Summer days are great for heading to the beach to enjoy the sun and surf, but some times all you want to do is lounge around at home and watch a movie. Luckily, the library has tons of great films and TV shows, with more arriving every week. And to make it easy for you to figure out what to watch, we’ve once again collected all of the major releases coming to the library this month. So check out the full list below, including trailers, synopses, and reviews for each!
THE PUBLIC
In The Public, an unusually bitter Arctic blast has made its way to downtown Cincinnati and the front doors of the public library where the action of the film takes place. The story revolves around the library patrons, many of whom are homeless, mentally ill and marginalized, as well as an exhausted and overwhelmed staff of librarians who often act as “de-facto social workers” and care for those regular patrons. At odds with library officials over how to handle the extreme weather event, the patrons turn the building into a homeless shelter for the night by staging an “Occupy” sit in. What begins as an act of civil disobedience becomes a stand-off with police and a rush-to-judgment media constantly speculating about what’s really happening inside the building.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Estevez isn’t afraid to swing for the fences and elicit some tears from empathetic audience members, but he’s also willing to stop himself short of full-on exploitation via senseless violence. That’s what makes The Public a success despite the convenient characters and constant paralleling showing the merit of second chances. Estevez never forgets the humanity he’s striving to spotlight.” – Jared Mobarak, The Film Stage
“The film is often entertaining, with some nice touches and compelling moments.” – Nell Minow, RogerEbert.com
Available Formats (7/2):
Blu-ray | DVD
THE BEST OF ENEMIES
Based on a true story, The Best of Enemies centers on the unlikely relationship between Ann Atwater (Taraji P. Henson), an outspoken civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis (Sam Rockwell ), a local Ku Klux Klan leader who reluctantly co-chaired a community summit, battling over the desegregation of schools in Durham, North Carolina during the racially-charged summer of 1971. The incredible events that unfolded would change Durham and the lives of Atwater and Ellis forever.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Tells a fascinating story backed up by solid, compelling performances by Rockwell and Henson.” – Alan Ng, Film Threat
“It’s a surprise and a small wonder, then, when The Best of Enemies starts getting good and pretty much stays that way to the end. This may be an apples/oranges comparison, but: For a true-ish story of racial animus, bone-deep prejudice and the American South in the civil rights era, it’s a better, more nuanced and more interesting feel-good movie than a certain, recent, less interesting Best Picture Academy Award winner we could mention.” – Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Available Formats (7/2):
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
PET SEMATARY
After relocating with his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine, Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family’s new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Although the changes to the source material are guaranteed to polarize some Stephen King fans, Pet Sematary bucks the remake trap of simply paying homage to an iconic piece of horror. Instead, it makes drastic changes to the plot so it can ultimately go more complex with its themes. That’s a hell of a trick to pull off. Sometimes, different is better.” – Dan Caffrey, Consequence of Sound
“Its terrifying story about death still leaves audiences with much to think about long after the credits roll, and the twists that lead to a new ending are fun to follow. Thirty years after the original movie frightened audiences, its source material has given new life to one of the best Stephen King adaptations in the past decade.” – Monica Castillo, TheWrap
Available Formats (7/9):
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
LITTLE
Jordan Sanders – Hall (Regina Hall and Marsai Martin) is a take-no-prisoners tech mogul who wakes up in her adult self’s penthouse just before a do-or-die presentation. Her long-suffering assistant April (Issa Rae) is the only one in on the secret that her daily tormentor is now trapped in an awkward tween body just as everything is on the line.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Little is a funny, surprisingly heartfelt film, embedded in traditional themes and amplified by the talented Martin, who reminds us that she and other youth like her aren’t just adorable — they’ve got boss mentalities that cannot and should not be ignored.” – Candice Frederick, TheWrap
“The script’s second half drifts, going too soft on teachable moments, but Little still finds its loopy sweet spot: Tom Hanks’ Big flipped and recast as pure black-girl magic.” – Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly
Available Formats (7/9):
Blu-ray
AFTER
