We’re back again to give you the newest and best additions to Netflix this July. Do you have the Netflix blues, are you anxiously wondering what could fill the void after Orange is the New Black and Stranger than Fiction? We’ve got you covered with 10 great new films and tv shows.
Film
Okja
If you watch anything on Netflix this month it has to be the fantastic Okja. It is incredibly engaging with a well-developed, exciting plot. Mija has been best friend and family for ten years to a massive ‘super pig’, Okja, in the mountains of South Korea. However, a terrible potential fate for Okja becomes clear to Mija: her animal friend is part of a New York multinational’s experiment to combat a rising food crisis, or to put it more bluntly, she is going for the chop. Mija sets out on a seemingly impossible mission to save Okja, travelling to America with next to no English, in order to bring her home. The film is great, with intriguing and bizarre characters. The cast is excellent with Ahn Seo-hyun alongside Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano and Jake Gyllenhaal. Okja also shines a light on the cruelties of industrial meat production in the US, as director Bong Joon-ho’s latest cautionary tale explores corporate greed when it comes to environmentalism and meat in this captivating ecological action film.
Ant-Man
Ant-Man is a pretty sweet addition to Netflix. At first I was sceptical; how could a man who can shrink to the size of an ant be in any way super-heroic?! What if someone steps on him? Marvel of course proved me wrong and I now have a favourite superhero. Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) creates a suit that can shrink the wearer, control an ant army and build superhuman strength (some pseudo-science quickly reveals that shrinking the distance between atoms reinforces their strength, meaning that more damage is done to the foot that steps on Ant-Man than to Ant-Man himself). It is up to Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) to don the suit and use its skills to defeat the villain Cross, who has sinister plans for a similar suit of his own The visual effects are excellent; it is interesting to watch Ant-Man navigate the world from such a small perspective. His cohort of ants are definitely the unspoken heroes of the film, as they save his life multiple times. There is also a love-hate relationship between Scott and Dr. Pym’s daughter Hope to keep more romantically inclined viewers engaged.
Hello, My Name Is Doris
A story about Doris (Sally Field), an older woman who falls for John (Max Greenfield), her younger co-worker. With the help of her granddaughter and her best friend, Doris revamps her wardrobe and joins social media in an attempt to reclaim youthful spirit. She spends more and more time with John and his friends, going to nightclubs and fitting in with a group of people half her age – interactions which transform her. This is a funny and heart-warming film, which celebrates a kind of relationship that is often ignored onscreen as Field’s Doris finds a new lease of life.
Jurassic World
Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World is an action-packed adventure blockbuster. The luxury tourist resort of the title is on an Island off Costa Rica – kind of like Disneyland, but instead of Mickey Mouse and his friends you have lots of dinosaurs. One of whom (the vicious genetically modified Indominus rex) escapes. The resort descends into chaos as dinosaurs run rampant. It is left to dinosaur-trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to end the mayhem whilst balancing hisconcerns for the animals he has been working with. Jurassic World has fantastic CGI, making it exciting and terrifying throughout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxEzUgoCF3w
The Circle
The Circle is a psychological thriller starring Emma Watson, John Boyega and Tom Hanks. Mae Holland (Watson) is delighted when she receives a job at the world’s most powerful technology and social media company. The innovative atmosphere at the company stalls as it becomes increasingly apparent that it has no regard for privacy. Mae finds herself at a cross-roads as she makes decisions that will have an effect on the future of her family and, more broadly, humankind. The film provides an interesting reflection on the ways in which we interact with technology today; it has the creepy, gripping tone of shows such as Black Mirror.
TV
Glow
This fast paced eighties-set comedy follows the women who make up the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Be prepared for your fair share of big hair and disco music, wrestling rings and friendship dramas, what we have here is a must watch. Especially after my four star review, there is no reason for you to not to at least give it a try. (See full review here: http://www.tn2magazine.ie/netlix-glow-review/)
Friends from College
From July 14th, this Netflix original comedy will become available and it is set to be a good one. Bringing How I Met Your Mother’s Cobie Smulders back to the small screen can never be a bad thing, and here she is married to Keegan-Michael Key (you may recognise him from comedy duo Key & Peele, or as Obama’s anger translator at the White House Correspondents’ dinner). The show follows the pair, plus a group of fellow Harvard graduates a humourous take on how their friendships and lives panned out fifteen years after college.
Asian Provocateur
Follow comedian Romesh Ranganathan (co-host of Roxane’s personal favourite podcast How Hip Hop Changed My Life) as he travels to his parents’ native country of Sri Lanka. Having been raised in England, Ranganathan is exposed to Sri Lanka partly through the same lense as fellow non-natives would, while exploring his heritage and the country’s culture with a comedic approach. He brings a hilarious dose of cheeky humour and fresh perspective to the 2015 show which is readily available to watch on Netflix from July 1st.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y7kHHxylps
Ozark
Laura Linney and Jason Bateman are not only married, but total badasses with a shed load (no literally, the cash lives in a shed) of cash?! Yes please. Throw in some lakeside living and Mexican drug lords, and you have yourself Netflix’s new drama, due out on 21st July. It looks dark, dangerous and very good. Bateman directed a handful of the episode, creating even more anticipation for Ozark’s release.
