Whether you’re after a countryside romance or a high-stakes heist, July’s watchlist is as stacked as it gets. Christopher Nolan tackles one of history's greatest Greek epics, Marvel sends Spider-Man swinging back into action, and The Big Bang Theory gets another spin-off. Elsewhere, South Korea continues its hot streak with three highly anticipated series, while Kevin Hart and Ben Stiller remind us that comedy still deserves a place on this watchlist. If you're planning your next cinema trip or streaming binge, these are the biggest releases to catch this month.
South Korean star Namkoong Min swaps courtroom dramas for another high-stakes role as Kang Tae-ju, a former neurosurgeon turned hospital director. Directed by Kim Jung-hyun and Kim Min-tae, the romantic thriller pairs him with Lee Seol as a married couple, whose relationship is already on the verge of collapse before an unexpected kidnapping changes everything. Kim Dae-myung and Lee Sang-hee round out the main cast in a series that blends marital drama with crime and mystery. Make this part of your end-of-week plans, as new episodes drop every weekend on Disney+.
Kang Tae-ju believes signing divorce papers will finally end his unhappy marriage. Instead, his wife Se-yun disappears the very next day, and he becomes the prime suspect in her abduction. Forced to flee the police while desperately hunting down the kidnappers himself, Kang Tae-ju must uncover who’s pulling the strings before time runs out. Meanwhile, Se-yun tries to escape her captors and crosses paths with Kim Gyeong-ae, whose role in the kidnapping remains a mystery. The cat-and-mouse chase makes you wonder whether the marriage can survive what's coming.
The modern-day Bonnie and Clyde run out of luck in Apple TV's adaptation of Marissa Stapley’s bestselling novel of the same name. Anya Taylor-Joy stars as the titular con artist and also serves as an executive producer alongside Reese Witherspoon's production company Hello Sunshine. Drew Starkey appears as her husband Cary, while Timothy Olyphant plays Lucky's imprisoned father. Annette Bening portrays Priscilla, Cary's ruthless mob boss mother, while Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor completes the supporting cast as the FBI agent determined to bring Lucky in.
After Lucky and Cary pull off their biggest score, she wakes up to find him gone by sunrise, along with the stolen cash. The disappearance leaves her stranded in Las Vegas, hunted by both federal agents and dangerous criminals. Escaping with her life means confronting the unfinished business between her con artist father and her mother-in-law, who wants the debt and her son handled on her own terms. To stay alive and uncover what happened to Cary, Lucky must fall back on the scams, disguises and quick thinking she spent years trying to leave behind.
Christopher Nolan swaps the atomic bomb for one of literature's greatest epics in his first feature since the Oscar-sweeping Oppenheimer. The director assembles a star-studded cast, led by Matt Damon as Odysseus, alongside Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, and many more. The almost three-hour film has been the talk of the town, with audiences flocking to theatres. Making cinematic history as the first movie shot entirely on 70mm IMAX cameras, Nolan adapts Homer's poem to the big screen on a scale few directors would attempt.
Following the fall of Troy, Odysseus begins what should’ve been a straightforward journey home to Ithaca. Instead, he spends the next decade battling mythical creatures, vengeful Greek gods and temptations determined to keep him away. Meanwhile, his wife Penelope fends off rival suitors like Pattinson’s Antinous, who’s eager to sit on her husband’s empty throne. Holland's Telemachus embarks on a voyage of his own, in search of the father he has never truly known. Even if you already know the ending, Nolan makes the full 20-year journey worth taking again.
Netflix heads back to Korea's Joseon era with a dark fantasy that blends royal intrigue with supernatural horror. Nam Joo-hyuk stars as Gu-cheon, alongside Roh Yoon-seo as court lady Saeng-gang, and Cho Seung-woo as the King. Haunted palaces are nothing new in K-dramas, but this eight-episode series leans fully into the genre, weaving court politics together with the mysterious Realm of Gwi, where restless spirits roam beyond the world of the living. It's equal parts period thriller and occult fantasy, wrapped in one of Netflix's most ambitious productions.
Gu-cheon is a cynical ghost-slayer who hunts spirits that stray too close to the living world (a great skill, but a terrible way to make friends), while Saeng-gang possesses the rare ability to hear them. Summoned by the King to investigate disturbing events inside the East Palace, the duo uncover long-buried secrets that threaten the royal family itself. As supernatural forces grow stronger, every discovery drags the reluctant partners deeper into a conspiracy centuries in the making. What begins as a ghost hunt soon becomes a race to stop a curse from consuming the kingdom.
Wednesdays on Disney+ belong to murder… the fictional kind, of course. Lee Dong-wook and Kim Hye-jun return for the second season of this Korean action thriller, based on Kang Ji-young’s novel series. Masaki Okada, Hyunri and Jung Yun-ha join as mercenaries hired by the shadowy organisation known as Babylon, a crime syndicate with unfinished business from season one. Returning director Lee Kwon and writer Ji Ho-jin once again blend relentless action with tense cat-and-mouse storytelling that continues to set this K-drama apart from the pack.
