As we approach summer, every studio is bringing its family blockbusters to cash in on families taking their biyearly trip to the cinema. June shaped up to be the month of "returning", from Toy Story to Scary Movie, Spielberg to James Gunn; almost everything we've seen this month has been familiar, much of it failing to impress. Here are the must-sees and definitive misses, released in June.
Best
Toy Story 5
Toy Story 5 sees the return of the much-loved franchise, which seemed to have been slowly losing its allure, with the critical failures of Toy Story 4 and Lightyear. This movie, however, brings these toys back to their roots, reviving itself and becoming possibly the most relevant Toy Story movie since the first.
This contains a story acknowledging the effects of technology on human connection and a child's development. After Bonnie receives a Lilypad, she ends up leaving her toys behind and spends every waking hour glued to that screen. It then becomes Jessie, Buzz, and Woody's job to find Bonnie a real friend to play with toys with, as they know how bad this technology can be for a child like Bonnie, who starts to become embarrassed about her toys.
This movie feels like a proper return to form for this franchise after a rocky few years, and it completely earns your time. There's something to be enjoyed and learned for young kids, older people, and parents alike. It's only now on its third week, so it's the perfect time to take a trip to the cinema.
Read our full review here: Just Another Cash Grab? - Toy Story 5 Review
Letterboxd Rating - 3.7
Current Worldwide Box Office - $585 million
Disclosure Day
Disclosure Day sees the return of one of the filmmaking greats, Stephen Spielberg. Alien movies are his bread and butter, with films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, so this was bound to have some amount of greatness.
Disclosure Day, even with all its openendedness and mystery, follows a cybersecurity expert on the run from a corporation intent on keeping the truth of extra-terrestrial life on Earth a secret. At the same time, a meteorologist experiences strange phenomena, and the two join forces to prove life beyond our understanding, shattering our view of the universe as we know it.
While some believe this doesn't nearly live up to many of Spielberg's earlier works, especially in the alien field, there's no denying the magic this movie holds. Simply the way the camera moves shows Spielberg's craftsmanship in a way that is incredibly difficult to replicate and feels like what cinema is made for. This is currently still making its rounds in cinemas and is definitely one to catch on the big screen.
Read our full review here: Steven Spielberg’s Sci-Fi Homecoming: Disclosure Day Review
Letterboxd Rating - 3.1
Current Worldwide Box Office - $193 million
Worst
Masters of The Universe
Masters of the Universe was destined to fail. This caters to children while being about a world that children haven't thought, or even known about, for many years. It seems to mix up its target audience constantly, having way too many adult jokes for comfort, yet being written like it's for toddlers who aren't paying any attention. It's hard to get a small child to care about a movie that isn't an already known franchise to them or animated - it's even harder when that movie is almost two and a half hours long, and there's Toy Story releasing the same month.
This movie follows Adam, a man who was sent to Earth as a child to protect the Sword of Grayskull from the evils of Skeletor. When he retrieves this sword and returns to his home planet of Eternia, he finds it laid to waste by Skeletor, who has now become a fearful dictator. Adam now has to wield the power of the Sword to become He-Man, the most powerful man in the universe, and defeat Skeletor to return Eternia to its once idyllic state.
While this movie does have its positives and can definitely be a good time for many, it drags far longer than it has any right to, causing the second half to feel like a chore more than a nice day out. If you're a big fan of He-Man, you may enjoy this, but for anybody else, don't bother.
Read our full review here: Who is This Made For? - Masters of The Universe Review
Letterboxd Rating - 3.2
Current Worldwide Box Office - $109 million
Scary Movie
After 25 years and 3 sequels, we've finally seen the return of the Wayans brothers in Scary Movie 6. This promised to be as offensively funny as before, yet seemed to fail at both being offensive and funny. This spends so much of its time trying to be as offensive as it can - and falling short due to it being reheated 'offensive comedy' from 15 years ago - while forgetting its main purpose should be to make people laugh.
This would be the part where I'd tell you what this movie is about, but Scary Movie 6's plot seems to be nonexistent. While it originally starts as a spoof of Final Destination: Bloodlines and Scream 5 - Ghostface has returned and is now going after the younger generation - and tries to thinly tether the end to these original characters going on forever, never being replaced, the middle abandons any semblance of story whatsoever. It tends to bounce from reference to reference with absolutely no meaning or relation to the plot.
At its best, this tends to be a somewhat entertaining reference to a popular movie released in the last year. At its worst, it's simply boring due to it feeling completely outdated by at least 10 years and the comedy intent on offending people who wouldn't watch the movie anyway, rather than catering to their already established audience. If you're already a fan of the first two Scary Movies, you may have a great time, but if you're taking a chance on this, don't waste your money.
Read our full review here: Fails on Both Accounts - Scary Movie 6 Review
Letterboxd Rating - 2.4
Current Worldwide Box Office - $215 million
Little Brother
Little Brother is a movie that knows exactly what it is and makes no attempt to go further. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I could have seen this being so much better if it didn't rely on toilet humour and sex jokes for its entire 100-minute runtime. While there were a few moments that had any amount of interesting material, it was often overshadowed by the juvenile humour, usually with very little success.
This movie follows Marcus (Eric André), who, as a child, was part of a 'Little Brother' program joined by Rudd (John Cena). Rudd acted as Marcus' big brother for a short period before they grew apart. As an adult, Marcus now revisits Rudd during a pivotal moment in his career and inadvertently ruins his life by taking over every part of it.
While Eric André thrives in a role like this and is a saving grace due to his commitment to the bit. John Cena, while good in these roles, should have higher expectations for his own career. He has so much to offer as an actor, yet keeps returning to movies like this and Ricky Stanicky. This is an easy watch to have in the background on Netflix, but I wouldn't bother devoting your entire attention to it.
Letterboxd Rating - 2.5
Supergirl
Supergirl is a cinema watch. This is a movie that you'd walk out of the cinema thinking you had a great time, yet in hindsight you realise all the flaws you can name, with only a few positives. This spends its entire runtime trying to be Guardians of the Galaxy while also carrying its own unique vibe, causing those ideas to clash in many ways.
This movie is based on Tom King's Woman of Tomorrow comic miniseries from 2021 to 2022. This follows Kara (Milly Alcock) after her dog, Krypto, is poisoned and paralysed. The only antidote to this poison is held by the man who shot Krypto, forcing Kara to travel across the galaxy in search of this man. At the same time, a girl whose entire family was killed by this man in cold blood has made it her mission to get revenge on him, enlisting the help of Kara.
While much of this movie does prove to be quite enjoyable, every positive seems to be caveated. The fight scenes are enjoyable, yet are backed by music that doesn't fit. The core story is interesting and admirable, yet isn't often written as well as it could have been. While I would recommend you watch this in the cinema, don't expect the heights of 2025's Superman's quality.
Read our full review here: 10 Years Too Late - Supergirl Review
Letterboxd Rating - 3.1
Current Worldwide Box Office - $68 million
No AI was used in writing this article.