For movie lovers, the month of August often feels like halftime on the film release calendar. The summer blockbuster season is largely finished, but the fall festivals and subsequent awards race have yet to begin. It’s a time for catching up on June and July releases that you might have missed and researching the exciting slate of titles that fall is destined to bring.
For those of you looking to beat the heat this month who aren’t interested in the slimmer multiplex pickings, there’s plenty of exciting cinema to be found on Netflix. The streaming giant is rolling out new editions of some of its most popular films a new Zack Snyder director’s cut will always be an event in certain circles, and a black-and-white take on ‘Godzilla Minus One’ should ensure that one of the biggest global cultural phenomenons of the past year will continue for at least another month.
Netflix has also added plenty of underrated films from the 2010s to its library, ensuring that there’s something for everyone to watch this month.
7. Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color
Two months after ‘Godzilla Minus One’ finally became available to American home viewers when it hit Netflix, subscribers can now enjoy a monochromatic version of the film that presents the action in glorious black-and-white.
‘Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color’ allows the film’s immaculate shot composition to shine without the distraction of colors, and brings it one step closer to the original Shin Godzilla movies that share its DNA. It’s an essential watch for anyone who values the past and future of the kaiju genre.
6. Moden Master: S.S.-Rajamouli
The overwhelming success of ‘RRR’ in 2022 was more than just a typical story of an international film finding crossover success in America. The Tollywood epic became a bona fide global phenomenon thanks to its dazzling action sequences, bromance-filled musical numbers, and abundance of tigers.
The film marked the first time that many audience members were exposed to Indian cinema, but longtime fans knew it was merely the latest example of S.S. Rajamouli’s brilliance. The director has long been associated with executing Tollywood popcorn cinema at the highest levels, and the film turned him into a superstar within the international filmmaking community.
Now, he’s the subject of a new ‘Modern Masters’ documentary on Netflix, which celebrates his lifetime of artistry through interviews with collaborators and longtime fans like James Cameron. It has all the makings of an essential look at one of the world’s most exciting blockbuster auteurs.
5. Rebel Moon
What came first, the Zack Snyder movie or the claim that the director’s cut would be better? The world may never know, but the discourse surrounding virtually every movie Snyder has made for the past two decades has ensured that the release of a new extended cut from him is always a cultural event.
Snyder’s two-part Netflix space opera ‘Rebel Moon’ received poor reviews and massive viewership numbers when the two films streamed in December 2023 and March 2024.
Now, fans and haters alike will have a chance to experience Snyder’s extended, R-rated versions of the films ‘Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire’ and ‘Rebel Moon: The Scargiver.’ Snyder has openly praised the experience of working with Netflix, so these cuts weren’t necessitated by studio interference, but extra footage will certainly give his fans something to celebrate.
4. Fury
David Ayer’s approach to filmmaking is an acquired taste, but his taste for violence and appreciation of battle-forged camaraderie turned ‘Fury’ into a highly entertaining watch for fans of modern war movies. Brad Pitt stars as Don “Wardaddy” Collier, a tank commander guiding a ragtag crew of bloodthirsty American soldiers through the final weeks of World War II.
While it’s far from the subtlest film about the realities of war, the machismo-filled movie still feels like one of the last great uses of Ayer’s talents that the world received before he fell down the dark rabbit hole of ‘Suicide Squad’ and ‘Bright.’
3. Logan lucky
Steven Soderbergh’s much-publicized retirement from filmmaking in 2013 was never much of a goodbye, as he immediately threw himself into a wide range of projects including directing every episode of ‘The Knick’ and serving as director of photography on ‘Magic Mike XXL.’ But after four years without directing a feature film, ‘Logan Lucky’ marked his official re-entry into Hollywood.
The Daniel Craig-led heist comedy plays out like a southern ‘Ocean’s 11,’ featuring an eclectic mix of criminals plotting to rob a NASCAR race. It’s vintage Soderbergh and makes for a perfect light viewing during the dog days of summer.
2. First Man
\At first glance, ‘First Man’ might seem like an outlier in Damien Chazelle’s filmography, as it’s the only film not to focus on the worlds of Hollywood or jazz music. But the film about Neil Armstrong and the first manned mission to the moon is still centered around the questions that have defined Chazelle’s entire career: How much does true greatness cost, and is it worth what some people give up to pursue it?
Chazelle’s take on the true story strips away all of the patriotism and pageantry that many have come to associate with the moon landing, opting instead to focus on the mission’s unlikely technical success.
But while the launch sequence is thrilling enough to justify a viewing, the film’s real emotional core is Ryan Gosling’s take on Armstrong and the strained relationships that his devotion to the mission creates. Underappreciated upon its initial release, the film is yet another piece of evidence that Chazelle is one of his generation’s most thrilling artists.
1. Pearl
With Ti West’s ‘Maxine’ playing in theaters, it’s a great time to revisit the second film in his Mia Goth-led slasher trilogy. After writing a conventional (if endearing) love letter to ’70s exploitation cinema with ‘X,’ the horror auteur turned back the clock with his prequel that shares much of its DNA with the Technicolor blockbusters of Old Hollywood.
The origin story of Goth’s horny aging murderer marked a significant expansion of West’s mythology and helped turn the saga into one of A24’s biggest horror hits in years.
