June 20, 2025
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Summer is for blockbusters and 'Jaws,' 'Jurassic Park' and 'Predator' franchises are available to stream.
Summer is prime time for blockbuster films both new and old, so those will dominate the latest edition of the PhillyVoice streaming guide — with an indie flick added in for variety.
Here are some streaming recommendations:
MORE: Oscar-winning Native American actor Wes Studi to receive honor in Philly
A new installment in the action-heavy "Predator" franchise was released straight to Hulu this month. While "Killer of Killers" is animated, it comes with an R rating so you'll want to put the kids to bed before watching this one. The film features a couple short stories of humans facing Predators throughout the centuries, with a finishing chapter that ties them all together.
"Killer of Killers" comes from filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg, who directed 2022's excellent "Prey," another direct-to-streaming "Predator" film. Trachtenberg, who was born in Philly and graduated from Temple, is also directing the upcoming live-action film "Predator: Badlands" that is releasing Nov. 7. The trailer for that looks, well, killer. Trachtenberg has truly revitalized the "Predator" franchise, attempting to come close to the iconic 1987 original film. Hop on the bandwagon now.
The new "Jurassic Park" film, "Jurassic World Rebirth," hits theaters July 2 and is directed by Gareth Edwards, who's known for "Godzilla" and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." While my expectations for the latest installment are rather low, use the release as an excuse to relive the legendary highs that the "Jurassic" franchise brought over the years.
Feel like a kid again in total awe of Steven Spielberg's original "Jurassic Park" from 1993 or enjoy the underrated "Jurassic Park III." This is what the summer is all about: Transport yourself to a different world, take in the spectacle and unwind away from the rising temperatures.
All six "Jurassic Park" films are available to stream on Peacock.
Continuing on with the greatness of Spielberg, "Jaws" (the original blockbuster) was first released in theaters on June 20, 1975. Friday marks 50 years to that date. It changed movies forever, featuring endless quotable lines and a score from John Williams that rattles around in viewers' minds to this day.
Maybe don't watch it if you're planning to hit the Jersey Shore immediately after, but it's still an all-time classic.
"Jaws" and its rather lackluster sequels are available to stream on Peacock.
Let's end on an indie, more cinephile-leaning note. There was a lot of discourse online this week about what the best movies of the 2020s are as we are improbably more than halfway through the decade. The likes of "Oppenheimer," "The Zone of Interest" and other Academy Award-winning films were obviously a part of that discussion, but I wanted to highlight one film that might just be my favorite of the decade so far and is perhaps my favorite foreign-language film ever, "The Eight Mountains."
First released overseas in 2022, I saw it during a limited run at the Bourse in Old City on a random weekday afternoon. I was one of only a few people in the theater, and I had what felt like a spiritual experience watching it. This story of two friends over the course of several decades begins in the 1980s in the Italian Alps, and it frankly made me thankful for all the grateful relationships I have in my life.
It's 147 minutes, so it's a bit of a long watch, but if you have the time and are looking for something to expand your horizons and go off the beaten path, I can't recommend it enough.
"The Eight Mountains" is available to stream on the Criterion Channel.
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