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Three senior citizens meet an extraterrestrial in "Jules," a film that will never be mistaken for "E.T." or "Cocoon," even though science fiction fans will think about both of them constantly, and the film doesn't discourage them from doing so. The setting is Boonton, Pennsylvania, a town that's just rural enough that an old-school, 1960s-looking flying saucer could crash in the backyard of a man named Milton Robinson ( Ben Kingsley ) without being seen by anyone else in the community. The movie is unusual in exploring the relative isolation of older Americans in the 21st century, at a time when technology supposedly brings everyone closer together. Those aspects of the story resonate more strongly when they're explored directly than when they're being broached through science-fiction metaphors. 

Milton doesn't have much regular contact with anyone but his veterinarian daughter Denise ( Zoe Winters of "Succession") and the town officials and citizens he sees weekly at a city council meeting. We assume Milton is widowed, although the movie doesn't get into that aspect of his life, and he has another adult child, a son, that he hasn't spoken to for a long time because they're estranged (the son apparently resents him for unspecified failures of parenting). As played by Kingsley—who has put a lot of thought into the character's accent, facial comportment, and gestures, and has been fitted with a hairpiece and glasses that make him look like he could be Noam Chomsky's long-lost brother—Milton is the sort of older man that you might see all the time at a local post office or supermarket but not really register until he stops coming around.

What gives his life meaning are the regular appearances before the city council, where he repeatedly raises the same two issues: changing the town's slogan and installing a crosswalk at a particular intersection. Unfortunately, even the relatively modest feeling of regularity is jeopardized by Milton's early onset Alzheimer's, which is established early in the story by showing the character asking the same two questions repeatedly at the council meetings and putting a can of green beans in an upstairs bathroom medicine cabinet. 

The subjects of time, memory, the past, and regrets about mistakes are woven into the story. But once that flying saucer crashes in Milton's backyard and the title character, a little grey creature who never speaks but makes powerful eye contact, shows up, the movie concentrates more on the question of when the visitor is going to be discovered and his burgeoning (though unconventional) relationship with Milton and other major characters will come to an end.

The performances of Kingsley and the other two over-seventies cast members, Harriet Sansom Harris and Jane Curtin —as Sandy and Joyce, two other regulars at the city council meetings who become concerned about Milton and take an interest in his personal life—keep the movie grounded. So do the details of the characters' lives. We learn that Sandy has a daughter who's in a same-sex marriage (which she completely supports) but spends so much time trying to win the love of her new mother-in-law that she hasn't spoken to her mom in three years. 

We initially don't learn much about Joyce, whom Curtin, a criminally underused performer, enlivens with a prickly real-world intensity that contrasts nicely with the more subdued Kingsley and Harris. But she becomes more prominent about halfway through, and then we get a few salient details, including that the happiest time of her life was when she lived in the big city, which she means Pittsburgh. The idea of a major urban area as a place where a lot of people relocate in youth to find themselves, only to eventually go back to the place from whence they originally came, is a familiar story that doesn't get as much play as one about people who don't return. (Another wonderful detail: although Milton and Sandy refer to the visitor as Jules, Joyce decides it looks more like a Gary and persists in using that name even as the others continue to call it Jules.)

The entire thing—as written by Gavin Steckler and directed by Marc Turteltaub—is sensitive, intelligent, sweet, and presented with considerable integrity, right down to the direction, which is scrupulous in not showing anything that doesn't actually need to be seen. But it also seems to be battling and sometimes succumbing to a case of TIFC, The Indie Film Cutes. The pizzicato-heavy score, by Oscar nominee Volker Bertelmann , in particular, has an insurance policy feeling, like a network TV score that's constantly reassuring viewers that a show's characters are harmless and heartwarming even though their actions make them seem unhappy and socially maladjusted.

Maybe it's one of those films that might have landed with more force and made a more lasting impression if it dared to get deeply strange instead of remaining merely eccentric or, perhaps, if it had leaned harder into psychological reality. In particular, there's an act of tremendous shocking violence late in the film, the sort of thing that would rarely occur in anything but a horror film, yet the characters who are most affected by it just sort of shrug off—like, "Wow, we never saw that coming, that's a new wrinkle"—and later discuss it mainly in terms of their relationships with the visitor, who looks and listens and occasionally makes overtures towards communication and sometimes acts, but never speaks. (Jade Quon's entirely physical performance rounds out the main cast and is the film's stealthy triumph: it's not easy to keep an audience mesmerized when the role as written requires you not to interact with your scene partners in any of the usual ways.)

The opening section portrays the routine of an isolated senior affected by dementia with enough sensitivity and observant detail that it might make viewers wonder if there's a realistic and altogether deeper film to be made just about that—though, to be fair, it might've had even less of a chance of getting made and seen by a wide audience (unless it was an Oscar-baiting drama starring Anthony Hopkins , which does exist and is titled " The Father "). All in all, "Jules" has a not-quite feeling, like a sneaker that fits the foot well but hasn't been laced up. 

Now playing in theaters. 

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Film Credits

Jules (2023)

Rated PG-13 for strong language.

Ben Kingsley as Milton Robinson

Harriet Sansom Harris as Sandy

Jane Curtin as Joyce

Jade Quon as Jules

Zoe Winters as Denise

Donald Paul as Agent Mann

Anna George as Dr. North

Lee Sellars as Chief

Teddy Cañez as Mayor Martinez

• Marc Turtletaub
• Gavin Steckler
• Ayelet Gil-Efrat
• Volker Bertelmann

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‘jules’ review: ben kingsley stars in a sweet dramedy about aliens and aging.

The Oscar winner plays an elderly man who discovers a crashed spaceship and an alien in his backyard in Marc Turtletaub's film.

By Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck

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If it’s true that youth is wasted on the young, then so are friendly aliens.

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Set in the sort of western Pennsylvanian town that has clearly seen better days, the story revolves around 78-year-old Milton (Kingsley), who lives alone and whose early signs of dementia are made evident by his repeated verbatim requests at town hall meetings that the town motto be changed and that a traffic light be installed at a busy crosswalk. Although his loving daughter Denise (Zoe Winters, Succession ) pops by occasionally to lend support, Milton is living a very isolated existence.

That all changes with the crash landing of a flying saucer in his backyard late one night, which mainly upsets him because it’s destroyed his bushes. He attempts to notify the authorities, but the 911 operator doesn’t believe him. The next morning, he wakes up to discover the spaceship’s apparently sole inhabitant, a small, humanoid-like creature (Jade Quon) who seems terribly weak. Milton brings him a blanket and a glass of water and eventually invites him to his house, where he discovers that the alien has a taste for apples. Meanwhile, television news bulletins indicate that the government is searching for a “weather satellite” that crashed down somewhere in the vicinity.

“His eyes are so understanding!” Joyce exclaims, shortly before confiding in him and regaling him with a rendition of “Free Bird.” The three humans and their alien visitor soon form a deep bond, especially when Jules demonstrates his psychic powers by violently interceding when Sandy gets attacked by a man attempting to rob her. They resolve to help Jules fix his spaceship so he can return home, the necessary ingredient for which turns out to be dead cats.

Those last two plot details give you some idea of the quirkiness and dark humor of Gavin Steckler’s screenplay, which occasionally feels a bit over-the-top in its baroque flourishes. But it mainly works beautifully nonetheless, thanks to its movingly incisive depiction of the older characters, who all seemed spiritually adrift at first, bonding together over a common purpose. Even if it does involve hunting down cat carcasses to fuel a crashed spaceship.

But the true acting honors go to Quon, a stunt performer ( Transformers: The Last Knight , Iron Man 3 ) who delivers a wonderfully expressive physical turn despite not uttering a word and being covered in make-up and prosthetics. Her Jules is so touchingly endearing that it makes you wish that every lonely senior could have an alien friend to call their own.

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Milton lives a quiet life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard. Milton lives a quiet life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard. Milton lives a quiet life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard.

