The Best New Movies and Shows to Stream on Hulu in July 2021

Crossing the Streams is our look at all the offerings hitting the big streaming services each month, and this time we’re checking out the new Hulu arrivals for July 2021 including a mini Stephen king marathon, an oddball comedy, and more!

Hulu Pick of the Month for July 2021

While most movies tend to wade through the populace without making waves, others leave viewers clearly divided at either extreme with their opinions. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (premieres July 9th) belongs in the latter camp as audiences seem to either love it or hate it. My take on it should be clear by its inclusion here as my Hulu pick of the month for July 2021, but a longer explanation can be found in my review. The short version, though, is that this the kind of ridiculous, wacky, weird comedy we just don’t see much out of Hollywood these days, and it’s ultimately a breath of fresh air for that reason. Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo, and Jamie Dornan are all straight-up delightful in a story about friendship, supervillains, talking crabs, and more. Would I have loved more than just two song ‘n’ dance numbers? Sure, but they’re both great so I’m not complaining. It’s just a carefree, give-no-shits kind of movie that embraces silliness like it was oxygen, and sometimes that’s exactly the kind of spirit you need.

A Stephen King Marathon

Stephen King’s filmography, like his writing, is filled with highs, lows, and everything in between, and now Hulu is making it easy to enjoy a mini-marathon capturing that fluctuating quality. Dreamcatcher (2003, premieres July 3rd) is a mess of a story brought to the screen by talented people — who make an even bigger mess of the story. Surprisingly, though, the mess still makes for a good time as Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, and Donnie Wahlberg run afoul of alien slugs and military assholes. Tom Sizemore and Morgan Freeman’s eyebrows also star, and director Lawrence Kasdan struggles to keep control. It’s not good, but there’s big fun to be had as things go sideways.

By contrast, Sleepwalkers (1992) is a poor story that can’t quite climb its way out of the toilet to deliver real entertainment. Terrible CG effects, a shoddy script (by King himself), and some rough acting by one of the leads. King’s screenplay, an original not based on any of his tales, tries to tie too much into the mix without making any one element compelling. Mythology, incest, feline warriors — it sounds like it should be a blast, but King and director Mick Garris are never able to find that gear.

From the bottom of the mix to the top, Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me (1986) adapts King’s novella “The Body” into a beautifully realized film. The coming of age tale follows four friends on a quest to see a dead body, and it’s a journey filled with laughs, adventure, drama, and more. It’s a story about friendships, the ones we hang onto and the ones we lose, and it remains an all-timer.

Finally, Graveyard Shift (1990) is neither a hit nor a miss and instead delivers a simple, old-fashioned creature feature. The monsters here, aside from the jerks in management, are ancient rats mutated into monstrous form that start targeting workers at a mill. It’s no gem, but there’s good and gooey fun to be had with the puppet vermin and the carnage they unleash.

Musically Inclined Hulu Originals

Big, life-altering music festivals are a thing of the past for numerous reasons, but some of the best can be glimpsed in some of their glory via documentary footage. One of the best is one of the most recent as Summer of Soul (premieres July 2nd) arrives from director Questlove. Subtitled Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised, the film explores 1969’s Harlem Cultural Festival which celebrated African American music with legendary appearances from Nina Simone, BB King, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Mavis Staples, and more. New interviews with artists and archival footage of performances combine to capture the importance and power of the event, and it makes for a memorable watch you’ll want to play loud.

McCartney 3,2,1 (premieres July 16th) is another new look at musical genius, this time in the form of a six-episode miniseries featuring interviews with Paul McCartney. Topics cover the gamut of his career and life from The Beatles and Wings to his solo career and relationships with friends, lovers, and wives. Music plays a role here too with clips and songs, but it’s the conversation that takes center stage as they go through numerous tracks triggering memories of times long past.

The Best of Drafthouse Films

Drafthouse Films was a short-lived boutique label associated with the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain, but over the course of a few years, they released some highly memorable films. Several of their titles are hitting Hulu on July 15th. The Act of Killing (2012) is probably the most critically acclaimed among their collection, and it’s easy to see why. Joshua Oppenheimer co-directs this documentary that sees Indonesian death-squad leaders recreate some of the atrocities via homages to Hollywood films and musicals. It’s alternately absurd and haunting with a particularly powerful sequence involving a family member of a past victim.

I Declare War (2012) is more of a lightweight genre outing, but there’s creativity in its tale and execution. The film follows an adventurous summer as neighborhood kids play war games, but personal conflict turns the fun towards violence leading to more elaborate and dangerous battles. It arguably pulls some of its punches, but the end result is still an engaging and thought-provoking ride.

Hitoshi Matsumoto’s R100 (2013), though, is a work of mad genius. Takafumi is a single dad who no longer feels happiness, but that changes when he takes a chance on an exclusive S&M service that sends women to “hurt” him at unexpected times. The combination of surprise and pain brings him the ultimate joy, one made visible via visual/aural effects, but things get out of hand leaving him searching for a way out. It’s a smart, surprising, sexy, and ultimately sweet tale that deserves to be seen and felt.

The Complete Hulu List for July 2021

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