July isn’t over yet, but Watch With Us is already looking forward to August. Can you blame us?
Netflix is scheduled to stream some killer movies like the original Jurassic Park trilogy and the cult comedy classic Wet Hot American Summer.
In addition to those films, you should stream The Thursday Mystery Club, a new mystery movie starring Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan. If that’s not violent enough for you, try The Departed, Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning crime drama.
Netflix subscribers who crave something less violent should stick with Clueless, the 30-year-old comedy with Alicia Silverstone that’s gone out of style.
‘The Thursday Murder Club’ (2025)
Murder is more popular than ever these days — at least on Netflix. The streamer has released one hit mystery show or movie after another, with Untamed, Secrets We Keep and Copycat topping the most popular charts this summer. Netflix saved its biggest release for last with The Thursday Murder Club, a highly anticipated feature film adaptation of Richard Osman’s bestselling book.
For those who haven’t read it, The Thursday Murder Club is about four retirees who meet every Thursday at their retirement community in Kent to solve cold cases in their spare time. The fun and games soon give way to an actual murder when a property developer turns up dead. The real police are on the case, but for Elizabeth (Helen Mirren), Ron (Pierce Brosnan), Ibrahim (Ben Kingsley) and Joyce (Celia Imrie), it’s a mystery they think only they can solve. But are these amateur sleuths right? Or are they so in over their heads that they may wind up six feet under?
Fans of cozy mystery shows like Midsomer Murders and Grantchester will surely enjoy The Thursday Murder Club, which leans more on being a comedy rather than a suspenseful thriller. The cast of British pros can’t be beat, and they’re supported by an equally impressive roster of actors that includes David Tennant, Richard E. Grant and Naomi Ackie.
‘The Departed’ (2006)
The Departed’s plot is ingenious: Irish mob boss Frank (Jack Nicholson) installs one of his men, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), in the Boston police department to spy on them. At the same time, the Boston police send one of their own, Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), deep undercover in Frank’s criminal organization. Both sides realize they’ve been infiltrated, but they don’t know who it is — yet. It’s only a matter of time before both Colin and Billy are found out — the only question left to be answered is whose real identity will be revealed first?
Loosely adapted from the equally excellent Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs, The Departed is a Scorsese movie from top to bottom. The veteran director won his only Oscar so far for his work, and it’s deserved just for the suspenseful third act alone. DiCaprio and Damon have never been better as stooges caught in a violent game they tire of playing, and Nicholson has one of his best late-career roles as an oily criminal kingpin whose luck is running out fast.
‘Clueless’ (1995)
Has it really been 30 years since Clueless first debuted in theaters and stole everyone’s hearts? We’ll refrain from quoting the movie’s signature line, “As if!,” but you get the picture. It’s been a while, but time hasn’t softened Clueless’ satirical bite — or Alicia Silverstone’s pitch-perfect performance as the not-so-clueless Cher.
Cher is 16 years old and, along with her best friend Dionne (Stacey Dash), queen of her social circle. But when she decides to play matchmaker for new friend Tai (Brittany Murphy), her whole world turns upside down, and she begins to look at everyone, including her ex-stepbrother Josh (Paul Rudd), in a whole new way. Can this spoiled socialite experience the same kind of romantic love she finds for others? Or will she always be a “virgin who can’t drive”?
From the fashion to the tunes by Jill Sobule and Counting Crows, Clueless is dated — but in a good way. It’s refreshingly ‘90s, when someone can make a joke about grunge music and still seem relevant. The cast is terrific, but this is Silverstone’s show, and she delivers one of the great comedic performances of the decade. Clueless is an eternal rewatchable movie — day or night, summer or winter, it just works, and it should be in your Netflix queue even if you’ve already seen it a dozen times.
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