• Marc Turtletaub
• Gavin Steckler
• Ben Kingsley
• Harriet Sansom Harris
• Jane Curtin
• 98 User reviews
• 70 Critic reviews
• 57 Metascore
• 1 win & 5 nominations

• (as Harriet Harris)

• Mayor Martinez

• Councilwoman Wu

• Councilman Daniels

• Councilwoman Strauss
• Steve Gorham

• Councilman Bouchard

• (as Zoë Winters)

• Anchor Aaron Campbell

• Hippie Woman
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia Transforming actress Jade Quon into the alien took the make up team four hours and none of the prosthetics were reusable, new ones were constantly being remade. The original plan was for Quon to get into makeup 12-15 times max but it ended up being 30.

Chief : Heads don't just explode.

• Crazy credits No opening credits no Title reference until the end of movie after cast and crew credits .
• Connections References CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)
• Soundtracks Tamarind Written by Anthony Mawer Courtesy of APM Music

User reviews 98

• jmccrmck-65172
• Aug 17, 2023
• How long is Jules? Powered by Alexa
• August 11, 2023 (United States)
• United States
• Boonton, New Jersey, USA (Elliott Ruga, Town of Boonton resident)
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• Aug 13, 2023

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• Runtime 1 hour 27 minutes

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Jules Review: Everyone Needs This Alien Bestie

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Ben Kingsley shines in a heartwarming sci-fi comedy about a truly unusual friendship. Jules is the story of a diminutive, non-verbal alien that crashes into the backyard of a widower with dementia. What could have been a frightening experience develops into a rallying of sorts for lost souls looking for companionship. The elderly become invisible in our hectic modern society that embraces youth. Lonely protagonists find belonging and purpose by caring for an extraterrestrial trying to get home. No spoilers but I almost fell out of my chair laughing at its spaceship's source of fuel.

The clean-shaven, bespectacled Milton (Kingsley) attends the weekly city council meeting in Boonton, PA. He composes himself before carefully stating his idea for bettering the community. The town slogan is misleading. It needs to be updated to avoid confusion. Also, a busy street needs a traffic light and crosswalk to prevent potential pedestrian incidents. The council members listen with a weary countenance as they've repeatedly heard Milton's requests before. He sits down to be followed by other retirees with their own strange complaints. The kind Sandy (Harriet Sansom Harris) and feisty Joyce (Jane Curtin) eagerly await their turn at the podium.

Milton returns home and gets a visit from his worried daughter. Denise (Zoë Winters) thinks her father is losing his mind. She finds misplaced items in the house. Denise wants Milton to see a doctor and test his cognitive ability. He steadfastly refuses. Milton values his independence. He doesn't want an attendant or to move into assisted living. He'll stay put in his house where he belongs.

A Fantastic Ensemble

Several uneventful days go by with Milton going through the motions of his daily life. But everything changes dramatically one night after he falls asleep watching television. He hears a massive thud in the backyard. Milton goes outside to see a flying saucer spaceship has crashed into his azaleas. He hurries back inside and to bed. It had to be a dream. The next morning confirms it wasn't.

Milton's truly shocked to see a small, hairless, and blue alien lying injured near his steps. He doesn't have a clue what to do but tries to helpful. Milton covers the alien with a blanket and lays out an assortment of snacks. He's happy when the humanoid being eats the apple slices. Milton walks to the nearby supermarket and buys a cart full of apples. The cashier is stupefied when Milton replies they're for the alien at his house.

Related: The Best Sci-Fi Comedies, Ranked

Jules tickles the funny bone with Milton's frank honesty. He doesn't keep the alien a secret. No one believes him. Denise is especially concerned when she learns what he's been telling people. Her father has gone bonkers. He must need some kind of medical help. The plot hilariously thickens when Sandy goes to see Milton after hearing his alien comments. She almost keels over at the sight of Milton's apple-eating house guest. Her visits of course get Joyce's attention as she wonders what the heck is going on at Milton's house. The film's first act warmly sets the stage for the characters' deepening relationships.

Reactions would obviously be different if the alien looked like a bloodthirsty monster or was grotesquely weird. Jules, as the alien is soon called by Sandy, is drawn from classic science fiction imagery. The spaceship could be plucked from The Day the Earth Stood Still . Prolific producer turned director Marc Turtletaub ( Little Miss Sunshine , A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ) doesn't want the audience concerned with its appearance. The most important aspect is to not be threatening or draw attention away from the breezy nature of the storyline.

Related: The Most Underrated Movies About Aliens, Ranked

Newfound Friends

Jules turns into a kind ear for Milton, Sandy, and Joyce. These people are neighbors but kept each other at a distance. Each character has a subplot that explains their solitary state. Milton has children but feels like he was never a good father. Meeting Jules gives him the courage to admit he could have been better.

Sandy and Joyce have vastly different personalities. Their interactions with Jules are especially comical. The alien becomes a kind of therapist who isn't critical or giving burdensome advice. Jules recognizes that they are kind and honest, and springs into action on their behalf in extraordinary ways.

The film does have a vanilla approach. I kept waiting for something bigger to happen. There are quirky developments but nothing that raises your pulse. Turtletaub never strays far from the whimsical. He's not interested in promoting conflict. The alien's efforts to repair the ship with its newfound pals are knockdown funny. I can say unequivocally that you've never seen anything like what transpires in the climax. Jules is a sweet and gentle summer escape.

Jules is a Big Beach production. It will be released theatrically on August 11th from Bleecker Street .

Jules is a sci-fi comedy-drama film that centers on a man named Milton whose usual day-to-day life is upended when a UFO crashes into his backyard. Now the host of a friendly extra-terrestrial he dubs "Jules," Milton attempts to understand them and build a lasting friendship until two of his neighbors get the government involved.

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Delightful, sweet story about seniors and aliens; language.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The movie is mainly about humanizing people over t

Quite a bit of naughty/cheeky behavior in the stor

The three main characters are White; one is male,

A woman is thrown to ground by a thief; they grapp

Sex-related dialogue. A woman mentions a medicatio

A couple of uses of "f--k," plus "goddamn," "hell,

Character wears Spuds MacKenzie/Bud Light T-shirt

Parents need to know that Jules is a sweet, lightweight comedy/fantasy about a trio of folks over 60 (Ben Kingsley, Harriet Sansom Harris, and Jane Curtin) who discover an alien in their small town and help it until it can get its ship running again. There's one scene of upsetting violence when a woman is…

Positive Messages

The movie is mainly about humanizing people over the age of 60 -- an often-marginalized group. Also encourages empathy and understanding.

Positive Role Models

Quite a bit of naughty/cheeky behavior in the store (and Jules' unpunished act of violence/vengeance against Sandy's attacker is questionable), but the characters are generally kind and lovable. The humans take the alien in, befriend him, help him. As in many movies of this type, government officials react to the alien with suspicion and fear.

Diverse Representations

The three main characters are White; one is male, two are female. All are over 60 and are represented in a positive, humanizing way. Alien Jules is always in full makeup, but the actor who plays the character is Jade Quon, who's of Asian descent. Two government agents are played by Black and Asian actors. Other actors of color occupy smaller or background roles. A main character talks about her daughter, who's a lesbian (she wears a shirt that says "I'm not a lesbian, but my girlfriend is").

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

A woman is thrown to ground by a thief; they grapple, and he tries to choke her. The thief's head is said to have exploded. Several stiff cat corpses shown. Alien humanely puts elderly cat to sleep. Crashing sound.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Sex-related dialogue. A woman mentions a medication that gave her "sexual feelings."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

A couple of uses of "f--k," plus "goddamn," "hell," "swear to God," "dear God."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Character wears Spuds MacKenzie/Bud Light T-shirt in more than one scene. Loaf of Wonder Bread briefly shown.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Jules is a sweet, lightweight comedy/fantasy about a trio of folks over 60 ( Ben Kingsley , Harriet Sansom Harris, and Jane Curtin ) who discover an alien in their small town and help it until it can get its ship running again. There's one scene of upsetting violence when a woman is attacked by a thief: She's thrown down, they struggle, and he tries to strangle her. It's suggested that the alien causes the attacker's head to explode, though that's not shown. Characters hunt for dead cats (for spaceship fuel), and a cat is humanely put to sleep. There's some gross dialogue, mild sex-related language, a couple of uses of the word "f--k," and uses of "goddamn," "hell," "swear to God," etc. This isn't a "message movie," but there's a clear theme of empathy running through the story. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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• Parents say (3)

Based on 3 parent reviews

Heartwarming and fun tale about seniors and an alien.