Following the events of the first season, Jin-man is revealed to have faked his own death to protect Ji-an and prepare her for the dangers ahead. Reunited at last, the pair set out to strike back against Babylon together, with Ji-an stepping up as Murthehelp’s new CEO. But revenge proves bittersweet and far simpler than family life. Like any overprotective uncle, Jin-man continues to clash with his stubborn niece over the future she should be chasing beyond the assassin business. Family drama, it turns out, can be just as dangerous as professional killers.
What do you do if you accidentally lose the mascot cow for Malaysia's biggest dairy company? Ask Adipati Dolken, who plays Adi, a corporate executive whose search for the missing cow takes him all the way to rural Perlis. Directed by Min Lim in her theatrical debut, the rom-com follows Adi through a messy, heartfelt and often funny journey alongside Mimi Lana as the local girl Ayu. Wan Hanafi Su, Ahmad Tamimi Siregar, Aziz M. Osman, and Namron round out a village full of locals determined to slow him down at any cost, even to the point of kidnapping.
Adi didn't pack for village life, just a quick trip to fix a corporate issue and get back to his desk. Life in Perlis, however, runs on its own clock—chaotic mornings, nosy neighbours, and a pace that laughs at his carefully scheduled itinerary. Finding the cow turns out to be the easy part. Convincing the villagers to give up land that's been theirs for generations… not so much, especially once Ayu enters the picture. She’s the last person interested in making Adi’s job simple. But the longer he stays, the less certain he is that closing the deal is a win worth having.
One accidental group chat invitation is all it takes to trigger Netflix's latest comedy. Directed by Ride Along filmmaker Tim Story, the film stars Kevin Hart as Joe, a 40-year-old advertising executive determined to prove he's still got it. He leads a cast featuring Saturday Night Live comedians Marcello Hernández, Ben Marshall and Kam Patterson, alongside Mason Gooding and Teyana Taylor. It's a classic midlife-crisis setup, except this one comes with Miami beach parties, Gen Z slang and more second-hand embarrassment than anyone bargained for.
Joe accidentally lands in a bachelor party group chat meant for men half his age. Instead of admitting the mistake, he packs a bag and shows up in Miami to crash the celebrations. What should've been a simple wrong number mix-up quickly spirals into three days of generational clashes and questionable decisions. Joe spends most of the trip in increasingly wild and chaotic situations, trying to convince the GenZers that he’s still young enough to keep up. By the end of the weekend, surviving the bachelor party seems to be easier than surviving the group chat.
Who knew pickleball could stir up this much drama? From Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar director Josh Greenbaum, Apple TV's sports comedy is produced by Zoolander's Ben Stiller and New Girl's Jake Johnson. Johnson stars as former tennis prodigy Dusty "The Hammer" Boyd, alongside Stiller, Mary Steenburgen and Ed Harris, while tennis legends Andy Roddick and John McEnroe appear as themselves. Somewhere between a sports comedy and a midlife crisis, this film proves that America's fastest-growing racket sport has plenty of stories to tell.
“The Hammer” was once destined for tennis greatness, but these days he's stuck coaching rowdy kids at his dad's suburban country club. After an old injury derails his comeback, Dusty is forced to commit the ultimate sporting betrayal by giving pickleball a shot. As he unexpectedly falls for both the up-and-coming racket sport and his new doubles partner Candace, Dusty must choose between chasing the tennis career he lost or embracing the paddle-powered future he never saw coming. This is all while chasing his father's approval and settling a few old scores.
From the minds behind The Big Bang Theory comes a sci-fi comedy that puts the franchise's unluckiest character centre stage. Created by Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady and Zak Penn, the spin-off sees Kevin Sussman return as comic book store owner Stuart Bloom, playing both himself and an alternate version. Brian Posehn, Lauren Lapkus and John Ross Bowie reprise their fan-favourite roles, while Joshua Malina joins in a mystery role. Expect plenty of callbacks, multiverse mayhem, and enough awkward humour to make Sheldon Cooper look socially adjusted.
Stuart has always been the underdog of The Big Bang Theory gang, but this time he's facing a far bigger problem than a slow day at the comic book store. After accidentally triggering a universe-altering device, he must somehow save reality despite having no plan or superpowers. With alternate universes colliding and familiar faces appearing in unexpected forms, Stuart's biggest challenge is convincing everyone he's the right man for the job. Saving the multiverse was never on his to-do list, but fumbling through it might just be the most Stuart Bloom thing imaginable.
Who’s that random guy on the screen? Just kidding, the Spider-Man franchise swings back into action for its fourth instalment after a five-year gap that left fans reeling from Spider-Man: No Way Home. Tom Holland returns as Peter Parker alongside Zendaya as MJ and Jacob Batalon as Ned, while Stranger Things star Sadie Sink joins the cast in a mystery role that remains under wraps. Jon Bernthal reprises his role as Frank Castle, better known as the Punisher, who could either help or complicate Peter’s journey. Mark Ruffalo also returns as Bruce Banner.
Following the events of No Way Home, Peter is forced to start over after the entire world forgets who he is. With MJ and Ned no longer remembering him, he lives alone and returns to protecting New York as its friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man while rebuilding his future from scratch. His fresh start proves short-lived when new threats emerge, leading him to seek help from Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner. As Peter balances his responsibilities as a superhero with the hope of an ordinary life, he’ll discover that leaving the past behind proves easier said than done.
Esquire Malaysia
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