June Movie Preview -

James Tisch May 27th, 2015 - 4:11 PM

Welcome to our monthly movie preview. Here, we will count down our top choices for films opening in the month of June. With the summer movie season in full bloom, the major Hollywood studios are set to premiere some of their most anticipated titles. The next chapter in the horror franchise of the moment, a reboot of a beloved ’90s classic, a Pixar movie that actually looks good – all are angling to dominate the cinematic conversation next month. Even so, some of the more interesting offerings heading to cinemas during the month of June may be the quieter, stranger movies arriving at the local art house theater. Let’s get underway.

10) THE TRIBE

How’s this for thinking outside the box: Ukrainian filmmaker Miroslav Slaboshpitsky makes his feature directorial debut with this crime drama set in a boarding school for the deaf. The trick – only deaf actors were employed and the film is told entirely in sign language and without subtitles. Sounds like a filmmaking challenge for the ages and a nightmare for any film marketer. The Tribe centers around Serhiy (Hryhoriy Fesenko), a shy young boy newly arrived at a school for the deaf somewhere in Ukraine. Serhiy quickly discovers the pecking order at the school: the top of the hierarchy is a highly organized and highly dangerous gang that takes part in burglary and a prostitution ring. As Serhiy advances in the gang as a survival tactic, fate intervenes when he falls for one of the prostitutes.

Buzzometer: 4/10 – With a nearly terminally bleak premise and an aesthetic set to challenge even the most adventurous art house moviegoer, The Tribe appears the definition of inaccessible. Yet the movie was a sensation of the 2014 festival circuit (winning prizes at Cannes, London Film Fest, AFI Fest, Fantastic Fest) and has received raves from critics all around the world praising the films’ audacity and underlying universality. A small fracas even erupted when Ukraine decided against selecting The Tribe as its Oscar submission for Best Foreign Film last year. The novelty may provide a few headlines, but The Tribe, North American box office be damned, appears ripe for a strong cult following through the years.

Release Date: June 19th (limited)

9) THE WOLFPACK

Yet another art house entry that earned film festival raves. This one, however, is true. The Wolfpack, the debut documentary from Crystal Moselle, tells the oddball story of the Angulo children. Locked away in their Lower Manhattan apartment, six brothers and one sister spent the majority of their childhoods in isolation. Home-schooled by their mother, the Angulo siblings’ window to the world came courtesy of movies and their joy of re-creating their favorite movies including Reservoir Dogs and The Usual Suspects. “The Wolfpack” are forced to meet the real world when one of their brothers escapes.

Buzzometer: 4/10 – The film earned the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival where some critics favorably compared it to the immortal Maysles classic Grey Gardens. With it oddball premise, The Wolfpack is bound to a hit with the cinephile community. A steady sign: Magnolia Pictures, which made a hit out of last years’ similarly movie-loving ode with the Roger Ebert documentary Life Itself, picked up the title at Sundance.

Release Date: June 12th (limited)

8) INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3

This year has been fairly soft when it comes to horror. Insidious: Chapter 3 (here’s our early review) hopes to remedy that. The latest entry in the franchise is actually a prequel to the frights that occurred in the first two movies. The film centers on psychic Elise Rainer (played by a returning Lynn Shaye) who reluctantly uses her abilities to help a teenager girl (Jem and the Hologram‘s Stefanie Scott) from a supernatural beasty. Leigh Whannell, who wrote the screenplay for the first two Insidious films, wrote and makes his directorial debut here. Dermot Mulroney (August: Osage County) co-stars.

Buzzometer: 5/10 – Look, contemporary horror franchises tend to come in waves – the meta-infused Scream movies somehow morphed into the torture porn facets of the Saw films, which lost appeal when the Paranormal Activity movies brought a sleek, modern sensibility to creak-in-the-night conventions, and so on and so forth. The Insidious franchise, however, has seemingly taken on a more grassroots efforts. The first film was a cheap sleeper in the spring of the 2011 and Insidious: Chapter 2 built on fan goodwill when it opened in the fall of 2013. Focus Features, the franchise’s distributor, clearly has hopes here, dropping the movie in the heart of the summer movie season. While this franchise will inevitably give way to something else in the near future, Chapter 3 looks to take advantage of relatively horror-free movie season.

