Here Are All the Upcoming Movies in Theaters for June 2016
It’s never too early to start planning a trip to the movies. Now that June is underway, we wanted to have a place for movie fans to see every film opening in theaters for the entire month. For each week, we’ve separated the wide releases from the arthouse/specialty offerings, giving you the best of both worlds. (Where we can, we’ve also included Criticwire grade averages for films that have already screened for critics at festivals.)
For more of what’s on the horizon, you can also bookmark our calendar page, where we’ll update releases for June and beyond. In the meantime, happy planning!
Week of June 3rd
Wide
Me Before You
Director: Thea Sharrock
Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Janet McTeer, Charles Dance, Brendan Coyle, Jenna Coleman, Steve Peacocke, Lily Travers, Matthew Lewis, Vanessa Kirby
Synopsis: “A small town girl is caught between dead-end jobs. A high-profile, successful man becomes wheelchair bound following an accident. The man decides his life is not worth living until the girl is hired for six months to be his new caretaker. Worlds apart and trapped together by circumstance, the two get off to a rocky start. But the girl becomes determined to prove to the man that life is worth living and as they embark on a series of adventures together, each finds their world changing in ways neither of them could begin to imagine.”
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Directors: Akiva Schaffer & Jorma Taccone
Cast: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Imogen Poots, Sarah Silverman, Mike Birbiglia, James Buckley, Sandra Rosko, Tim Meadows
Synopsis: “When his new album fails to sell records, pop/rap superstar conner4real goes into a major tailspin and watches his celebrity high life begin to collapse. He’ll try anything to bounce back, anything except reuniting with his old rap group The Style Boyz.”
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Director: Dave Green
Cast: Megan Fox, Stephen Amell, Will Arnett, Laura Linney, William Fichtner, Pete Ploszek, Johnny Knoxville, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Danny Woodburn, Tony Shalhoub, Tyler Perry, Brian Tee, Gary Anthony Williams, Stephen Farrelly, Alessandra Ambrosio
Synopsis: “The turtles spring into action to battle Shredder, mad scientist Baxter Stockman, Bebop, Rocksteady and the notorious Krang.”
Limited
Approaching the Unknown
Director: Mark Elijah Rosenberg
Cast: Mark Strong, Luke Wilson, Sanaa Lathan, Anders Danielsen Lie, Charles Baker
Synopsis: “Captain William D. Stanaforth (Mark Strong) is on a one-way solo mission, taking humanity’s first steps toward colonizing Mars. Although the entire world is watching him, he is completely alone in a dark and distant sea of stars. Stanaforth rockets bravely through space facing insurmountable odds, but as the journey takes a toll on his life-sustaining systems, he is forced to make impossible choices that threaten his sanity, mission and very existence.”
Andron – The Black Labyrinth
Director: Francesco Cinquemani
Cast: Alec Baldwin, Michelle Ryan, Danny Glover, Leo Howard, Gale Harold
Synopsis: “A group of people are plunged into a dark, claustrophobic maze, where they must fight to survive, as the outside world watches.”
Chasing Yesterday
Director: Joseph Pernice
Cast: Eric Nelson, Josh Flitter, Courtney Baxter, Adam LeFevre, David A. Gregory, Blanche Baker, Steve Schirripa
Synopsis: “A coming of age story about a washed up twenty something year old, the onetime hometown hero and track star, who is convinced by a local sweetheart to run a marathon and get his life back on track.”
The Final Master
Director: Haofeng Xu
Cast: Liao Fan, Song Jia, Jiang Wenli, Jin Shi-Jye, Yang Song, Huang Jue
Synopsis: “The last torchbearer of Wing-Chun seeking to pass down his art is caught in a power struggle with local officials and must choose between what is right and what is expected in order to fulfill his destiny.”
The Fits
Director: Anna Rose Holmer
Cast: Royalty Hightower, Alexis Neblett, Da’Sean Minor, Lauren Gibson, Makyla Burnam, Inayah Rodgers
Synopsis: “Toni, an 11-year-old tomboy, trains as a boxer with her brother at a rec center in Cincinnati’s West End, but becomes fascinated by the dance drill team that also practices there. Drawn to their strength and confidence, Toni eventually joins the group, tirelessly rehearsing the routines, befriending some of the girls, and even piercing her ears to fit in. But when members of the tight-knit group start experiencing mysterious fits of shaking and fainting, Toni’s desire for acceptance becomes complicated.” [Sundance Film Festival]
Criticwire Grade Average: A- (6 reviews)
The God Cells
Director: Eric Merola
Synopsis: “Stem Cell research and therapy have been growing at a rapid rate over the past 15 years. Scientific advances coupled with consumer demand has proven that stem cell therapy is the wave of the future, and is poised to change the face of medicine. ‘The God Cells’ takes the audience on a journey by following those who are seeking fetal stem cell therapy abroad—while avoiding these seemingly insurmountable roadblocks at home.”