What's the story.

In JULES, 78-year-old Milton ( Ben Kingsley ) lives by himself in the quiet town of Boonton, Pennsylvania. He passes the time attending city council meetings and trying to get the town's slogan changed. His daughter, Denise (Zoë Winters), worries about him and thinks that dementia might be setting in. One day, an alien ship crashes in Milton's backyard. He invites the creature inside, names it Jules (Jade Quon), and feeds it a steady diet of apples. At first, Milton tries to tell people what happened, but no one believes him. Then nosy neighbors Sandy (Harriet Sansom Harris) and Joyce ( Jane Curtin ) discover Jules' presence and urge Milton to try to keep him a secret. As the trio spend more time with the alien, helping it gather fuel for the ship, they find their friendships deepening.

Is It Any Good?

It's feather-light and visually unremarkable, but this fantasy/comedy about friendship and family is nonetheless a pure delight -- sweet, funny, and irresistibly huggable. Directed by Marc Turtletaub , a longtime producer of many excellent indie films ( Little Miss Sunshine , Loving , The Farewell , etc.), Jules has an immediately disarming quality, perhaps due to the cozy small-town setting -- or perhaps due to the high-quality performances. Kingsley isn't necessarily known for his comedy chops (at least, outside of his role in the MCU), but he's very funny here, quite deadpan in fact, as he explains why the town slogan -- "a great place to call home" -- is confusing because it sounds like it could be referring to a phone call.

Curtin is also hilarious, perhaps the funniest she's been since her Saturday Night Live days, ruminating about her time in the big city and belting out a version of "Free Bird" for no particular reason. Harris, best known for stage and TV work (but who also thoroughly stole her scene in Licorice Pizza ), is wonderfully subtle. And Quon, a 4'11" stuntwoman, is utterly awe-inspiring as Jules. Her movements, full of wonder and curiosity, are practically poetic. The trajectory of Jules -- the characters arguing, sharing adventures, and eventually becoming friends -- isn't particularly surprising, but it gets there with spaced-out ease.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Jules ' scenes of violence . How did they make you feel?

In what ways does the movie demonstrate and encourage empathy ?

How does the movie portray people over 60? Why are those in this age group often marginalized in entertainment?

What does family look like in this story? Do Milton, Sandy, and Joyce become a family? How is their relationship different from or similar to Milton's relationship with his daughter, Denise?

How does the depiction of the alien here compare to other movie aliens?

Movie Details

• In theaters : August 11, 2023
• On DVD or streaming : October 10, 2023
• Cast : Ben Kingsley , Jane Curtin , Harriet Sansom Harris
• Director : Marc Turtletaub
• Inclusion Information : Indian/South Asian actors, Female actors
• Studio : Bleecker Street
• Genre : Fantasy
• Topics : Friendship , Space and Aliens
• Character Strengths : Empathy
• Run time : 87 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : strong language
• Award : Common Sense Selection
• Last updated : December 25, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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‘Jules’ Review: Close Encounters of the Lonely Kind

Ben Kingsley plays an elderly man struggling with a fading memory when an extraterrestrial crashes into his life.

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By Claire Shaffer

Generally speaking, alien movies tend to go one of either two ways: horror or tenderness. Marc Turtletaub’s “Jules” falls squarely in the latter category — the titular alien who crash-lands in small-town Pennsylvania is a vegetarian, and eats apple slices given to him by his genial human host.

But while the film’s premise will be familiar to anyone whose parents sat them down in front of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Jules” replaces the usual child protagonists with a trio of baffled senior citizens, all of whom find kinship with the alien’s outsider status and know too well what will happen if word gets out on his arrival to Earth.

Milton (Ben Kingsley) is struggling with a fading memory and a strained relationship with his adult daughter (Zoë Winters), whose insistence that he see a psychiatrist escalates when he tells her an alien spaceship destroyed his bird bath. When his pleas for help with the small gray alien are ignored by the other townsfolk, Milton invites the injured extraterrestrial, played by Jade Quon, into his home, and the two quickly form a bond. (Despite Jules — Milton’s nickname for the alien — being nonverbal, he appears to perfectly understand English.) Before long, Milton’s neighbors Sandy (Harriet Sansom Harris) and Joyce (Jane Curtin) learn of the visitor and, noticing all the suited government officials that have mysteriously arrived in town, decide to help Milton keep their new friend a secret.

Underneath its ridiculous framing and outer-space high jinks, “Jules” is full to the brim with empathy for its elderly characters and their desire for personal agency. Kingsley’s performance as Milton injects dignity into a character that could have easily (and cruelly) been played just for laughs, and Harris and Curtin provide similar complexities to their respective roles. In Jules, all three of them are reminded of the importance of companionship in their lives, and how isolation in their old age has made each of them desperately cling to what little they have left. It’s a realization that leads Joyce, with Jules’s help, to finally say goodbye to her aging cat, in a funeral scene that’s as heartwarming as it is absurd.

Turtletaub keeps the film’s campier elements to a minimum, preferring to highlight the quaint suburban setting and a lighthearted, understated sense of humor. “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” this is not, and despite Jules being a threat to national security, it often feels as though Turtletaub would rather you be curled up in your seat with a mug of cocoa than on the edge of it. But the sweetness isn’t entirely unwelcome — not every alien movie can be “Alien.”

Jules Rated PG-13 for language and some cartoon sci-fi violence. Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes. In theaters.

Screen Rant

Sir ben kingsley talks jules, balancing high concept with emotional storytelling & his acting technique.

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• Jules is a sci-fi dramedy starring Ben Kingsley as a man whose life changes after a UFO crashes in his backyard.
• The film offers emotional performances and subtly hilarious writing, providing a fresh take on the concept of the golden years.
• Kingsley was drawn to the project because of the astonishing turn the story takes and the contrast it creates with his character's simple and restricted life.

A visitor from another world opens one man's eyes to the wonders of Earth in Jules . Ben Kingsley stars in the sci-fi dramedy as Milton, a quiet man in a small town whose life faces a major change when a UFO crashes in his backyard. As he tries to keep the extraterrestrial from the ship safe, Milton finds himself contending with two nosy neighbors and the government looking into the situation.

Alongside Kingsley, the cast for Jules includes Harriet Sansom Harris, Jane Curtin, Zoë Winters, and Jade Quon. Hailing from Little Miss Sunshine producer Marc Turtletaub, the movie is a fresh take on the golden years concept packed with emotional performances and subtly hilarious writing.

Related: Ben Kingsley's 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

In anticipation of the movie's release, Screen Rant spoke exclusively with star Sir Ben Kingsley to discuss Jules , how he became very passionate about the project, and what it was like balancing his own excitement for the concept with the quieter nature of his character. Note: This interview was conducted before the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike , and the movie covered here would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in WGA and SAG-AFTRA.

Sir Ben Kingsley Talks Jules

Screen Rant: I'm very excited to talk about this film with you, Sir Ben. It's really quite the charming little story, and very moving throughout, what about the project really sparked your interest?

Sir Ben Kingsley: Well, it was quite a normal process of being sent the screenplay, and I started to read it, and turning the pages, and honestly thought to myself, "Oh, okay, this is my King Lear." Then, I got to, I think, about page nine or 10 or 11, and I jumped out of my seat, because without spoiling it for anybody, the film takes an astonishing turn. It was that astonishing turn, where something happens to a man who's almost invisible, a man to which nothing happens. Then, something suddenly happens of enormous consequence. I found that jolt that I had as I read it, reflected in the jolt in the audience when that scene comes up on the screen. So, that was definitely the hook that convinced me to really pursue this project, and really make sure that I was onboard, and took it from there.

After that jolt, there's this almost balance of an eagerness to learn more, while also still just going on with his life. What is it like for you as a performer, given how excited you were about that turn, to keep that in, and ensure that that balance remains throughout your acting?

