The old, the new  and the imaginary

CONSTANTINOS PSILLIDES on what Netflix has in store for July

From sci-fi movies taking place in a ghetto to sword fighting in a backward medieval village, Netflix has a slate of films and series scheduled for release in July. Here is a selection of series and films to watch

The Lincoln Lawyer (Parts 1-2)

Mickey Haller, the eccentric but brilliant defence lawyer is back, running his business once again (well, mainly) out of the back of a Lincoln! Manuel Garcia Rulfo stars as the titular character, who in season one almost gave up the legal world, when a prosecutor died and left him his practice and a mysterious case. Having established a name for himself after season one, scrappy Mickey is back and riding high on the wave of fame generated by his last case. All is not well though as he soon begins to unravel, while at the same time taking on a client with whom he has a personal relationship. Part 1 is already out while part 2 will be out on August 3. Plenty of time to binge by then! The series is based on a book series by author Michael Connely and season 2 tells the story from the book The Fifth Witness.

Titanic

Scheduling series and film releases is a complicated task. Everything must be taken into consideration; everything must be meticulously planned and even then, things can be derailed by a global disaster.

Such is the case with the 1997 hit movie, Titanic, James Cameron’s labour of love about the famous shipwreck. Even in their wildest dreams, the Netflix marketing team could not have anticipated the surge in interest in the Titanic, following the death of five people who were on a submersible for a tour of the shipwreck. Their death and search efforts made global news, piquing the audience’s interest both for the actual shipwreck and of course the Cameron movie. One of the most successful movies of all time, Titanic tells the story of an unlikely romance between a young wealthy socialite (played by Kate Winslett) and a young poor artist played by Leonardo DiCaprio, in a career-defining role. The Titanic is available on UK-US Netflix now and is expected to be available globally by the end of the month.

Witcher (Parts 1-2)

Geralt of Rivia is here to mumble and kill monsters. And he is done mumbling…

Henry Cavill returns for season 3 of Witcher, the hit series based on fantasy books by author Andrzej Sapkowski, set in an alternative medieval Eastern Europe. One that is filled with monsters and magic.

In season 3, Geralt, the sorceress Yennefer and their protégé Ciri escape the events of last season and continue on their journey to train Ciri to control her powers. A difficult task made even more difficult by the fact that every single faction now knows about Ciri’s powers and everyone wants her for themselves. Or dead.

Season 3 is Henry Cavil’s last appearance as the titular character as he bowed out after wrapping production. In his shoes steps Liam Hemsworth who will take over the mantle of the White Wolf for season 4.

Part 1 of The Witcher is out now while part 2 will be released on July 27.

They cloned Tyrone

One of Netflix’s summer big-budget films releasing this year, They Cloned Tyrone has Jamie Foxx, John Boyega, and Teyionah Parris, investigating some strange occurrences in their hood and ending up uncovering a giant, shadowy government conspiracy.

They Cloned Tyrone is released on July 14.

Bird Box: Barcelona

Bird Box was a surprising hit film back in 2018, starring Sandra Bullock, as it grabbed the attention of audiences world-wide. It told the story of Malorie (Sandra Bullock) as she is trying to survive with her two children following a world decimating event. Entities have taken over the world and just by looking at them one is compelled to commit suicide. Navigating the world blindfolded, humans are now forced to go through life without one of the most basic senses.

Netflix decided to launch a series of localised Bird Box films that all take place in the same universe. The first one, Bird Box Barcelona will be released on July 14.