Netflix
Spiderhead
Film, US, 2022 – out 17 June
Over the years Chris Hemsworth has inhabited a variety of characters: the super buff warrior, the super buff soldier, the super buff sailor and the super buff superhero. He isn’t exactly a natural fit for a scientist or “brilliant visionary”, as the official synopsis of Spiderhead describes his latest character. On the other hand, the film (from Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski) ain’t social realism, set in a fancy prison where inmates are given reduced sentences if they agree to have a device attached to them that pumps them full of mind-altering drugs.
Where can I sign up, and do you need to commit a crime to be eligible? Miles Teller plays one of the inmates/participants, whose moral concerns aren’t exactly allayed when Hemsworth’s character tells him: “The time to worry about crossing the line was a lot of lines ago.”
Hustle
Film, US, 2022 – out 8 June
Adam Sandler has proven that he’s a good actor when he wants to be; consult the wonderfully odd romcom Punch Drunk Love or heart attack drama Uncut Gems for evidence of what he can do when he ditches the manbaby schtick. The inspirational sports drama Hustle arrives clearly marked as a “serious” Sandler production. Here he plays a basketball scout who discovers a potentially great player in Spain and brings him to the US. Expect pep talks with lines like “I love this game; I live this game.”
Honourable mentions: Inception (film, 1 June), Horrible Bosses (film, 1 June), Interceptor (film, 3 June), That’s My Time with David Letterman (TV, 7 June), Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey (TV, 8 June), Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration (TV, 9 June), Peaky Blinders season six (TV, 10 June), Halftime (film, 14 June), God’s Favourite Idiot (TV, 15 June), The Umbrella Academy season three (TV, 22 June).
Stan
Becoming Elizabeth
TV, US/UK, 2022 – out 12 June
It’s a combination audiences can’t get enough of: classy period details mixed with power wrangling and raunch. Creator Anya Reiss’ series about the early life of Queen Elizabeth I (Alicia von Rittberg) opens at a rollicking pace, set following the death of King Henry VIII when his nine-year-old son Edward (Oliver Zetterström) is appointed to the throne.
I’ve watched the first episode, which is entertaining but a little “so far so familiar”. The drama tends to happen around Elizabeth rather than as a result of her actions and agency – but I am keen to see what the show looks like if or when she properly takes centre stage.
P-Valley, season two
TV, US, 2022 – out 3 June
The central location in this engrossing Mississippi-set drama is a strip club – but having been created by playwright Katori Hall and directed by an all-woman team, there is no male gaze in this series. Suffering a traumatic past, Elarica Johnson’s protagonist Autumn takes the proverbial midnight train to a new city, where she hopes to start again, landing a job at the Pynk Club. The business is run by gender non-binary fashionista Uncle Clifford (a fabulously scene-stealing and intensely charismatic Nicco Annan), who is attempting to steer it through financially difficult times.
One of the most intriguing achievements of P-Valley’s first season was its depiction of strip dancing as both a profession (Hall has described the show as a “workplace drama”) as well as a legitimate variety of performance art. There’s no reason to think the second season won’t match the high standard of the first.
Honourable mentions: Bright Young Things (film, 1 June), The Midwich Cuckoos (TV, 2 June), Joker (film, 4 June), Buried (film, 4 June), Diego Maradona (film, 4 June), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film, 5 June), The Florida Project (film, 11 June), The Lazarus Project (TV, 16 June), Only God Forgives (film, 18 June), Child’s Play (film, 19 June), Hellboy (film, 16 June), The Hurt Locker (film, 27 June), Midsommar (film, 29 June), This Time with Alan Partridge season two (TV, 30 June).
Prime Video
The Boys, season three
TV, US, 2022 – out 3 June
In recent years, darkly cynical superhero stories have emerged as an antidote to the more familiar blockbuster variety, in which god-like entities rescue humankind from the apocalypse. This violent and parodic show is one of the leaders of the pack, with costumed crusaders who are “super-enabled” rather than “superheroes”, theirs being a world where almost nobody – especially the powerful – is all (or even a little) good.
Most of the super-enabled ensemble “The Seven” – which includes narcissists, sadists, sex offenders, drug addicts and a devout Christian – care more about their image and merch rights than any old-timey notions of saving the day. The master narrative involves a war between this group and a bunch of vigilantes, known as “The Boys”, who are dedicated to pursuing them and exposing their secrets.
In the Heat of the Night
Film, US, 1967 - out 1 June
In Norman Jewison’s 1967 classic, Sidney Poitier delivers an expertly controlled performance as a homicide detective who helps a small town police force solve a murder, despite being racially targeted by the cops and the locals. His character, Virgil Tibbs, is a carefully spoken intellectual who is always the smartest guy in the room, with a habit of delivering truth bombs that cause characters to reassess their previously held assumptions.
In one of the most brazenly racist snubs in Oscars history, it was Poitier’s co-star Rod Steiger who won best actor at the 1968 Academy Awards, despite Poitier clearly being the protagonist and best thing about the film. Steiger – like everybody else in this film – was a supporting actor performing in Poitier’s shadow.
Honourable mentions: Some Like It Hot (film, 1 June), The Place Beyond the Pines (film, 1 June), Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon (film, 8 June), The Card Counter (film, 16 June), The Lake (TV, 17 June), Chloe (TV, 24 June), Constantine (film, 29 June).
ABC iview
Ithaka: A Fight to Free Julian Assange
TV, Australia, 2022 – out 7 June
Director Ben Lawrence, who made the excellent documentary Ghosthunter and the Sydney-set drama Hearts and Bones, finds a unique way into the story of Julian Assange by framing it around the whistleblower’s father, John Shipton, who was mostly absent from Assange’s life during his formative years. One gets the sense that Ithaka (which played in cinemas earlier this year and premieres on ABC in a new two-part cut) is partly about an estranged father attempting to make amends by campaigning for his son’s freedom. Shipton is, in documentary parlance, “good talent”: he not only provides unique insights but interrogating the motives of the film-maker, rejecting the “ease of narrative” and the “Hollywood” take.