Gurukulam (One Without a Second)
Directors: Neil Dalal & Jillian Elizabeth
Synopsis: “Set at an ashram in a remote forest in Tamil Nadu, India, Gurukulam (meaning: family of the teacher; traditional place of study) follows a French Muslim businessman, an American psychology professor, a Japanese Yoga teacher, and a young South Indian Brahmin, as they study the ancient practice of Advaita Vedānta, the Hindu tradition of non-duality and one of the philosophical roots of the Yoga movement, as taught by Swami Dayananda Saraswati, spiritual Guru of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and one of the few remaining traditional teachers of Vedānta.”
Honeyglue
Director: James Bird
Cast: Adriana Mather, Zach Villa, Christopher Heyerdahl, Jessica Tuck, Booboo Stewart, Amanda Plummer
Synopsis: “After learning that she has three months left to live, Morgan turns her protected middle class life upside down. That’s when she meets Jordan, a rebellious, gender-defying artist and together they embark on an adventure of a lifetime. With a hand-held camera, the pair document their time together, creating a lasting record of what and who really matters in life.”
It’s So Easy and Other Lies
Director: Christopher Duddy
Synopsis: “Based on his New York Times best-selling memoir and featuring exclusive archival footage, this authorized music documentary chronicles the incredible life of Duff McKagan – founding member and bass player for Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver and other bands. While Guns N’ Roses became the ultimate icons of Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll, causing pandemonium in their wake, the lifestyle caught up with Duff, leaving him close to death. Follow Duff’s journey through interviews with many of the people who took this wild ride, including a constellation of rock stars who rose to fame alongside him, and the people who inspired him to overcome his addictions and transform his life.”
The President
Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Cast: Mikheil Gomiashvili, Dachi Orvelashvili, Tornike Bziava
Synopsis: “The story of a dictator of an imaginary country in the Caucasus, who is forced to escape following a coup d’état, and begins a journey to discover his country in the company of his five-year-old grandson. The two travel across the lands that the President once governed. Now, disguised as a street musician to avoid being recognized, the former dictator comes into contact with his people, which he comes to know from a different point of view.”
The Thoughts That We Once Had
Director: Thom Andersen
Synopsis: “One of America’s foremost practitioners of the essay film presents a major new work inspired by the writings
of Gilles Deleuze on cinema. Andersen’s The Thoughts That Once We Had is a richly layered journey through cinematic history, masterfully edited as it playfully moves across decades and genres, and suffused at every turn by the renowned filmmaker and critic’s lifelong passion for the movies.”
Time to Choose
Director: Charles Ferguson
Synopsis: “Academy Award® winning director Charles Ferguson’s new film investigates global climate change villains and heroes, and reveals practical solutions to act on. Ferguson explores the comprehensive scope of the climate change crisis and examines the power of solutions already available. Through interviews with world-renowned entrepreneurs, innovators, thought leaders and brave individuals living on the front lines of climate change, Ferguson takes an in-depth look at the remarkable people working to save our planet.”
Urge
Director: Aaron Kaufman
Cast: Justin Chatwin, Ashley Greene, Alexis Knapp, Bar Paly, Chris Geere, Nick Thune, Kea Ho, Danny Masterson, Pierce Brosnan
Synopsis: “A weekend getaway takes a dangerous turn when a mysterious nightclub owner (Pierce Brosnan) introduces a group of friends to a new designer drug. Stripped of their inhibitions, they start living out their wildest fantasies — but what starts out as a fun night of partying quickly turns deadly, as the island paradise deteriorates into a tropical madhouse.”
The Wailing
Director: Na Hong-Jin
Cast: Kwak Do-Won, Hwang Jeong-Min, Jun Kunimura, Chun Woo-hee
Synopsis: “The arrival of a mysterious stranger in a quiet rural village causes suspicion amongst the villagers- but as they begin killing each other for no apparent reason, that suspicion turns to panic. When the daughter of the investigating officer falls under the same savage spell, he calls in a shaman to assist in finding the culprit.”
The Witness
Director: James Solomon
Synopsis: “A brother’s journey to unravel the truth about the mythic death and little known life of Kitty Genovese, who was reportedly murdered in front of 38 witnesses and has become the face of urban apathy.”
For all the films opening the week of June 10th, see the next page.
Week of June 10th
Wide
The Conjuring 2
Director: James Wan
Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Frances O’Connor, Simon McBurney, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Sterling Jerins, Javier Botet, Robin Atkin Downes, Madison Wolfe, Shannon Kook-Chun, Steve Coulter, Simon Delaney, Abhi Sinha, Nancy DeMars, Jennifer Collins
Synopsis: “Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits.”
