10 essential movies released in June 2024
Summer is just around the corner, and if you’re not the biggest fan of the blockbuster season, you might want to head to the cinema before school’s out. Luckily, there’s a breadth of varied and interesting movies out on the big screen this coming month.
From animated angst to absurd anthologies, construction workers to bikers, and all manner of horror to hilarious Hollywood flops, we’ve got you covered. Far Out’s top ten recommendations for films to go and see in June are here.
Before we start, a few honourable mentions. Firstly, Daina O. Pusić’s directorial debut Tuesday, a tear-jerking fantasy starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Another director who is seeing her first movie at cinemas next month is Christy Hall. Sean Penn has blown critics away with his performance in Daddio. And then there’s Annie Baker’s intriguing-looking drama film Janet Planet.
A disclaimer: the list does not include Horizon: An American Saga Chapter One, Kevin Costner’s three-hour snoozefest, the premiere of which brought him to tears at Cannes. As if the film itself wasn’t long enough, its actor-director gave a speech to the audience after it was finally over.
There’s no room for such pompous formalities in this list. Let’s get on with it.
10 essential movies arriving in June 2024:
The Dead Don’t Hurt (Viggo Mortensen) – May 31st
Viggo Mortensen’s second go at directing a feature film promises to be an improvement on his first. This period drama about immigrants during the American Civil War, in which Mortensen also stars, left a favourable impression at the Toronto International Film Festival last year.
Expect plenty of Old West costumes, gruff manners and stoic encounters with death. The movie’s understated approach should make for a pleasant contrast to the laborious grandeur of Costner’s rival western.
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout (William Nunez) – June 1st
Any film starring John Wayne as Genghis Khan was always destined to be truly terrible, but apparently, executives at RKO Radio Pictures didn’t get the memo. Documentary Hollywood Fallout tells the story of this film, 1956’s catastrophic failure on all levels, The Conqueror.
Unsurprisingly, director Dick Powell helmed just two more pictures after The Conqueror took a hammering from movie critics like no other film before it. But even that wasn’t the end of the story. Some of the production’s shooting locations were found to have caused cancer in almost half the film’s total crew.
This documentary feature has to be watched on the big screen to appreciate the full scale of The Conqueror’s sheer idiocy, while it also sheds light on the dark cloud still hanging over the film long after its calamitous demise.
The Exorcism (Joshua John Miller) – June 7th
Russell Crowe… as an exorcist? Not quite. But Joshua John Miller’s debut feature does hook you into this understanding of its premise with a movie poster showing Crowe white-eyed and gripping a crucifix.
In fact, Crowe seems to be playing an actor playing an exorcist with a history of addictions and an estranged daughter. It remains to be seen how well this one pans out on screen, but it definitely seems worth a punt—at the very least, for the entertainment value.
Ghostlight (Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson) – June 7th
American actor and screenwriter Kelly O’Sullivan brings a bit of Ken Loach to the Rust Belt in this touching story of a middle-aged bricklayer who finds himself in the community theatre. The writer of the 2019 much-lauded coming-of-age movie Saint Frances is also reunited with director Alex Thompson for Ghostlight.
The emotional impact of the film is underpinned by two stellar performances in the lead role by real-life father and daughter Keith Kupferer and Katherine May Kupferer. Teenager Katherine May, in particular, knocks her role out of the park, acting as her father’s guiding voice throughout a rare story exploring the mental health struggles of an older man.
The Watchers (Ishana Night Shyamalan) – June 7th
M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter Ishana arrives as a director with this spooky horror adaptation that looks beautifully shot and coloured. Set in the murky woods of west Ireland and featuring mysterious monsters to which its title alludes, the movie is sure to be packed full of jump scares.
And it stars Dakota Fanning in a part that should give her the platform to shine following several years without a major role on the silver screen. Her co-stars include Irish actors Oliver Finnegan and Olwen Fouéré, and the picture was shot on location in County Galway. Let’s see how Fanning does with the accent.
Inside Out 2 (Kelsey Mann) – June 14th
While Pixar Animation Studios may have contributed better-loved and more celebrated movies to the world of cinema, few could match 2015’s Inside Out for daring ingenuity. Turning such a cerebral thought experiment (literally!) into an accessible, family-friendly animated adventure was no mean feat.
And yet here they are, back again for another go at it. Fans of the first movie were filled with excitement and trepidation in equal measure when this sequel was confirmed in 2022. For every Toy Story 2, there could be another Cars 2 or Monsters University. In fact, the Monsters University storyboarder is taking charge of his first film for Inside Out 2.
Inside Out’s protagonist/setting, Riley, is back, except now she’s a teenager, and anxiety has joined the party in her mind. There’s enormous potential for another brilliantly inventive, funny and deeply human storyline here, but also plenty of potential for things to go wrong. Fingers crossed, Pixar have pulled it off.
The Bikeriders (Jeff Nichols) – June 21st
Jeff Nichols’ dazzling sixties biker throwback stars Austin Butler, Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy, all looking in vintage form. First screened at the 50th anniversary of the Telluride Film Festival last year, the movie has received rave reviews for its performance and authentic take on biker culture.
It follows the descent of biker gang Vandals MC from a club of enthusiasts into criminal operation, with the typically larger-than-life Hardy as the gang’s leader. It’s hard to see this affectionately rendered genre film being anything other than a roaring success.
Thelma (Josh Margolin) – June 21th
But Hardy and Co aren’t the only bikers in town next month. From motorbikes to a mobility scooter, Josh Margolin brings us a crime caper like no other. Thelma stars June Squibb as a woman exactly her age – 93 years young, to be exact – hellbent on catching a thief.
This contemporary comedy lightheartedly addresses the scourge of phone scams targeting the elderly, leaning on the strength of its charismatic hero. Look out for Malcolm McDowell having the most fun he’s had on screen in years.
Kinds of Kindness (Yorgos Lanthimos) – June 21st (United States) and June 28th (United Kingdom and Ireland)
Yorgos Lanthimos’ Cannes Film Festival competition outlier became a dark horse for the big prizes after it premiered earlier this month before unexpectedly leading the running for the Palme d’Or. It’s not often that an anthology film makes its mark in Hollywood, but this is no ordinary movie.
The director of Dogtooth, The Favourite and Poor Things offers a surreal black comedy featuring three different but interconnected tales of woe. With an all-star cast including Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe, Kinds of Kindness feels like Lanthimos unshackled and making the movie he really wants to make, having proved his worth to Hollywood.
A Quiet Place: Day One (Michael Sarnoski) – June 28th
The third instalment of the A Quiet Place film series is the first not to be directed by John Krasinski. Michael Sarnoski has taken on both writing and directing duties for Day One, while Lupita Nyong’o has been given the chance to stretch herself in another apocalyptic horror feature following her star turn in Jordan Peele’s Us.
This movie is a prequel to the events of the previous two and, as such, features none of the same characters. Nor does it have the same setting, as this time, aliens take over the distinctly urban landscape of New York City. It’s to be hoped that the film provides an original take on this premise, as it will hardly be the first time New York has been confronted with an extraterrestrial invasion.
