The VOD release of Marvel’s Thunderbolts leads this week’s vary eclectic lineup, supported by the likes of Looney Tunes movie The Day the Earth Blew Up, Andrew Garfield/Florence Pugh romantic drama We Live in Time, and more!
SERIES
Ballard S1
9 July 2025 – Prime Video
Calling all Bosch fans! If you’ve loved Michael Connelly’s LAPD detective literary hero and his TV incarnation, then you should definitely check out Ballard. A spinoff set after the events of Bosch: Legacy, this new crime drama procedural follows Maggie Q’s Detective Renée Ballard as she leads the LAPD’s new and underfunded cold case division, tackling the city’s most challenging long-forgotten crimes with empathy and relentless determination. As she peels back layers of crimes spanning decades, including a serial killer’s string of murders and a murdered John Doe, she soon uncovers a dangerous conspiracy within the LAPD. With the help of her volunteer team and retired detective Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver), Detective Ballard navigates personal trauma, professional challenges, and life-threatening dangers to expose the truth.
Duster S1
9 July 2025 – Showmax
Co-created by writer LaToya Morgan (Parenthood, Shameless) and none other than JJ Abrams, Duster is an action-packed new series starring regular Abrams alum Josh Holloway and Rachel Hilson. Set in the 1970s, the show follows a gutsy getaway driver – driving a 1970’s Plymouth Duster, of courtse – whose life goes from dangerous to wildly, stupidly dangerous when the FBI’s first Black woman agent comes to town, hellbent on taking down the local crime family. Critics have been pretty impressed with the 8-episode series thus far, as Holloway uses all of his rugged charms and the action stays fun.
MOVIES
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
6 July 2025 – Showmax
Fun fact about me: I was practically raised on Looney Tunes. The wacky adventures of Bugs, Porky, Daffy, and the gang were my childhood obsession. When the franchise got reinvited for modern times, complete with updated visuals, I gave it a try again, but it just never clicked though. But I will definitely try again with The Day the Earth Blew Up! Going back to its roots with hand-drawn 2D animation, this is the first fully animated feature-length film of its kind in Looney Tunes history. And this milestone stars that great mismatched duo of Porky Pig and Daffy Duck as they become unlikely heroes when their antics at the local bubblegum factory uncover a secret alien plot.
We Live in Time
7 July 2025
If you’re interested in another duo with amazing chemistry but who are a little less animated and more, you know… human, then can I interest you Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh star in We Live in Time. Directed by Jonathan Crowley (Boy A, The Goldfinch), it follows the tumultuous relationship of a couple, Tobias Durand (Garfield) and Almut Brühl (Pugh) over the course of a decade. Told in a non-linear fashion though, it bounces around from the chance encounter in a minor car accident to all the heartbreak and drama that follows.
Ziam
9 July 2025 – Netflix
I will admit that I had not heard of Ziam before yesterday, but then I read the blurb and I was all in. In a nutshell this Thai action film follows Singh, a former professional Muay Thai fighter who gives up his violent life to return home and spend a quiet life with his girlfriend, Rin, a doctor at the local hospital. When the hospital is overrun by a horde of zombies though, Singh is forced to use his impressive fighting skills to save Rin and young boy stranded in the chaos. Hand-to-hand combat with bloodthirsty undead? This sounds like a blast!
Brick
10 July 2025 – Netflix
Keeping things foreign language (please watch this in the original German with subtitles because Netflix’s dubbing is never good), Brick is a new sci-fi mystery thriller that looks like a mind-bending thrill ride. Tim (Matthias Schweighöfer) and Olivia (Ruby O. Fee) awake trapped in their apartment behind an impenetrable, futuristic wall which has materialized overnight… and they are not alone. The entire building and its residents seem to be enclosed. What happened? Who built that wall and why? Without any chance of outside help, they must band together to find a way out. Can they solve the mystery of the wall in time and survive?
VOD RENTALS/PURCHASES
The following movies have recently become available for digital purchase/rental:
Thunderbolts*
Purchase: Apple TV – R200
Rental: Apple TV – R170
Marvel’s latest cinematic offering is now available at home! And it’s a good one! Pulling together disparate characters from previous Marvel projects, Thunderbolts* could be dismissed as just reheated leftovers, but it’s most definitely not. The first film produced by Marvel after an internal creative shake-up at Disney following less than desirable results from the franchise, Thunderbolts* definitely lived up to the promise of a return to form for the studio. As I mentioned in my 8/10 review, “Simply put, the best the MCU big screen offering in a long time, Thunderbolts* makes fantastic use of the chemistry of its ensemble cast – led by a superlative Florence Pugh – to provide thrilling practical action, wildly entertaining laughs, and a surprisingly deep dive into the dark psychoses of these anti-heroes.” Despite the superlative critical reception it received, Thunderbolts* still underperformed at the box office – a victim of the failures of its predecessors, most likely – so now all of you who skipped it in theatres can watch it at home!
Drop
Purchase: Apple TV – R170
Rental: Apple TV – R50
While I skipped most of his work on the Paranormal Activity franchise (those movies just weren’t my thing) writer-director Christopher Landon definitely made me a fan with the Happy Death Day movies and Freaky. And so, I was a bit annoyed that I missed his latest effort, Drop, in cinemas. Now I can fix that. Billed as a Hitchcockian whodunnit, this thriller stars Emmy nominee Meghann Fahy (White Lotus) as Violet, a widowed mother on her first date in years after meeting her suitor Henry (Brandon Sklenar) on a dating app. Fears of Henry being a weirdo are quickly washed away as he is even more charming and handsome than his online profile would suggest. But what starts as a perfect date rapidly takes a turn for the macabre when Violet starts getting random message drops on her phone from an anonymous person somewhere in the restaurant. Things get bloodcurdling though, when the messages reveal that hooded person has infiltrated her home and will kill her children and their babysitter if Violet doesn’t do one thing: Kill her date.