Now You See Me 2
Director: Jon M. Chu
Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Radcliffe, Jay Chou, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Sanaa Lathan, Justine Wachsberger
Synopsis: “The illusionists known as the Four Horsemen must perform an unprecedented stunt to clear their names and expose the unethical practices of a tech magnate.”
Sausage Party
Directors: Conrad Vernon & Greg Tiernan
Cast: Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Salma Hayek, Kristen Wiig, James Franco, Edward Norton, Michael Cera, Nick Kroll, David Krumholtz, Paul Rudd, Bill Hader, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Anders Holm, Sugar Lyn Beard, Conrad Vernon
Synopsis: “One sausage leads a group of supermarket products on a quest to discover the truth about their existence and what really happens when they become chosen to leave the grocery store.”
Warcraft
Director: Duncan Jones
Cast: Paula Patton, Travis Fimmel, Ben Foster, Robert Kazinsky, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell, Ben Schnetzer, Daniel Wu, Clancy Brown, Ruth Negga, Daniel Cudmore, Callum Keith Rennie, Ryan Robbins, Burkley Duffield, Donnie MacNeil
Synopsis: “The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people, and their home.”
Limited
Be Somebody
Director: Joshua Caldwell
Cast: Matthew Espinosa, Sarah Jeffery, Allison Paige, Caitlin Keats, Lamonica Garrett, Mahaley Patel, Liana Ramirez, Trista Nabors, Mason McCulley
Synopsis: “Pop superstar Jordan Jaye has a big dream – he just wants to live like a regular teenager. When he’s chased down by some excited female fans, he finds a perfect hideout and a reluctant new friend from a small town, high-school art student, Emily Lowe. Despite being from different worlds, they soon discover they have way more in common than they ever imagined. Over the course of several days, the two embark on an unexpected journey of friendship, first love and self-discovery — proving that maybe opposites really do attract.”
Blackway
Director: Daniel Alfredson
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Julia Stiles, Alexander Ludwig, Ray Liotta, Hal Holbrook, Steve Bacic, Aleks Paunovic, Taylor Hickson
Synopsis: “A young woman newly returned to her hometown becomes the subject of harassment by a man named Blackway, an ex-cop turned violent crime lord who operates with impunity in this small community on the edge of the wilderness. Forsaken by the local townspeople, and advised by the Sheriff to leave town, Lillian decides instead to take a stand against her sociopathic stalker, and enlists the help of ex-logger Lester and his laconic young sidekick Nate.”
Careful What You Wish For
Director: Elizabeth Allen
Cast: Nick Jonas, Isabel Lucas, Graham Rogers, Dermot Mulroney, Paul Sorvino
Synopsis: “The summer before he leaves for college a young man begins an affair with the beautiful wife of his powerful investment banker neighbor. The plot thickens when a suspicious death embroils the young lovers in scandal.”
De Palma
Director: Noah Baumbach & Jake Paltrow
Synopsis: “One of the most talented, influential, and iconoclastic filmmakers of all time, Brian De Palma’s career started in the 60s and has included such acclaimed and diverse films as ‘Carrie,’ ‘Dressed to Kill,’ ‘Blow Out,’ ‘Scarface,’ ‘The Untouchables,’ ‘Carlito’s Way,’ and ‘Mission: Impossible.’ In this lively, illuminating and unexpectedly moving documentary, directors Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow engage in a personal and candid discussion with De Palma, exploring not only his life and work but also his singular approach to the craft of filmmaking and his remarkable experiences navigating the film business, from his early days as the bad boy of New Hollywood to his more recent years as a respected veteran of the field. In the end, what emerges is a funny, honest, and incisive portrait of a truly one-of-a-kind artist, and an exhilarating behind-the-scenes look at the last 50 years of the film industry through the eyes of someone who has truly seen it all.”
Diary of a Chambermaid
Director: Benoît Jacquot
Cast: Léa Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Hervé Pierre, Clotilde Mollet, Vincent Lacoste, Mélodie Valemberg, Patrick d’Assumçao, Joséphine Derenne, Dominique Reymond
Synopsis: “Célestine is a resentful young Parisian chambermaid who finds herself exiled to a position in the provinces. There she must immediately chafe against the noxious iron rules and pettiness of her bourgeois mistress, rebuff the groping advances of Monsieur, and reckon with her fascination with the earthy, brooding gardener Joseph. Backtracking past the fetishism of Buñuel’s version to Octave Mirbeau’s original 1900 novel, Benoît Jacquot offers some trenchant commentary about the present state of French society: the sense of social suffocation, Célestine’s humiliating submission to her employer, and Joseph’s virulent anti-Semitism. But he also uses the turn-of-the-century setting when psychoanalysis burst forth, to look past the characters’ outward behavior and appearance, and reveal the repression, social codes and compulsions they conceal.”
