Good morning 🐣

Summer blockbuster season is fully upon us and this month sees the return of two sci-fi shows — one dramatic, “Stranger Things,” and one comedic, “Solar Opposites” — as well as the latest Marvel extravaganza, “Thor: Love and Thunder.” Here are some new movies I’m looking forward to:

July 15

• A detective deciphers dreams of past lives, buried treasure, and a neuroscientist’s quest for digital nirvana in “Karmalink” (in select theaters and on demand), a “Buddhist sci-fi mystery” from Cambodia. (Watch the trailer on YouTube)

• Based on the best-selling novel by Delia Owens, “Where the Crawdads Sing” (in theaters) stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as a young girl who grows up alone in a marsh in 1950s North Carolina and later becomes embroiled in a murder investigation. (Watch the trailer on YouTube)

July 22

• The excellently titled “Nope” (in theaters) is the latest chiller from Jordan Peele. (Watch the trailer on YouTube)

July 29

• B. J. Novak (“The Office”) writes, directs, and stars in the black comedy “Vengeance” (in theaters), in which a podcaster travels from New York City to Texas to investigate the death of a girl he was sleeping with. (Watch the trailer on YouTube)

• Brad Pitt plays an assassin trying to get ahold of a briefcase on a Tokyo-to-Kyoto high speed train in the bonkers-looking action comedy “Bullet Train” (in theaters), from the co-director of the first “John Wick.” (Watch the trailer on YouTube)

Now watch this 👀

In “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” writer/director/star Radha Blank is a playwright playing a fictionalized version of herself, on the brink of 40 and questioning her entire life’s work and future.

It’s a comedy.

The opening scene sets up that this is a movie of contrasts. Radha hears the next-door neighbors having sex, but it ends with them crying. Then she observes a homeless man singing as he walks by, only to pop a squat to relieve himself. Later she approaches a local theater director, hoping she can actually get paid enough with her latest project and afford rent; he acts all spiritual, consulting with the ancestors, who “remind” him that their work is “imbued with a spirit of cause, not commerce” — water drips onto her face from the leaky roof.

In her quest not to sell out (she refuses to do “Black poverty-porn plays” or a Harriet Tubman musical), Radha realizes how much she used to love rapping as a teen and decides to give it a try. The DJ she hires, D, is bored hearing the same things over and over. “Sometimes you need some storytelling,” he tells another artist. “What are you even talking about?” And Radha provides that unique perspective he’s looking for, rapping about her creaky knees and a “white man with a black woman’s butt.”

But is she too old to change course? Should she just stay in her lane and deal with these old white vultures?

I’m a sucker for breaking the fourth wall and Blank does not disappoint. After she spontaneously starts rapping to herself in the mirror for the first time, she turns her head and looks directly at us, surprised and impressed with herself. Another time a romantic interest tells her, “I got you. Anything you need.” Once again she looks over at us like, “Damn. Here we go.”

There are other fun stylistic choices, like cutting away to characters speaking directly to the camera, showcasing her mom’s art, or speaking through the mouths of her play’s actors. The film is in black and white, but little pops of color will sometimes show through. You can really see how Spike Lee was a huge influence on her.

It’s a great, easygoing, and funny movie. Shoutout to Emily, the loyal reader who recommended it. I’m always looking for new suggestions, so don’t be afraid to reach out.

Until next time! 👋