July 2025’s Best Streaming Titles: Foundation, Community, Sinners, Sandman, Pulp Fiction

Based on the Tony-winning play, and directed by Norman Jewison, Fiddler on the Roof follows the trials and tribulations of a Jewish family in Tsarist Russia. Village milkman Tevye (played with gusto by Topol) is doing his best to provide for his family, but he faces constant challenges in the form of rising pogroms and the Russian government’s interference. Meanwhile, his five daughters are challenging his precious traditions. Fiddler on the Roof has since come to be regarded as one of the finest movie musicals of all time, filled with heart, humor, and pathos.

Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was one of 2000’s biggest and most successful films, thanks to an epic plot, incredible special effects, and thrilling action sequences (read my review). Russell Crowe stars as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a disgraced Roman general who is enslaved and forced to compete in Rome’s brutal gladiatorial exhibitions. Gladiator also stars Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed (in his final film appearance), Djimon Hounsou, Richard Harris, and Joaquin Phoenix as the corrupt Roman emperor.

Based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s book, Hidden Figures tells the true story of three female African-American mathematicians and their previously unsung work at NASA during the height of the “Space Race.” This inspirational film stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, and Kevin Costner.

In the near future, Australia is a wasteland filled with roving motorcycle gangs. Law and order is maintained by the highway patrol, but just barely. Max Rockatansky is the patrol’s top officer, but when his family’s threatened by one of the gangs, he tosses aside the law for a rampage of revenge. Filmed in 1979 for a few hundred thousand dollars, Mad Max held the Guinness record for the world’s most profitable film — and helped reinvigorate Australia’s film industry. More importantly, though, it launched one of the most action-packed film franchises of all time.

Even after you know the big twist, The Usual Suspects is still a fun noir film to watch due to powerhouse performances from Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, and of course, Kevin Spacey. But if you don’t know the big twist, then you’re in for a treat. And once you’ve seen the twist, you’re going to want to rewatch it, just to see how the film put everything together leading up to that sublime “A ha!” moment.

The first season of Shiny Happy People explored the Duggar family, which became popular as a result of the 19 Kids and Counting reality TV series, and their ties to a fundamentalist Christian organization (read my review). The upcoming season explores the Evangelical teen pop culture of the ’90s, and in particular, the Teen Mania youth ministry. Having been a ’90s youth group kid myself, this is absolute catnip for me, and I suspect that the new season will evoke equal parts nostalgia and cringe.

In the new season of Apple’s ambitious adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s classic sci-fi series, the whole of human civilization is on the cusp of a dark age. The imperial line is threatened by decline while a terrifying new power emerges in the form of a powerful telepath known only as the Mule. The only thing standing between these and humanity’s doom is the Foundation, an organization created by mathmetician Hari Seldon as a bulwark against the encroaching galactic collapse. This season brings the Foundation into full conflict with the Mule, who was only glimpsed in season two.

300 years after Earth was devastated by a war with Mars, a young cyborg girl tries to live a normal life with her adopted father. Unbeknownst to her, however, she possesses a deadly secret that could upset the balance of power, and is of great interest to the leadership of Zalem, a floating city populated by the planet’s rich and powerful. Based on Yukito Kishiro’s cyberpunk manga series Battle Angel Alita, which was previously adapted into a 1993 anime directed by Hiroshi Fukutomi, Alita: Battle Angel unique visuals take a little getting used to (especially Rosa Salazar’s anime-esque appearance), but its cyborg action really shines.

Denzel Washington returns as Robert McCall, a former government operative who just wants to be left alone, but always finds himself in the wrong place at the right time. After surviving his final mission, McCall lands in a quiet Italian town where he hopes to finally put his past behind him. But in a development that’ll surprise no one, brutal gangster activity forces McCall to return to his old ways to defend his new home. The third Equalizer film is easily the franchise’s most violent film, and it benefits from both Washington’s natural gravitas and some lovely Italian scenery (read my review).

With its absurd, humanist humor, Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a beloved cult classic that resists easy adaptation. But director Garth Jennings certainly gave it his best shot. His adaptation doesn’t fully work, but it’s still an enjoyably silly romp, hitting the novel’s major highlights with clever special effects. It doesn’t hurt that the movie boasts an awesome cast, including Martin Freeman as the hapless Arthur Dent, Sam Rockwell as galactic president Zaphod Beeblebrox, and best of all, Alan Rickman as voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android.

A western movie starring Jackie Chan could’ve gone wrong in all kinds of ways. But thanks to his chemistry with co-star Owen Wilson, this buddy action comedy is quite the enjoyable ride, as Chan plays a Chinese imperial guard who travels to the United States to help retrieve a princess after she’s kidnapped by a traitor. Not surprisingly, there’s plenty of culture clash comedy in Shanghai Noon, but when mixed with Chan’s inimitable stunt work and choreography, it makes for a fun little romp.

