As the shadow of Winter begins to loom across the land, there are worse places to hide from it’s chilling embrace than the local cinema. Actually, we like watching movies all year round so the season has nothing to do with it. Let’s ignore Earth’s voyage through the cosmos then, and focus on six films you should be getting your butt to this month.
Slow West – June 4th
Critically-praised, crowd-pleasing Western with a difference, Slow West stars Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave) as the mysterious companion of a teenager (Kodi Smit-McPhee, Let Me In) as they traverse 19th century frontier America in search of the young man’s long-lost love. World Cinema Grand Jury Prize winner at Sundance Film Festival 2015.
Jurassic World – June 11th
Twenty-two years after the disastrous events of Jurassic Park, the vision of founder John Hammond is now reality – a fully-functional theme park open to the public, and populated by dinosaurs. While staff member Owen (Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy) conducts research into the fearsome velociraptor, scientists at the park are cooking up a new, genetically-modified dinosaur in the lab… Quick pop quiz, people – do you think this is a good idea? This couldn’t be a movie if it was…
Inside Out – June 18th
From Disney/Pixar and the director of Up, a film set inside a little girl’s head where five emotions – Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness – try to guide her through life. Not just offering commentary on the girl’s experiences, the emotions steer her through her days until a series of mishaps strand Joy and Sadness deep inside her consciousness and where they must embark on a series of adventures to return to their “control room” and restore emotional balance.
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief – June 18th
Incisive documentary-maker Alex Gibney (We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks) brings revelations about Scientology to the big screen, adapting Lawrence Wright’s non-fiction page-turner of the same name. Delving into the lives of founder L. Ron Hubbard and current leader David Miscavige, the film also details the organisation’s relationship with Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise and John Travolta. The truth, you’ll find out, is stranger than fiction – even Hubbard’s science fiction.
Love and Mercy – June 25th
Genius Beach Boys songwriter Brian Wilson is the subject of this biopic. With younger and older incarnations played by Paul Dano and John Cusack respectively, Love and Mercy traces the success of the Beach Boys from clean-cut surf band, through to Wilson’s duel with The Beatles to make the best records in the world, culminating in his masterpiece Pet Sounds and then his nervous breakdown and subsequent, controversial, therapy.
Ted 2 – June 25th
Seth MacFarlane returns as co-writer, director and voice star of this sequel to the foul-mouthed comedy about a man-child (Mark Wahlberg) and his even more immature living teddy bear, Ted. Here, cuddly Ted and his missus try for a baby together. However, to get custody, Ted has to prove to a court of law that he is human (which he’s not – he’s a toy bear, dumbass).
