June can be characterized as the middle child of summer movie season. Maybe this is because we’ve become so accustomed to some sort of Marvel film kicking the season off in a big way in late April/early May, or because May is dominated by Cannes coverage. Either way, June has turned into a weird halfway point between the start and end of the season, with July and August once again picking up in terms of quality and quantity.
And for this month, while there’s still plenty of choose from, it took more effort curating a list that had something for everyone, with the tentpole items so lackluster you’re more likely (and better off) to re-watch something you’ve already seen that pay money for something like, oh, I don’t know, “Dark Phoenix.” (Though, if you’re excited about the latest ‘X-Men’ film, that’s your prerogative and more power to you.)
READ MORE: Summer Movie Preview: 35 Films You Shouldn’t Miss
With all that being said, let’s take a look at the biggest releases coming this month:
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“Dark Phoenix”
Cast: Sophie Turner, James Mcavoy, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan
Synopsis: During a rescue mission in space, Jean Gray is nearly killed when she is hit by a mysterious cosmic force. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful, but far more unstable. Wrestling with this entity inside her, Jean unleashes her powers in ways she can neither comprehend nor contain.
What You Need to Know: To keep your expectations low? Is that too cynical? Nothing about the production has screamed quality and considering some of the bigger moments of the film look to be spoiled in all of the promotional material, we’re not sure what the goal here is. If anything, it offers Sophie Turner a blockbuster star turn coming off her powerful run on “Game of Thrones.” But aside from Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy as perpetual frenemies Magneto and Charles Xavier, there aren’t too many characters to attach emotional weight too, especially following the, uh, lackluster “X-Men: Apocalypse.” Written and directed by Simon Kinberg, it marks his first foray behind the camera. If it sounds like we’re down on this film, it’s more just us being “cautious.”
Release Date: June 7th
“The Secret Life of Pets 2”
Cast: Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Harrison Ford, Patton Oswalt, Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate
Synopsis: Max the terrier must cope with some major life changes when his owner gets married and has a baby. When the family takes a trip to the countryside, nervous Max has numerous run-ins with canine-intolerant cows, hostile foxes, and a scary turkey. Luckily for Max, he soon catches a break when he meets Rooster, a gruff farm dog who tries to cure the lovable pooch of his neuroses.
What You Need to Know: When superheroes aren’t enough, it’s time to roll out the animated sequels for easy buzz and audience onslaught. Considering the massive box office for the first film, there’s a chance children 12 and younger are positively giddy to see these furry characters return for more oddly aggressive hijinks in “The Secret Life of Pets 2.” Though we aren’t the target audience, in any other scenario that combination of Patton Oswalt, Harrison Ford, Tiffany Haddish and Jenny Slate would be just odd enough to pique our interest.
Release Date: June 7th
“Late Night”
Cast: Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, Hugh Dancy, John Lithgow, Max Casella, Denis O’Hare
Synopsis: A legendary late-night talk show host’s world is turned upside down when she hires her only female staff writer. Originally intended to smooth over diversity concerns, her decision has unexpectedly hilarious consequences as the two women separated by culture and generation are united by their love of a biting punchline.
What You Need to Know: Marking Mindy Kaling’s first time as a writer outside of television and teaming her up with Emma Thompson as the driving force of the film, “Late Night” would appear tailor-made for the comedians specific brand of brazen humor. Directed by Nisha Ganatra, it had its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was quickly picked up by Amazon Studios. Our critic called it “commercially friendly,” writing, “The combination of Thompson’s sharp delivery and Kaling’s commercially friendly script make the film’s charms hard to resist.”
Release Date: June 7th
“Men in Black International”
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rafe Spall
Synopsis: The Men in Black have always protected the Earth from the scum of the universe. In this new adventure, they tackle their biggest, most global threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black organization.
What You Need to Know: For the sake of the comedic potential stars Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth carry in this updated (but not rebooted) saga, we’re hoping against hope that “Men In Black: International” doesn’t skew too far in the way of the updates of “Ghostbusters” or “Ocean’s Eight.” While both had their supporters, neither had a long shelf life in the pop culture zeitgeist post-release (despite the nonsensical outrage that seemingly dominated conversation leading up to it). Now, nothing about the trailers so far convince that “MIB: International” is going to succeed where other remakes have failed, but the sheer charisma shared between Thompson and Hemsworth is too strong to write off.
Release Date: June 14th
“The Dead Don’t Die”
Cast: Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Chloe Sevigny, Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi
Synopsis: In the sleepy small town of Centerville, something’s not quite right. The moon hangs large and low in the sky, the hours of daylight are becoming unpredictable, and animals are beginning to exhibit unusual behaviors. News reports are scary, and scientists are concerned, but no one foresees the strangest and most dangerous repercussion that will soon start plaguing Centerville: the dead rise from their graves and feast on the living, and the citizens must battle to survive.
What You Need to Know: “The Dead Don’t Die” sports an all-star cast of new and returning favorites to the Jim Jarmusch oeuvre, the master independent filmmaker returning to some light genre fare a few films removed from the stroke of genius that was “Only Lovers Left Alive” and a general conceit that should provide plenty of laughs and entertainment. Despite all of these fundamental positives (and you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone here lacking interest in anything Jarmusch ever does) the initial response from its debut at Cannes was suspiciously muted. Despite praise being spun for Adam Driver’s performance (practically a given), the film is reportedly, of all things, dull. Our critic was equally as unimpressed, calling it “…uncharacteristically sloppy. As a film, it shuffles around, shouting out the one thing it’s desperate for: ‘Purpose!’” That being said, we’re still going to check it out because of Jarmusch.
Release Date: June 14th