It feels like the big action spectacles have mostly now passed us by and the summer season at the multiplex is more about comedies and kid-friendly fare, notwithstanding a dinosaur attack or two thanks to Chris Pratt and Co. Audiences in the big metros like New York and L.A. actually have a large number of quality arthouse product to choose from like big Sundance winner Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, the Swedish comedy A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, paranoia baby thriller Hungry Hearts, and even the heartwarming meme-turned-documentary Batkid Begins. If you’re not privy to those movies and feel like avoiding the multiplex crowds, fear not, you do have options.
Entourage (June 5)
It says a lot that two big comedies, Entourage with Adrien Grenier and Spy with Melissa McCarthy, are coming out on the same day. The former for the boys and the latter for the girls. It’s a shame really, because Spy is hilarious. You should go and see that instead of the misogynistic, soul-shredding antics of Ari Gold. If you don’t wanna see either, then get a better version of each in Galaxy Quest (1999). You’ve got the inside Hollywood world of Entourage and the genre spoof of Spy. It’s hilarious, and you get to see Sigourney Weaver be awesome once more since the movie industry seems to have forgotten how.
Galaxy Quest is available to rent on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu and Sony.
Insidious Chapter 3 (June 5)
We included this in last month’s run-down, but the date was changed to June, so now you have a chance to catch up on one of last year’s best horror movies, especially sincethis new prequel looks like the sort of same ol’ same ol’ stuff we’ve seen in everything from Ouija to Annabelle and beyond in recent years. The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014) is an ultra-meta sequel/remake to the 1976 original that plays more like Scream 2 (1997), in which a Southern town is hounded by a killer who appears to be inspired by the original film. It’s a more old-fashioned slasher than we’re used to from the genre, lately, but it’s a cracker.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown is available to stream on Netflix and Epix, and available to rent on Google Play.
Jurassic World (June 12)
Because Hollywood never learns (kind of the way characters in sequels never do), they went and made another sequel to Jurassic Park in which John Hammond’s dream of a dino amusement park is finally realized. Seriously, who thought this was a good idea? I mean the plot, not the movie. A new Jurassic Park film 14 years after the last is a no-brainer, but the trailers have been little to get enthused about with the movie’s shoddy-looking CGI. Given that the original was basically Steven Spielberg remaking his own Jaws (1975) with dinosaurs instead of sharks, you could just wait a week until the Jaws re-release, or you could watch The Valley of Gwangi (1969) for something a little bit different and whole lot old-school. Labelled a “dinosaur Western,” it’s certainly a title you can surprise your friends with.
The Valley of Gwangi is available to rent on Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play and Vudu.
Ted 2 (June 26)
As if the buffoonery of the Entourage movie weren’t enough, there’s also Ted 2 in cinemas, which, I guess if you’re into Seth McFarlane’s brand of frat-meets-absurdist comedy, is going to be right up your alley. It most definitely is not mine, and considering there’s a joke about how Samuel L. Jackson is “the black guy” in every movie and then they go and cast MORGAN FREEMAN, it doesn’t even seem to make much sense, either. If you’re after a stoner comedy with a difference, then you can’t go wrong withGregg Araki’s Smiley Face (2007). It’s the absolutely hysterical story of a woman trying to get to the beach (that’s really about it), and features some of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen.