From Afar (Desde Alla)
Director: Lorenzo Vigas
Cast: Alfredo Castro, Luis Silva, Jericó Montilla, Catherina Cardozo
Synopsis: “A denture-maker by profession, Armando belongs to Caracas’ upper classes, but he chooses to live in a lower-middle-class neighbourhood, where he entices young men back to his home with the promise of payment. He only wants to look, not touch, yet the distance he maintains with these men contains its own particular violence — a contact-free abuse. Armando carries the scars of a troubled childhood, and when he hears that his father has returned to Caracas, long-suppressed anxieties resurface. At the same time, unexpected changes are occurring in his relationship with one of his paid companions, seventeen-year-old Elder. At first their association was purely transactional, but as the two spend more time together, something begins to emerge between them: an intimacy that neither man is ready for.” [Toronto International Film Festival]
Criticwire Grade Average: B+ (6 reviews)
Genius
Director: Michael Grandage
Cast: Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Laura Linney, Guy Pearce, Dominic West
Synopsis: “A stirring drama about the complex friendship and transformative professional relationship between the world-renowned book editor Maxwell Perkins (who discovered F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway) and the larger-than-life literary giant Thomas Wolfe.”
Germans & Jews
Directors: Janina Quint & Tal Recanati
Synopsis: “What began as a private conversation between two friends, Tal Recanati (an American Jew) and Janina Quint (a non-Jewish German), grew into a cultural exchange among many. The film explores the complicated relationship between Germans and Jews in postwar Germany and the country’s transformation as a society. It is at once uncomfortable and provocative, unexpected and enlightening. From denial to acceptance, a story of reconciliation emerges.”
King Jack
Director: Felix Thompson
Cast: Charlie Plummer, Cory Nichols, Danny Flaherty, Christian Madsen, Erin Davies, Yainis Ynoa, Chloe Levine, Scarlet Lizbeth, Keith Leonard
Synopsis: “Jack is a scrappy fifteen year-old kid stuck in a run-down small town. Trapped in a violent feud with a cruel older bully and facing another bout of summer school, Jack’s got all the problems he can handle. So when Jack’s aunt falls ill and his runty younger cousin must stay with him for the weekend the last thing Jack wants to do is look after him. Unfortunately no one really cares what Jack wants. Set over a hazy summer weekend, King Jack is a tough and tender coming of age story about friendship and finding happiness in rough surroundings.”
Last Cab to Darwin
Director: Jeremy Sims
Cast: Jacki Weaver, Michael Caton, Emma Hamilton, Ningali Lawford-Wolf, Mark Coles Smith
Synopsis: “Rex, a cab driver in the mining town Broken Hill, has spent his life avoiding getting close to people – even his best friend and occasional lover Polly, who lives across the road. One day, Rex discovers he doesn’t have long to live. Not wanting to be forced to rely on anyone, least of all Polly, he decides to leave his home and drive alone the 3000 kms across the Australian continent to Darwin, where a recently passed law and a willing Dr. Farmer will allow him to die on his own terms. But on his epic journey he discovers that before you can end your life you’ve got to live it, and to live it you’ve got to learn to share it.”
Len and Company
Director: Tim Godsall
Cast: Rhys Ifans, Juno Temple, Jack Kilmer, Kathryn Hahn, Keir Gilchrist, Peter Outerbridge, Elias Toufexis, Jenny Raven
Synopsis: “A legendary, reclusive music producer has his shut-in routine disturbed by the unexpected arrival of his aspiring musician son and a troubled bubblegum-pop superstar.”
The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble
Director: Morgan Neville
Synopsis: “The film follows an ever-changing lineup of performers drawn from the ensemble’s more than 50 instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers as they gather in locations across the world, exploring the ways art can both preserve traditions and shape cultural evolution.”
Puerto Ricans in Paris
Director: Ian Edelman
Cast: Luis Guzmán, Edgar Garcia, Alice Taglioni, Miriam Shor, Frédéric Anscombre, Rosie Perez, Rosario Dawson
Synopsis: “Puerto Rican brothers–in-law Eddie and Luis just happen to be NYC’s two best counterfeit detectives. When the latest, must-have ‘It Bag’ from celebrated Parisian fashion designer Colette’s new collection has been stolen, they head to Paris in hopes of cracking the case and collecting a handsome fee. With clashing sleuthing styles and personality traits, the comedic duo infuses a bit of color into the City of Lights.” [LA Film Festival]
Tikkun
Director: Avishai Sivan
Cast: Aharon Traitel, Khalifa Natour, Riki Blich, Gur Sheinberg, Omri Fuhrer, Dani Kedem, Shani Ben-Haim
Synopsis: “Haim-Aaron is experiencing a crisis of faith – and visions of earthy delights – when his father brings him back from the brink of death. Was the young man’s improbable survival a violation of God’s will, or was it “tikkun,” a way toward enlightenment and redemption?”
