book of the same name does Dahl one turn better by including Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman. "Matilda" follows the story of young, sweet, smart Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson) as she navigates her newfound psychic abilities and the worst adults in the world, her parents — played by, you guessed it, DeVito and Perlman.

"Matilda" is essentially the cozy family comedy version of Eleven's journey in "Stranger Things," with the wicked headmistress Trunchbull (Pam Ferris) standing in for Vecna. Well, let's face it, Trunchbull could eat Demogorgons for breakfast. The antics in this movie have its Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score at a solid 92%.

If you've already seen "Matilda," you know its a zany, full-out feat of cinematic insanity that takes the inherent sweetness of Matilda finding both herself and a family that really loves her along for a wild comic ride. If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for? Oh wait, we know: Netflix in July.

Zombieland

There was a time when you couldn't pass a $10 DVD bin without a copy of "Zombieland" beckoning to you from inside it. Now, the movie is available on Netflix in July. Times have sure changed, just like the zombie-infested world depicted in "Zombieland." One thing hasn't changed since this dark zombie road-trip comedy's original release in 2009, though: it's still as funny, touching, and gore-rifically disgusting in equal measure.

"Zombieland" also packs a dream team of a cast. Everyone knows Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, and Abigail Breslin are terrific dramatic actors. "Zombieland" proves they're a great comedic team together, too. So much so, that they reunited for a belated sequel, 2019's "Zombieland: Double Tap."

"Zombieland's" Rotten Tomatoes critics score sits pretty at 89%, which proves that some critics must have gotten infected by a zombie virus, since that number should read a healthy 100%. While the movie is packed with plenty of funny moments and gruesome scenes, it has a heart of gold. Plus, it's worth watching for a certain surprise appearance alone — and wondering what kind of movie it would have been like had that role been one of the proposed alternate celebrity cameos.

Easy A

Before Emma Stone was winning Oscars for strange fare like "Poor Things" and movie musicals like "La La Land," the versatile young actress cut her teeth on comedies. 2010's "Easy A" is a great example of her comedic talent, and it's a great movie in its own right.

In it, teenager Olive (Stone), an all-around "good" kid who doesn't have a ton of wild experiences to her name, tells a little white lie about losing her virginity. Soon, the story spreads around school, and Olive must contend with her newfound persona, including its perks and pitfalls. The movie is a loose update of "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne and does a rare onscreen job of examining the general shame shrouding teenage girls as they come into their own sexuality on screen.

While that examination isn't exactly thorough or groundbreaking, the movie is really funny, and it stars Stanley Tucci as one of the best cinematic dads in the game. The movie holds an 85% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. The late and legendary film critic Roger Ebert wrote, "['Easy A' is] a funny, engaging comedy that takes the familiar but underrated Emma Stone and makes her, I believe, a star. Until actors are matched to the right role, we can never quite see them clearly." Everyone sees Emma Stone clearly now, and you can see her in "Easy A" on Netflix in July.

Jigsaw

When it comes to creative killer mechanisms in horror movies, it's hard to top reverse bear traps. Still, 2017's "Jigsaw" does its best by throwing laser-cutter collars into the mix. "Jigsaw" is the eighth movie in the "Saw" franchise, and like all of its predecessors, its bad guys want to play a game. That game? How much can you appreciate life when your own hangs in the balance, or at least hangs very near a wall of buzzsaws?

You can answer this question for yourself when "Jigsaw" comes to Netflix in July. The movie only has a 33% Rotten Tomatoes score, but it does have a barn of death, traps and gore galore, plus a decent mystery storyline.

"It's such a perfect Halloween scare-fest," Michael Spierig, one of the film's co-directors, told Entertainment Weekly in 2017. "It's perhaps not quite as vicious and more fun, which is something we tried to inject into it." There's a little trap humor in what Spierig says, because one trap involves those classic injection tools themselves: syringes. Watch at your own risk!

Magic Mike XXL

The power the "Magic Mike" cinematic universe has. Is "Magic Mike" based on a true story? Does it really matter? Because the 2015 sequel to the original, "Magic Mike XXL," has scenes that are too good to be true, and yet they exist. Even if the rest of the movie was just guys driving around talking (spoiler: it basically is), "Magic Mike XXL" gives us two of the finest dance scenes in recent cinematic memory: Mike (Channing Tatum) dancing to Ginuwine's "Pony" in his workshop, and Richie (Joe Manganiello) dancing for his life in a gas station snack shop to the Backstreet Boys' "I Want it That Way."

