The Fourth of July weekend is supposed to be a time to go outside, hang out with other humans, and set sparkling things on fire. But why do that when you can safely stay indoors, as video streams over the internet directly into your eyeballs? In case you’re not already convinced, don’t worry: Amazon Prime, Netflix, and HBO Now are adding a bunch of new content to their respective services this month to make your choice even easier.
Netflix starts things off with a bunch of original programming, included its Castlevania series (July 7th), as well as Sundance titles like To the Bone (July 14th) and The Incredible Jessica James (July 28th). Of course, the movies that are leaving Netflix in a given month are often as important as the ones that are coming in the door — and if you’re a Netflix subscriber that really likes Futurama, Ghost Whisperer, or American Pie direct-to-video sequels, you’re in for some bad news.
Amazon, on the other hand, is busy being awesome by adding a ton of movies to its service, including The Matrix Reloaded (not bad!), The Matrix Revolutions (why are you highlighting these again?) and the first nine Star Trek films. That means Amazon customers will now get to relive the thrilling adventures of the original Captain James T. Kirk and crew as they hunt down Ricardo Montalban’s Khan, time travel to the 1980s to steal whales, and even journey to the center of the galaxy to find God (which probably wasn’t a great idea, but hey, Shatner was directing at that point, so everybody was probably just flying by the seat of their pants anyway).
Which leaves HBO Now. And sure — I could mention the premiere of The Defiant Ones, the four-part documentary about Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. I could point out that Jeff Nichols’ wonderful Loving is now available to watch. And I could even tout the litany of library titles that the service is adding this month, from The Dark Knight and Erin Brockovich to Minority Report — which is perhaps more relevant now than when it first arrived in theaters. But all of that is simply background noise. There are just three words you really need to know.