Sir Ben Kingsley: That's a really nice question for an actor to address himself to. I really tried hard to keep it as simple as possible, and to adhere to Milton's restrictions and restricted experience of life — I doubt he's ever left that small town — to keep his horizons as limited as possible. So that, in contrast, when that horizon is visited, the contrast is astonishing. So, rather like putting the color red against the color green as a painter, one always makes the other pop. So, my simplicity and modesty of performance — Hamlet actually says the modesty of nature, doesn't he, in that wonderful speech to the players. The modesty of my performance gives the external visitor much more focus, and much more power. So, I think it was a question of balance, and my end of the scale was simplicity and modesty, and the other end of the scale, as you kindly say, from the film, is this astonishing sequence of events that takes him over, and his friends over. Not his daughter, his daughter is kept out of the loop just by circumstance, but his two closest friends, they are brought in by this occurrence, by this visit.

I love the dynamic that you have with both Jane and Harriet in the film. What was it like developing that rapport with one another throughout production, as well during rehearsals and such?

Sir Ben Kingsley: During rehearsals, we immediately trusted each other as colleagues, and during filming, to go back to your terrific question earlier about modesty, I kept myself as privately as possible, and did explain to the cast and crew that I'm not being discourteous or standoffish, but I do think that I ought to be as quiet and private as possible playing Milton, and that was respected. I think that was part of my contribution was not to be too noisy between takes and sitting there telling stories, and showing off, but just sit ever so quietly. Harriet and Jane, I see and experience performances at the top of their game. Harriet is a wellspring of emotional articulacy and kindness, and Jane is blessed with consummate skill as a comedian, which she actually subsumed and went for something, again, much simpler and purer, and threw away a lot of the — what can I call it, tricks, or techniques, or things that she's been blessed or reliant on for years. She actually bravely abandoned, and decided not to try to be funny, which I thought was admirable, and it makes her performance all the more hilarious. This film does enjoy tremendous, rolling laughter, I was surprised when I saw it with an audience how much laughter it provokes amongst an audience, and some rather heartbreaking silences too, I have to add.

About Jules

Jules follows Milton (Kingsley) who lives a quiet life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash-land in his backyard. Before long, Milton develops a close relationship with the extra-terrestrial he calls “Jules.” Things become complicated when two neighbors (Harris and Curtin) discover Jules and the government quickly closes in. What follows is a funny, wildly inventive ride as the three neighbors find meaning and connection later in life - thanks to this unlikely stranger.

Check back soon for our other Jules interview with director Marc Turtletaub.

Jules hits theaters on August 11.

• Jules (2023)

Jules (2023) Ending, Explained – Does Jules retain memories, or does it forget everything?

Marc Turtletaub’s latest sci-fi comedy film transcends the familiar alien genre. Written by Gavin Steckler, the storyline revolves around the independent life of Milton (portrayed by Ben Kingsley) and how an unexpected visitor from outer space leads to a deep bond with his two older neighbors. Jules (2023) presents a narrative that feels entirely plausible. The characters authentically depict the realities of growing old with dignity and goodwill. It comprises various themes beyond mortality, such as solitude, the dynamics of parent-child relationships, the yearning for love, and our responses to life’s unexpected trials, which are both timely and significant in the current times.

As we age and reach advanced years, we must choose whether to cling to the relics of the past or adapt to the changes that come with aging. Despite its low budget and lack of a marketing presence, it unquestionably stands out as one of the year’s top films. It boasts one of the most comical yet poignant scripts this year.

The casting of Kingsley, Curtain, and Harris leaves nothing to complain about, as they deliver commanding performances that depict an unadulterated rediscovery of one’s humanity. Jules has captured many hearts while creating a tear-jerker with a touch of comedy. Spoilers ahead.

Jules (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis :

Milton Robinson is a 79-year-old widower, retired, unable to drive, and experiencing limited social interaction since he lives alone. His routine revolves around walking to the Boonton city council meeting to voice concerns about the town slogan and the demand for an additional crosswalk, tending to his azaleas in the garden, and enjoying television. Meanwhile, his daughter, Denise, regularly gets in touch with him to help cover his expenses and bills.

Surprisingly, she finds a can of green beans in the bathroom cabinet. She observes that he is starting to experience memory lapses. Milton’s neighbors Sandy, an artist aiming to engage with the community, and Joyce, who closely monitors what everyone is saying and their actions, are also present at the weekly city council meetings. Milton is enjoying watching television one night when a sudden, glaring light abruptly appears in the back window, followed by a loud bang.

Milton inspects the backyard and discovers a crashed UFO in his garden. He’s taken aback to witness that the UFO is damaging his birdbath and putting his flower garden in disarray. He immediately calls 911 to complain about the damage the UFO is causing to his garden. The operator thinks he might be a prank caller, warns him of potential fines, and hangs up. He then decides to go to bed.

The following day, Milton walks into town for the council meeting. He reiterates the same two complaints and mentions that a UFO in his backyard is damaging his birdbath and destroying his zinnias. Moreover, Milton asks what the council will do about that. But they don’t answer and remain silent. Sandy is up next and shares that she intends to distribute posters facilitating connections between older and younger individuals for meaningful conversations.

She has plenty of information to share and promises to inform the council about how the project is going. Sandy approaches Milton outside after the council meeting and expresses concern about his well-being, then kindly offers to provide him a ride back home. She advises him to tread carefully when mentioning UFOs and aliens, as it might cause others to doubt him and potentially consider institutionalizing him. Joyce spots that Sandy is giving Milton a ride home.

When she drops Milton off at his house, Sandy assures him that she can drive Milton to places whenever he needs it. As they talk in the car, Joyce happens to drive by and sees Sandy’s car parked in his driveway. Once Sandy leaves, Milton decides to check on the UFO and notices the alien has crawled out and is now on his patio, lying face down and inching toward his house. The alien raises its head, makes eye contact with Milton, and promptly passes out.

Milton puts him outside the house and calls his daughter Denise hastily. Unfortunately, her voicemail box is full. Still, he leaves her a message expressing doubts about what he should do with it. When he ends and hangs up, he gives the alien a blanket to cover its body and leaves a glass of water near its hand. When the alien wakes up the next morning, it still feels weak while sitting on the ground by the back staircase, covered in a blanket.

Milton asks him to come inside where it’s warmer and more comfortable. He is unsure if the alien understands him. Therefore, he makes a wide sweeping motion with his arm, signaling the alien to come inside. Milton shows him around the house and offers different foods to discover what the alien prefers. Subsequently, Milton showcases pictures of his family. He admits that his son doesn’t call because he understands he doesn’t fulfill his role as a good father to him.

Of all the food Milton offers, the alien prefers only one item – the sliced apple, which happens to be his last one. Even though the alien has already eaten, it is still weak. Milton asks the alien to rest on the couch and watch TV since he has to head out for groceries. When Milton is at the store, he stocks ten apples and tells the sales clerk that the apples are all for the alien. The sales clerk wonders if it’s an immigrant without papers, and Milton clarifies it by saying it’s an alien from outer space.

Later that day, Denise visits the grocery store and gets wind of his strange actions through the sales clerk. That evening, Milton and the alien sit and watch TV. Milton eventually falls asleep on the sofa. When he wakes up in the morning, he notices the alien has covered him with a blanket. The alien also leaves Milton an artwork: a cartoon cat’s face. He sees the alien in the backyard diligently repairing his spacecraft. Milton expresses his appreciation for the artwork and invites the alien for breakfast, offering apple slices.

Denise arrives at Milton’s house while the alien sits on the sofa, watching TV with a plate of sliced apples. She doesn’t see the alien, as she only has a conversation with Milton from the door. She urges him to consult a professional to check his memory, as his recent behavior concerns Denise. He responds that he will take some time to think about it. At that moment, Denise receives a call from work and has to leave shortly.

Sandy calls Milton to ask if he has a printer for her to use to print her project flyers about connecting older and younger individuals. She stops by and almost passes out when she sees the alien sitting in the living room. Milton opines that the alien seems like a friendly creature from outer space and adds that it only eats apples. She tells him straightaway that he should stop telling other people about the UFO and the alien as it will bring the government’s attention.

