July 2023 Movies Ranked

With another month coming to a close, I wanted to share my thoughts and ranking of the five July films that I saw. I enjoyed almost all of the films on this list and got to see 3 very strong blockbusters. Oddly enough, three of the films, Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Joy Ride, had a similar theme about struggling to fit into society. I was wanting to see The Haunted Mansion as well but am not able to until August. With that being said, here is my ranking of the 5 July films that I saw.

5. Sound of Freedom

Sound of Freedom was the unexpected sleeper hit of the summer and I was curious to see what all the hype was about. I found the movie very moving at times. It portrayed some of the emotional aspects of child trafficking very well. I also felt that the movie did a decent enough job of portraying its message and raising awareness of child trafficking. The second half of the movie was interesting enough. I thought the whole middle act had a bit of an Ocean's 11 kind of vibe to it while the third act tried to pull a bit from Taken and other extraction-like films. However, there were quite a few issues with this film and I don't think it was near as good as everyone made it out to be. I'm not quite sure why the Christian community latched so hard on this film. It doesn't have a biblical message nor is it the best film to portray the human trafficking issue. I felt that movies like Taken did a better job of portraying human trafficking and were more interesting to watch. The lead in this film was extremely boring. His character had to personality to him and didn't display much any emotion. I also felt that the movie was a bit clunky in its storytelling. It has three different parts to the story and each one has a very different tone than the previous one. I also thought that the overall film was a bit generic. It didn't have anything that stood out for me, nor did anything that hadn't already been done before. In the end, I can appreciate that the film is portraying a very important issue, but there are other movies, specifically Taken, that cover the same issue much better.

Score:6.5/10 Grade: B-

4. Barbie

Barbie is the weakest of the blockbusters that I saw with a month of 3 very strong blockbusters. While clearly not the target audience, I still had a good amount of fun with this film. Margot Robbie does a great job as the stereotypical Barbie. Ryan Gosling also does a great job as Ken. I did not realize how funny he was as he steals every scene that he is in. I also like the attention to detail this movie has. In Barbieland, everything is set up exactly like the toy with the Barbies moving how they would if kids were playing with them. There are also quite a few references to Barbie outfits and toys that people who played with Barbie will very much appreciate. I also felt there was a very good message in the movie that has something to say about both Men's and Women's roles in society. However, there are a few significant issues that hold the film back for me. One of the issues is that some of the characters are a bit underdeveloped. The mom and daughter characters are significant to the story but get a very rushed and lackluster arc. I think the movie should have spent a little more time with their growth as they spend time with Barbie. I also thought there was a bit of a tone issue at times. The movie tries to say something serious but then throws in a joke right after making it a bit difficult to take the important thing seriously. Overall, the movie achieve exactly what it was going for. This movie is just really not my thing and has a few too many plot and tone issues to put it higher on this list.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

3. Joy Ride

Joy Ride was actually a lot more fun than I was expecting. I was expecting a generic raunchy comedy but this film was quite funny and had a surprising amount of heart. Most of the jokes stuck with a lot of funny moments not being spoiled by the trailer. I also appreciated that the jokes were balanced. The film wasn't overpowered by a bunch of sex jokes or jokes that were dirty just for the sake of being dirty. It had legitimately funny things. Aside from the jokes, the movie also has a lot of sweet moments towards the end of the film with the journey Audrey had to go on. The movie is all about friendship and also has some solid elements about the struggles of Asian Americans. I also thought that the four main characters had great chemistry together. They play off of each other so well and can produce some very funny moments together. Finally, I liked the straightforward nature of the story. It doesn't get distracted by the jokes and causes the story to go all over the place. Right away we establish what the goal of the story is and the movie sticks to this right to the end. The biggest hang-up is that I am just not the biggest fan of sex jokes. While the movie isn't overpowered by them, there were a few jokes that just did not land for me. Overall, this was a movie that was a lot of fun with a surprising amount of heart. As far as raunchy comedies go, it made for an enjoyable time.

Score: 7.5/10 Grade: B

2. Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer is the newest film from Christopher Nolan. This film is a fascinating character study about Oppenheimer focusing not just on his work on the atomic bomb but also on his time before and after the bomb. It goes from him growing as a physicist to feeling the guilt of creating the atomic bomb. This movie has an amazing cast including Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh, and so many others. Cillian Murphy gives a great performance as Oppenheimer. He can portray both the confidence and the conflict that is in him so very well. The stand-out performance is Robert Downey Jr as Lewis Strauss. He plays such a strong character and is essentially the second lead of the film. He really sets himself away from Tony Stark in this movie. This movie does a great job of building suspense and intrigue from beginning to end. Even though we all know what happens with the bomb, the movie manages to keep you on the edge of your seat in suspense wondering if the bomb is going to actually work. The score of the movie also does a great job of building up the film until the payoff of seeing the bomb test. One of the biggest issues I had with the film was that it was a bit too long. I think it could have been 15-20 minutes shorter and been better. I also thought the structure of the 3 acts was a bit choppy. You can definitely tell where each act of the story is. Finally, there were a few subplots and character arcs that felt a bit underdeveloped. In the end, this is a very well made exciting movie that proves that Chris Nolan does not miss.

Score: 9/10 Grade: A

1. Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning- Part 1

This is easily one of the best films I have seen this year. The action in this movie is some of the best in the franchise. I had so much fun with the final train sequence and Tom Cruise literally flying off of a mountain and skydiving into a valley. Hayley Atwell is a solid addition to the cast. She does a great job interacting with Tom Cruise and the two have some great chemistry together. Pom Klementieff is also a lot of fun in the film and plays a pretty good henchman with some solid action moments. I feel that this film has the clearest plot out of all of the films. The mission is very clear and it is established right away what the team is looking for and what it does. This movie also has some solid emotional moments that the other films just don't have. It gives Ethan some real consequences and some very high stakes. Even though this is a part 1 film, it still feels like a complete story. The mission is resolved at the end of the movie and it doesn't end on an abrupt cliffhanger. There is more to tell in the story but it doesn't feel like an incomplete plot. Overall, this is a solid entry in the Mission Impossible franchise and takes its spot as my second best film of the year.

Score: 9.5/10 Grade: A