The June slate of movie releases from Signature Entertainment looks mighty awesome with a great collection of movies to enjoy including one of our favourite movies of the year Boy Kills World. We look at the slate in today’s post so you can add some if not all of them to your watchlist for June.
So let’s kick off the list of Singature’s June Slate of release with ….
The New Boy (Cert 12A, 96mins)
Synopsis: In a remote monastery in 1940s Australia, a mission for Indigenous Australian children is run by a renegade nun, Sister Eileen. A new charge is delivered in the dead of night – a boy who appears to have special powers. When the monastery takes possession of a precious relic, a large carving of Christ on the cross, the new boy encounters Jesus for the first time and is transfixed. However, the boy’s Indigenous spiritual life does not gel with the mission’s Christianity and his mysterious power becomes a threat. Sister Eileen is faced with a choice between the traditions of her faith and the truth embodied in the boy, in this story of spiritual struggle and the cost of survival.
Introducing Aswan Reid who stars alongside Cate Blanchett (Tár, Carol), Deborah Mailman (The Sapphires, The Secret Life of Us) and Wayne Blair (Redfern Now, Mystery Road), The New Boy is written and directed by Palme d’Or winning director Warwick Thornton (Samson & Delilah, Sweet Country), with music composed by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis (Blonde). The New Boy is produced by Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton for Dirty Films, Kath Shelper for Scarlett Pictures and Lorenzo De Maio of De Maio Entertainment. The New Boy premiered at Festival de Cannes in Un Certain Regard and London Film Festival in 2023. Warwick Thornton won the coveted top prize, The Golden Frog, at the 2023 Camerimage Festival, the biggest festival devoted to the art of the cinematographer, and was nominated for a 2024 American Society of Cinematographers Award.
The New Boy is on Blu-ray 3 June. Distributed by Signature Entertainment
This Time Next Year (116mins)
Synopsis: A refreshing and charming British rom-com set in familiar London from acclaimed romance filmmaker Nick Moore. Flung together at a New Year’s Eve party, Minnie and Quinn quickly realise they share a connection – they were born on New Year’s Day of the same year, in the same London hospital, one minute apart. Minnie grew up convinced that this mysterious Quinn – born first – stole the name her mother planned for her, and with it all her luck, setting her on a path of misfortune. Horrified at the misunderstanding, Quinn is set on making amends. But is it Quinn or is it fate that is scheming to bring the two together?
Starring Lucien Laviscount (Emily in Paris), Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Golda Rosheuvel (Bridgerton), John Hannah (The Mummy), Monica Dolan (Pride), Anita Dobson (Eastenders) and Mandip Gill (Doctor Who), This Time Next Year is written by Sophie Cousens and directed by Nick Moore (Wild Child).
This Time Next Year is available on Digital Platforms 3 June. Distributed by Signature Entertainment
Butterfly Tale (Cert U, 82mins)
Synopsis: This heartwarming tale of a gutsy and loveable yet inept, one-winged butterfly will make your heart flutter. Patrick stows away in a milkweed trailer alongside his best friend, a goofy caterpillar named Marty, and Jennifer, a butterfly who is afraid of heights for the journey of a lifetime. Facing his fears, embracing his uniqueness and triumphing over adversity, Patrick will become an unlikely hero for all butterflies everywhere. Starring Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk), Mena Massoud (Aladdin), Tristan D. Lalla (Long Shot) and Val Mervis (Outriders), Butterfly Tale is written by Heidi Foss (Pup Academy), Lienne Sawatsky (The Guava Juice Show) and Michael Solomon and is directed by Sophie Roy (Double Dribble).
Butterfly Tale is on Digital Platforms 3 June. Distributed by Signature Entertainment
Poolman (Cert 15, 100mins)
Synopsis: Chris Pine crafts a Raymond Chandler style mystery in his directorial debut. Darren Barrenman is a hapless dreamer and would-be philosopher who spends his days looking after the pool of the Tahitian Tiki in sunny Los Angeles and crashing city council meetings with his neighbours Jack and Diane. When Darren uncovers the greatest water heist in LA history since Chinatown, he makes uneasy alliances with a beautiful and connected femme fatale while following every lead he can with corrupt city officials, burned out Hollywood types, and mysterious benefactors – all in the name of protecting his precious Los Angeles, and his pool. Lovingly crafted as a tribute to Los Angeles, Poolman takes the pieces of LA Noirs like Chinatown and The Long Goodbye with the irreverence of The Big Lebowski and the affection of La La Land.
Starring Chris Pine (Star Trek), Annette Bening (Nyad), Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), DeWanda Wise (Jurassic World: Dominion) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight), Poolman is produced by Stacey Sher (Gattaca), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), Ian Gotler (Doula) and Pine and is directed by Pine from a script co-written with Gotler.
Poolman streaming on Prime Video 7 June
The Dead Don’t Hurt (Cert 15, 129mins)
Synopsis: Viggo Mortensen heads back to the 1860s for this moving romantic Western. Vicky Krieps stars as French-Canadian Vivenne, who falls for Danish immigrant Holger Olsen (Mortensen). The pair move to a frontier town in Nevada as the threat of the Civil War looms. When Holger decides to fight for the Union, Vivienne faces serious threats on the homefront, courtesy of the town’s corrupt mayor (Danny Huston), his rancher business partner (Garret Dillahunt) and the rancher’s violent son (Solly McLeod). Starring Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings), Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread), Solly McLeod (Tom Jones), Colin Morgan (Merlin), Danny Huston (The Constant Gardener) and Garret Dillahunt (No Country for Old Men) The Dead Don’t Hurt is written and directed by Viggo Mortensen.
