Weekend Watchlist, 7/4: Bonkers physical comedy, thoughtful if blunt horror, and actually good kids movies
Plus one extra pick this week, just for you
Happy Friday, PV Guide readers! I hope you have a great weekend ahead of you.
Every Friday, I’m recommending a few great things to watch that the algorithm might not be pushing at you right now, with a focus on variety, so every reader can find something they’re interested in. The Weekend Watchlist will always be 100% free.
It’s a busy week for new movies on streaming. Box office sensation Sinners arrives on HBO Max, two major action releases (Thunderbolts and From the World of John Wick: Ballerina) make their VOD debuts, and Paul W.S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich’s George R.R. Martin adaptation In the Lost Lands makes its streaming debut on Hulu. I haven’t seen Thunderbolts or Ballerina yet, but I recommend the other two (Sinners for everyone, In the Lost Lands for my fellow PWSA fans).
There’s a few straight-to-digital releases out this week too, and surely at least one of them – The Old Guard 2 (Netflix), Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League (HBO Max), and the Idris Elba-John Cena action-comedy Heads of State (Prime Video) – will be a fun time. The most exciting of all though might be the VOD debut of “samurai in 18th century Scotland” action drama Tornado. I will definitely be watching that one, and hope to catch most of those straight-to-digital ones, too (as well as Thunderbolts, which I’ve heard surprisingly good things about).
This past week, I watched a bunch of genre movies: KPop Demon Hunters, Him, Final Destination 5, One of Them Days, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, The Woman in the Yard, Nine-Ring Golden Dagger, Game Changer, and a rewatch of Thief. It was a solid week – while not all of them hit for me, most accomplished the tone and vibe they set out for and delivered on the genre elements I was looking for.
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One of Them Days
If you like: Buddy comedies, raunchy humor, Keke Palmer
Watch at: Netflix
Watch trailer here
A buddy hangout movie about two women going through some terrible luck on a very hot day (which makes it a very appropriate July watch), One of Them Days teams up Keke Palmer with R&B singer SZA in one of the year’s most entertaining comedies so far. Palmer is one of our most effervescent movie stars, and One of Them Days confirmed I would watch her in just about anything. Luckily, this movie is also very funny as a slacker buddy comedy about trying to gather enough money before a sudden eviction deadline.
KPop Demon Hunters
If you like: Vibrant animation, KPop bops, quality kids movies
Watch at: Netflix
Watch trailer here
I don’t prioritize new kids movies as much as other genres (I don’t have kids!) but I had heard good things about this one. I was shocked by how much it hit! I expected the animation to look great (and it does, especially in movement). I expected the music to be catchy (and it IS). What I did not expect was how affecting the story would be. The premise is right there in the name – KPop Demon Hunters is an early frontrunner for “most direct movie title of 2025.” But while it delivers on that straightforward pitch, it also explores shame and familial conflict with a stronger landing than many other recent kids movies exploring similar themes. It’s not quite up at Into the Spider-Verse levels, but KPop Demon Hunters is still in the upper echelon of kids movies this past decade. And the soundtrack has been stuck in my head all week.
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
If you like: Looney Tunes, old school sci-fi, women in STEM
Watch at: HBO Max
Watch trailer here
What do you know? Two new kids’ movies in the same Weekend Watchlist. The Day the Earth Blew Up is a loving throwback to old-school Looney Tunes with an eye for a new audience, bringing the rapid-fire pace of visual gags and jokes to the modern viewer and using a variety of animation styles to keep things visually interesting. Bugs Bunny is on the bench for this one, letting Porky Pig and Daffy Duck shine as they attempt to thwart an alien invasion scheme. The Day the Earth Blew Up is filled with loving references to classic sci-fi like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and even an extended Modern Times riff.
The Woman in the Yard
If you like: Horror movies with blunt themes, family stories, great lead performances
Watch at: Peacock
Watch trailer here
This pick might be controversial: The Woman in the Yard was largely rejected by critics and audiences alike when it came out this March, but I found it a very moving horror movie about depression and suicidal ideation that benefits by wearing its themes on its chest rather than trying to subtly weave them in. I’ve been a long-time fan of director Jaume Collet-Serra’s work in both the action and horror genres (we’re ignoring his Dwayne Johnson blockbuster period), and The Woman in the Yard is a new highlight of his work for me. I was particularly drawn to Danielle Deadwyler’s sensational lead performance, tangibly evoking a woman who feels empty inside and is picking up the pieces of her life and herself after living through a tragedy, as well as the effectively (and surprisingly) bright cinematography. The Woman in the Yard is a rare day-time horror movie, filmed with a searing brightness that feels like being deep in a depression hole and not wanting to even open your eyes.