Milton shows Sandy the artwork that the alien handed him, all containing the same drawings. As Sandy is an artist, she is enthralled by the seven identical artworks with a picture of a cartoon cat. She utters that they must protect the alien, and no one should know that the alien is at Milton’s house. Joyce then drives and spots Sandy’s car again in the driveway. The scene shifts to a government call center, where multiple agents actively listen to phone conversations and follow up quickly on any references to spaceships or alien encounters.

Officials in formal attire visit various homes, but none yield promising leads. Meanwhile, Sandy hands over a shirt to the alien the next day. She lifts her hands over its head to dress it in the shirt as if it’s a child. The alien draws another set of pictures of 7 cartoon cat faces for the second time. Sandy takes Milton to the store to buy more apples. Denise approaches him in the parking lot and questions why there are so many apples.

He reacts defensively and asserts that it’s no longer her concern, clarifying that those are for him. He disclaims that no alien inhabits his house, saying he was just joking. To her disbelief, Denise is also surprised that her father is interacting socially with his neighbor Sandy, which he usually doesn’t do. And he acts distant and pushes his daughter away to make an appointment.

The scene also shifts to Milton putting shaving cream on his face but unable to find the razor. He suddenly wipes off the shaving cream he applied and forgets that he is actually going to shave. Milton needs to accompany his daughter to see a therapist. Therefore, Sandy looks after the alien, simply sitting on the sofa and engaging in conversation. She mentions that she has a daughter in a relationship with a woman, and together, they have a child, her grandson.

She shares pictures with the alien from her phone. They were living in California at the time when her daughter came out. And Sandy told her daughter that it doesn’t matter and that it will never be a reason for her to love her any less. The mother of her daughter’s partner is not as welcoming or hospitable as they expect her to be. Sandy can’t hold back her tears as she shares how they invest all their time seeking the approval of the other mother, and they never come to visit her.

It has been three years since she last saw her daughter and grandson. On a different note, Milton is asked to take a few memory tests during his therapist appointment. He manages to pass two, but not one. She asks him if he ever misplaces things in locations where they are not supposed to be or in random spots. He attempts to make it seem like nothing and says it seldom happens.

Nonetheless, Denise shares that she finds a newspaper in their freezer, and she also sees a can of beans stored in the bathroom cabinet. He becomes riled, which overwhelms him, thinking it might be a setup, so he angrily rushes off the appointment. When he returns to the house, Sandy, Milton, and the alien eat lunch together, and there’s a sudden knock on the door.

It turns out to be Joyce. She peeks through their window and sees the alien sitting together with them at the table. Joyce pushes her way in and says she has already seen the alien and wants to meet it face-to-face. She asserts that she must be involved in this and declares that no one else can know except the three of them. Sandy thinks of naming the alien Jules, but Joyce prefers Gary. Yet, Milton doesn’t think the alien would need a name.

Jules (2023) Movie Ending, Explained:

Who killed the young man who wanted to meet sandy.

Sandy is at her house and receives a call in response to the flyer she’s been giving away initially. The caller is a young man in his 20s who wants to connect with her. Sandy intends to promote her project about connecting with young individuals, so she invites him to come over. The next day, Joyce barges into Milton’s house, carrying a container of apple slices.

Milton says that he thinks Jules would prefer to fix the spaceship in the backyard. Despite that, Joyce stays there, and they sit in the living room. Joyce talks to Jules and shares that she was quite attractive and striking during her younger years. She used to live in New York City and also pursued a singing career before. Then, she started to do some modeling poses and sing.

As this is happening, Sandy, on the other hand, isn’t able to come over as she is meeting the young man from her project. The young man is 27, while she is in her 70s. He excuses himself and tells Sandy he needs to use the bathroom. But she discovers him stealing her jewelry instead. Sandy warns him that she will call the authorities, and he starts to chase after her.

While Joyce is at Milton’s house singing and hilariously having a concert, Jules’ eyes widen as it suddenly sees Sandy’s situation in its mind. Jules witnesses her frantic escape from the young man, the violent struggle that is happening, and the young man’s hands closing around her neck. A momentary deep blue tinge washes over Jules’ skull, only to fade back to its original color. The scene then shifts to Sandy’s house, where blood is all over the place.

The authorities interrogate her about what happened again. Sandy states that the young man was on top of her, choking her, and his head just suddenly blew up. They ask if there were any changes before this occurrence. Her response is no. At this point, the realization strikes, and Jules must have been involved in some way. Sandy hastily arrives at Milton’s house and embraces Jules, saying how the alien saved her life.

Joyce then asks what the bad smell is like, wondering if it’s coming from something dead. At first, Sandy thinks it’s her as she is from a crime scene. But then they see Jules finding a dead cat. They are sure that Jules didn’t kill it as the dead cat has a tire mark on it and is flattened. Jules gives them a new cartoon cat artwork that only has six cats. They finally understand that Jules needs a total of 7 dead cats to be able to fix the ship, and they all acknowledge their willingness to help.

Are they able to discover seven dead cats and repair the ship?

Milton calls Denise, as she is a veterinarian, and he asks her what they do when the cats are dead. Do they just put them directly in a trash bin? His daughter ignores his question but is more concerned about the topic he is asking, as he doesn’t have any cats. Milton decides to hang up the phone. Sandy and Milton drive gradually around the town as they are looking for dead cats. Meanwhile, the authorities are still suspicious of what happened to the young man and how his head could possibly just blow up without any reason.

Because of that, they start to follow Sandy, assuming they will find something. In the car, Milton asks Sandy about what happened with her husband. She explains that it all began with small things like forgetting words and the inability to remember where he placed things when the symptoms of forgetting first appeared. He suddenly tells Sandy to stop because he found another dead cat.

The authorities are confused and unaware of why Sandy and Milton are digging up dead cats from the trash. They are able to find three dead cats, while Joyce finds two more dead cats. They only need one more dead cat to fix the spacecraft and be ready to fly. Milton thinks about if they can use Joyce’s 14-year-old cat, which can’t walk, is blind, and deaf. Joyce feels that it’s likely the most suitable choice after thinking about it for a while.

Jules’ head turns blue, and it softly induces sleep in the cat. After placing the seven dead cats beneath a shiny silver fabric, it morphs into an oval-shaped red gem, which Jules then incorporates into the spaceship. Jules successfully fixes and tests the spacecraft and prepares to fly. They all give the alien a parting gift so it won’t forget them. Joyce gives Jules a snow globe with a New York theme. Sandy gives Jules a sweater, and Milton gives his photo to help the alien remember what Milton looks like.

Does Jules retain memories, or does it forget everything?

Jules uses a wide sweeping motion with his arm, similar to what Milton does when he first invites the alien to come inside his house. But this time, Jules asks Milton to go with him. When Milton decides to come with him, the house phone rings, and it’s his daughter Denise expressing regret, hoping they won’t have a misunderstanding again, and she wants to spend some time with Milton. The government agents show up at his house and forcefully enter by breaking his door. At that moment, he immediately hangs up the phone. Joyce, Milton, and Sandy run into the spacecraft, and they manage to escape the agents.

As soon as the spaceship doors open, they find themselves in a place filled with enormous rocks. They realize they’re situated in a quarry near the house, and it’s been a mere few seconds. While the idea of leaping onto the ship is thrilling, Milton changes his mind and opts to remain on Earth, close to his daughter. All of them wave and say goodbye to Jules. In a couple of days, the three of them are at Milton’s place, and they all wonder if Jules will still remember them. Milton remains silent. During the evening, as Milton watches television, a sudden light is moving again across the back of the window, hinting that Jules has returned.

Read More: 30 Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 21st Century

Jules (2023) Movie Links: IMDb , Rotten Tomatoes , Wikipedia , Letterboxd The Cast of Jules (2023) Movie: Ben Kingsley, Harriet Sansom Harris, Zoë Winters, Jade Quon, Jane Curtin Genre: Sci-fi/Comedy, Runtime: 1h 27m

Where to watch jules, trending right now.

Ashlee is fervently devoted to exploring the intricacies of films in great detail. She’s also psyched about discussing economics.

