June Movie Roundup
Let's talk about what I watched last month
June was a good movie month here at Working Title HQ. Last week, we published our favorites of 2025 so far and some of the additions to the list were late breakers from the last month or so. You might see me copy-pasting sections from that newsletter into this one. Work smarter, not harder etc… not that it’s any of your business anyway. Let’s have a look.
Movie: Fear Street: Prom Queen
Where To Watch: Netflix
Recommend: not really, no
I actually kind of enjoyed the first 3 FEAR STREET movies on Netflix and was surprised at their brutality and scares. This one just felt overwrought and poorly written. It has Katherine Waterson though, which is lowkey kinda bonkers!
Movie: From The World of John Wick: Ballerina
Where To Watch: in theaters, on Peacock eventually
Recommend: a soft hell yeah
Probably some of the most fun I’ve had in a theater this year, I was hootin’ and hollerin’ basically the whole time.
I didn’t think this franchise could still surprise me but there are some fights in here that absolutely whip nuts. The grenade fight sequence was awesome and so was the flamethrower fight. I was also a big fan of the ice skates as knives and the funny little plate gag in the kitchen. Plus, there was a camera trick in one of these fights that had our theater going nuts. Great crowd movie.
Ana de Armas really sells this, she’s a natural and the fight choreography is as tight as ever. I will watch her shoot guys in the head all day.
Shoutout to the guy in our theater that during the part of the movie where Ian McShane’s character is comforting the child version of Ana de Armas’ character and says something like “our lives are the choices we make” turned to his friend and said “so true. Ana de Armas blow me up with a grenade.
Movie: Predator: Killer of Killers
Where To Watch: Hulu
Recommend: you bet
I knew this was coming out but I had frankly forgotten all about it until I saw it pop up on my Hulu page. This thing was a real heater. The story was great and the animation was cool. I really like the PREDATOR franchise and it seems to be in good hands with Dan Trachtenberg.
Movie: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Where To Watch: Disney+
Recommend: I sure do
This was my first rewatch post-Andor and a few things stood out to me.
1. ROGUE ONE felt really subversive when I watched it in theaters and subsequent rewatches pre-Andor but in the wake of the show it feels pretty even keeled. I think this says more positive things about Andor than it does negative things about this movie but it was noticeable.
2. This movie was never long, but it felt exceptionally fast on this watch. It makes me wonder how they would have handled this on the show if they were able to devote a 3 episode arc to it. The pacing and development it would have when given room to breathe vs the rushed feel that sometimes happens here.
3. I was the Leo pointing meme about 4-5 different times, whether it was characters or motives or even just dialogue.
4. Battle of Scarif still rips. The last 5 minutes with Darth Vader are still amazing, a favorite sequence in any Star Wars movie.
5. Andor is so, so good. I’m so sad it’s over. I think it’s already on my favorite tv shows of all time list and will probably move higher as I spend more time with it.
Movie: 28 Years Later
Where To Watch: In theaters
Recommend: yes, but if you’re violence/gore averse you will not be rockin’ with this one
This movie has been met with effusive praise and some harsh criticism. I think I fall somewhere in the middle. It’s a movie I really enjoyed but wanted to enjoy more.
It really subverted what I thought it was going to be. I kind of assumed the whole movie was going to be the first act with Aaron Taylor - Johnson and his son trekking in the woods.
The most enjoyable subversion was the Ralph Fiennes character. Thought he was going to be a General Kurtz type figure and he’s anything but. One of Fiennes greatest strengths is a reserved, quiet tenderness. It’s on full display here and I found it wonderful.
I did stumble against some of the narrative choices and they seemed in opposition to each other. The kid’s choice to take his mother off island doesn’t make any sense upon any sort of scrutiny and his journey back to the island is miraculously easy.
I loved the revelation with the iPhone and that life outside the UK continues unencumbered. The causeway scenes were some of my favorites of the year so far, especially the one under the moonlight.
Also enjoyed the gonzo ending scene. Jack O’ Connell having a hell of a year!
Movie: Never Enough: A Visual Album by Turnstile
Where To Watch: I don’t know really. Had a limited theater run. will hopefully be on YouTube or on Blue-Ray or something soon because I would love to return to it.
Recommend: if you can find it, big yes
“time is happening, ever passing me”
I have been listening to the band Turnstile for over a decade now and I have enjoyed everything they’ve done to varying degrees. While I was a little slow to warm up to their latest album “Never Enough” I certainly enjoyed it. Enough that I even put up with the “is Turnstile even hardcore” discourse cycle that has been going on for years now but really ramped up again. (Side note: I don’t think we need to ask if Turnstile is hardcore. We need to ask if they a good band. To me personally, the answer is yes.)
This visual album/movie/whatever you’d like to call it gave me a new appreciation for it on several levels. It’s remarkably creative. I felt like I was watching Koyaanisqatsi mixed with a Windows Media Visualizer, with some ballet thrown in for good measure. I particularly loved the “Light Design” and “Sole” sections.
It rocked hearing an album I enjoy loud as hell in a theater. I got emotional a couple of times tbh. It really is Never Enough!
Movie: F1
Where To Watch: on the biggest screen possible brother
Recommend: yep
Every once in a while you want to watch a movie that doesn’t make you think too hard. Sometimes you wanna see loud car go fast. And brother loud car go fast in this movie.
It is maybe one of the most cliche filled scripts you’ll see this year. The Brad Pitt performance is objectively kind of bad lol. You know exactly what’s going to happen basically from the beginning, but that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable seeing it play out. The race sequences are worth the ticket price alone imo.
That said, you better love corporate synergy, because this bad boy has more company logos than, well, an F1 race. Does anyone feel a sudden urge to use Expensify?
This is a true Summer Blockbuster and one that I really enjoyed. I could listen to Kerry Condon talk about tyres for 3 hours
We’re heading into the thick of summer movie season and there’s a lot coming up that I’m looking forward to watching. You’ll be hearing from us plenty as the movie year continues.
Talk soon.