Here Are All The Movies Hitting Aussie Cinemas In June
June is like one-long Christmas Day for film lovers in Australia.
June is kinda like one-long Christmas Day for movie lovers in Australia.
Not only does the month kick off with the Sydney Film Festival, the cinematic release schedule is just bursting with a bevy of delights, from local triumphs to international award-winners coming to us straight from the Cannes film festival. Whatever genre you’re into, June has you covered.
Here then are some of our picks of the most essential movies hitting a cinema near you come June.
Parasite
Because the cinematic release schedule in this country is, shall we say, profoundly broken, usually we have to wait an entire year for major Cannes award-winners to hit our screens. Not so this time around: Parasite, a new movie from South Korean master Bong Joon-Ho, is coming to us less than a month after its rapturous debut at the festival, where it received a 15-minute standing ovation and the top jury prize.
Plot information surrounding Parasite is light, mostly because Joon-Ho himself asked in a very endearing letter that critics not spoil any of the action, but it’s been described as another chaotic slice of dark comedy from the master of the form. Following the intertwined lives of two families, one rich, the other less so, it’s a scathing social satire that pivots shockingly into violence.
When it hits cinemas: June 27
Men In Black: International
Even the most diehard Men In Black fans agree that the series never really got a proper send-off — neither its second nor its third instalments managed to entirely capture the sheer comedic lunacy of the original, which remains one of the most underrated big budget Hollywood genre exercises of the last few decades.
Well, the prayers of longtime fans might finally have been answered: Men In Black: International shakes up the series with new talent in front of and behind the camera, with Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson taking over lead roles, and hopefully showing off their comedic chops in the process. With director F. Gary Gray in charge, best known as the man behind Straight Outta Compton, hopefully the movie will add another 10 years to the franchise’s longevity.
When it hits cinemas: June 13
Toy Story 4
Speaking of long-awaited fourth instalments to early thousand franchises, June is also the month that the Toy Story 4 quadrilogy is finally coming to a close. Which is probably news that will be met less enthusiastically than news concerning Men In Black: International. After all, it was clear to pretty much everyone that Toy Story 3 was the perfect finale for one of the most beautifully wrought children’s franchises of all time; who would possibly need anything more from Woody, Buzz and the gang?
The answer is Pixar, apparently, who have pulled the toys out of retirement for one last escapade centred around Bo Peep and a plastic utensil named Forky. The trailers have not been exactly inspiring so far; let’s hope they don’t foul this one up.
When it hits cinemas: June 20
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
The literal Apocalypse came and went back in 2016, but the X-Men franchise still keeps chugging along. X-Men: Dark Phoenix is another adaptation of the famous 1980 Marvel comic storyline The Dark Phoenix Saga, which was already loosely adapted for the film in 2006’s underwhelming X-Men: The Last Stand.
Sophie Turner plays Jean Grey, a mutant with very powerful telepathic and telekinetic abilities who becomes even more powerful after an accident in space. Unfortunately for everyone involved, with great power comes great instability, and Jean soon finds herself in conflict with her friends and teammates. Time will tell if Dark Phoenix fares better than its predecessor, but it’s already sticking closer to the source material at least.
When it hits cinemas: June 6
None of those take your fancy? Never fear: Here is the full list of movies hitting Australian cinemas in June.
- Read Joan — June 6
- X-Men: Dark Phoenix — June 6
- Men In Black: International — June 13
- Tolkien — June 13
- Never Look Away — June 20
- The Secret Life Of Pets 2 — June 20
- Toy Story 4 — June 20
- Under The Silver Lake — June 20
- Half A Million Steps — June 22
- Parasite — June 27
- Yesterday — June 27
- Anabelle Comes Home — June 27