For the past few weeks, the sun has shined brightly and intensely over the Hudson Valley, leading to some of the hottest days of the year so far. While many folks in region have used the heat as a push to finally install their AC window units for the season, there are those among us who know where the true escape can be: your local movie theater, where the AC is always cranked, the blue raspberry slushees flow like wine, and (if they’re hip) there’s always boxes of Junior Mints in the fridge. This July’s movie lineup is insanely packed, featuring outstanding indie film releases, as well as gigantic, long-awaited, tentpole blockbusters, and of course, a few old classics here and there.
Escape the heat this month by checking out any, or all, of these wonderful movie events happening at Hudson Valley independent theaters.
Superman
Arguably the biggest movie of the summer, if not the year, the new Man of Steel debuts in James Gunn’s Superman. While the past few appearances of Kal-El have been a bit more serious and darker toned, this version appears to be embracing the more fantastical and earnest side of the long-running series, most specifically, gaining inspiration from the Silver Age of the comics, which ran from 1956 to 1970. This period found Superman in all his aww-shucks glory, battling anything from supervillains Lex Luthor and Brainiac to rescuing dogs and cats from the window sills of very large buildings. There was also the occasional body swap with Daily Planet best friend, Jimmy Olsen. Writer/director James Gunn is no stranger to adapting nonsensically extravagant comic books, having helmed all three of Marvels’ Guardians of the Galaxy features, as well as a Holiday Special. His use of sincerity, treating his characters with respect and love but never taking them too seriously as to not still be a fun time at the movies, is precisely what a Superman movie and this new era of the DC cinematic universe could use.
Superman starts July 11 at Upstate Films Orpheum Theatre, Tinker Street Cinema, Story Screen Cinema and The Moviehouse.
Eddington
Ari Aster has become widely regarded as a new 21st-century master of horror, with his first two films, Hereditary and Midsommar, being some of the best the genre has put out in the past 25 years. His last film, Beau is Afraid, apply his take on horror in the direction of social anxiety and serious mommy issues, creating a world of fright that many critics, and certainly most audience members, were just not prepared to endure. With his most recent directorial effort, Eddington, it seems Aster is not yet done exploring this space of social horrors pushed to the most ambitious and egregious limit. The film takes place in 2020 New Mexico, deep into the COVID-19 pandemic, as a local sheriff, played by Joaquin Phoenix, and a smalltown mayor, played by Pedro Pascal, face off in an electoral race that continuously, and comedically, becomes a very much on-the-nose metaphor for the world at the time. The film was met with mixed reviews when it premiered earlier this year at Cannes, but simultaneously received a seven-minute standing ovation, leaving many cinephiles anxious to experience the movie for themselves and see just how far it, and they, can take the touchy subject matter.
Eddington starts July 18 at Jacob Burns Film Center and Upstate Films Orpheum Theatre.
Joe Versus the Volcano
Released 35 years ago, Joe Versus the Volcano was the first of three films starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The dynamic duo went on to film ’90s romcom staples Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail. Writer/Director John Patrick Shanley crafts a goofy hilarious tale of a man named Joe Banks (Hanks) who believes he is dying and decides to make his last moments count by signing up to sacrifice himself to a volcano for the indigenous people of a small island. Along the way to the volcano we meet not one but three separate characters played by Meg Ryan that help Joe reflect on his own life and what makes it really worth living.
Joe Versus the Volcano screens July 19 at Story Screen Cinema.
Collateral
Michael Mann’s brilliantly executed 2004 flick, Collateral, remains to this day as one of the best two-hander thriller films ever made. A masterpiece of tension, levity, acting, and groundbreaking digital cinematography, Collateral is all at once a rollercoaster of small stakes and a behemoth of moviemaking. Jacob Burns Film Center presents this thrill ride on glorious 35mm, where every grain in the frame adds to the throwback vibe of a seemingly straightforward story. The film follows a cab driver named Max, played by Jamie Foxx, who becomes embroiled in the Los Angeles underworld after he accepts a fare from the mysterious Vincent, played by Tom Cruise. Vincent is revealed to be a professional hitman, who is in town for one night to execute several people involved in a court case, and enlists Max as his driver to different locations to enact his killing spree. Foxx and Cruise have phenomenal chemistry in the film, both putting forward what could arguably be considered some of their best work to date, creating an unlikely, and still fragile, bond between the two different people from very different worlds. Mann’s use of early digital photography gives the nighttime LA a dirty and sinister atmosphere, creating something wholly unique from streets and locations that have been featured in cinema time and time again.
Collateral screens July 20 at Jacob Burns Film Center.
Sorry, Baby
A film handled with incredible care and unbelievable humor, Sorry, Baby was hailed as one of the best entries at this year’s Sundance Film Festival back in January. Writer, director, and star Eva Victor brings to the screen a story of grief and friendship, and how the connections to events and people create a synergy between the two. Victor plays Agnes in the film, who, after a traumatic experience, finds solace in staying with her friend, Lydie, who is played by the phenomenal Naomi Ackie. With this film, the less you know is better, as the story unfolds to reveal the true nature of Agnes’s trauma, the reason for her grief, and the unconditional support and love she receives from those closest to her, even in the face of the often nervous and unforgiving reactions from others. Eva Victor is a wonderful actress, who has recently appeared in the television series “Billions,” as well as feature films Dating & New York, As of Yet, and the upcoming Julian Glander animated film, Boys Go to Jupiter.
Sorry Baby starts July 25 at Upstate Films Starr Cinema,
Together
The recent horror genre output may seem to some to be one of constant sequels, reboots, and retreads of old standby setups. Granted, while this is how the genre has worked for over 50 years, that’s simply not the case for films like Bring Her Back, Sinners, Opus, and Presence, all released this year to critical acclaim. And there are many upcoming films slated for the second half of 2025 that are sure to exceed those expectations as well. One of the most exciting is the Michael Shanks directed body horror, Together, which begs the question: How close can two people really become? Shanks has proven himself as a subversive horror alum with his 2019 short, Rebooted, which follows a stop-motion animated skeleton that reacts dastardly to a short he was involved in being adapted into a full-length feature. The film, Together, follows the couple Tim and Millie, played by real-life partners Dave Franco and Alison Brie respectfully, as they move to a new home amidst fears of where their relationship is going, and just how close they plan to become. Together is an at times joyous, but ever evil, examination of the connections we choose to make and the bonds we promise, presented in a wholly fearful way.
Together starts July 30 at Upstate Films Orpheum Theatre and Story Screen Cinema.
