Movies Not to Miss: June 2015

Writer: Casey Lee

Which of these are you going to watch?

We are now at precipice of where the major blockbusters will be playing out the rest of this summer. While these movies won't have the advantage of setting the tone for this summer just as "Fast & Furious 7" and "Avengers: Age of Ultron" did, the couple of studio heavyweights coming out this month are certainly strong enough to take the heat on their own. If not leave their predecessors in the dust. So if you are expecting things to slow down, rest is for the weak.

However, for this month of June, our recommendations have been heavily swayed by the number of non-Hollywood (even Asian) titles that are coming out too. While these may not be names that you will hear again come awards season, these slower paced or dramatic pieces are clean breathers you can take, if you have been drained by the never ending thrill these past couple months.

But June isn't just a spectrum of mindless action or thoughtful performance, there are also unmissable works from other genres for every man, woman and child. So check out our list of movies not to miss this June!

Rewinding the story so far in the "Insidious" series, this third installment will be a prequel that takes place before the haunting of the Lambert family, when psychic Elise Rainer is revealed on how she helped to contact those on The Further. This will be the first installment in the series that won't be directed by James Wan since he was busy making "Furious 7" at the time, but the duties have been taken over by screenwriter and cast, Leigh Whannell, who has written every installment of the series (including this one).

General Release Date: 4 June

The blockbuster of the month and one that probably has more expectation on it that will weigh over it. Chewed and crunched in development for almost a decade, it is hard not to see why expectations are not high for this fourth installment that would be directly tied to the original "Jurassic Park" in 1993. Taking place 22 years on Isle Nublar where the dinosaur theme park as envisioned by John Hammod is finally open and functioning, geneticist in the park have been trying to create a new species of dinosaur known as the Indominus Rex for tourism purposes. When the perfect killing machine breaks out, Veciraptor behavioral research Owen Grady is dispatched to stop the rampage before it devours the park. A bulk of the anticipation is to the name of director Colin Trevorrow, as there is much to see on how he will handle his first major feature, but with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard in the lead, he shouldn't have to worry much on delivering the spectacle.

General Release Date: 11 June

Really the best part of the "Despicable Me" series has always been the minions, and a spin-off of them is an evil plan to suck out million-gazillion dollars that is more evil than anything that Gru can ever conceive. Co-directed by Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin, who will be voicing the minions, "Minions" would be an origin story of sorts when Kevin the Minion, tagged along by two volunteers, go to find a new master at the Villains Convention where they meet Scarlet Overkill (voiced by a devilish Sandra Bullock). But can a villain be too villainous, even for these minions to bear? We will probably find out when we see the lines that will be queuing up outside the cinema, instead of McDonalds.

General Release Date: 18 June

If the new type of short and shock horrors has never been your palate (like the aforementioned "Insidious Chapter 3"), then perhaps there is good reason to revisit an old classic. Tobe Hooper's (some say Steven Spielberg's) "Poltergeist" is one the classical horrors of the 90s, and it was only a matter of time before it would be put through the grinder of remakes. We can't say much about having director Gil Kenan on the helm, but having Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt as the leads is a little reassuring.

General Release Date: 18 June

Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys may be one of the most important musicians of our time. His gifted story as a musical prodigy, tainted by his failing mental health, almost makes him a modern Mozart but with a much happier (and still living) ending. "Love and Mercy" became the passion project of director Bill Pohlad, who hasn't directed a film since 1990's "Old Explorers", and after more than 15 years not calling the shots directly behind the camera, he is still able to bring a new approach to biopics with the casting of Paul Dano and John Cusack to play the same character. Respectively, Dano and Cusack would be playing as Wilson, but on two different phases of the musician's life, and the reception it received at the Toronto Film Festival has been rewarding. An unusual praise was also given to its lack of creative license, sticking strongly to real events down to the detail that even had Wilson himself saying that is was 'very factual'. While the awards potential for "Love and Mercy" is not certain yet (and a maybe a little out of season), but this is a treat and refreshing piece to be seen for sure.

General Release Date: 11 June

Since "Gone Girl", Gillian Flynn's novels have become a new well of thrillers to mine from for its shock value and dark plots. "Dark Places" is her second novel being adapted to the big screen, but her involvement in this adaptation pretty much ends there. While director Gilles Paquet-Brenner is no David Fincher, he does have in his favour a solid cast. Starring Charlize Theron (who has rekindled her fame after "Mad Max: Fury Road") as the sole survivor of a shooting that murdered her mother and sister, she testified against her brother for pulling the trigger on behalf of a satanic cult. She would be confronted by Nicholas Hoult (also last seen in "Fury Road") as a member of amateur crime investigators, who points out that the evidence doesn't add up and she may have put the blame on the wrong person. The impressive cast list doesn't end there too, with Christina Hendricks, Chloe Grace Moretz and Tye Sheridan fitting into the picture, and if Gilliam's first novel is any indication, it's going to be one twisted picture as each piece of the puzzle fits.

General Release Date: 25 June