Manganiello's dance is the gyration seen 'round the world. The gas station dance scene is funny, sweet, and helps his character, Richie, get his dancing groove back, all while his buddies cheer him on. You can't feel sad watching that scene, even if you agree with the rather average 65% Rotten Tomatoes critics score for the overall plot and characters. Keep in mind that "Magic Mike" movies are hangout movies more than anything else, and then you might crack a smile when it hits Netflix in July.

Life

Did you know you missed a 2017 space-horror starring Rebecca Ferguson, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Ryan Reynolds? The movie is called "Life," and follows a group of astronauts aboard an international space station who discover life — then maybe wish they hadn't. "Life" is on Netflix in July, and the "life" in question is responsible for wiping out life on Mars — and possibly, Earth is next.

It's always a treat to see mega-stars acting together, and this stylish sci-fi thriller calls to mind space horror classics like "The Thing" and "Alien," though this movie features a whole heckuva lot more "Goodnight Moon." Rounding out the starry cast are acting heavy-hitters Hiroyuki Sanada and Ariyon Bakare.

"Life" holds a respectable 68% Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score and was directed by Daniel Espinosa, who rose to meme-worthy heights directing "Morbius" for Marvel. The movie was written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the screenwriting team behind "Zombieland" and the "Deadpool" movie franchises.

The House Bunny

The live-action ensemble comedy feels like something of a relic these days, but the '90s and early 2000s were full of them. So full of them, in fact, that sweet and strong high-concept comedies starring Anna Faris sometimes didn't get the attention they deserved — not to mention love from critics. 2008's "The House Bunny" is one such comedy. A measly 43% on Rotten Tomatoes? Come on! Perhaps the movie will find a new audience all these years later, on Netflix in July.

The movie is written by Karen McCullah and Kristen Smith, who also wrote teen comedy classic "10 Things I Hate About You." "The House Bunny" tells the story of Shelley Darlington (Farris), a Playboy Playmate who finds herself kicked out of the Playboy Mansion with nowhere to stay, except an unpopular sorority house on a nearby college campus. She can stay in the house if she can get the sorority's enrollment up and win over her new roommates while they both teach each other valuable life lessons along the way.

Joining Faris in a killer cast are Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Colin Hanks, and Christopher McDonald. Real former Playmate Holly Madison also makes an appearance, as does Hugh Hefner.

The Wiz

There is truly nothing like 1978's "The Wiz," except maybe 1939's "The Wizard of Oz," and not just because they're both based on L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." Both movies are cinematic fantasias that stick in your mind forever after you see them, with catchy earworms like "Ease on Down the Road" ("The Wiz") and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" ("The Wizard of Oz"). Both movies also defy category. They're somewhere between fantasy and phantasmagoria, and both star legends of stage, screen, and song: Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz" and Diana Ross and Michael Jackson in "The Wiz."

"The Wiz" adapts the familiar story of Oz to 1970s New York City and uses the '70s Broadway musical of the same name as its true source material. Ross plays Dorothy, a young schoolteacher who gets swept up into an adventure with a cast of characters like the Scarecrow (Jackson), the Tinman (Nipsey Russell), and the Lion (Ted Ross.) The Wiz himself is played by legendary and controversial comedian Richard Pryor.

While "The Wiz" has long been an audience favorite, it polarized critics, holding a 44% Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score. Take a look and judge the movie for yourself when the musical eases on into Netflix this July.

The Karate Kid

"The Karate Kid" might not have known it was starting a decades-spanning film franchise and multi-season spin-off TV show when it made its debut in 1984. Back then, the movie stood on its own two feet, on a boat in the ocean, as it waxed on and waxed off, training its way into our hearts and minds.

The story of this movie is much the same as any "The Karate Kid" movies you might have seen, but full of deep heart and comedy borne out of the legendary mentor/mentee relationship between a troubled young kid and his unlikely mentor, a war vet and handyman who knows his way around a training phrase. Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) are the real reason "The Karate Kid" has stood the test of time: Their dynamic is at the heart of this movie and the entire series, and theirs is the model all future "Karate Kid" installments are based on.

Unsurprisingly, "The Karate Kid" was a smash hit upon release, and holds a 90% Rotten Tomatoes critics score. Today, it's spawned a long-running YouTube premium series that leapt over to Netflix: "Cobra Kai." You can go back to basics, and the beginning of all of "The Karate Kid" media, by watching the original when it hits Netflix in July.