June may have been a roller coaster for emotions and expectations, but July looks to go up and up. Between explosive action, the first superhero since the end game, and staple horror scaring up our screens, anime fans will be getting a double treat of their favorite childhood franchises. But let's not forget the big titles of fun and feels coming this month, so these are the movies not to miss this July!
The first post-Endgame entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and officially the last Phase 3 movie before the MCU enters a new era, "Far From Home" takes places shortly after Thanos has been defeated and all is well with the world, except that Peter Parker has to deal with the consequences after Endgame. While on a school trip to Europe with his classmates, Peter is recruited by Nick Fury to battle off a new group of villains, with a superhero entering the scene that could be from a different dimension. Tom Holland returns with a new spider-suit, and working for the first time with Samuel L. Jackson and Cobbie Smulders from S.H.I.E.L.D, with Zendaya, Marisa Tomei and Jon Favreau to reprise their roles. Also returning to helm the second in the Spider-Man series is "Homecoming" director Jon Watts, and this will be the first introduction of Jake Gyllenhaal into the MCU as Mysterio. General Release Date: 3 July
While Louis Koo returns from the 2013 installment, "Drug Lords" is only a sequel in all but name. This time, Koo is on the other side of the law as an enterprising drug lord trying to secure deals with the Mexican cartel for Asia, but is hunted down on all sides when a financial tycoon and philanthropist sets a bounty on his head to wipe out the drug trade. When the drug lord is forced to be put under the protection of the police for the bounty, past ties and loyalties are tested for the sake of money. Herman Lau returns to direct this sequel, while bringing along Andy Lau as the aforementioned tycoon, with special appearances from Gordon Lam, Chrissie Chau and Cherrie Ying, to pitch a physical and psychological battle. General Release Date: 11 July
Based on the manga of the same name, Li Xin is a war orphan who seeks to become a general when he meets with Ying Zheng, a boy meant for greatness. Together, with a few more allies along the way, the two men charge towards their destiny to unite all the warring states of China under one ruler. What started as a 3-minute short film now gets its feature length treatment with director Shinsuke Sato, better known for recently helming the manga adaptations of "Bleach" and "Inuyashiki". Kent Yamazaki reprises his leading role from the short, and will be accompanied by Ryo Yoshizawa, Kanna Hashimoto, Masami Nagasawa, Kanata Hongo and Takao Osawa. General Release Date: 11 July
The third live-action adaptation from Disney's classics this year but the first purely CG-animated since Disney started off its live-action adaptations with "The Jungle Book". Given the hit-or-miss track record these live adaptations have done so far, we definitely hope that this one would be in the hit book, especially since they brought back "The Jungle Book" director Jon Favreau to bring the lions to life. Replacing much of the original voice cast, except for James Earl Jones who returns as Mufasa, is a more high profile one that has Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiewetel Ejiofor, John Oliver, and Beyonce Knowles. General Release Date: 18 July
2018 had "Bohemian Rhapsody" and 2019 had "Rocketman". Based on the life of another virtuoso and named after his album, "Rocketman" traces the trajectory of Elton John through his early years until his rehabilitation for drugs. A project that has been in development since 2001 (and even had Tom Hardy for the lead role), the production went through its own ups and downs until they had to recast and find a new director to make it happen. Dexter Fletcher reunites with his "Eddie the Eagle" lead Taron Egerton for a role of a lifetime, and based on the reviews that came out of its Cannes premiere, "Rocketman", it might be the more hard-biting look of a musician's life than "Bohemian Rhapsody". That's not to say that it would most likely suffer severe cuts from my Censorship Board, but there is a lot of music to savour from a player who learned how to play as well as Elton John from scratch. General Release Date: 25 July