Top Ten Movies to Look Out For In June (2015)

10 – Police Story: Lockdown (June 5)

Director: Ding Sheng

Writer: Ding Sheng

Actors: Jackie Chan, Liu Ye, Huang Bo, Jing Tian, Lanxin Zhang, Wang Zhifei, Zhang Xiaoning, Guli Nazha

Genre: Action

Rated: Unrated

Who doesn’t like a good Jackie Chan (The Karate Kid, The Forbidden Kingdom, Rush Hour) movie? He’s kind of legendary, isn’t he? Of course, you’ve usually also got his wit and snarky sense of humor threaded into the story. This film seems a bit more on the serious side. Still, doesn’t seem like a bad way to kill a couple of hours.

If the trailer is any indication, the movie should be non-stop action and killer fight scenes. Seems like Chan is out to prove he’s still got it. Was there really any doubt?

9 – Insidious: Chapter 3 (June 5)

Director: Leigh Whannell

Writer: Leigh Whannell

Actors: Dermont Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Lin Shaye, Hayley Kiyoko, Leigh Whannell, Michael Reid MacKay, Angus Sampson, Ashton Moio, Tate Berney

Genre: Horror

Rated: PG-13

The Insidious series doesn’t have a great reputation on Rotten Tomatoes. As this blog tries to exhibit, however, that doesn’t really mean anything. Sometimes Rotten Tomatoes is spot on, other times…

The point is that you should judge for yourself.

I haven’t seen the other two films, but the trailer for this one is interesting; super creepy, plus I tend to enjoy origin films.

What makes a sequel/prequel interesting to me, when I haven’t seen the original, is whether or not it makes me want to watch the other films. This trailer does that.

8 – Infinitely Polar Bear (June 19)

Director: Maya Forbes

Writer: Maya Forbes

Actors: Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky, Ashley Aufderheide, Keir Dullea, Beth Dixon

Genre: Drama

Rated: R

First of all, I think the title of this film is adorable. I’ve heard kids talk about someone being bi-polar and that’s exactly what they say. “That person is a polar bear.”

Secondly, it raises awareness for the ailment while highlighting the acting talents of Mark Ruffalo (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Foxcatcher, Begin Again) and Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek, The Words). That’s one hell of a cast there.

The only question is how the film treats the condition. Will it be close to the mark on how it really works, or will it be mostly a comedy at the expense of bi-polar people? The trailer makes it seem as though the film could go either way. I guess we’ll see.

7 – Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World (June 26)

Director: Dana Nachman

Writer: Dana Nachman, Kurt Kuenne

Actors: Miles Scott, Philip Watt, Mike Jutan, Eric Johnston, Naomi Kyle

Genre: Documentary

Rated: PG

I don’t usually acknowledge Documentaries on my “Top 10” articles. It’s not for any reason other than the fact that I don’t tend to enjoy them. Most of the time there’s the monotone voice along with dry facts. I find it a little like being back in history class.

Batkid Begins, however, barks up a different tree. The trailer alone got me a little teary-eyed.

I know the base story of who Batkid is (in relation to this film), but as I watched the trailer I found I wanted to know more about him and his story. I’d love to know who he is now, if he is now.

Looks great.

6 – Entourage (June 3)

Director: Doug Ellin

Writer: Doug Ellin, Rob Weiss

Actors: Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Kevin Connolly, Jeremy Piven, Billy Bob Thornton, Haley Joel Osment, Kid Cudi, Emily Ratajkowski, Perrey Reeves, Richard Schiff, Ronda Rousey, Rex Lee, Piers Morgan, Mark Cuban, Thierry Henry, T.I., David Arquette, Gary Busey, Bob Saget, Jon Favreau, Greg Louganis, Andrew Dice Clay, Mike Tyson, Pharrell Williams, Scott Vener, Liam Neeson, Ed O’Neill, Kelsey Grammer, Chad Lowe, Mark Wahlberg, David Spade, Jessica Alba, Warren Buffett, Common, Armie Hammer, Tom Brady, Matt Lauer, Maria Menounos, George Takei

Genre: Drama

Rated: R

I thought I was watching the wrong trailer at first. I’m guessing that was the point, which means it was well done. I really like the way they did it.

I’ve never seen the Entourage show. I’ve heard plenty about it, but never really sat down and gave it a chance. This film makes me want to.

Even if it didn’t look as good as it does, the sheer mass of cameos would interest me. Look at that list of actors. The makers had to get all of them to clear time in their schedules to appear. People from Mike Tyson (The Roots of Fight, Scary Movie 5, The Hangover) to Mark Wahlberg (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Pain & Gain, Ted) to George Takei (Free Birds, Supah Ninjas, Star Trek). That’s not an easy task. Something must have drawn them other than pure money.

I want to see what it was.

5 – Inside Out (June 19)

Director: Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen

Writer: Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley

Actors: Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Richard Kind, Paula Poundstone

Genre: Animation

Rated: PG

I’ve been interested in this movie since I first saw a teaser about it. It looks absolutely adorable. Plus its Disney Pixar so… there’s that.

Really, I can’t imagine not wanting to see this.

4 – Big Game (June 26)

Director: Jalmari Helander

Writer: Jalmari Helander

Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Onni Tommila, Felicity Huffman, Victor Garber, Jim Broadbent, Ted Levine, Ray Stevenson

Genre: Action

Rated: PG-13

Samuel L. Jackson (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Django Unchained) plays the president and is getting hunted down by an inside man. If that didn’t sound awesome enough, there seems to be a sassy feel to the humor of the film. I like a good sassy sense of humor. I kind of like that the hero seems to be the kid, also.

The trailer indicates that there’s tons of action, tons of laughs and some great acting.

3 – Max (June 26)

Director: Boaz Yakin

Writer: Boaz Yakin, Sheldon Lettich

Actors: Josh Wiggins, Thomas Haden Church, Lauren Graham, Robbie Amell, Jay Hernandez

Genre: Adventure

Rated: PG

This trailer was truly heartbreaking. I mean, you have to assume the dog is probably going to die, because they always do in this kind of film. It makes me cringe, but the story seems so interesting that I still find myself wanting to see it.

I’m also really happy to see Robbie Amell (The Flash, The Duff, The Tomorrow People) in another film, even if it seems to be a small part according to the plot.

2 – Ted 2 (June 26)

Director: Seth MacFarlane

Writer: Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild

Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, John Slattery, Patrick Warburton, Richard Schiff, Tom Brady

Genre: Comedy

Rated: R

I found the first Ted to be absolutely hilarious. Naturally, that means I’m all about seeing the second one.

Yeah, I see that Seth MacFarlane (A Million Ways to Die in the West, American Dad, Ted) reused some of his Family Guy jokes. I’m also aware that it seems like it might get a little subtly preachy, but that doesn’t change anything. I’m still looking forward to seeing it and I’m still certain it’s going to be super funny.

1 – Jurassic World (June 12)

Director: Colin Trevorrow

Writer: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Derek Connolly, Colin Trevorrow, Michael Crichton

Actors: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Judy Greer, BD Wong, Jake Johnson, Nick Robinson

Genre: Thriller

Rated: PG-13

I love the Jurassic Park series more than anyone should. I have seen them all so many times that I can recite the majority of them. During college, I used to play the first Jurassic Park on repeat while I did research papers because it helped me concentrate.

Needless to say, I’m really looking forward to Jurassic World.