The Babadook
Film, Australia, 2014 - out 10 June
Babadook, dook, DDDDOOOOOOKKKKKK! In her bone-chilling directorial debut – the best Australian film of the previous decade — Jennifer Kent demonstrates a painfully good understanding of how tapping into deep-seated insecurities can create terror a thousand times as impactful as any literal bogeyman. The film follows a mother (Essie Davis) and son (Noah Wiseman) who are terrorised by a children’s book character that comes to life – but it’s really about the fear of being a bad parent.
Honourable mentions: Two Hands (film, 3 June), Gruen season 13 (TV, 8 June), Walkabout (film, 10 June), Bluey new episodes (TV, 13 June), Miss Fisher And The Crypt Of Tears (film, 19 June), The Story of Film: A New Generation (film, 22 June), Diary of an Uber Driver (TV, 23 June), Black Mirror season five (TV, 24 June), Pan’s Labyrinth (film, 24 June).
SBS on Demand
Jirga
Film, Australia, 2018 – out 30 June
It’s rare to see a war film of this calibre: a contemplative and melancholic drama that steadfastly avoids sensationalism or spectacle. Writer/director Benjamin Gilmour and a small crew shot Jirga on location in Afghanistan, working in dangerous conditions to bring an unwavering sense of verisimilitude to the story, about a grief-filled former Australian soldier (Sam Smith) who returns to the war-torn country seeking forgiveness. The film’s quiet temperament builds a space that encourages reflection and contemplation.
Honourable mentions: The Lives of Others (film, 1 June), The Blackout: Tomorrow is Too Late (TV, 9 June), East West 101 seasons one to three (TV, 15 June), The Family (TV, 16 June), A French Case (TV, 16 June), Mon Uncle (film, 24 June), Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (film, 30 June), Infernal Affairs (film, 30 June), Jirga (film, 30 June), Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (film, 30 June), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (film, 30 June), Bone Tomahawk (film, 30 June).
Binge
Last Night in Soho
Film, UK, 2021 - out 23 June
Having directed some fabulously funny and inventive films, British director Edgar Wright moves away from comedy to deliver a Giallo-inspired horror-thriller infused with a wet, moody, trippy look. The story follows an aspiring fashion designer named Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie) who relocates to Soho and discovers that, when she goes to bed, she time travels back to the swinging 60s, where she becomes a nightclub singer named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy).
Much of the film exists in a hypnagogic state, blending together dreams and reality as well as the disparate timelines. Its intense atmosphere comes to a head as Ellie’s fears are realised and Sandie’s traumatic life unveiled. Wright’s striking use of mirrors, which brings both Ellie and Sandie into the same shots, made me think about other films that use reflections to stunning effect. Among them: Snow White, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Taxi Driver and Enter the Dragon.
The Janes
Film, US, 2022 – out 9 June
What is happening with Roe v Wade in the US right now is a chilling reminder that hard-fought-for rights can be taken away. Director Tia Lessin’s documentary looks at a group of women, known as “Janes”, who in the late 1960s (before abortion was legalised in America) created a secret network offering women safe and affordable underground abortions. Some of the group speak on record for the first time, in addition to interviews with lawyers and doctors connected to their work.
Honourable mentions: Irma Vep (TV, 7 June), Hellboy (film, 2004), Food, Inc (film, 15 June), Annabelle Comes Home (film, 17 June), Foxcatcher (film, 26 June), Jindabyne (film, 26 June), Westworld season four (TV, 27 June).
Disney+
Only Murders in the Building, season two
TV, USA, 2022 – out 28 June
The standard way for Hollywood to exploit the public’s love of nostalgia and pursue the “what’s old again is new again” mindset is to commission new instalments of old franchises: a Top Gun here, a Ghostbusters there. The first season of Only Murders in the Building reminded viewers of the joys not of revisiting a particular story, but revisiting the fantastic chemistry between two well-loved actors: in this instance Steve Martin and Martin Short.
Along with Selena Gomez – whose casting gives the series multi-generational appeal – the beloved comedians play residents of an affluent apartment building who join together to create a true crime podcast. In the second season, the trio must solve a new case in which they’re the prime suspects.
Honourable mentions: Fosse/Verdon (TV, 1 June), The Wonder Years season one (TV, 1 June), Breeders seasons one and two (TV, 1 June), Ms Marvel (TV, 8 June), Under the Banner of Heaven (TV, 8 June), Down with Love (film, 10 June), Fire Island (film, 17 June), Under Siege (film, 17 June), Rise (film, 24 June), Baymax! (TV, 29 June).
Paramount+
Jerry & Marge Go Large
Film, USA, 2022 - out 18 June
Don’t you love it when you discover a mathematical loophole that allows you to fleece millions of dollars from the lottery? Director David Frankel adapts the Huffington Post article of the same name, about the titular married couple – Jerry and Marge Selbee –who became millionaires and, in the words of journalist Jason Fagone, exposed “more than a few hypocrisies at the heart of America’s favorite form of legalized gambling”.
In the context of Bryan Cranston’s career, one might describe his latest character as an example of “breaking good” – given Jerry and Marge poured much of the money back into their small Michigan community.
Honourable mentions: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (film, 1 June), South Park: The Streaming Wars (film, 2 June), Tom Swift (TV, 2 June), Coded: The Hidden Love Of JC Leyendecker (film, 7 June), Players (TV, 17 June), Long Slow Exhale (TV, 19 June).
