Best new movies and TV series on BINGE: June 2021

Each month, lots of new films and TV shows are added to BINGE‘s’s library. Critic Travis Johnson surveys each month’s selections and picks for titles most worth watching. For the full list of everything arriving on the platform, scroll down.

Top picks: TV

Kung Fu (June 3)

BINGE cements its position as your premiere destination for streaming martial arts action with this redux of the old David Carradine classic adventure series. Olivia Liang stars as Nicky Shen, a Chinese American who returns from years of studying kung fu abroad in order to clean up her community, largely by kicking the living hell out of Triad goons. Veteran character actor Tzi Ma (The Farewell) crops up in support as Nicky’s disapproving restaurateur dad, who would rather his daughter return to law school instead of being a vigilante—and who can blame him? Pair with Warrior for a double dose of foot-fist action.

Dave Season 2 (June 17)

Comedian and rapper David Burd, aka Lil Dicky, returns for the second season of this semi-autobiographical series. Lil Dicky is a white, middle, class, suburban Jewish guy who is convinced, against all evidence to the contrary, that he is destined to be one of the great musical artists of our time.

Drily hilarious, the show follows our man as he attempts to clamber up the music industry ziggurat with only his blind faith and meager talent to support him. Produced by Kevin Hart and Greg Mottola and boasting cameos from dozens of pop stars and music industry movers, this is a merciless swipe at celebrity culture and the thirst for fame.

Spicy City (June 17)

Maverick animation pioneer Ralph Bakshi (Wizards, Fire and Ice, The Lord of the Rings, Fritz the Cat) swung for the fences with this weird, noirish, insanely horny adult cartoon that kind of plays out like Sin City: The Animated Series.

Narrated by Slinky nightclub hostess Raven (Michelle Phillips), each episode tells a tale from the seamy side of the eponymous city, a cyberpunk metropolis inhabited by high tech criminals, cyborg prostitutes, evil corporations—you know the drill. Bakshi is a real rebel whose work deserves to be discovered by a new generation of fans, and this is a good place to start.

Top Picks: Movies

Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 (June 4)

Both volumes! Join Uma Thurman on her roaring rampage of revenge as she kills her way up the ladder to the titular master assassin (David Carradine), dispatching her former comrades one by one in a variety of brutal ways. Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, Lucy Lui, Julie Dreyfuss and Lucy Lui show up dutifully to be slaughtered in this savagely fun, ‘70s-tinged, kung-fu exploitation masterpiece. Is it self-indulgent? Yes, of course—but it earns it.

Tenet (June 16)

John David Washington’s nameless secret agent goes toe to toe with Kenneth Branagh’s megalomaniac Russian arms dealer with the fate of the future hanging in the balance. Christopher Nolan’s twisty, spectacular sci-fi thriller divided audiences, but it demands to be seen. Future Batman and former vampire Robert Pattinson, and Australia’s own Elizabeth Debicki, show up in support, but the real stars are the special effects and meticulously crafted action sequences.

Clerks (June 20)

Kevin Smith’s ribald micro-budget debut remains effortlessly charming and hilariously puerile, following a day in the lift of a convenience store clerk (Brian O’Halloran) and his best mate (Jeff Anderson), who works in the video shop next door (remember those?). The pair contend with an array of annoying customers with deadpan snark and… that’s about it.

Not much really happens, but Smith’s pop-culture-laden dialogue crackles. Plus: we get the debut of iconic stoners Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith himself), and you’ll never be able to hear the number 37 gain without thinking of this indie classic.