June Movie Preview: Fire and Shades for Summer
Now this looks like a month of summer movies. We have sequels, remakes and reboots represented on the list. June movies take on comic books, sci fi, horror and everything in between. If franchise films aren’t your cup of tea, then maybe this isn’t your month. But count me in! Here’s our June movie preview.
June 7th– Dark Phoenix, The Secret Life of Pets 2
Dark Phoneix is one of the most famous X-Men comic book stories. So Hollywood is giving it a second try after X-Men: The Last Stand didn’t leave fans satisfied. Sophie Turner returns as Jean Grey, whose power grows out of control after being corrupted by the Phoenix powers. Professor X (James McAvoy) and his X-Men attempt to save her while also protecting the world from her. Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence also star as Magento and Mystique respectively.
Building on the concept of the first film, The Secret Life of Pets 2 shows more of the shenanigans the family pets get into while their owners are away. When Max the dog’s owner gets married and has a baby, he is forced to deal with the big change. Patton Oswalt, Kevin Hart and Harrison Ford lead the voice cast.
June 14th– Men in Black: International, Shaft
Set in the same universe as the Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones franchise, Men in Black: International sees Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson don the iconic suits and shades to fight alien threats. Emma Thompson and Liam Neeson also star. The plot has the MIB attempting to root out a mole in the organization.
A cinematic pet peeve of mine is when sequel films attempt to reboot a franchise and use the same title as the predecessor film. That’s what we have with Shaft. It’s a sequel to the 2000 film, Shaft, which is a remake of the 1971 film, Shaft. This latest one has Samuel L. Jackson returning to the role of John Shaft Jr. This time he’s on a mission to uncover the truth about a friend’s death.
June 21st– Anna, Child’s Play, Toy Story 4, Wild Rose
Luc Besson, the creator of Lucy and Leon: The Professional, writes and directs the new action- thriller Anna. The title character, played by Sasha Luss, is a secret super assassin who beats up tons of people. There’s probably more to the story, but that’s the hook. A model is actually a super-assassin. Helen Mirren and Luke Evans also star.
In case you are looking for a reason to stay awake at night, we have a remake of the original Chuckie horror film, Child’s Play. Aubrey Plaza stars as a mother who gifts a toy doll to her son. As you would expect, that toy doll is a creepy murderer. Mark Hamill provides the voice for Chucky.
In a (slightly) more family friendly toy-based adventure, the Toy Story crew is back with their fourth film. Buzzy, Woody and the gang have found new life with their post-Andy owner. This movie has a spork turned into a toy joining the group and a road trip to keep everyone busy. I can’t wait for it to turn unnecessarily sad. That is the Toy Story way after all.
Wild Rose features an Irish woman released from jail and setting out to become a country music singer. But balancing her dreams and her current reality is a difficult task. Jessie Buckley plays the lead.
June 26th-28th– Annabelle Comes Home, Yesterday
Another haunted doll hits the big screen this month in Annabelle Comes Home. This is the third film in the Annabelle franchise and the seventh entry in the universe of The Conjuring. When the Warrens (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) attempt to lock Annabelle behind sacred glass in their artifacts room, Annabelle naturally wakes up a whole bunch of evil spirits intent on terrorizing the Warren’s daughter and her babysitters. Uh oh.
I’m very intrigued by the concept for Yesterday. A struggling singer, played by Himesh Patel, wakes up after a bus accident in a world where The Beatles never existed. So he uses his memory of their songs to propel himself to stardom. Danny Boyle directs the film.
I’ve always been an X-Men fan so my pick for the month has to be Dark Phoenix. Although I will admit that my excitement level for it seems surprisingly low. Men in Black: International looks like the type of summer movie fun I’m always on the look out for. I also have to mention Yesterday as well. I’m not even a big Beatles fan, but that movie looks like a good time at the theater. Enjoy your June movies.