Til Madness Do Us Part
Director: Wang Bing
Synopsis: “Documents the inmates of an isolated mental hospital in China’s Yunnan province. Within the facility’s gates, the patients are confined to locked floors of a single building. Once locked on that floor, with little contact from the outside world, anything goes.”
Criticwire Grade Average: B+ (6 reviews)
Traded
Director: Timothy Woodward, Jr.
Cast: Trace Adkins, Michael Paré, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Sizemore, Martin Kove, Quinton Aaron, Kelly Kristofferson
Synopsis: “In 1880s Kansas, sharpshooter turned rancher, Clay Travis, goes from happily married father of two to a man on a mission after the disappearance of his 17 year-old daughter, Lily. Determined to protect what little family he has left, Clay leaves his quiet ranch and heads to Wichita where, after confronting the ruthless Ty Stover, he discovers that Lily’s been traded away into an underground sex ring in Dodge City. And it’s there, with the help of an unlikely companion — hardened old barkeep Billy — that Clay makes a stand to bring his daughter home, leaving a trail of gunsmoke and bodies in his wake.”
For all the films opening the week of June 17th, see the next page.
Week of June 17th
Wide
Central Intelligence
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Aaron Paul, Amy Ryan, Danielle Nicolet, Ryan Hansen, Bobby Brown, Megan Park, Timothy John Smith
Synopsis: “After he reunites with an old pal through Facebook, a mild-mannered accountant is lured into the world of international espionage.”
Finding Dory
Director: Andrew Stanton & Angus MacLane
Cast: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Ty Burrell, Idris Elba, Kaitlin Olson, Ed O’Neill, Dominic West, Hayden Rolence, Kate McKinnon, Bill Hader, Michael Sheen, Andrew Stanton
Synopsis: “With help from Nemo and Marlin, Dory the forgetful fish embarks on a quest to reunite with her mother and father.”
Limited
Argentina
Director: Carlos Saura
Cast: Mia Maestro, Pedro Aznar, Juan Falú, Marian Farías Gómez, Gabo Ferro, Liliana Herrero, Jairo, Luciana Jury, Horacio Lavandera, Luis Salinas, Walter Soria, Jaime Torres
Synopsis: “Poetic, riveting and moving, Argentina explores the heart of traditional Argentine folklore and its stunning musical heritage – from traditional styles such as the Zamba of ‘La Felipe Varela’ through to modern dance – as choreographed by critically-acclaimed Carlos Saura.”
Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story)
Director: Eva Husson
Cast: Finnegan Oldfield, Marilyn Lima, Daisy Broom, Lorenzo Lefèbvre, Fred Hotier
Synopsis: “George, a pretty teen girl, falls in love with Alex. To get his attention, she initiates a game with their friends, discovering, testing and pushing the limits of their sexuality. When the nature of their activities is revealed, each of them deals with the scandal in radically different ways. Faced with the implosion of their value systems, they move on by reassessing their priorities, finding love and their real desires.”
Criticwire Grade Average: B (7 reviews)
Clown
Director: Jon Watts
Cast: Peter Stormare, Laura Allen, Andy Powers, Elizabeth Whitmere
Synopsis: “A story of a loving father who dons a clown outfit and makeup to perform at his son’s sixth birthday, only to later discover that the costume – red nose and wig included– will not come off and his own personality changes in a horrific fashion. To break the curse of the evil outfit, the father must make grim choices with his own family facing danger.”
Cosmos
Director: Andrzej Żuławski
Cast: Sabine Azéma, Victoria Guerra, Ricardo Pereira, Johan Libéreau, Andy Gillet, Jean-Francois Balmer, Jean-Francois Balmer, Jonathan Genet
Synopsis: “Two young men seek the solitude of the country; their peace is disturbed when a set of random occurrences suggest to their susceptible minds a pattern with sinister meanings.”
Dying to Know: Ram Dass & Timothy Leary
Director: Gay Dillingham
Synopsis: “An intimate portrait celebrating two very complex controversial characters in an epic friendship that shaped a generation. In the early 1960s Harvard psychology professors Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert began probing the edges of consciousness through their experiments with psychedelics. Leary became the LSD guru, asking us to think for ourselves, igniting a global counter-cultural movement and landing in prison after Nixon called him ‘the most dangerous man in America’. Alpert journeyed to the East becoming Ram Dass, a spiritual teacher for an entire generation who continues in his 80s teaching service through compassion. With interviews spanning 50 years the film invites us into the future encouraging us to ponder questions about life, drugs & the biggest mystery of all: death.”