In the year 2057, the sun is slowly dying, threatening all life on Earth. In a last-ditch effort, a spaceship is sent on a perilous mission to “restart” the sun with a powerful bomb. But as they draw closer to the sun, and the stress begins to take a toll on them, they encounter a new threat to their mission. Sunshine’s science might be a little dodgy, but directed by Danny Boyle, it’s filled with visual panache. That, and it boasts an impressive cast, including Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Benedict Wong.

This cult TV show about a group of community college students and their crazy hijinks may be the most pop culture-literate show since Spaced. I’m looking forward to the various paintball episodes, the Dungeons & Dragons episode, the darkest timeline, and of course, Troy and Abed in the morning!

James Cameron is best known for the Terminator and Avatar movies, but of all his movies, I’ve probably watched The Abyss the most. This movie about deep sea workers who find themselves trapped at the bottom of the ocean between the military and an amazing discovery is filled with groundbreaking special effects, amazing attention to detail, intense disaster sequences, and some excellent performances from an ensemble cast. It’s also infamous for its grueling production, which found cast and crew coming to blows and suffering mental breakdowns from the stress.

Make yourself a White Russian and get ready to spend some time with the Dude… I’ll admit, the first time I watched The Big Lebowski, I kind of hated it. It seemed so directionless and pointless. But then I realized that it’s more about the characters and their interactions then any standard plot (though one does exist). The movie boasts a number of classic scenes, from the discussion about the importance of rugs to a discussion about nihilism. Oh, and the trippiest bowling dream sequence in cinema history.

Given his work with Keegan-Michael Key on the beloved sketch show Key & Peele, it would only make sense to expect Jordan Peele’s directorial debut to be a work of comedy. Instead, he delivered one of the most acclaimed horror films in recent memory. After a young Black man meets his white girlfriend’s upper-class family, he begins to notice strange behavior and soon finds himself caught up in a nefarious conspiracy. Get Out was a commercial and critical success, winning a “Best Original Screenplay” Oscar for Peele.

Napoleon Dynamite was one of those films that just seemed to capture the zeitgeist with its shambling, episodic tale of a high school misfit who loves ligers, tater tots, and tetherball, and knows some sweet dance moves. Even now, I still can’t quite explain how or why Napoleon Dynamite became such a cult hit but personally, I found it hilarious and strangely nostalgic.

Michael B. Jordan reunites with director Ryan Coogler — the two previously worked together on Fruitvale Station, Creed, and of course, Black Panther — for this film about two brothers who move to the post-WWI Mississippi Delta to set up a juke joint. But their gangster background threatens to undo their efforts, as does something far darker and more horrific. Lauded as one of 2025’s best films, Sinners was widely acclaimed for Jordan’s dual performance, Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s cinematography, and its musical score (read my review).

A young boy possessing a genius intellect and unusual abilities wakes up in a mysterious facility filled with other, similarly gifted children. Is this facility a prison where they’ll be subjected to horrific experiments, or a sanctuary keeeping them safe? Given that The Institute is based on a Stephen King novel, I’ll let you figure that one out. The live-action adaptation stars Ben Barnes and Mary-Louise Parker.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation was writer/director Christopher McQuarrie’s first effort in the franchise, and it turns out that his work with lead star Tom Cruise was a match made in heaven. (The two had previously worked together on 2012’s Jack Reacher.) This time around, Ethan Hunt and his IMF cohorts square off against The Syndicate, an international terrorist group consisting of rogue government agents. As you might expect, Rogue Nation is filled with jawdropping stunts, starting with a scene of Cruise literally hanging onto the side of an airplane as it takes off (read my review).

A pre-Oscar Rami Malek stars as Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and elite hacker who suffers from depression and dissociative identity disorder. When he’s recruited by an anarchist hacker group to take down the world’s largest conglomerate, it seems like a perfect fit. But of course, complications arise and soon, Elliot doesn’t quite know who he can trust. Debuting on the USA Network back in 2015, Mr. Robot soon became a cult and critical hit due to its acting, intriguing storyline, and direction.

After allegations of horrific sexual abuse were leveled against Sandman creator Neil Gaiman, the future of Netflix’s adaptation was instantly thrown in doubt (and reopened the age-old question of what to do with art made by terrible people). Sandman’s first season was not without issues, but it was clearly a passion project that captured the essence of what makes Gaiman’s original comic so beguiling (read my review), so expectations for the second and final season were high. I don’t blame people who choose to forgo season two in light of Gaiman’s behavior, but I want to recognize the efforts of those who’ve worked so hard on the adaptation before his actions came to light. Sandman’s second season will actually be released in three volumes throughout the month of July.

Based on Scott Westerfeld’s trilogy, Leviathan set in an alternate version of World War One where battles are fought between massive mechs and giant living airships. When a disgraced prince and a girl disguised as a boy from opposite sides of the war meet each other, they set in motion a series of events with world-changing ramifications. I’m a sucker for steampunk anime (see Last Exile), so I’m certainly intrigued. And the fact that its soundtrack features music by the great Joe Hisaishi, best known for his collaborations with Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki, just seals the deal for me.

