June movie reviews

In theaters:

DISCLOSURE DAY

Steven Spielberg's latest alien movie, this one about a whistle-blower trying to expose the existence of alien life. Like many movies these days, this was picked apart for largely stupid reasons. It has some flaws, sure, like a somewhat unsatisfying finale, and the way those crystal-type things can do whatever the plot needs from them at any given moment. But purely as a conspiracy/chase thriller, it's pretty good. Excellent performances from Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor. 

TOY STORY 5

Do they need to keep making these? Well, they still haven't made a bad one. This isn't on the level of those first 3, which are all pretty much unquestioned classics, but it's at least as good as 4. I didn't laugh that much at this, and some characters get sidelined, but it's another sweet movie with something to say about modern tech and screens and all that. It's fun. Good year for Pixar. 

SUPERGIRL (2026)

Stop me if you've heard this one. A female-led superhero movie gets released to relentless attacks from internet trolls and is called the worst movie ever, with some disgusting attacks made against its star. But the reality is that the movie is just fine. 

Not a classic. The main villain is very forgettable, and the plot is mediocre. Milly Alcock is fun as Supergirl, nailing the sarcastic side and still conveying heart. Jason Momoa is surprisingly entertaining as Lobo, an antihero type who drifts in and out of the movie. There's lots of cool production design and some fun action. 

Everything else:

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2

The original was a big hit, but I didn't like it. I found it a shallow, rather mean movie about shallow, mean people. This sequel is basically the same thing, only it lacks the original's veneer of comedic energy. 

SCARY MOVIE 6

I was genuinely excited for this, the return of the Wayans to the franchise they started, and with tons of horror movies to mine jokes from.

But this was a disaster, barely better than the awful Scary Movie 5. I have no idea what happened here. The whole movie plays like one of those terrible "(Blank) Movie" spoofs that killed the genre, where it's just references to movies with no jokes added in. I got an occasional chuckle out of this, but that's it. 

NEVER CHANGE

A bunch of adults have to go back and complete their senior year of high school because reasons. Average comedy that doesn't take advantage of its premise. Watch it mostly for the great Sofia Black-D'elia. 

SUPERGIRL (1984)

An infamous bomb that came out as the original Superman run was fading out. This isn't good. Helen Slater is very winning as Supergirl, but she's stranded in a dumb movie that has all the same issues as those last couple Reeve Superman flicks. Faye Dunaway's campiness is amusing, at least. 

LOGAN'S RUN

A dystopian 70s sci-fi movie that clearly inspired a lot of things, many of which were just better. Cool looking film, with good action. 

EXTREME MOVIE

A curious little artifact of the late 2000s, a mix of Kentucky Fried Movie skit compilation and American Pie teen sex comedy. They got Michael Cera and Kevin Hart in this before they became stars, and the writers include Lord and Miller and the Lonely Island guys. I got a few laughs out of this, but most of it is just unfunny attempts at shock value. 

TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A.

Cool mid-80s LA crime drama from William Friedkin, with one hell of a cool soundtrack. Has early roles for Willem Dafoe and John Turturro. 

THE NIGHT BEFORE

A very early Keanu Reeves movie, pre-Bill & Ted, where he plays a high school nerd (riiiiight) who takes out the prettiest girl in school (young Lori Loughlin...my god...10 of 10) and the night turns into a disaster, much of it recalled in a day after haze. It's like a teen movie version of After Hours. Very weird, and parts of it aged horrifically, but Reeves is really enjoyable.