The High Five: June

After a month off due to a mixture of business and laziness, the High Five is back for the June edition.  May got the summer off to a great start from a box office perspective (Age of Ultron and Pitch Perfect 2), and also offered up a masterpiece in the zany beauty of Mad Max: Fury Road.  June looks like it'll be offering up plenty of quality flicks that should also make bank for their respective studios.

(Special note: The Tribe opens June 17.  It was my second favorite movie of last year - a true singular achievement - but because I've already seen it, it's ineligible for this list.)

1. Inside Out (June 19) - There was a time when Pixar's brand was synonymous with quality, but the critical mass is fickle, and despite consistently making great movies (Cars 2 is about due for a critical reevaluation), people don't seem to get as excited for Pixar's latest as they used to.  That's about the change with Inside Out, which has been receiving raves since it premiered at Cannes last month - including some calling it the studio's best effort yet - and comes from the brilliant mind of Pete Docter, who previously directed Monsters, Inc. and Up for the studio.  Docter has a knack for delivering both fantastical flourishes and poignant emotional moments, and Inside Out looks to have both in spades.  The film takes a look at what makes humans tick, giving voice to the five major emotions that drive us, such as Joy, Sadness, and Fear.  The perfect voice cast is led by Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith, and I'm not mad about it.  If I could only see one more movie this year, Inside Out would be it.

2. Me & Earl & the Dying Girl (June 12) - Jesse Andrews adapted his own novel for the screen, which can sometimes be a great thing, and other times, not so much.  In the case of Me & Earl & the Dying Girl (some outlets replaces the ampersands with "and"s, but who's keeping track?), it seems like the right fit.  Not surprisingly, considering a good chunk of the book was written in rough screenplay format, often to hysterical effect.  Me & Earl was the big breakout at Sundance this year, fitting the festival's image to a tee while still managing to veer away from some of the cliches that cause audiences to avoid cancer movies.  Still poignant, full of movie references, and populated with memorable characters (played here by a pretty stacked supporting cast, including Nick Offerman and Molly Shannon), Fox Searchlight might have the indie hit of the summer on its hands.

3. Spy (June 5) - Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy have struck gold twice together already; the pair's Bridesmaids and The Heat are two of the most raucous, rewatchable comedies in recent memory.  Spy looks to bring that score up to a solid 3/3, as reviews seem to indicate that Spy is their best collaboration yet (as a diehard Brideshead [I just coined that but you can steal it], I'm a little dubious on that front).  McCarthy is one of the funniest actresses working today, because she has a recognizable schtick, but she's also very flexible in how she employs it.  She doesn't shy away from anything, throwing herself as passionately into wordplay as into physical comedy, which should serve her well in this action-comedy that serves as a send-up of spy movies but also sounds like a pretty solid one itself, full of twists and turns and chases.  Jude Law, Rose Byrne, and Jason Statham are along for the ride, too.

4. Jurassic World (June 12) - At the beginning of the year, I was much more excited for Colin Trevorrow's long-gestating continuation of the beloved dino franchise.  But with every trailer I see, my excitement wanes just a little more.  Jurassic Park is a classic not because of its action set-pieces, though those certainly help.  It stands the test of time because it took the time to let the audience stand beside the characters in awe.  True, it's a weirdly paced movie overall, but the lulls in the action, the expositional bits, and the moments of grandeur all gave that extra oomph to the scenes of prehistoric mayhem.  Judging from the trailers, Jurassic World is going guns-blazing insane on the action front, with new dinosaurs, mass chaos, and trained raptors running alongside a motorcycle (seriously).  It's possible the advertising is just trying to get butts in seats, and the film is inspired by the idea that the sense of wonder for attendees to the park is gone, but I'm still nervous.  But I'm also excited to hear that classic John Williams theme, and to see Chris Pratt and Nick Robinson in action.

5. The Nightmare (June 5) - One might expect a documentary about sleep paralysis to be something better left to PBS on a weeknight.  Yet that's exactly what The Nightmare is, and by all accounts, it's one of the most terrifying documentaries ever made.  Director Rodney Ascher previously helmed the Shining-centric Room 237, a brilliant marriage of style, substance, and fanaticism that convinced me that the moon landing was faked, so I shouldn't be surprised that he's managed to choose such strange subject matter and weave it into something horrifying.  The film features accounts of what various sufferers of sleep paralysis have experienced, including recreations of some of their nightmarish visions.  I hear these depictions are on par with the stuff we see in horror movies, and all the scarier because they have a basis in reality.  Maybe I'll sleep with the lights on after seeing this one.

Other Notable Releases: Love & Mercy (June 5), A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (June 5), The Nightmare (June 5), Every Last Child (June 12), Live From New York! (June 12), The Overnight (June 19), Dope (June 19), Creep (June 19), Eden (June 19), Burying the Ex (June 19), Big Game (June 26), A Little Chaos (June 26), Ted 2 (June 26), Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World (June 26)