Adam Sandler returns to one of his most iconic characters. 30 years after becoming a golf champion, Happy Gilmore must come out of retirement in order to raise money to pay for his daughter’s ballet school. Several of the original film’s cast are back, as well, including Christopher McDonald as Happy’s arch-nemesis, Shooter McGavin. Comedian Lavell Crawford stars as the son of Chubbs Peterson, Happy’s mentor in the first film. (Chubbs was played by the late, great Carl Weathers, who died in 2024.) Yes, this looks like it’ll be all kinds of stupid, but it looks like my kind of stupid.

What remains to be said about this, one of the greatest comedies of all time? Its near-endless supply of sight gags, absurdities, cameos, and slapstick humor is something for the ages. From Robert Stack’s battle with a bunch of Hare Krishnas to Lloyd Bridges’ glue-sniffing, from the epic disco battle to the jive translation, Airplane! has everything you could possibly want in a movie, and then some.

Originally released in 1984, Beverly Hills Cop stars Eddie Murphy in one his most famous roles: a street-smart detective named Axel Foley who travels to Beverly Hills to track down his best friend’s killer. The film, which also stars Judge Reinhold, Paul Reiser, and Bronson Pinchot, made Murphy a star, and the film became a massive critical and commercial success. Several sequels followed, including 2024’s Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.

Stanley Kubrick’s Vietnam War epic is two films in one, the first a brutal examination of dehumanization in boot camp and the second takes place in the chaos of Vietnam itself. Both parts are chilling and masterful in their own right (read my review), though the first half has the added bonus of R. Lee Ermey as a sadistic drill instructor with a real gift for inventive swearing.

In 1996, Doug Liman burst onto the scene with Swingers, arguably the ultimate hipster movie of the ’90s. For his followup, he directed this dizzying movie about Generation Xers, raves, gangsters, drug deals gone wrong, and food poisoning. As the name implies, Go never stops as it jumps from character to character, storyline to storyline. If you like non-linear films with a dose of black humor like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, then you’ll probably dig this one.

Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt star opposite each other in this thriller about a hitman who squares off against his future self as they both search for a powerful psychic who could alter the future. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Looper injects some clever new twists into the tried and true time travel formula. Johnson previously worked with Gordon-Levitt in 2005’s Brick.

The devout Salieri has dedicated his life to becoming a great composer, only to be upstaged by the young and rebellious Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — who immediately becomes his great rival. Based on Peter Shaffer’s play, Amadeus may play fast and loose with the historical facts of Mozart’s life, but it also delivers a fascinating story about art, faith, and artistic struggles. Since its release 1984, when it received numerous accolades and awards (including “Best Picture” and “Best Director” at the Oscars), Amadeus has come to be recognized as one of the greatest movies of all time.

One of the very best sci-fi films in recent years, Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival is a thought-provoking film unlike any alien invasion film you’ve seen. When strange alien ships appear around the globe, the military asks a linguist (Amy Adams) to help decipher the alien’s strange language. But as she begins to understand it, the language starts affecting her in mysterious ways. Arrival’s slow pace may frustrate some, but Villeneuve’s direction is masterful, the cinematography is gorgeous, the concepts are fascinating, and Jóhann Jóhannsson’s soundtrack is incredible (read my review).

Originally published in 2004, Susanna Clarke’s tale of two 19th century magicians with differing ideas of magic set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars was wildly successful, even winning the Hugo Award for “Best Novel.” An adaptation of some kind was a foregon conclusion, and in 2015, the BBC produced this series starring Bertie Carvel, Eddie Marsan, and Charlotte Riley. Although the BBC’s series doesn’t quite capture the scope and intricacies of Clarke’s novel, it does capture the spirit and is worth checking out if you’re looking for something fantastical.

Pale Rider features Clint Eastwood in one of his most iconic roles, that of an otherworldly gunfighter who sides with a group of prospectors against a greedy businessman and corrupt marshal. Critically acclaimed by the likes of Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, the movie was also a commercial success, and has since come to be regarded as one of the greatest westerns of all time.

I was a college freshman when Pulp Fiction arrived in theaters, and it was everywhere. Tarantino’s twisty, twisted morality play about hitmen, gangsters, drug addicts, boxers, and a mysterious briefcase blew everyone away with its snappy dialog, retro aesthetic, and celebrated performances (including John Travolta in a career-resurrecting performance). The diner conversation between Jules and Vincent is one of my favorite movie scenes of all time (read my review).

On its surface, RoboCop seems like a pretty straightforward action/sci-fi movie: dedicated cop gets gunned down by vicious thugs and is reborn as an unstoppable cybernetic enforcer. But this being a Paul Verhoeven movie, it’s no surprise that RoboCop also packs a darkly satirical edge that skewers corporate greed.

True story: When I was in high school, a friend let me borrow a copy of Terminator 2 that he’d recorded off HBO. Not only was the movie mind-blowing in terms of special effects and action, but it was one of my first brushes with fan obsession. I must’ve watched the movie ten times in a single week. (I’m surprised that VHS tape survived the ordeal.) Decades later, the movie still holds up as an action masterpiece, and the unstoppable liquid metal T-1000 — played excellently by Robert Patrick — remains one of movie sci-fi’s best and most cleverly devised antagonists.