Release Date: June 5th

7) DOPE

Dope, the fourth feature film from writer/director Rick Famuyiwa (The Wood, Our Family Wedding), is a coming of age comedy/drama focusing on three nerdy high school friends growing up in “The Bottoms,” a particularly tough neighborhood in Inglewood, California. Malcolm (newcomer Shameik Moore), Jib (The Grand Budapest Hotel‘s Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Transparent‘s Kiersey Clemons) are three whip-smart, hip-hop obsessed teenagers who, in the middle of college preparations, get caught in an adventure-filled and dangerous drug deal. The film was produced by Oscar-wining actor Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) who also serves as movie’s narrator. Dope premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and recently played the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

Buzzometer: 5/10 – One of the breakout hits of Sundance this year (where the film won a Film Editing prize and sparked a bidding war Open Road Films eventually won), Dope caught the eye of critics early, with many favorably comparing the film to modern Risky Business. Particular praise has been extended to potential breakout star Shameik Moore. With a confident and inventive trailer that showcases a daring verve matched with a smart-alecky wit, Dope could well become a novel bit of summer counter-programing. Then again, 2014 Sundance breakout Dear White People seemed to generate the same kind of promise, yet sputtered out shortly after the film hit theaters.

Release Date: June 19th

6) LOVE & MERCY

John Cusack (Maps to the Stars) and Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) tag team playing older and younger versions of Beach Boys lead singer Brian Wilson in this biopic from director Bill Pohlad (Old Explorers) via a screenplay by Oren Moverman (I’m Not There) and Michael A. Lerner. Wilson’s story is a fascinating one – that of a mercurial singer-songwriter who in the 1960s attempted to splice avant-garde sounds into pop music, and who by the 1980s was broken down and subject to the controversial treatments of therapist Dr. Eugene Landy (played in the film by Paul Giamatti). Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games) portrays Wilson’s second wife, Melinda Ledbetter. The film made its world premiere at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival (where it was picked up by Lionsgate) and recently played the South By Southwest Film Festival.

Buzzometer: 5/10 – Musical bios are an old troupe at this point, but early reviews (including ours) suggest that Love & Mercy is a cut ahead thanks to committed performances of Cusack and Dano. More so, the film could certainly benefit for being one of the few options for grown-ups during the month of June. As film as varied as Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980), What’s Love Got to Do With It (1994), Ray (2004) and Walk the Line (2005) have proven, bios of musicians can often times be Oscar-winning hits as well.

Release Date: June 5th (limited)

5) TED 2

Ted, the foul-mouthed teddy bear given life by the twisted imagination of Family Guy creator/one-time Oscar host provocateur Seth MacFarlane in the blockbuster 2012 comedy, is back for more raunchy adventures with his arrested development grown up pal John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg). In this outing, Ted is happily married to Tami-Lynn (a returning Jessica Barth), and the couple decide they want to have a baby. The hitch: Ted is, well, not human. To help, Ted and John enlist the services of a bong-hitting lawyer played by Amanda Seyfried (Les Misérables). MacFarlane directed as well as co-scripted Ted 2 with Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild. Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman and Tom Brady join in on the fun this time around.

Buzzmeter: 6/10 – Last year’s poorly received comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West (which MacFarlane directed and starred in) proved that MacFarlane’s brand wasn’t invulnerable, but he’s back in safer terrain here. The original Ted proved a sleeper hit in the summer of 2012 (minting over $500 million worldwide), which should prove enough goodwill for a successful number two. Then again, the film’s one-note premise (amusing as it may be) might prove a bit too strenuous a second time.

