Favorite First Watches: July 2026 – Summer Movie Seasons Quickly Dwindles

Megan Loucks

It’s hard to believe that July is already over, and I’m writing yet another recap of what I watched within the last month. Excitedly, in July I started covering the Fantasia International Film Festival, my first time covering this genre festival. There have been a lot of great films featured at the festival, and many of them will be on this list! Some July releases I still really want to check out are I Want Your Sex, which doesn’t release near me until August, so naturally I’m even more behind on summer releases than I was on my monthly list.

As the summer movie season begins to wind down, July is fun because many of the best summer flicks are released within its 31 days. I was able to watch some films that have been on my watchlist for awhile, and I’m glad to actually watch some of the DVD’s I’ve thrifted lately! So let’s dive into a few films that really stood out for my favorite first watches of July.

Runner ups: Out For Justice (1991), Sour Minnows (2026), Nightborn (2026), Dance Freak (2026)

Be Kind Rewind (2008), Dir. Michel Gondry

Synopsis: “A man whose brain becomes magnetized unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend’s video store. In order to satisfy the store’s most loyal renter, an aging woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the lost films.”

Avalon (2001), Dir. Mamoru Oshii

Synopsis: “In a future world, young people are increasingly becoming addicted to an illegal (and potentially deadly) battle simulation game called Avalon. When Ash, a star player, hears of rumors that a more advanced level of the game exists somewhere, she gives up her loner ways and joins a gang of explorers. Even if she finds the gateway to the next level, will she ever be able to come back to reality?”

Godhead (2026), Dir. Mark H. Rapaport

Synopsis: “Eccentric twins proclaim themselves prophets to a priest, blurring reality and delusion as they involve him in their supposed divine mission.”

Excerpt from my full review: “Belief is one of the world’s most powerful forces. Capable of altering the state of minds or the realities we live in with acceptance. When faith is involved, it takes belief to a much deeper level. Faith is the action of belief, and in his new film Godhead, Mark H. Rapaport examines the lengths those with an abundance of faith will go. Premiering at Fantasia this year the film is a mesmerizing religious nightmare that questions every aspect of religious doctrine.”

The Samurai and the Prisoner (2026), Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Synopsis: “When Lord Murashige rises up against the tyrannical Oda, he finds himself besieged within the walls of his own castle. Isolated, he is confronted with a series of mysterious crimes that shatter the fragile order of his court, plunging the fortress into fear and suspicion. With Oda’s army closing in and a traitor hiding among his ranks, Murashige is forced into an uneasy alliance with Kanbei, a brilliant and dangerous strategist held prisoner in the dungeon, as he must outwit his enemies and uncover the truth before time runs out.”

Excerpt from my full review: “Kiyoshi Kurosawa is no stranger to crafting stories that focus on the weight that morals hold over us. He places obstacles in front of his characters that we, as the audience, face daily, as in his last feature, Cloud, where the main character does what he must to make ends meet, feeding into his greed. Much like Cloud, his newest feature, The Samurai and the Prisoner, which showed at the 30th Fantasia International Film Festival, doesn’t show its cards right away, making it a samurai murder mystery for the ages.”

The Odyssey (2026), Dir. Christopher Nolan

Synopsis: “Odysseus, the legendary King of Ithaca, embarks on a long and perilous journey home following the Trojan War. Throughout his voyage, he is forced to confront the whims of gods, mythological monsters, and trials that stretch both his cunning and his humanity to the breaking point.”