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Ben Kingsley befriends an alien in 'Jules,' an oddly stress-free, but mostly pleasant film

There is a genre of films in which familiar, aging actors play aging characters that may or may not be heightened versions of themselves — haha, isn’t it cute to see Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin chase after Tom Brady , or Morgan Freeman and Robert DeNiro hobble around Las Vegas for a bachelor party?

Not really, no.

But the appeal is obvious: Aging boomers like seeing the actors they grew up watching get old on-screen, even as the audience gets older in real life.

“Jules” could fall into that category, with Ben Kingsley, Harriet Sansom Harris and Jane Curtin dipping their toes into the doddering well. But it’s not just that — it’s also a movie about a visitor from out of space, whose appearance teaches us … you know, I’m not exactly sure.

But it makes the movie weird enough to rise above the usual fare of this ilk, if only slightly.

'None of this is forever': How former Phoenix reporter and CNN anchor Daryn Kagan moved up

What is 'Jules' about?

Kingsley plays Milton, who is 78 years old and lives in the small town of Boonton, in western Pennsylvania. He lives alone, after the death of his wife, watching TV. He is the sort of fellow who shows up at every city council meeting to suggest changing the town’s slogan or to request a crosswalk at a busy intersection.

His daughter Denise (Zoë Winters, who played Kerry in “ Succession ”) is worried about him. She finds a can of green beans in the bathroom cabinet. He spaces things. She thinks he should see a doctor, but Milton refuses.

Then one night a spaceship crashes in his backyard. He’s mostly concerned about the damage to his azaleas and his bird bath. But soon an alien creature, obviously injured, makes its way near his back door.

Milton undoubtedly appreciates the companionship, particularly since the alien doesn’t bug him about his memory. Or anything else; it doesn’t speak. (Jade Quon plays the alien; her movements are quite expressive.) Mostly it sits on the couch eating apples Milton provides and trying to repair the crashed spaceship.

Soon, however, Sandy (Harris), another regular at city council meetings, finds out about the alien. So does Joyce (Curtin), who is as grumpy as Sandy is bubbly. They decide the alien should have a name: Jules.

Denise steps up her concern about Milton’s ability to live by himself, especially when he tells the clerk at the grocery store he’s buying a bunch of apples to feed the alien who crash-landed in his backyard. And there are occasional — very occasional — glimpses of some kind of secret government agency searching for the spaceship. A couple of nearly anonymous agents make attempts at figuring out what’s going on, but their appearances are so fleeting they barely even register in terms of tension in the story.

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You don't see Jane Curtin sing 'Free Bird' every day

Director Marc Turtletaub goes out of his way to make “Jules” as tension-free as possible, which can be odd at times. For instance, Jules has some rather dangerous, even deadly powers, but they’re played mostly for laughs. Although the spaceship using dead cats for fuel is a nice touch.

“Pleasant” is probably the word best used to describe the whole film.

Mostly “Jules” is just an excuse to spend some time with Kingsley, Harris and Curtin doing things we don’t always see them do. Harris is probably best known as Frasier’s acerbic agent in “Frasier,” so it’s interesting to see her be so sweet here. Certainly, Curtin belting out “Free Bird” isn’t something we see often.

But we spend most of our time with Kingsley, who makes the audience care about Milton without pandering through emotional shortcuts. He manages to build a credible relationship between Milton and Jules. It’s nothing groundbreaking. Nothing about “Jules” is. But it is kind of nice.

'Jules' 3 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: Marc Turtletaub.

Cast: Ben Kingsley, Harriet Sansom Harris, Jane Curtin.

Rating: PG-13 for strong language.

How to watch: In theaters Friday, July 11.

Reach Goodykoontz at  [email protected] . Facebook:  facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm . Twitter:  @goodyk .

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‘Jules’ Review: Ben Kingsley Befriends an Alien in One of the Weirdest Movies of the Year

David ehrlich.

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To watch Marc Turtletaub’s “ Jules ” — a middlebrow dramedy starring Ben Kingsley as a widowed, half-senile eccentric so desperate for someone to care about him that he casually befriends the alien who crashes into his backyard — is to be reminded that truly strange movies have become hard to find. These days, a film this unusual is about as rare as a call from Milton’s estranged son, who hasn’t phoned home in several years. 

Is “Jules” a good movie? For a film that feels so milquetoast in most respects, I suppose that Gavin Steckler’s script is surprisingly honest about the hardships of aging, and its familiar observations about the support required to “survive” old age feel that much fresher because of the bizarre path this story travels to reach them. Saddled with a floofy hairpiece that seems fittingly alien to the actor’s head, Kingsley is also keyed-in to his character from the start, his performance sustained by a stubborn rejection of self-pity and a shaky refusal to show fear in the face of death. 

And yet, for all of those virtues, “Jules” is never better than it is bizarre, and it’s only toward the very end — sometime after the titular alien’s mysterious obsession with cats is clarified in the weirdest way possible — that the film’s emotionality isn’t completely overshadowed by its oddness.

Of course, that oddness isn’t accidental. Turtletaub may be more accomplished as a producer than he is as a director, but he has a sturdy grasp on this material, and he does everything in his power to ensure that “Jules” reflects the dual strangenesses of Milton’s situation: The remarkable strangeness of someone turning their couch into an Airbnb for aliens, and the all too common strangeness of someone being deceived by their aging brain (Milton is just starting to misplace things, which means he’s also just on the cusp of realizing that he’ll never stop). 

That mismatch between investment and payoff is a recurring motif in a movie that’s often too content with its own weirdness to work on any other grounds. “Jules” isn’t funny enough or heartbreaking enough or anything enough to meaningfully expand on its basic idea, and any part of it that doesn’t directly involve the alien itself suffers as a result. “Succession” actress Zoë Winters is especially hung out to dry as Milton’s daughter, her character reduced to a living symbol of the begrudging tolerance that adults often have for their burdensome parents.

In Quon’s hands, Jules is able to remain at once both curious and curiosity itself, frighteningly unknown but endlessly fascinated by what Milton and his friends might have to say. Jules is the patient ear these people have always wanted, even if it’s unclear whether those jagged stab wounds on the side of its head are technically ears in the first place. The alien is also an invitation for Milton, Joyce, and Sandy to hear themselves in a new way — to give voice to the pain they’ve been forced to swallow since life began taking precious things from them. Sometimes, this peculiarly amusing film argues in its own special way, coming face-to-face with the weirdness that life throws your way can be the most important step towards learning how to live with it. 

Bleecker Street will release “Jules” in theaters on Friday, August 11.

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Official Discussion - Jules [SPOILERS]

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Milton lives a quiet life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard.

Marc Turtletaub

Gavin Steckler

Ben Kingsley as Milton Robinson

Harriet Sansom Harris as Sandy

Zoe Winters as Denise

Jane Curtin as Joyce

Anna George as Dr. North

Donald Paul as Agent Mann

Marina Shay as Hippie Woman

-- Rotten Tomatoes: 86%

Metacritic: N/A

VOD: Theaters

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The best and worst-reviewed movies coming to netflix in july 2024.

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Michael J Fox walking across the street in a scene from the film 'Back To The Future', 1985. (Photo ... [+] by Universal/Getty Images)

Netflix has its share of critically acclaimed movies and duds coming to the streaming service in July. Read on to find out which are the best and worst-reviewed movies in the new batch.

As usual, most of the movies new to the streaming service will premiere at the beginning of the month. As such, July 1 marks the debut of director Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and director Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future trilogy, which were both well-received by critics and audiences.

On the contrary, there are two other new movies on Netflix in July that finish out an infamous movie trilogy that appeared to be doomed by the critical reception of the first film in the series.

Not included in this assessment are four Netflix original films that are making their debuts on the streaming service in July, including movie legend Eddie Murphy’s long-awaited return to the Beverly Hills Cop series with Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F . None of the four new Netflix originals were reviewed by critics before the publication of this article.

Here are the five best-reviewed and five worst-reviewed movies coming to Netflix in July, based on critics’ ratings on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes . RT “fresh” or “rotten” rating ties are broken by RT Audience Scores.

The Best-Reviewed Movies Coming To Netflix

Best high-yield savings accounts of 2024, best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024, 5. ‘american hustle’ (2013).

