5 best new films: quick links
5 best new films
Warfare (1 July) – Prime Video
Film (2025). Look, a hyperrealistic war film might be the last thing you and we need to be watching for entertainment at a time when everything seems to be falling apart – so bear that in mind and choose accordingly before sitting down on your sofa for the evening.
Written and directed by Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland, Warfare embeds audiences with a platoon of American Navy SEALs on a surveillance mission gone wrong in insurgent territory. A visceral, boots-on-the-ground story of modern warfare and brotherhood, told like never before: in real time and based on the memory of the people who lived it.
Starring D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai , Will Poulter, Joseph Quinn and Cosmo Jarvis. Watch the trailer.
Old Guard 2 (2 July) – Netflix
Film (2025). If you’re into superhero films based on comic book series (in this case the series of the same name by Greg Rucka, who wrote the screenplay for this and its action-packed 2020 predecessor), this one might just be the ticket
This time, Andy and her team of immortal warriors – all of whom have the ability to heal themselves when injured – fight with renewed purpose as they face a powerful new foe threatening their mission to protect humanity.
Starring Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli. Watch the trailer.
Heads of State (2 July) – Prime Video
Film (2025). It’s unlikely this one will win an Oscar but it looks like the kind of mindless fun we could all do with at the moment/ every day/ for the rest of our lives.
In this action-comedy, the UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke and US President Will Derringer have a not-so-friendly and very public rivalry that jeopardises their countries’ ‘special relationship’.
But when they become the targets of a powerful and ruthless foreign adversary – who proves more than a match for the two leaders’ security forces – they are begrudgingly forced to rely on the only two people they can trust: each other.
Starring John Cena, Idris Elba and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Watch the trailer.
Sinners (4 July) – Max
Film (2025). Not for nothing has Ryan Coogler’s music-race-relations-and-supernatural-infused film, set in the Mississippi Delta in 1932, on track into become the highest grossing original movie of the 2020s.
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (played in a duel role by Michael B Jordan) return from the Chicago criminal underworld to their hometown, Clarksdale, Mississippi, to start again as juke joint owners, only to discover that things are about to get real weird and real nasty, but with some excellent music along the way.
Written and directed by Ryan Coogler. Starring Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell and Wunmi Mosaku. Watch the trailer.
From ScreenHub’s five-star review:
Smoke and Stack, played superbly by Jordan whose subtle expression changes and varying inflections make them two distinct characters, have big dreams – ones that mostly involve owning their own juke joint, which means they can raise equal parts money and hell. To do that, they’re gonna need a barn.
They manage to purchase said barn from a white businessman who assures them that the KKK ‘ain’t around no more’ – still, the savvy brothers find it pertinent to make their firearm skills known. Read more …
Dora And The Search For Sol Dorado (4 July) – Paramount+
Film (2025). A new original feature-length live-action movie, marking 25 years of the Dora the Explorer franchise, in what’s being described as a ‘loose adaptation’ of the popular animated series.
The world’s greatest explorer and her friends will trek through the perilous dangers of the Amazonian jungle in search of the ancient treasure of Sol Dorado to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Comedy? Yes! Adventure? Yes! Worth a watch with the family? Hopefully!
Starring Samantha Lorraine, Jacob Rodriguez and Daniella Pineda. Watch the trailer.