As she enters her first semester in college, Tessa (Josephine Langford) is a dedicated student, dutiful daughter and loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart. Armed with grand ambitions for her future, her guarded world opens up when she meets the dark and mysterious Hardin Scott (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), a magnetic, brooding rebel who makes her question all she thought she knew about herself and what she wants out of life.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“I feel confident that even if I were to be magically transformed into the target demographic, I would still find After to be a cliched, mediocre affair. Come back, Twilight, all is forgiven.” – Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
“An innocuous teen pulp soap opera that flirts with ‘danger’ but, in fact, keeps surprising you with how mild and safe and predictable it turns out to be.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Available Formats (7/9):
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
HIGH LIFE
Monte (Robert Pattinson) and his baby daughter are the last survivors of a damned and dangerous mission to deep space. The crew—death-row inmates led by a doctor (Juliette Binoche) with sinister motives—has vanished. As the mystery of what happened onboard the ship is unraveled, father and daughter must rely on each other to survive as they hurtle toward the oblivion of a black hole.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“As with so many of Denis’ films, the point is to contrive an overwhelmingly powerful mood and moment, an almost physiological sensation, this one incubated in the vast, cold reaches of space. It throbbed and itched with me long after the film was over.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“By twisting around preconceptions of what an outer-space epic should be, French auteur Claire Denis returns to the fertile ground of her Trouble Every Day era, using genre to dig beneath themes that others would only treat as skin-deep.” – Barry Hertz, Toronto Globe and Mail
Available Formats (7/9):
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
SHAZAM!
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Asher Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Zachary Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong).
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Proves so determinedly ebullient you begin to think they’re pumping laughing gas into the auditorium. The most kid-friendly DC movie so far, the film is thoroughly entertaining.” – Keith Ulich, The Hollywood Reporter
“This heartfelt origin story is more than the sum of its immense charm and Spielbergian attention to detail.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire
Available Formats (7/16):
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
BREAKTHROUGH
When her 14-year-old son drowns in a lake, a faithful mother prays for him to come back from the brink of death and be healed.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“You don’t have to believe in divine intervention to be moved by this story.” – Bilge Ebiri, New York Times
“The story is well-told, but what makes it interesting is that each character confronts his or her own crisis — even Tommie, the paramedic who rescued him. It also drives home the point that a seemingly small tragic event can affect an entire community.” – G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
Available Formats (7/16):
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
TEEN SPIRIT
Violet (Elle Fanning) is a shy teenager who dreams of escaping her small town and pursuing her passion to sing. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a local singing competition that will test her integrity, talent and ambition.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Minghella’s incredible directorial debut is a technicolor, neon-drenched fever dream. It is told with remarkable visual prowess, jaw-dropping editing, a soundtrack to die for, career-best performances from its central cast, and most importantly, heart. This is not to be missed.” – Bobby LePire, Film Threat
“Teen Spirit, Max Minghella’s sweet and touching directing debut, is both proudly clichéd and refreshingly different.” – Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
Available Formats (7/16):
Blu-ray
LITTLE WOODS
Little Woods, North Dakota, a fracking boomtown well beyond its prime. Ollie is trying to survive the last few days of her probation after getting caught illegally running prescription pills over the Canadian border. But when her mother dies, she is thrust back into the life of her estranged sister Deb (James), who is facing her own crisis with an unplanned pregnancy and a deadbeat ex. The two find they have one week to settle the mortgage on their mother’s house or face foreclosure. As bills and pressure mount, Ollie faces a choice: whether to return to a way of life she thought she’d left behind for just one more score or to leave it all behind.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Little Woods revolves around a remarkable lead performance: Thompson shows her range as an actress in this film in ways that, as fun as they can be, she just doesn’t get to in any of her blockbuster roles.” – Katie Rife, The A.V. Club