Directed by David O. Russell, American Hustle follows a pair of grifters, Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) who are forced into an undercover operation after being busted by FBI Agent Richie DiMasso (Bradley Cooper).

The FBI’s target is a group of corrupt politicians, including Camden, New Jersey, Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner). American Hustle also stars Jennifer Lawrence as Irving’s wife, Rosalyn, who gets caught up in the sting operation.

RT critics gave American Hustle a 92 percent “fresh” rating based on 298 reviews, while more than 100,000 RT users collectively gave the movie a 74% “fresh” Audience Score.

American Hustle was nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Russell, as well as Best Actor and Actress nominations for Bale and Adams, and Best Supporting Actor and Actress nominations for Cooper and Lawrence.

American Hustle debuts on Netflix on July 1.

4. ‘Spider-Man 2’ (2004)

A rare sequel that’s just as revered as its original film, Spider-Man 2 finds Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) encountering a new nemesis, Dr. Otto Octavius/Doc Ock (Alfred Molina).

Kirsten Dunst returns as Peter’s crush, Mary Jane Watson, while James Franco reprises his role of Peter’s best friend, Harry Osborn, from the original Spider-Man in 2002.

RT critics gave Spider-Man 2 a 93% “fresh” rating based on 277 reviews, while RT users gave the movie an 82% “fresh” Audience Score based on 250,000-plus user ratings.

Spider-Man 2 debuts on Netflix on July 1.

3. ‘Captain Phillips’ (2013)

Based on a real-life incident in 2009, Captain Phillips stars Tom Hanks as Captain Richard Phillips, whose vessel—the MV Maersk Alabama—became the first U.S. cargo ship to be hijacked in 200 years.

Barkhad Abdi also stars as Muse, who leads the band of Somali pirates who hijack Phillips’ ship.

RT critics gave Captain Phillips a 93% “fresh” rating based on 281 reviews. The RT Audience Score was 89% percent “fresh” based on 100,000-plus user ratings.

Captain Phillips was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture. Abdi also earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination in his first screen role.

Captain Phillips debuts on Netflix July 1

2. ‘Back to the Future’ (1985)

Back to the Future stars Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, a California teen in the 1980s who is accidentally transported back to the 1950s in his mentor Doc Brown’s (Christopher Lloyd) DeLorean car/time machine.

Because of his inadvertent blast into the past, Marty puts his future in jeopardy when he encounters his parents Lorraine and George (Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover). Thomas F. Wilson also stars in Back to the Future as George’s bully, Biff Tanen.

RT critics gave Back to the Future a 93% “fresh” rating based on 111 reviews, while the sci-fi adventure comedy earned a 95% “fresh” Audience Score based on 250,000-plus user ratings.

Back to the Future debuts on Netflix on July 1.

1. ‘Call Me by Your Name’ (2017)

Timothée Chalamet stars in Call Me by Your Name , which chronicles a love affair in Italy in 1983 between 17-year-old Elio (Chalamet) and his father’s research assistant, Oliver (Armie Hammer), a 24-year-old graduate student.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino, Call Me by Your Name earned four Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Actor for Chalamet. The film won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for screenwriter James Ivory.

RT gave Call Me By You Name a 94% “fresh” rating based on 364 reviews. RT users gave the film an 86% “fresh” Audience Score based on 10,000-plus user ratings.

Call Me by Your Name debuts on Netflix on July 1.

The Worst-Reviewed Movies Coming To Netflix

5. ‘bad boys ii’ (2003).

The first sequel to the 1995 hit Bad Boys , Bad Boys II reunites Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as Miami police detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, who are trying to stop a Cuban drug cartel from smuggling ecstasy into their city.

Arriving on Netflix in time to capitalize on the theatrical success of Bad Boys: Ride or Die , the first two films in the four-chapter action series didn’t receive nearly the critical praise.

Bad Boys II has the worst Rotten Tomatoes score in the franchise, with a 24% “rotten” rating based on 186 reviews. Viewers reacted much differently, however, giving the film a 78% “fresh” RT Audience Score based on 250,000-plus user ratings.

Bad Boys II debuts on Netflix on July 8.

4. ‘Midnight Sun’ (2018)

Bella Thorne and Patrick Schwarzenegger star as Katie Price and Charlie Reed in Midnight Sun , a teen romance drama about how the couple copes with an illness that prevents Katie from being out in the sun.

RT critics gave Midnight Sun a 20% “rotten” rating, while viewers seemed a little more impressed. Still, the movie was deemed “rotten” with a 56% Audience Score based on 1,000-plus RT user ratings.

Midnight Sun debuts on Netflix on July 15.

3. ‘The Boy Next Door’ (2015)

Jennifer Lopez stars in The Boy Next Door , a crime thriller about how a dangerous situation develops after divorced school teacher Claire Peterson (Lopez) has a one-night stand with her 19-year-old former student, Noah Sandborn (Ryan Guzman).

After the one encounter, Claire tries to end the relationship but Noah becomes enraged.

RT critics gave The Boy Next Door a 12% “rotten” rating based on 139 reviews, while viewers gave the movie a 34% “rotten” Audience Score based on 25,000-plus RT user ratings.

The Boy Next Door debuts on Netflix on July 16.

2. ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ (2017)

Two years after critics trashed Fifty Shades of Grey , Fifty Shades Darker —the second book in author E.L. James’ erotic book trilogy—was released.

Dakota Johnson reprises her role of Anastasia Steele, who fell under the spell of billionaire businessman Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan, back for round two) and his lurid world of BDSM in the first film. Fifty Shades Darker finds Christian trying to lure Anastasia back into his life after she left him at the conclusion of Fifty Shades of Grey .

RT critics gave 50 Shades Darker an 11% “rotten” rating based on 209 reviews. Viewers were more split on their reaction to the film, giving it a 48% “rotten” RT Audience Score based on 25,000-plus user ratings.

Fifty Shades Darker debuts on Netflix on July 16.

1. ‘Fifty Shades Freed’ (2018)

E.L. James’ Fifty Shades book-turned-movie trilogy concluded with Fifty Shades Freed .

Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) accepted Christian Grey’s (Jamie Dornan) marriage proposal at the end of Fifty Shades Darker and 50 Shades Freed finds the two as newlyweds. Things get complicated when Anastasia reveals that she is pregnant, but her joy is tempered when she learns Christian is communicating with a former BDSM dominant.

Fifty Shades Freed —like Fifty Shades Darker —received an 11% percent “rotten” rating from RT critics, but this rating was based on 194 reviews. Fifty Shades Freed , however, earned the No. 1 spot as the worst movie new on Netflix in July because it earned a 38% “rotten” Audience Score based on 5,000-plus user ratings.

Fifty Shades Freed debuts on Netflix on July 16.

If viewers want to take in the entire Fifty Shades movie trilogy, Netflix added the first film—2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey —to its streaming platform in June .

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"Fallout" and the Video Game Adaptation Gold Rush

I will be the first to admit that I didn’t expect much from “Fallout” (2024). The television series, which premiered on Prime Video on April 10, 2024, faced a daunting task: distilling the titular video game franchise– eleven titles released over the course of twenty-two years – into a brief eight-episode adaptation. 

The “Fallout” franchise, which follows the grim aftermath of nuclear war over the course of centuries in a world aesthetically stuck in the 1950s, has a black-comedy, cheesy-retro-futuristic, just-plain-weird tone that’s difficult to replicate. Not to mention the difficulty of balancing the preservation of this tone with the series’ doorstopper-length and the franchise’s often contradictory lore – mess it up, and you risk alienating both casual viewers and the intense fandom the franchise has amassed over the years. 

And yet the show left me, and everyone else, surprised. It’s currently sitting at a 93 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten and Walton Goggins’ performances have received a glowing reception from a wide range of critics. Prime Video reports that “Fallout” is one of its top three titles to date, and renewed the series for a second season a week following its release.