Release Date: June 26th

4) ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL

Greg (Thomas Mann, Welcome to Me) is an awkward high school senior whose world is expanded when he begrudgingly develops a friendship with Rachel (Olivia Cooke, Bates Motel), a fellow student who has recently been diagnosed with leukemia. Sounds a bit like a retread of last year’s hit teenage weepie The Fault in Our Stars, yet Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is cut from an undeniably more indie cloth. Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Emmy nominee for his work on American Horror Story) and written by Jesse Andrews (based upon his young adult novel), Me and Earl navigates its story through the prism of movie nerds. Greg, along with friend Earl (R.J. Cyler) make cheap imitations of classic movies, eventually deciding the best way to perk up Rachel is with an original film. Connie Britton (The To-Do List), Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation), Molly Shannon (Year of the Dog), and Jon Berenthal (The Wolf of Wall Street) co-star.

Buzzometer: 6/10 – Me and Earl won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival (joining distinctive company by the likes of Oscar winners Whiplash and Precious) where it was picked up by Fox Searchlight in one of the biggest gets of the festival. On the surface the film seems like the epitome of a “Sundance” movie– quirky and spliced with a nearly Wes Anderson-like sense of whimsy. With audiences, that could go either way– for every Little Miss Sunshine Sundance has premiered, there’s been a many more Happy, Texases. Yet, don’t be surprised if Me and Earl breaks through all the noise and spectacle of the summer movie season. Cinephiles, at the very least, should appreciate the Werner Herzog references as well as Greg’s silly classic film parodies – one imitation title to relish: “Eyes Wide Butt.”

Release Date: June 12th (limited)

3) SPY

Writer/director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) and his muse Melissa McCarthy (who earned an Oscar nomination for Bridesmaids) reunite for the spy-spoof Spy. In the film, McCarthy portrays Susan Cooper, a CIA desk jockey who through a series of compromising circumstances volunteers to go undercover to prevent a global catastrophe. The eclectic ensemble cast includes Jude Law (Side Effects), Jason Statham (Furious 7), Allison Janney (Bad Words), Bobby Cannavale (Blue Jasmine), 50 Cent (Get Rich or Die Tryin‘) and Rose Byrne (Neighbors).

Buzzometer: 7/10 – McCarthy may not have been quite at top form with last years’ comedy Tammy (a film she also co-wrote), yet Spy looks like a course correction. The film premiered at the South By Southwest Film Festival recently where critics and audiences celebrated the film, with many claiming in the best work of McCarthy’s career. The spy game has been riffed time and time again (from Austin Powers to this years’ very own Kingsman: The Secret Service), yet as Feig and McCarthy proved two years ago with The Heat, a little girls power push can sharpen lots of established tropes. Hopefully, the same will be true when the duo team again for the upcoming all-girls Ghostbusters.

Release Date: June 5th

2) JURASSIC WORLD

Prepare for more dinosaur mayhem with this rebooted entry in the Jurassic Park mythos – the first film, directed by Steven Spielberg, entered cinemas twenty-two years ago and remains a totem for a generation of moviegoers (the title began life in Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel). This time, Colin Trevorrow (director the 2012 indie film Safety Not Guaranteed) takes the reins for the venerable franchise that spawned two feature films, and franchise jumper Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, The LEGO Movie) stars as the dino-filled theme park envisioned many moons ago by John Hammond (played by the late Richard Attenborough in the first film) has finally become a reality. That is, until a new breed of dinosaur created in the hopes of spurring sales, backfires miserably. Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help), Vincent D’Onofrio (Netflix’s Daredevil), Judy Greer (13 Going on 30), Jake Johnson (Let’s Be Cops), Nick Robinson (The Kings of Summer), Omar Sy (The Intouchables), and B.D. Wong (Law & Order: SVU) co-star. Treverrow co-wrote the film with Safety Not Guaranteed scribe Derek Connolly as well as the Rise of the Planet of the Apes team of Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver.

