What's New To Streaming In June 2023
Featuring a home invasion slasher and a classic Adam Sandler character
It’s a new month, so you know what that means! Here’s an indie horror and a 90s comedy, both new to streaming this month, that we are recommending for your viewing pleasure. And make sure you check out the list below of the best new to streaming titles this month on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and Max.
Billy recommends…
You’re Next
Director Adam Wingard is one of those examples of directors that hasn’t quite gone the way you expected after two of his early hits. He was a niche horror director that started to break out when he used his earlier very indie horror tendencies and shaped them into familiar setups that we have seen before. You’re Next is a uniquely layered home invasion slasher that has some gnarly kills and rough performances, but slick direction that makes some of the “faults” feel intentional.
A family is all together for a reunion of sorts and the dynamics are off. Not a murderer in the house vibe, but you can tell past trauma is present. All of these major dynamics are seen through the eyes of our main character Erin. She is lovingly accompanying her boyfriend Crispian to this get-together. What ensues is a bloody mess that initially feels like a story involving a hopeless woman, Erin, navigating a group of intruders. Quickly though, we see that Erin has plenty of skills to keep herself alive by using her Home Alone-esque booby traps to lead the intruders to their own demise.
Wingard moves quick and beautifully sets up scenarios that will show you kills you probably haven’t seen before. One kill using a blender had me hootin’ and hollerin’ it was so rad. While I enjoy this movie immensely, I think this a sign of a director that has leaned too far into his talent of updating genre archetypes that we know super well. His next movie is The Guest and that creates a spin on a road-trip gone wrong scenario, but still an original story that was an improvement on You’re Next. Shortly after he was making a found-footage movie that was thought to be an original story, but turned out to be a sequel to The Blair Witch Project. Creating even more hype, but higher expectations that he couldn’t execute well enough. Here's hoping that his bigger box office successes with Godzilla vs. Kong will give him the clout to go back to his You’re Next origins.
Streaming on Max
Drew recommends…
Happy Gilmore
I may have Adam Sandler on the brain because of the new season of I Think You Should Leave, Tim Robinson’s hysterical Netflix sketch comedy show. Sandler isn’t in it, it’s just that Robinson’s performance style often feels indebted to the Sandman. Many of Robinson’s characters on the show are likely to lose their cool at any moment, which leads to all kinds of screaming, crying, and hilariously outrageous behavior. While I Think You Should Leave sketches usually go in a more unexpected and absurd direction than Sandler’s comedy, I’d be shocked if early Sandler movies aren’t an inspiration for Robinson. As a 30-something male, you can probably guess that I’ve seen them all, but it’s Happy Gilmore that remains the perfect distillation of what makes an Adam Sandler movie so great.
After his breakout with Billy Madison in 1995, Sandler had enough juice to write a script with his co-writer and college roommate Tim Herlihy about a hockey player turned golfer that could hit the ball 400 yards. Not only did that have potential as a funny premise, but Sandler’s creation, profane hooligan Happy Gilmore, playing on a professional golf tour guaranteed comedy gold. The sight of Happy putting with his hockey stick, brawling with Bob Barker, or screaming “You’re gonna die clown!” during mini-golf will never fail to be funny for those of us who grew up with these movies.
But you can’t just rely on one character in a comedy, you need a well-rounded bench of supporting players. As Shooter McGavin, Christopher McDonald crafted a now-iconic sports movie villain. The great Carl Weathers memorably plays “Chubbs,” Happy’s one-handed coach and mentor. And, Ben Stiller has fun as a cruel orderly at the nursing home where Happy’s grandma lives.
Sandler’s humor is more than his angry outbursts, but that’s always been his bread-and-butter. Happy Gilmore was that sweet spot in his career where he had a little acting experience, but he hadn’t gone to a place of self-parody yet. He was able to carry a successful comedy on his shoulders, and make people laugh by doing something that felt new. Adam Sandler would go on to star in movies that made more money (Big Daddy, Grown Ups) and earn more critical acclaim (Punch-Drunk Love, Uncut Gems), but Happy Gilmore is an example of Sandler figuring out how to make a great and influential comedy early on in his career.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
New To Streaming In June 2023
Netflix
The Breakfast Club
Bruce Almighty
Dune (1984)
Groundhog Day
Hook
Magic Mike
Mean Girls
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Stuart Little
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Dunkirk (June 12)
Amazon Prime Video
12 Years a Slave
3:10 to Yuma
Arrival
Boyz N the Hood
Brokeback Mountain
Creed
Devil in a Blue Dress
Glory
Hot Fuzz
Purple Rain
Rent
Robocop
Shaun of the Dead
Silver Linings Playbook
True Lies
Crazy Rich Asians (June 6)
Sully (June 6)
TÁR (June 6)
Interstellar (June 12)
Armageddon Time (June 20)
Selma (June 20)
American Sniper (June 21)
M3GAN (June 27)
Hulu
Borat
The Goonies
Grown Ups
Man On Wire
Mr. Deeds
Role Models
Three Identical Strangers
The Twilight Saga
Dune (2021) (June 10)
Drinking Buddies (June 15)
Barbarian (June 25)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (June 30)
HBO and Max
Big Daddy
Dog Day Afternoon
Dumb & Dumber
Eastern Promises
Grease
Hairspray
I, Tonya
Jackie Brown
Just Mercy
Moneyball
Moonlight
Police Academy
Ready Player One
Selena
The Evil Dead
The Hurt Locker
Magic Mike’s Last Dance
Avatar: The Way of Water (June 7)
A Star Is Born (June 8)