The Last Heist
Director: Mike Mendez
Cast: Henry Rollins, Torrance Coombs, Victoria Pratt, Camilla Jackson, John O’Brien, Michael Aaron Milligan
Synopsis: “A bank heist descends into violent chaos when one of the hostages turns out to be a serial killer. Trapping the well-organized team of bank robbers in the building, the killer is now picking them off one by one…”
The Last King
Director: Nils Gaup
Cast: Jakob Oftebro, Kristofer Hivju, Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen, Thorbjørn Harr
Synopsis: “Year 1206. Norway is ravaged by civil war. The King’s illegitimate son is guarded in deep secret. A boy that half of the kingdom wants to kill and two men will protect to the death. A boy named Earl Håkonsson. Birkebeiners is the story of the escape that changed Norway’s history forever.”
My Love, Don’t Cross That River
Director: Mo-Young Jin
Cast: Byong-man Jo, Gye-Yeul Kang
Synopsis: “’100-year old Lovebirds’ Byong-man Jo and Gye-yeul Kang, have been inseparable companions for the past 76 years. Living in their small home by the river, they wear traditional Korean clothes, go shopping at the local market, have picnics with neighbors, and enjoy dance parties. Every night they go to sleep holding each other’s hands. Observing this fragile couple for 15 months, director Mo-Young Jin acts as a fly-on-the-wall, capturing their twilight days with tender moments that reveal simple acts of affection – from a good-natured leaf fight to a gentle caress of the cheek.”
No Stranger Than Love
Director: Nick Wernham
Cast: Alison Brie, Colin Hanks, Justin Chatwin, Dylan Everett, Jayne Eastwood, Aaron Poole
Synopsis: “What is stranger than the big hole that opens up in Lucy Sherrington’s living room floor? As it turns out… love.”
Parched
Director: Leena Yadav
Cast: Lehar Khan, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Surveen Chawla, Radhika Apte
Synopsis: “In a remote desert community of North West India -widowed Rani (Tannishtha Chatterjee, acclaimed for her starring role in Siddharth), her vivacious best friend Lajjo (Radhika Apte), and the erotic dancer Bijli (Surveen Chawla) – unapologetically talk about men, sex and life as they struggle under the oppressive rules of their traditional village ways. But when Rani is tasked to find a teenage bride for her entitled fifteen-year-old son, they begin to question this status quo that favors men, sends child brides to abusive husbands, and ostracizes women for being educated and opinionated.”
Raiders!
Directors: Jeremy Coon & Tim Skousen
Synopsis: “In 1982, two 11 year-olds in Mississippi set out to remake their favorite film: Raiders of the Lost Ark. It took seven turbulent years that tested the limits of their friendship and nearly burned down their mother’s house. By the end, they had completed every scene except one… the explosive airplane scene. 30 years later, they attempt to finally realize their childhood dream by building a replica of the 75 foot “Flying Wing” plane from Raiders in a mud pit in the backwoods of Mississippi… and then blow it up! This is the story behind the making of what is known as ‘the greatest fan film ever made.'” [SXSW Film Festival]
Theatrical Release: B (8 reviews)
Seoul Searching
Director: Benson Lee
Cast: Justin Chon, Jessika Van, In-Pyo Cha, Teo Yoo, Esteban Ahn, Byul Kang
Synopsis: “Seoul, 1986. A raucous gaggle of Korean teenagers spill out of the Gimpo Airport and onto buses that transport them to a location just outside the city. There, these high schoolers sent from all over the world—the U.S., Mexico, London, and Hamburg—are participating in a government-sponsored summer program to help them connect with their heritage. With a summer of partying ahead of them, they’re on a crash course to bring shame to their families, their ancestors, and their hosts—but with any luck, they might just figure out how to make friends, fall in love, and absorb some of their roots along the way.” [Sundance Film Festival]
Criticwire Grade Average: B+ (5 reviews)
Tickled
Directors: David Farrier & Dylan Reeve
Synopsis: “After stumbling upon a bizarre “competitive endurance tickling” video online, wherein young men are paid to be tied up and tickled, reporter David Farrier reaches out to request a story from the company. But the reply he receives is shocking—the sender mocks Farrier’s sexual orientation and threatens extreme legal action should he dig any deeper. So, like any good journalist confronted by a bully, he does just the opposite: he travels to the hidden tickling facilities in Los Angeles and uncovers a vast empire, known for harassing and harming the lives of those who protest their involvement in these films. The more he investigates, the stranger it gets, discovering secret identities and criminal activity.”
Criticwire Grade Average: A- (6 reviews)
For all the films opening the week of June 24th, see the next page.
