05/06/2026
FILM REVIEW by Liam Hathaway
New Releases this June.
Scary Movie 6
(dir. Michael Tiddes)
Do I have particularly high hopes for this? Not really. However, I absolutely cannot deny that the SCARY MOVIE franchise – that began solely as a send-up of the late-90s slasher cycle – played some part in my early filmgoing experience. Endlessly quoted to this day, these films were in some ways the AIRPLANE! of their generation; certainly not for their comedic ingenuity, but absolutely for their impacts upon pop culture. This belated legacy instalment brings back franchise favourites Anna Farris, Regina Hall and a bunch from the Wayans family, and will take parodic aim at films such as GET OUT, M3GAN, SINNERS and the TERRIFIER films. The trailer promises nothing but low-brow fun – something the world probably needs right about now. In cinemas June 5th.
Disclosure Day
(dir. Steven Spielberg)
Steven Spielberg has been directing movies since the early 1970s, having amassed almost forty films to his name. And while he’s worked in probably every genre going, the one he returns to time and time again is science fiction. Any synopsis for his latest, DISCLOSURE DAY, is being kept under wraps, but the awesome trailer makes direct reference to crop circles, the Roswell incident and elusive beings living among us – so if aliens aren’t involved, I’ll eat my TV. Bearing one of Spielberg’s few writing credits, the air of wonder emanating from the trailer is highly reminiscent of the filmmaker’s first true passion project: 1977’s CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. Starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colin Firth, consider my seat already booked. In cinemas June 12th.
In Case You Missed It
Project Hail Mary
(dir. Phil Lord & Christopher Miller)
The cynic in me had middling hopes for PROJECT HAIL MARY – a film I assumed would be some simple science fiction fluff with gawk-worthy Ryan Gosling at its centre. I was wrong. This is a totally and irresistibly charming genre collage of some of the genre’s greatest hits and deep cuts, satisfyingly cobbling pieces from the likes of SILENT RUNNING, SUNSHINE, INTERSTELLAR, THE MARTIAN etc. Drawing from that pool of inspiration, the math checks out in HAIL MARY’s favour. And even if Lord and Miller’s deep space survival adventure about lonely Gosling befriending a sentient rock is more a triumph of craft over originality, its dazzling visual strokes and moments of genuinely earned pathos seal the deal. One of the best of 2026 so far.
Streaming Modern Classic
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
(dir. Quentin Tarantino)
Legendary director Quentin Tarantino has been in rather hot water this year for airing his harsh opinions of actors whose work he’s not particularly fond of. An uncool moment for the PULP FICTION writer-director for sure, but QT has always been a brash loudmouth when it comes to his views on anything cinema. Anyway, the online hoo-ha triggered my urging to rewatch Tarantino’s most recent film, 2019’s ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD – a film that initially left me cold back during its release, that I have since grown to adore. Outside of its righteous, melancholic warping of Hollywood history and backdoor commentary on cancel culture, the film is a perfect ode to male friendship, doubling as an inimitably cool piece of hangout cinema (right up until it very much isn’t). This might just be QT’s masterpiece.
Letterboxd: LiamVIII IG: Liam__VIII
