By Paul Byrnes
Movies to see in June include (from left) Official Competition with Penelope Cruz, The Gray Man with Ryan Gosling and Phantom of the Open with Mark Rylance.Credit:Madman Films, Paul Abell/Netflix, Nick Wall/Universal Pictures International
July is named after Julius Caesar. Time to come, see and conquer some movies.
Winter releasing is sometimes a bit patchy. It’s cold, so distributors hold back for the crowds of summer, but those old rules are changing. There are enough good films on the calendar to get you out the door. And for reasons I cannot fathom, a lot of them are musical this month.
Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.
Falling for Figaro
The evergreen Melbourne director Ben Lewin has been making quirky and funny films for close to 50 years (from The Dunera Boys to The Sessions). This one stars Sydney-born actor Danielle Macdonald (Patti Cake$) as a successful London funds manager who throws it all in to become an opera singer. Joanna Lumley, holed up in the Scottish Highlands, has to first teach her how to sing. Lewin and Lumley – that’s got to be worth seeing. Opens July 14.
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song
Clearly, someone had trouble coming up with a title, but this looks interesting. The late Cohen’s life told through the prism of the song that changed his fortunes and fame. Lots of interesting people talking about him too. Cohen films are now a small industry, and why not? The man was a genius and I’ll fight anyone who argues. Opens July 14.
Lee Kernaghan: Boy from the Bush
After bringing us Slim and I, Kriv Stenders focuses on Australian country music’s legendary warbler in the big black hat. Part concert performance, part history, and maybe a bit travelogue, with a whole lot of outback dogs and trucks and dusty roads to get on down. Opens July 28.
Phantom of the Open
Golf, not opera. Based on the true story of Maurice Flitcroft, who decided one day in 1976 that he would like to play in the British Open – while knowing bugger all about golf. Mark Rylance stars, with the wonderful Sally Hawkins as his wife, in what promises to be this month’s feel-good British comedy. Opens July 14.
The Gray Man
After various superhero monstrosities, the Russo brothers change gear with this CIA action flick in the Bourne mould, but apparently with more comedy. Ryan Gosling, always watchable, is the agency’s most formidable weapon, until he discovers dark secrets about his own outfit. Chris Evans is his nemesis. Expect a lot of violence and some decent wise-crackery. Opens July 14; Netflix from July 22.
Official Competition
This one has got my antennae wiggling. Penelope Cruz plays a famous filmmaker. She has to make a film with two major male stars, of different backgrounds, commissioned by a billionaire who wants the prestige. Antonio Banderas plays a film guy who’s thick as treacle; Oscar Martinez is the serious artist from a theatre background. Hilarity will follow. Opens July 21.
The Forgiven
Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain are lost in the Moroccan desert when they run over a teenage boy. They fear retribution and violence, but are met with something else. It’s a drama by John Michael McDonagh, the London-Irish brother who did The Guard and Calvary – so you can expect it to be sober, engrossing and very confronting. Opens July 28.
Full Time
The appealing Laure Calamy, last seen leading a donkey through the Cevennes, plays a single mother trying to cope with a busy life. The French train system allows her to hold down a job in a busy Paris hotel, until the trains go on strike – as they do every year in France (don’t get me started). Looks to be a serious and engaging social drama. Opens July 28.
The Black Phone
From Scott Derrickson, a horror specialist, comes a story about an abducted boy who hears the voices of his abductor’s previous victims when he lifts the receiver on a disconnected phone. Ethan Hawke plays the grabber. This looks creepier than a Donald Trump slumber party. Opens July 21.
Where the Crawdads Sing
Based on a book by Delia Owens and directed by Olivia Newman, this looks very promising as thriller of the month. Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) plays a girl who has virtually raised herself in the marshes outside a town in the Deep South. She gets charged with the murder of a local big shot who was trying to seduce her. Tune up them banjos. Opens July 21.
Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.
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