What to watch this month

Take a break from all that doomscrolling and go finish a feature film or two — and let me guide you on which ones to prioritize. We are halfway into June and here are the films worth checking out before the month ends — in the streamers and in the theaters.

Hit Man

Glen Powell has that special quality about him. He has not only proven over the years that he’s a top-notch actor (I loved him since 2018’s rom-com Set It Up), but he now also surprises us with his screenwriting strength.

Now streaming on Netflix is Richard Linklater’s critically praised Venice 2023 dark romantic-comedy Hit Man, which he co-wrote with Powell. Based on a 2001 Texas Monthly magazine article of the same title by Skip Hollandsworth, it follows Powell as a nerdy professor who finds himself suddenly working undercover as a hitman for the New Orleans Police Department and making use of his teaching subjects: psychology and philosophy. Then he falls in love during a sting operation.

Hit Man is funny and whip-smart. A must-stream.

Scoop

In 2019, BBC’s Newsnight released a scandalous episode that caused Prince Andrew’s fall from grace. Emily Maitlis’ highly controversial interview with the Duke of York about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein went viral. It eventually led to Prince Andrew losing his royal titles.

Netflix’s Scoop takes the viewers into the behind-the-scenes drama of how BBC secured the game-changing interview. Gillian Anderson plays Maitlis and Rufus Sewell plays Prince Andrew.  

Annecy Film Festival

Animation lovers, rejoice! Festival Scope — an online platform that screens films from important fests around the world for free — is dropping a curated selection of entries from the 2023 Annecy International Animation Festival.

The animated films will be available from 17 June to 17 July. Secure your free tickets as soon as the films become available, as slots are limited and quickly reserved.

My Boo

After the weeper How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies sent Filipino viewers bawling their hearts out, another Thai blockbuster will hit SM Cinemas beginning June 26. 

From the award-winning director and screenwriter Khomkrit Treewimol (known for the Netflix anthology thriller Girl From Nowhere) comes the horror-romantic-comedy My Boo.

It follows a haunted-house owner and operator Joe (model-actor Sutthirak “Gee” Subvijitra) who falls in love with a pretty ghost, Anong (pop star-turned-actress Maylada “Bow” Susri).

The movie grossed over $2.7 million, making it one of the highest-grossing Thai films to debut in 2024 so far. 

A Quiet Place: Day One 

John Kransiki is no longer the director of the third installment of the popular apocalyptic horror franchise. Michael Sarnoski replaced him — who is best known for directing the critically acclaimed 2021 Nicolas Cage-starrer Pig.

The spin-off prequel, out on 26 June in cinemas, is making fans speculate whether it will reveal the aliens’ origins.

Set in New York, it takes the viewers back to the very first day when the terrifying creatures landed on Earth.

The central character is city tourist Sam, played by Lupita Nyong’o, who witnesses the arrival of the monsters and teams up with a guy named Eric, played by Joseph Quinn, to survive.

The Bikeriders

The cast of stellar male actors are enough to convince you to see this crime drama beginning 19 June in cinemas. We’re talking about Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, and Mike Faist.

From writer-director Jeff Nichols, the movie (which premiered in Telluride last year) is set in the 1960s and is a fictional retelling of the lives of the members of a real-life Illinois motorcycle club, the notorious Outlaws MC (in the movie, the club is called Vandals MC).

The oldest outlaw biker club in the world inspired photojournalist Danny Lyon’s 1968 non-fiction book, which then inspired this movie.

The trailer shows cool, testosterone-fueled action sequences. And with an 84 percent critics’ score at Rotten Tomatoes, there’s no reason to miss this on the big screen.