Week of June 24th
Wide
The Free State of Jones
Director: Gary Ross
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Keri Russell, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali, Jacob Lofland
Synopsis: “In Jones County, Miss., Newt Knight joins forces with other farmers and a group of slaves to lead a rebellion against the Confederacy.”
Independence Day: Resurgence
Director: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Liam Hemsworth, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Patrick St. Esprit, Joey King, Jessie Usher, Chin Han, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Maika Monroe, William Fichtner, Vivica A. Fox, Sela Ward, Angelababy, Brent Spiner, Grace Huang, Judd Hirsch, Ryan Cartwright
Synopsis: “Using recovered extraterrestrial technology, the nations of Earth collaborate on an immense defense program to protect the planet. When the aliens attack with unprecedented force, only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can save the world.”
Limited
The Accidental Exorcist
Director: Daniel Falicki
Synopsis: “Richard Vanuck is a thirty-something, dirt poor alcoholic who can’t hold down a day job or maintain a normal life due to a very special ‘gift’ he was born into. All Richard really wants is to finish his book but fate dealt him a very strange hand – he is a natural born Exorcist. In fact, he is the best there ever was and with possessions on the rise across the city, he’s booked solid. Reluctantly, he faces the fact that performing exorcisms is the only thing he’s truly good at even though it’s wearing him down and making his life utterly miserable. Case after case, he stares evil incarnate in the face, taking on satanic forces to help those in need. However he soon finds his power may also come with a cost to his own soul and must find a way to finally save himself before time runs out.”
Breaking a Monster
Director: Luke Meyer
Synopsis: “Unlocking the Truth are all in 7th grade, spending their weekends playing a blend of heavy metal and speed punk in Times Square – often drawing substantial crowds. They take on a manager: a 70- year-old industry veteran. With his guidance they are soon on their way to a 1.8 million dollar record deal and a precarious initiation into the music industry. Anything feels possible, and in some moments the band can almost feel the eyes of the world gazing upon them. The boys are coming of age, not only as they make the leap to being professional musicians, but also as they transcend childhood and take their first steps into the complexities of adulthood.”
The Duel
Director: Kieran Darcy-Smith
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Emory Cohen, William Hurt, Alice Braga, Felicity Price, José Zúñiga, William Sadler, Raphael Sbarge
Synopsis: “A Texas Ranger investigates a series of unexplained deaths in a town called Helena.”
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
Director: Thorsten Schütte
Synopsis: “It is only fitting that a comet and a mollusk are named in Frank Zappa’s honor. The famed American musician, composer, and thinker created satirical, operatic interpretations of music that seemed to originate from another world. Thorsten Schütte’s film is a sharply edited and energetic celebration of Zappa through his public persona, allowing us to witness his shifting relationship with audiences. Utilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into the musician’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character.” [Sundance Film Festival]
The Fundamentals of Caring
Director: Rob Burnett
Cast: Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Ehle, Megan Ferguson, Frederick Weller
Synopsis: “Having suffered a tragedy, Ben becomes a caregiver to earn money. His first client, Trevor, is a hilarious 18-year-old with muscular dystrophy. One paralyzed emotionally, one paralyzed physically, Ben and Trevor hit the road on a trip into the western states. The folks they collect along the way will help them test their skills for surviving outside their calculated existence. Together, they come to understand the importance of hope and the necessity of true friendship.” [Sundance Film Festival]
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Director: Taika Waititi
Cast: Julian Dennison, Sam Neill, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House, Oscar Knightley, Rhys Darby, Stan Walker, Cohen Holloway, Mike Minogue, Troy Kingi
Synopsis: “Raised on hip-hop and foster care, defiant city kid Ricky gets a fresh start in the New Zealand countryside. He quickly finds himself at home with his new foster family: the loving Aunt Bella, the cantankerous Uncle Hec, and dog Tupac. When a tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, both he and Hec go on the run in the bush. As a national manhunt ensues, the newly branded outlaws must face their options: go out in a blaze of glory or overcome their differences and survive as a family.” [Sundance Film Festival]
Criticwire Grade Average: B+ (4 reviews)
The Kind Words
Director: Shemi Zarhin
Cast: Rotem Zissman-Cohen, Roy Assaf, Assaf Ben-Shimon, Tsahi Halevi, Sasson Gabai, Maurice Bénichou, Louise Portal
Synopsis: “In the wake of their mother’s death, three Jewish Israeli siblings discover that their biological father was a Muslim and set out on a journey across France to locate him.” [Toronto International Film Festival]
Les Cowboys
Director: Thomas Bidegain
Cast: Finnegan Oldfield, François Damiens, Agathe Dronne, Ellora Torchia, John C. Reilly, Dani Sanchez-Lopez, Antonia Campbell-Hughes
Synopsis: “Set amidst a sub-culture of Western enthusiasts in rural France, Alain attends a cowboy fair with his wife and children—sixteen-year-old daughter, Kelly, and young son, Kid. When Kelly disappears amidst the chaos of the festivities, Alain’s initial fear quickly turns to anger and disbelief as it becomes increasingly clear that his daughter has willingly abandoned her life to begin anew as a Muslim with her boyfriend. Convinced that she was coerced, Alain devotes what’s left of his broken existence to finding her, eventually bestowing the responsibility of the search onto his son.”
