Some Good Releases this June
It seems that a handful of well-regarded films that appeared at festivals in 2022 and 2023 are finally making their way into the wider world this month. Directly from Wikipedia, here are the films that have caught my attention (will be released in theaters, unless noted otherwise):
Am I Ok? (June 6 on Max)
Directed by Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne
Written by Lauren Pomerantz
Starring Dakota Johnson, Sonoya Mizuno, Kiersey Clemons
and Jermaine Fowler
Note: Appeared at 2022 Sundance Film Festival
Late Bloomers (June 7)
Directed by Lisa Steen (directorial debut)
Written by Anna Greenfield
Starring Karen Gillian, Margaret Sophie Stein, Talia Balsam, and Jermaine Fowler (Hmm.
I hadn’t heard of Fowler before doing research for this entry. At least I’m aware of him now.
Looking forward to seeing his work).
Note: Appeared at 2023 South by Southwest
Tuesday (June 7)
Written and directed by Daina O. Pusić (directorial debut)
Starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lola Petticrew, Leah Harvey, Arinzé Kene
Notes: Appeared at 2023 Telluride Film Festival. Also, I saw this film at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival last month. The film stayed with me long after I left the theater. I hope it gets some kind of groundswell support, because I don’t know if even the most enlightened movie publicity savants would know how to market this. But maybe I should leave it up to them, and not worry about it. Anyway, at least three people cried in the theater in Minneapolis when it screened, myself included. Would highly recommend. Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays against type, but that was really a bonus for me in what turned out to be an impressive debut.
Ghostlight (June 14)
Directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson
Written by Kelly O’Sullivan
Starring Keith Kupferer, Dolly de Leon, Katherine May Kupferer
Notes: Appeared at Sundance 2024, Seattle 2024, and Minneapolis-St. Paul 2024, and I’m sure will be seen at other festivals this year. I think it says a great deal that this film was picked up by IFC and is showing at so many good festivals — in Closing Night slots, no less. The directing team are the creative minds behind 2019’s Saint Frances, and I’m really interested to see the jump they’ve made from their debut to this movie, which looks considerable.
The Bikeriders (June 21)
Written and Directed by Jeff Nichols
Starring Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist (what a good cast, says brain)
Notes: Premiered at Telluride last year. I remember it was also at Mill Valley, but I couldn’t make the festival. My instinct is to trust Nichols to make a good movie with his eyes closed after being impressed with the quality of his first three films. A movie of his hasn’t been released in seven years (not since Midnight Special and Loving were released in 2016), and I’m excited to see a work of his that looks to be close to his roots. Also, this movie is a mid-sized budget drama that’s still a rarity these days, which will make it more interesting to see how this film does).
Kinds of Kindness (June 21)
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Written and Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou
Starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley
Note: An anthology film, it premiered at Cannes in May, where Jesse Plemons won the award for Best Actor.
Fancy Dance (June 21 limited; June 28 on Apple TV+)
Directed by Erica Tremblay
Written by Erica Tremblay and Miciana Alise
Starring Lily Gladstone, Isabel DeRoy-Olson, Shea Wigham
Notes: I saw this at Sundance in 2023. Just now the film is getting a wider release? I suppose this is better than getting dropped into obscurity on some streaming platform with little fanfare (like what happened with Cat Person, which I still don’t understand as someone who also saw that film at the festival). But why the long route for this film to get to market? Anyway, this film is made with heart, and I’m a big fan of Tremblay’s, especially as she’s been so generous with her advice and time on social media, and Lily Gladstone in a pre-Killers of the Flower Moon performance is a bonus.
Janet Planet (June 21)
Written and directed by Annie Baker
Starring Julianne Nicholson, Zoe Ziegler, Elias Koteas, Sophie Okonedo
Notes: The second A24 release on this list along with Tuesday. This premiered at Telluride (which apparently slayed with its lineup last year), and was also at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Film Festival, but I didn’t see it when I was there. Baker is a Pulitzer Winner and MacArthur Fellow, and I feel like the movie has to be at least above-average if it’s got the backing of A24.
Thelma (June 21)
Written and directed by Josh Margolin
Starring June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Clark Gregg
Notes: Premiered at Sundance this year. I had someone who saw this film at Sundance tell me this was really funny, and appreciated that this film was a counterbalance to the usual “trauma and drama” in the festival’s lineup. I take this as an immensely good sign, and if I had the time, I’d probably see this as a double feature with Nebraska. Also, does anyone remember when someone told June Squibb to F-off on Mean Tweets? The fool!).
Daddio (June 28)
Written and directed by Christy Hall
Starring Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn (the only two in the cast)
Notes: I had the good fortune of reading the screenplay from the 2017 Blacklist (it’s still available on the general interwebz as of today). Although I’m curious to see how the idea will translate to a movie, including whether Johnson and Penn’s chemistry can pull this off, the Black List screenplay established Christy Hall with a really strong voice. Like, really strong. Hall’s been on the screenwriting and playwrighting scene for a while, and helped create the really solid Netflix show I Am Not Okay with This. I’m looking forward to Hall getting wider recognition, and seeing how she translates her movie to the screen (especially as a first-time director who wrote the piece).