The past few years have ushered in an era of successful video game-to-television adaptations. “Fallout” is the latest in a series of hits that have not only proven themselves to be good, but have also broken out of the traditional video game demographic and attracted a wide, casual audience: “The Last of Us,” “Arcane,” “Castlevania” and “Halo,” to name a few recent examples. Adaptations of “Tomb Raider” and “Devil May Cry” are coming out in the next few months; it seems that every week, some new video game adaptation is announced to be in the works, from “Bioshock” to “Disco Elysium” to “Borderlands” to “God of War.”

I hadn’t really thought about the trend much until I started making my way through “Fallout,” except with vague concern. Video game TV adaptations are the latest hallmark of our current age of live-action remakes: characterized by the entertainment industry (and streaming in particular) falling back on reliable moneymakers in lieu of creative innovation. “Fallout,” though, gives me hope that these two things are not necessarily mutually exclusive. 

A video game adaptation, by definition, must be transformative. While adapting literature or animation to live-action might require a few tweaks here and there due to the inherent differences between the original and new mediums, it's usually possible to recreate the original work whole-cloth in live-action. In contrast, any video game that offers its player choices (as almost all do) creates story elements that are mutually exclusive: any hopeful live-action adapter must pick one and leave out the other. Which story route do you choose to depict? Which ending, and why? A player can take any number of paths through even the most linear of games (backtracking, choosing where to take their time) – what path should be adapted to the screen?

The "Fallout" video game series is a franchise of mostly open-world titles: massive, diverse worlds packed full of so many sidequests and potential choices that it'd be impossible for any adaptation to portray their stories in full. "Fallout" the television series recognizes this and chooses to chart its own path instead. It follows the basic story beats that punctuate each of the first few “Fallout” games: a “vault-dweller,” someone raised in a nuclear bunker built by Vault-Tec to repopulate the Earth in the aftermath of a nuclear winter, leaving their isolated home and discovering that Earth repopulated itself centuries ago with all sorts of curiosities and horrors. But the story it chooses to tell within this framework is an entirely new one about an entirely new character. And it is only one of several stories following a quirky ensemble cast – who pay homage to factions and creatures from the original “Fallout” franchise while simultaneously being their own distinct thing, unrelated to the plot of any of the games.

Even if you’re not one for video games, you’ll probably get a kick out of “Fallout.” I hope it’s a signifier for video game TV adaptations to come. 

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Jules Kourelakos is a Trinity junior and Recess Editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.  

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There are several movies that people tend to rewatch during specific times of the year. July is notorious for hit movies like Jaws or Independence Day , but there are a plethora of new movies coming out each year that deserve recognition too! In addition to the premiere of a brand-new Hulu original series, Mastermind: To Think Like A Killer , the second season of Marvel’s Hit-Monkey , and the twelfth season of Futurama coming out, there’s an abundance of new movies to check out on the streaming platform as well! This handy guide will help you find your new favorite “July” movie to watch!

'The Animal Kingdom' (2023)

Generally speaking, in The Animal Kingdom , as we currently know it, humans are on top of the food chain, thanks to our intelligence, technology... and opposable thumbs. But how would that change if humans started to turn into animals? In this French fantasy-adventure film, a genetic mutation begins to transform some humans into various species of animals and the world isn’t sure how to respond. When François ( Romain Duris ) learns that his wife is one of those people, with fur sprouting from her face, he does everything he can to save her, but he is fearful that she might attack him or their 16-year-old son, Émile ( Paul Kircher ). The government begins to round up anyone exhibiting signs of animalistic qualities, causing social and political turmoil. After a transport vehicle carrying several mutated humans (including François’ wife) crashes, most of the creatures flee into the nearby woods. He then sets out on an adventure with his son to find his wife, but they soon learn that this could be the next step toward human evolution.

The Animal Kingdom

'fast charlie' (2023).

Based on the 2001 novel, Gun Monkeys by Victor Gischler , Fast Charlie follows fixer and hitman Charlie Swift ( Pierce Brosnan ) in the aftermath of a hit placed on him, his boss, and his crew by a rival mob boss. As the sole survivor of the attack, he then teams up with Marcie ( Morena Baccarin ), the ex-wife of a mob boss he killed previously. In this high-octane thriller, Charlie must root out who betrayed him and his former boss, Stan (the late James Caan ), and restore balance to the mafia underworld. Under the direction of Phillip Noyce , who also directed Clear and Present Danger and Salt , and Richard Wenk , the writer of The Equalizer and The Mechanic , Fast Charlie promises to satisfy those who love quippy one-liners, a hardened veteran with a moral code, and a high body count.

'Scrambled' (2023)

Based on the real experiences that writer and director Leah McKendrick faced when she underwent egg retrieval procedures in 2021, Scrambled tells the tale of Nellie (McKendrick) who decides she wants to freeze her eggs. After a breakup, she is broke, single, and can’t escape the onslaught of wedding and baby shower invites that she once dreamed of having for herself. She has to find a way to save enough money for the procedure to freeze her eggs because she has no current romantic prospects at the time and her clock is ticking , as her friends kindly remind her, but she begins to find fulfillment in herself as she is throughout her journey.

'Cult Killer' (2024)

After her mentor, Mikael Tallini ( Antonio Banderas ), is brutally murdered by a notorious serial killer, private investigator Cassie Holt ( Alice Eve ) finds herself in the middle of a twisted mystery surrounding his death. She is granted special permission by the local authorities to assist in the investigation but soon realizes that all her best leads are coming from the killer himself. Begrudgingly, she forms an alliance with the killer to unfold an even more sinister plot that Tallini might have been involved in. Together, she and the killer unveil the corruption and the secrets that the small town holds and bring justice to those who have been victimized by them.

Cult Killer

When a renowned private investigator is murdered, his protege takes on the case. As her investigation unfolds, she is forced into a dangerous alliance with his killer to uncover the town's grisly secrets and bring justice to its victims.

'The American' (2023)

The American , also known as Joika , is based on the true story of Joy Womack , a woman who became the first American to graduate from the prestigious, yet brutal, program at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Russia. Played by Talia Ryder ( Do Revenge ), Womack was born and raised in California where she began her ballet classes. At the age of 12, her family moved to Texas, where her parents found her a Russian ballet teacher in the Austin area who focused on the Vaganova method. From there, she began doing ballet at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington D.C. before getting accepted into the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. If you’re a fan of the dark thriller Black Swan and appreciate the dedication and sacrifices that ballerinas undergo to be “the best” at what they do, this true story should be on your watchlist for July!

'Sleeping Dogs' (2024)

Based on the E. O. Chirovici novel, The Book of Mirrors , this film focuses on retired homicide detective Roy Freeman ( Russell Crowe ) as he decides to undergo a clinical trial to treat his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. As he goes through the process, which is said to be able to return some of his lost memories, he finds himself going over an old case file that never sat right with him. The further he digs, the more his former partner Jimmy Remis ( Tommy Flannagan ) cautions him to stick to crossword puzzles to keep his mind stimulated. Convinced that he has sent an innocent man to prison and impending execution, Roy searches for the missing piece of the puzzle, a woman named Laura ( Karen Gillan ) who worked with the murder victim, Dr. Weider ( Martin Csokas ), but disappears shortly after his death.

Sleeping Dogs

An ex-homicide detective (Russell Crowe) with memory loss is forced to solve a brutal murder, only to uncover chilling secrets from his forgotten past.

'Femme' (2023)

Femme is a British thriller set in East London, where drag performer Jules ( Nathan Stewart-Jarrett ) has just finished one of his shows at a nightclub. Going outside for a smoke, he notices Preston ( George MacKay ) staring at him from a distance before walking off. Later that night, Jules goes to purchase more cigarettes at a convenience store, where he encounters Preston and a group of his friends. The group insults Jules with homophobic slurs and when Jules leaves, Preston follows him and brutally assaults him. After that, Jules stops performing in drag and becomes reclusive. Months later, he sees Preston at a gay sauna and decides to seduce him, as Preston does not recognize Jules out of drag. Jules plans to film the two of them engaging in sexual activities with the intention of publicly outing Preston as revenge, but after the two of them spend more time together, he begins to have doubts about sabotaging Preston’s life.

Follows Jules, who is targeted in a horrific homophobic attack, destroying his life and career. Some time after that event he encounters Preston, one of his attackers, in a gay sauna. He wants revenge.