“A thriller wants to entertain you. Little Woods wants you to think, and feel. I did both.” – Kimberley Jones, Austin Chronicle
Available Formats (7/16):
Blu-ray
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned Alita (Rosa Salazar) is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes the unconscious cyborg Alita to his clinic. When Alita awakens she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in. Everything is new to Alita, every experience a first. As she learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield Alita from her mysterious past while her street-smart new friend, Hugo (Keean Johnson), offers instead to help trigger her memories. A growing affection develops between the two until deadly forces come after Alita and threaten her newfound relationships. It is then that Alita discovers she has extraordinary fighting abilities that could be used to save the friends and family she’s grown to love. Determined to uncover the truth behind her origin, Alita sets out on a journey that will lead her to take on the injustices of this dark, corrupt world, and discover that one young woman can change the world in which she lives.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Alita: Battle Angel is [Rodriguez’s] best film since he brought Frank Miller’s graphic novel to the screen, a sci-fi epic that does something rare in an age of endless adaptations and reboots: lives up to its potential while leaving you wanting more.” – Michael Nordine, IndieWire
“Alita lays out her empathetic groundwork early and rarely diverges from it. How wonderful to have a hero that always follows through with what she fights for. How wonderful to have a blockbuster that aspires for so much and mostly delivers on those ambitions.” – Cory Woodroof, The Playlist
Available Formats (7/23):
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
HELLBOY
Hellboy (David Harbour) comes to England, where he discovers The Blood Queen, Nimue (Milla Jovovich), a resurrected ancient sorceress thirsting to avenge a past betrayal. Suddenly caught in a clash between the supernatural and the human, Hellboy is now hell-bent on stopping Nimue without triggering the end of the world.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Exuberantly gross and proudly ridiculous, this Hellboy feels like the picture Glenn Danzig sees in his head when he doodles in his notebook.” – Vince Mancini, Uproxx
“Marshall’s Hellboy is a horrifyingly good time. It captures the breathless quality of reading 30 issues of a single comic-book series in one sugar-addled afternoon, shoving as many amazing characters and storylines and images into one film as it can possibly hold. It could have seemed overstuffed and frenetic, but this new Hellboy instead comes across as imaginative and freewheeling.” – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
Available Formats (7/23):
Blu-ray
MISSING LINK
This year, meet Mr. Link: 8 feet tall, 630 lbs, and covered in fur, but don’t let his appearance fool you… he is funny, sweet, and adorably literal, making him the world’s most lovable legend. Tired of living a solitary life in the Pacific Northwest, Mr. Link recruits fearless explorer Sir Lionel Frost to guide him on a journey to find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight, our fearless trio of explorers encounter more than their fair share of peril as they travel to the far reaches of the world to help their new friend. Through it all, the three learn that sometimes you can find a family in the places you least expect.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“As with so many Laika films, you’ll come for the breathtaking animation, and you’ll leave both enchanted and surprised by the big, beating heart beneath it.” – Dominick Suzanne-Mayer, Consequence of Sound
“A charming family-friendly story about adventure and friendship — told with bar-raising artistic craft and technical skill. We’d expect nothing less from Laika.” – John Nugent, Empire
Available Formats (7/23):
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
THE INTRUDER
When a young married couple (Michael Ealy and Meagan Good) buys their dream house in the Napa Valley, they think they have found the perfect home to take their next steps as a family. But when the strangely attached seller (Dennis Quaid) continues to infiltrate their lives, they begin to suspect that he has hidden motivations beyond a quick sale.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Directed by Deon Taylor with a cheeky sense of fun and deep knowledge of the genre, The Intruder is the kind of schlocky yet satisfying genre filmmaking that makes you jump and laugh at the same time.” – Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times
“The Intruder is a delightful use of the conventions of melodrama to subvert traditional horror archetypes.” – Matthew Mongale, Austin Chronicle
Available Formats (7/30):
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
LONG SHOT
When Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) reunites with his first crush, one of the most influential women in the world, Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron), he charms her with his self-deprecating humor and his memories of her youthful idealism. As she prepares to make a run for the Presidency, Charlotte hires Fred as her speechwriter. A fish out of water on Charlotte’s elite team, Fred is unprepared for her glamourous lifestyle in the limelight. Sparks fly as their unmistakable chemistry leads to a round-the-world romance and a series of unexpected and dangerous incidents.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Long Shot isn’t going to save the romantic comedy, but it’s an adrenaline shot of pure pleasure to the genre’s failing heart.” – Manohla Dargis, New York Times
“It’s a consistent laugh out loud comedy with a big heart that should please all kinds of audiences (and the rare rom-com aimed at both women and men and not just either or). Long Shot isn’t your typical Seth Rogen stoner comedy (not that those aren’t great) and is all the better for it.” – Griffin Schiller, The Playlist
Available Formats (7/30):
Blu-ray
UGLYDOLLS
In the adorably different town of Uglyville, weird is celebrated, strange is special and beauty is embraced as more than simply meets the eye. Here, the free-spirited Moxy (Kelly Clarkson) and her UglyDoll friends live every day in a whirlwind of bliss, letting their freak flags fly in a celebration of life and its endless possibilities. The endearingly unique residents of Uglyville occasionally look to the sky above the town, where a new UglyDoll will appear and be embraced by the community. Moxy (Kelly Clarkson) loves her square-peg life in this round-hole town, but her curiosity about all things leads her to wonder if there’s something – anything – on the other side of the mountain which nestles Uglyville. Moxy gathers a group of her closest friends and sets off to find what’s on the other side. They discover another world – Perfection – a town where more conventional dolls are trained in protocols before they graduate and are sent to the “real” world to find the love of a child. In Perfection, Moxy and her crew are subject to the manipulations of Lou (Nick Jonas), the perfect doll in charge of training recruits. Here, the UglyDolls will confront what it means to be different, struggle with their desire to be loved, and ultimately discover that you don’t have to be perfect to be amazing because who you truly are is what matters most.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“UglyDolls is ‘Trolls Lite,’ and the way things work I have no doubt we’ll be seeing a movie in the next few years that’s ‘UglyDolls Lite.’ Yet this is still a winsomely appealing and joke-happy bauble for kiddies.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
“Yes, UglyDolls is a musical, and the peppy songs, while devoid of any subtlety, help tell the story, and are delivered with sincerity. Such ditties as Clarkson’s ‘Broken and Beautiful’ celebrate body positivity and self-acceptance.” – Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post
Available Formats (7/30):
Blu-ray
DOMINO
In a world wracked by terror and suspicion, Copenhagen police officer Christian (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) seeks justice for his partner’s murder by an ISIS member named Imran. On the hunt for the killer, Christian and a fellow cop are unwittingly caught in a cat and mouse chase with a duplicitous CIA agent (Guy Pearce) who is using Imran as a pawn to trap other ISIS members. Soon Christian is racing against the clock – not only seeking revenge, but to save his own life.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“While the end result is certainly no masterpiece, it is still better than the average action potboiler and contains a couple of exhilarating set pieces that offer further proof—not that any is needed at this point—that De Palma remains one of the unquestioned masters of creating and executing moments of pure cinema.” – Peter Sobczynski, RogerEbert.com
“Most of all, De Palma proves that the greatest suspense (and horror) come from helplessness, a sense of impotence.” – David Edelstein, New York Magazine
Available Formats (7/30):
Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack
THE GOOD PLACE: SEASON 3
Michael (plus Janet) as well as Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason are back for the third season of the comedy.
Description and score provided by Metacritic.
“Television’s smartest–and easily one of its best–comedies, NBC’s The Good Place, is set to return for its third twist-filled, morally complex season, and we’re all better for it. … The only show on television of any kind where you can get intellectually stimulating and abstract lessons on philosophy and morality while also laughing hysterically at made-up swear words and pop culture.” – Tim Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter
“The NBC sitcom is still surprising, still meticulously plotted, and still hilarious at an extremely high velocity. … Since season one, The Good Place has repeatedly rebooted its central narrative and shifted our understanding of its setting and what its characters are capable of doing within it. That it’s still able to do this so skillfully in its third season, without ever becoming remotely predictable, is an astonishing feat.” – Jen Chaney, New York Magazine