Buzzometer: 8/10 – Curiosity and nostalgia likely guarantee Jurassic World will yield a strong gross, yet there still appears a sting of unease for the property as a whole. Part of which may be will be that Treverrow is an unproven talent with big event spectacle – he went the Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer, The Amazing Spider-Man) route by gaining the keys to a studio tentpole after wowing the Sundance crowd with his first try. Part of that may also stem from reboot fatigue in general (not everything needs to come back). Still with those reservations in mind, the Jurassic Park franchise is an important one, and one that Universal Pictures surely wants to keep active.

Release Date: June 12th

1) INSIDE OUT

Perhaps the most startlingly original big Hollywood film of the summer enters by way of Pixar’s fifteenth animated feature film, Inside Out. Directed by Pete Docter (Oscar winner for 2009’s Up) and Ronaldo Del Carmen, the film explores the inner workings of a young girl named Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Dias) who finds her emotions are uprooted when she moves to a new town. Those emotions are personified by Joy (Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation), Disgust (Mindy Kaling, The Mindy Project), Fear (Bill Hader, The Skeleton Twins), Sadness (Phyllis Smith, The Office) and Anger (Lewis Black, The Daily Show), all trying to keep young Riley balanced and together as she starts a new chapter in her young life. Diane Lane (Unfaithful) and Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks) voice Riley’s parents. The film was written by Docter, Meg LeFauve (the upcoming Captain Marvel) and Josh Cooley (slated to direct the upcoming Toy Story 4 with John Lasseter).

Buzzometer: 9/10 – Early word suggests that Inside Out is top-drawer entertainment from Pixar. Refreshing news considering the studio, once the king of Hollywood ingenuity, has been in a noticeable lull lately (Cars 2, Brave, Monsters University). The film recently premiered out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival where critics boisterously raved on Inside Out‘s originality, heart and emotional resonance, suggesting that the Best Animated Feature Academy Award may well be off the table this year and further giving hope to what for so many years was the most consistent outlet in town.

Release Date: June 19th

ALSO OPENING IN JUNE:

BATKID BEGINS – Documentary centering around a 5-year-old leukemia patient who wished to be Batman for one day. (June 26th – limited)
EDEN – Biographic drama about a teenager exploring the underground nightclub scene in early ’90s Paris. (June 19th – limited)
ENTOURAGE – More movie industry shenanigans are in store for actor Vincent Chase (Adrien Grenier) as he and his posse head to the big screen in this adaptation of the popular HBO series. (June 5th)
HUNGRY HEARTS – Girls star Adam Driver won the Best Actor prize at the 2014 Venice Film Festival for this dramatic thriller about a New York couple at odds after the birth of their first child. (June 5th – limited)
INFINITELY POLAR BEAR – Dramedy about a manic-depressive (Mark Ruffalo) trying to restore his fractured family; premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. (June 19th – limited)
MANGLEHORN – Legendary actor Al Pacino continues to atone for Jack & Jill with another indie– this one about an eccentric loner trying to rebuild his life. (June 19th – limited)
MAX – Yarn about a military dog stationed in Afghanistan who is adopting by his late handler’s grieving family. (June 26th)
A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE – Greatest movie title ever. This top prize winner at the 2014 Venice Film Festival is the latest Swedish auteur Roy Andersson. (June 5th – limited)
THE OVERNIGHT – A bizarre evening awaits recent Los Angeles transplants Alex and Emily (Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling) in this twisty comedy at caused a stir at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival; Jason Schwartzman co-stars. (June 19th – limited)
SET FIRE TO THE STARS – Elijah Woods portrays a 1950s-era poet who meets his hero, icon Dylan Thomas. (June 12th – limited)
TESTAMENT OF YOUTH – A who’s who of rising actors (Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Taron Egerton) star in this in this WWI epic adapted from the memoir by Vera Brittain. (June 5th – limited)