The Dead Don’t Hurt is exclusively in UK and Irish cinemas 7 June. Distributed by Signature Entertainment
The Prank (Cert 12, 95mins)
Synopsis: The legendary Rita Moreno is the teacher of your nightmares in this dark comedy thriller. Ben has a stern, mean and cruel physics teacher, Mrs. Wheeler. She has been teaching at the school for decades and has a reputation for being the hardest, coldest, strictest faculty member. She fails Ben’s entire class unless a student who cheated comes forward. But when no one does, Tanner and Ben hatch a plan to ruin her life and frame her for murder on social media. Starring EGOT winner Rita Moreno (Singing in the Rain, West Side Story), Connor Kalopsis (Outmatched) and Ramona Young (Never Have I Ever), The Prank is written by Rebecca Flinn-White (Period’s Big Adventure) and Zak White (Creepshow) and directed by Maureen Bharoocha (Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin).
The Prank is available on Digital Platforms 10 June. Distributed by Signature Entertainment
Boy Kills World (Cert 18, 111mins)
Synopsis: Get ready for the most gleefully supercharged action film you’ll see all year. Bill Skarsgård stars as Boy, a deaf-mute with a vivid imagination, driven by his inner voice, one which he co-opted from his favourite childhood video game. He avows revenge after his family is murdered by Hilda Van Der Koy, the deranged matriarch of a corrupt post-apocalyptic dynasty that left the boy orphaned, deafened, and voiceless. Boy trains with a mysterious shaman to become an instrument of death and is set loose on the eve of the annual culling of dissidents. Bedlam ensues as Boy commits bloody martial arts mayhem, inciting a wrath of carnage and bloodletting. As he tries to get his bearings in this delirious realm, Boy soon falls in with a desperate resistance group, all the while bickering with the apparent ghost of his rebellious little sister.
Starring Bill Skarsgård (It), Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Brett Gelman (Stranger Things), Isaiah Mustafa (It: Chapter Two), Yayan Ruhian (The Raid), Nicholas and Cameron Crovetti (The Boys), Quinn Copeland (Punky Brewster), Andrew Koji (Bullet Train), Sharlto Copley (District 9), Famke Janssen (X-Men) and H. Jon Benjamin (Archer, Bob’s Burgers) as the voice of ‘Boy’, Boy Kills World is directed by Moritz Mohr from a screenplay by Arend Remmers (Oderbruch) and Tyler Burton Smith (Alan Wake II) and from a screen story by Mohr and Remmers.
Sam Raimi produces alongside Zainab Azizi, Roy Lee, Wayne Fitzjohn, Simon Swart, Alex Lebovici, Stuart Manashil and Dan Kagan for US outfits Raimi Productions, Vertigo Entertainment, Hammerstone Studios and U.S. and South Africa-based Nthibah Pictures. Executive Producers include Sipho Nkosi, Mxolisi Mgojo, Humphrey Mathe, Bill Skarsgård, Reza Brojerdi, Christian Mercuri, Moritz Mohr and Andrew Childs.
Boy Kills World is on Digital Platforms 10 June. Distributed by Signature Entertainment
Birthday Girl (95mins)
Synopsis: This nail-biting intense drama proves how far a mother will go for justice. 42-year-old Nanna has invited her daughter Cille along on a cruise to celebrate her 18th birthday, with the hope of restoring their relationship after a tiring divorce. But what was meant to be their dream-trip to the Carribean soon turns into a living nightmare, when the daughter is raped on their first night onboard the ship. However, international waters are outside any police jurisdiction and neither the shipping company nor the crew are interested in ruining the party onboard. Therefore, it is solely up to Nanna to find the perpetrator before he leaves the ship 48 hours later. Starring Trine Dyrholm (Margrete: Queen of the North), Flora Ofelia Hofmann Lindahl, Herman Tømmeraas (Ragnarok) and Maja Ida Thiele, Birthday Girl is directed by Michael Noer (Papillon) from a script he co-wrote with Jesper Fink (Before the Frost).
Birthday Girl is available on Digital Platforms 17 June. Distributed by Signature Entertainment
Sleeping Dogs (Cert 18, 110mins)
Synopsis: Roy Freeman, in the wake of a cutting-edge Alzheimer’s treatment, is tasked with re-examining a brutal murder case from his past — the grisly murder of a college professor. Intrigued and fighting to regain his memory, Roy enlists his former partner to help him revive the investigation. This time though, things unfold very differently when they encounter a magnetic and mysterious woman. As he uncovers a tangled web of contradictions and secrets, Roy is forced to face a horrific reality that changes his world forever in the blink of an eye. Starring Russell Crowe (Gladiator), Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy), Marton Csokas (The Equalizer), and Tommy Flanagan (Sons of Anarchy), Sleeping Dogs is directed by Adam Cooper (Allegiant) from a script written by Bill Collage (Emancipation) and Cooper, based on the E.C. Chirovici novel The Book of Mirrors.
Sleeping Dogs streaming on Prime Video 21 June
So there you have it a great selection of movies for the June Slate from Signature Entertainment. If you are a fan of Boy Kills World, don’t forget to check out our interview with composer Ludvig Forssell who did the score for the movie.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