Criticwire Grade Average: B+ (5 reviews)
The Neon Demon
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Cast: Elle Fanning, Jena Malone, Abbey Lee, Bella Heathcote, Desmond Harrington, Karl Glusman, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves
Synopsis: “When aspiring model Jesse moves to Los Angeles, her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will take any means necessary to get what she has.”
Nuts!
Director: Penny Lane
Synopsis: “‘Nuts!’ recounts the true story of John Romulus Brinkley, a small-town Kansas doctor who discovers in 1917 that he can cure impotence by transplanting goat testicles into men. And that’s just the tipping point in this stranger-than-fiction tale. With the balls of a P.T. Barnum, the gonads of goats, and the wishful dreams of flaccid men, Brinkley amassed a fortune, was almost elected Governor of Kansas, invented junk mail and the infomercial, and built the world’s most powerful radio station. By the time all of the twists and turns of Brinkley’s story are revealed, ‘Nuts!’ certainly earns its title.” [Sundance Film Festival]
Criticwire Grade Average: B+ (5 reviews)
The Phenom
Director: Noah Buschel
Cast: Johnny Simmons, Ethan Hawke, Paul Giamatti, Alison Elliott, Yul Vazquez, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Marin Ireland, Elizabeth Marvel, Paul Adelstein, Louisa Krause, Frank Wood
Synopsis: “Major-league rookie pitcher Hopper Gibson has lost his focus. After choking on the mound, he’s sent down to the minors and prescribed sessions with an unorthodox sports therapist, who pushes him to uncover the origins of his anxiety. Beneath it all is his fraught relationship with his overbearing ex-con father, whose tough love is the source of both his success and his paralysis.” [Tribeca Film Festival]
Right Now, Wrong Then
Director: Hong Sang-soo
Cast: Jae-yeong Jeong, Kim Min-Hie, Yoon Yeo-jeong, Gi Ju-bong, Hwa-Jeong Choi, Yoo Joon-Sang, Seo Young-Hwa, Ko Ah-Sung
Synopsis: “By accident, a film director arrives in town a day early. With time to kill before his lecture the next day, he stops by a restored old palace and meets a fledgling artist. She’s never seen any of his films, but knows he’s famous. They talk. And together, they go to her workshop to look at her paintings, have sushi and soju. More conversation follows, and drinks, and then an awkward get-together with friends where all sorts of secrets are revealed. All the while, they may or may not be falling for each other. Then, quite unexpectedly, we begin again, but now things appear somewhat different…”
Criticwire Grade Average: B+ (5 reviews)
Septembers of Shiraz
Director: Wayne Blair
Cast: Salma Hayek, Adrien Brody, Shohreh Aghdashloo
Synopsis: “The harrowing story of a secular Jewish family in Iran as they fight for their lives immediately following the 1979 revolution.”
Swiss Army Man
Directors: Daniel Scheinert & Daniel Kwan
Cast: Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Synopsis: “Alone on a tiny deserted island, Hank has given up all hope of ever making it home again. But one day everything changes when a dead body washes ashore, and he soon realizes it may be his last opportunity to escape certain death. Armed with his new ‘friend’ and an unusual bag of tricks, the duo go on an epic adventure to bring Hank back to the woman of his dreams.” [Sundance Film Festival]
Criticwire Grade Average: B- (6 reviews)
Wiener-Dog
Director: Todd Solondz
Cast: Greta Gerwig, Kieran Culkin, Danny DeVito, Ellen Burstyn, Julie Delpy, Zosia Mamet, Brie Larson
Synopsis: “‘Wiener-Dog’ tells several stories featuring people who find their life inspired or changed by one particular dachshund, who seems to be spreading a certain kind of comfort and joy. Man’s best friend starts out teaching a young boy some contorted life lessons before being taken in by a compassionate vet tech named Dawn Wiener. Dawn reunites with someone from her past and sets off on a road trip picking up some depressed mariachis along the way. ‘Wiener-Dog’ then encounters a floundering film professor, as well as an embittered elderly woman and her needy granddaughter—all longing for something more.” [Sundance Film Festival]
Criticwire Grade Average: B- (5 reviews)
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