June is a big month for Netflix fans, mostly because one of the streaming service’s most popular hits, Orange is the New Black, makes its triumphant return on June 17 to laptops, tablets, and television screens everywhere. But outside the obvious, there are some real stellar titles making their debut this month:
Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Jurassic Park III
Available Now
Before Jurassic World became one of the top 5 highest grossing films of all time, its three predecessors—Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and Jurassic Park III—paved the way for its success. Now on Netflix, learn the history of the park that decided it’d be a pretty chill idea to bring dinosaurs back from the dead—and then was so incredibly stupid it brought them back three more Goddamn times.
Breaking the Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed (Seasons 1 and 2)
Available Now
As children, there was perhaps no cooler job on the planet than that of the magician. Could an astronaut sit in a bucket and fly up into space? Yeah, sure. But could that same astronaut guess my card out of 52—four times in a row? Yeah, a cop carries a gun and fights crime, but could he saw me in half and put me back together again before my very own eyes? Sure, an attorney can save an innocent man from going to prison, but could he levitate clear off the ground? The list goes on and on, but the magician always wins. Unfortunately for us, a good magician never tells his secrets—until now. Suck it, David Blaine.
The Fear of 13
Available Now
This gripping documentary tells the story of Nick Yarris, a man who spent 22 long hard years in prison (on death row, no less) after being wrongly accused, tried, and convicted in 1982 of the rape and murder of Linda Mae Craig. The Fear of 13 has one character, Yarris, who tells the complete story from front to back, starting with his childhood, and traveling all the way up through his time on death row. If Making a Murderer angered you, allow The Fear of 13 to tear your heart out.
Cold In July
Available Now
Want to see that guy from Dexter (Michael C. Hall) play someone other than Dexter in a movie that has absolutely nothing to do with Dexter? Sounds like you want to watch Cold in July, an independent crime drama directed by Jim Mickle (Mulberry Street, Stake Land) starring Sam Shepard, Don Johnson, Nick Damici, and the one and only Michael C. Hall. Based on the novel of the same name, the film has an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and is probably one of the biggest “holy shit I did not see that coming” contenders on this list. The plot twists are nothing short of mind-boggling.
(Dis)Honesty – The Truth About Lies
Available Now
“Jesus. Why did I even say that?” is a phrase muttered at least once by every person reading this. (Dis)Honesty – The Truth About Lies is a documentary that explores the personal, psychological, and emotional reasons why people tell the stupid lies that we do. It explores the rationale behind everything from the big lies—like the existence of Santa Claus—to the smaller, lesser-known ones like insider trading on the stock market. Why do we do it? What does it mean? What purpose does it serve? All of these questions and more are finally answered.
The Great Alone
Available Now
Another exceptional documentary making its way to Netflix this month, The Great Alone tells the story of Lance Mackay and his quest to win the legendary and infamously grueling Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race—not once, but four separate times. Learn about one of the most badass sports on the planet, as well as Mackay, a cancer survivor who comes from a long line of dog sled racers. The documentary explores man and his relationships with animals, the elements, and his relationship to his family and his fellow man, in a way that will compel you to get up off your ass and stop wasting the precious time you have here on earth.
Gabo: The Creation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Available Now
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is considered by anyone who isn’t a complete idiot to be one of the real-deal masters of literary fiction. His novels—the most famous being One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera—are some of the most well-read (and well-received) pieces of “magical realism” of all time. But when he wasn’t winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, Gabo was a troublemaker, a terrible student, a maniacal romantic, and a political revolutionary. This documentary tells that story.
Bo Burnham: Make Happy
June 3
It’s really difficult to be an intelligent, relevant, and self-aware comedian these days. If you’re not writing boring jokes about professional athletes or drunk girls from the bar, you’ll probably never find yourself on a comedy stage worth standing on. For Bo Burnham, that’s just not true. Regarded as one of the most non-millennial millennials that ever millennial’d, Bo Burnham’s new original special for Netflix is available starting June 3—we’re betting it’s going to be spectacular
Orange is the New Black
June 17
And of course, without further ado, Season 4 of Orange is the New Black will premiere on June 17, right where last season left off. After all of last season’s momentous drama, coupled with the serious overcrowding issues at Litchfield seen in the finale of season three, we anticipate nothing short of hellfire for Piper and all the other inmates.
Spotlight
June 22
Perhaps the second biggest arrival coming to Netflix this month, Spotlight is an Academy Award-winning biographical drama surrounding the real-life team of Boston Globe journalists who worked diligently and risked everything to uncover the Catholic Church’s disgusting tendency to cover up instances of child abuse. Starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McAdams (and a few others, naturally), Spotlight is a tough but necessary movie. We probably wouldn’t recommend it for a Netflix and chill session, but it’s definitely an eye-opening, incredible film.
