With the start of a new month, there is a lot to look forward to

With July rolling along, summer is in full swing, much like my air conditioning settings, and we suddenly find ourselves with more time on our hands. Lazy August is just around the corner, and the heat is practically begging us to stay indoors. So, what do we do with all that extra downtime? Here are a few shows and films landing this month that you can stream here in Cyprus.

Happy Gilmore 2 (Netflix, premieres July 25)

A sequel to the beloved 1996 Adam Sandler comedy Happy Gilmore was inevitable. It is a cult classic with a devoted fanbase that solidified Sandler’s career. As nostalgia is the main driving force behind every major studio project right now, it was only a matter of time before Happy swung again.

Did I say time? I meant money. Because let’s be honest, it was a matter of money. And Netflix has boatloads of it.

Happy Gilmore 2 sees Happy, the former hockey player turned golf pro, return to the green. Somehow, in the 30 years since the original, he has managed to lose everything again and finds himself back at square one. Maybe he invested in crypto. Maybe he bet on the Cyprus problem being solved by now. Either way, bad calls all around.

This time, there is a new twist. Happy is a father, and his daughter, played by Sandler’s real-life daughter Sunny Sandler, is a talented ballet dancer hoping to attend a prestigious ballet school. But tuition does not come cheap, so Happy picks up the clubs once more to fund her dreams. Predictable? Sure. But also full of heart, hijinks and that familiar Sandler charm.

The film will be a callback bonanza that will see many of the former actors returning to reprise their roles. No news on any breakfast preferences yet though.

Heads of State (Amazon Prime July 2)

I have a sneaking suspicion that a surprisingly large number of modern action movies are born during drug-fuelled executive brainstorming sessions. Someone throws out a stupid pun, one that would get a stand-up comedian booed off stage, and somehow it gets greenlit. No one wants to admit it was a bad idea, and everyone is too afraid to call out the person who pitched it. I am 95 per cent sure that Heads of State was created this way.

The film stars John Cena and Idris Elba as the President of the United States and the British Prime Minister respectively. At some point in a meeting, someone probably said, “Hey man, two heads are better than one, but what if they were heads of state?” And that was enough.

Think unlimited bullets, impossible stunts, protagonists who refuse to die, and endless one-liners that range from mildly amusing to deeply annoying.

Despite all that, it is fun. Idris Elba can make almost anything work, and as a wrestling fan, I will admit I have a soft spot for John Cena. Add Jack Quaid, one of the few Hollywood nepo babies who has actually earned his place, and you have a movie that is entertaining if you are willing to switch your brain off.

Foundation Season 3 (Apple TV+ July 11)

When Apple TV first announced its adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s legendary Foundation series, I was stunned. Of all the books waiting to be adapted into television or film, Foundation seemed like the last logical choice. It is sprawling, philosophical and barely functions as a linear narrative. The books are more of a thought experiment than a story, exploring humanity’s relationship with religion, science, mathematics and the rise and entropy of civilization.

Hari Seldon is a brilliant mathematician who predicts the inevitable collapse of the Galactic Empire. Instead of trying to prevent the downfall, he proposes a plan to gather all human knowledge to shorten the impending 30,000 year dark age to just a few centuries. Not exactly easy television.

So you can imagine my surprise when the show actually worked.

Well, partly. The showrunners kept the essential themes but created new plots, diverging significantly from the books to craft a watchable and character-driven narrative. It was a smart move. The result is a visually stunning and unapologetically intelligent series that manages to stay true to Asimov’s vision while also being entertaining.

Seasons one and two were excellent.

The show balances spectacle with substance, and even though it takes plenty of liberties with the source material, it maintains the spirit of the original.