Best First Watches: July 2025
It is now August. Can you feel spooky season right around the corner?! I am begging for that sweet, crisp autumn air to return because I cannot live in the sunshine anymore. We weren’t meant to sweat like this. Anyway, I watched some movies in July that I liked. For those playing at home, we are up to a whopping 285 movies so far. In actuality, it’s probably at least 300 because of some programming gigs where I can’t log things. 285 movies and I’m still complaining about the sunshine even though, mathematically, I clearly spend a lot of time indoors.
(Also, if you’re already following me on my newly launched Instagram, thank you! I appreciate you!)
Past 2025 months: January, February, March, April, May, & June.
Courtesy of Boys Go to Jupiter
I don’t know if I would call myself “old,” but I’m getting to the time when people my age are making movies that capture my adolescence. Are the early 2000s really considered a period piece now? I gotta go lie down. Anyway, Julian Glander’s bizarre Floridian hustler odyssey feels like it was born out of the wavelength of my youth. A weird mix that comes from growing up on the cusp of the internet boom and also still spending summers and weekends playing outside. Boys Go to Jupiter captures that in-between era, even though all signs point to the film taking place in the present day. Boys Go to Jupiter is a low-fi musical about the moment a teenager learns the world is much bigger than they could have fathomed.
courtesy of To Kill a Wolf
I’ve been on a tear recently where I’ve had a series of really great interviews with people whose work I deeply enjoyed. One such instance is the interview I had with Kelsey Taylor for her Little Red Riding Hood-inspired film, To Kill a Wolf. I was intrigued, because everything I read about it said it was an emotional, dark, atmospheric exploration of trauma. That would have been enough, but Maddison Brown, the leading actor, also piqued my interest. I’m one of the proud few who thought the Dynasty reboot was campy fun, and Brown had a lead role for a few seasons. Before I saw this film, I couldn’t reconcile the party girl from Dynasty with the modern Red Riding Hood, but Brown is utterly transformed in To Kill a Wolf. This one’s really special.
courtesy of FUCKTOYS
Fucktoys is another very special film that fell into my lap in July. I had wanted to see it back at SXSW, but couldn’t fit it into my schedule. When the PR email came to my inbox, I was thrilled. Fucktoys is an odyssey of late-stage capitalism for the weirdos who live on the fringes. I feel confident saying that you haven’t seen anything like Fucktoys, and what a thrill that is. It’s wild to come across something new, someone who has a voice they know how to use, and someone who gets to use that voice the way they want to instead of being filtered through an outdated studio system.
Rosa la rose, fille publique
courtesy of Radiance Film
I watched a newly restored version of Rosa la rose, fille publique and my jaw genuinely dropped when I saw the blue color of Rosa’s dress in the opening scene. Movies are magic! I’ve never seen a blue like that! It’s my new favorite color. The film is a shockingly modern look at sex work and features one of my new favorite performances from Marianne Basler.
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