It’s no secret that HBO Max has one of the best streaming libraries around, and that’s due not only to the new release Warner Bros. movies that hit HBO Max the same day they’re in theaters, but also a wealth of library titles that are some of the best films ever made. The library has gotten even bigger in July, so we’re highlighting the best of the best – new releases from auteur filmmakers, blockbuster sequels, and even decades-old franchises that feel underrated. Below we’ve assembled a list of the best new movies on HBO Max in July 2021, so if you’re looking for something new to watch on the streaming service this month, prioritize one of these titles.

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No Sudden Move

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Image via Warner Bros.

Available on: July 1st

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Writer: Ed Solomon

Cast: Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, David Harbour, Amy Seimetz Julia Fox, Jon Hamm, Noah Jupe, Frankie Shaw, and Kieran Culkin

If you’re in the mood for a great crime thriller, check out Steven Soderbergh’s new 2021 film No Sudden Move. The original story takes place in 1950s Detroit and begins with a pair of criminals who are tasked with a heist that goes very, very wrong. In the aftermath, they’re forced to try and figure out if they were set up, why they were hired, and who’s behind all this, all the while trying to stay alive. This is a whip smart caper with a lot of twists and turns (it demands your full attention), but it’s also packed with the humor and sharpness you expect from Soderbergh’s other crime movies like the Ocean’s trilogy and Logan Lucky. This is one of the year’s best films.

The Planet of the Apes Franchise

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Available on: July 1st

Directors: Franklin J. Schaffner, Ted Post, Don Taylor, and J. Lee Thompson

Cast: Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, and Charlton Heston

We all know the 1968 Planet of the Apes as an iconic piece of cinema, and most are also familiar with the ill-advised Tim Burton reboot and the recent trilogy of excellent CG-enhanced films. But if you’ve never seen the classic Planet of the Apes sequels from the 60s and 70s, they’re far better and more interesting than you’re expecting. Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and Battle for the Planet of the Apes each boasts an original, unique sci-fi story while also tackling some important socio-political issue. The first sequel is literally about humans worshipping a nuclear bomb, while later films delve into the civil rights movement as two apes are transported to 1970s Earth. These are well worth checking out as part of a weekend marathon, and there's some great connective tissue in this serialized story across these disparate movies.

Judas and the Black Messiah

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Image via Warner Bros.

Available on: July 1st

Director: Shaka King

Writers: Will Benson and Shaka King

Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, and Dominique Fishback

If you didn’t catch the 2021 Warner Bros. film Judas and the Black Messiah when it hit HBO Max earlier this year as part of WB’s day-and-date release strategy, it’s back on HBO Max for the next few months. This drama chronicles the rise and assassination of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), charting how one of his confidants (Lakeith Stanfield) was turned informant by the FBI. This is a bold and striking film – not your average “biopic drama”—and Kaluuya deservedly won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.

Pleasantville

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Image via New Line Cinema

Available on: July 1st

Director/Writer: Gary Ross

Cast: Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy, Joan Allen, Jeff Daniels, and Paul Walker

If something a little more, well, pleasant is your speed, then add 1998’s Pleasantville to your queue. The film is a somewhat underrated gem that finds two teenagers transported into a 1950s sitcom world, only to find that their very presence starts changing this insular and repressed town in ways both beautiful and potentially dangerous. The film is an allegory for repression, but it’s very cleverly composed and proves to be monumentally entertaining at the same time it’s tackling pretty serious issues. Funny, charming, and inspiring, it’s kind of a full meal of a movie.

Scream

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Image via Dimension Films

Available on: July 1st

Director: Wes Craven

Writer: Kevin Williamson

Cast: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Rose McGowan, Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich, and Drew Barrymore

If you’re in the mood for a fright night, you absolutely cannot go wrong with Scream. This 1996 classic is one of the best films ever made, and one of the smartest and most original horror movies to ever grace our screens. Director Wes Craven flips the slasher genre on its head with a story about a killer obsessed with scary movies – it’s a horror movie that has seen every horror movie on the planet, and thus can play around with various tropes and expectations. That leads to a number of frightful twists and turns, but it’s all anchored by a grounded and emotional turn by Neve Campbell. And if you watch the first one and are hungry for more, Scream 2 and Scream 3 are also streaming – just don’t expect quite the same level of quality.

Space Jam: A New Legacy

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Image via Warner Bros.

Available on: July 16th

Director: Malcolm D. Lee

Writers: Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, Keenan Coogler, Terence Nance, Jesse Gordon, and Celeste Ballard

Cast: LeBron James, Don Cheadle, Khris Davis, and Sonequa Martin-Green

Okay so this one might be a little painful if you’re over a certain age, but if you have kids then Space Jam: A New Legacy might be a solid choice. This semi-sequel doesn’t really connect all that much to the original Michael Jordan-led film as it finds LeBron James playing himself and venturing into the “Warner 3000 Server-Verse” where they’re trapped by the villainous AI-G Rhythm (Don Cheadle). In order to escape, James must team up with the Looney Tunes and win a basketball game. Obviously.

The Empty Man

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Image via 20th Century Studios

Available on: July 17th

Director/Writer: David Prior

Cast: James Badge Dale, Ron Canada, Robert Aramayo, Marin Ireland, and Stephen Root

Honestly it’s best to go into The Empty Man knowing as little as possible, but if you need a sell it’s basically a chilling horror-crime-thriller that’s a cross between Se7en and Midsommar. The movie was unceremoniously dumped in theaters after Disney acquired Fox, but almost immediately found a cult following who sparked to writer/director David Prior’s dense twist on a horror movie. The premise doesn’t do the film justice, but it stars James Badge Dale as a former detective who’s investigating a girl’s disappearance and stumbles onto a wide-reaching cult that may or may not be worshipping and conjuring a figure from another realm. This is the kind of movie you’ll want to discuss endlessly with your friends once it ends, throwing your own theories back and forth about what it all means. It’s also creepy as heck.

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