CREDIT: Roadside Attractions/Saban Films

Lucky Strike

Starring: Scott Eastwood, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Taylor John Smith, Colin Hanks

Director: Rod Davis Lurie

Running Time: 102 Minutes

Rating: R for War Violence and Stark Imagery

Release Date: June 26, 2026  (Theaters)

CREDIT: A24

The Invite

Starring: Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton

Director: Olivia Wilde

Running Time: 107 Minutes

Rating: R for Characters Opening Themselves Up to New Experiences Much More Than They Planned On

Release Date: June 26, 2026 (Theaters)

Arriving on June 26, 2026, we’ve got a couple of new theatrical releases with starkly different subject matter but that I somehow feel compelled to approach in a similar fashion. One of them is about something that I would never like to participate in myself, but is there something of value to be gleaned from watching a movie about it? Whereas the other is about something that certainly intrigues me even though I’m not sure if I would ever dive right into it with complete abandon, but would my opinion change in any way if I watch a movie about it first?

The former is Lucky Strike, a World War II thriller that could’ve conceivably been a blockbuster if it had come out 30 or 40 years ago. But with that particular generation of veterans close to dying off, it’s no surprise that this tale of the Battle of the Bulge isn’t exactly at the center of the pop culture conversation. I certainly wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of John Castle (Scott Eastwood), who finds himself behind German enemy lines during that crucial operation. Who would, after all? Director Rod Davis Lurie and his co-screenwriter Mark Frydman frame the nightmare of combat around an idea of sacrifice that I’m not sure I can necessarily get behind, i.e., that a soldier’s objective in war (or at least a war as globally consuming as this one) is less about keeping his fellow soldiers alive than it is about keeping everyone back home alive. Much more morally satisfying is Castle’s visit to a mother (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) who has lost sons in the war and been cheated out of what she’s owed from her employer to let her know that her sacrifice is appreciated and that he’s done what he can to make things right. It’s a small note of compassion that allows Lucky Strike to be a little more valuable than a mere relic.

My feelings about The Invite are much less conflicted, if not necessarily completely straightforward. Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde star as Joe and Angela, a profoundly harried couple hosting their upstairs neighbors Hawk (Edward Norton) and Pina (Penélope Cruz) for a dinner party that goes in surprisingly cozy directions. As it turns out, Hawk and Pina have a habit of welcoming various friends into their bedrooms, and they would like Joe and Angela to be their next guests. Only one of these leads could reasonably be categorized as a comedian, but they’ve all had comedic experience to varying extents, and they all manage to lock into a vulnerable, explosively honest chemistry that results in quite possibly the best case scenario for this premise. Joe and Angela’s hang-ups and anxieties mean that a fully orgasmic night is unlikely, but we can laugh out loud (with empathy) at their eye-opening revelation that another couple could be attracted to them with such a curious and exploratory attitude.

So the final verdicts are: there is value in watching war movies even if you’re as much of a pacifist as possible (though Lucky Strike may not the most sterling example), and regardless of group sex’s place in your own life, The Invite is worth a watch for some hearty guffawing.

Grades:
Lucky Strike: 2.5 out of 5 Barracks
The Invite: 4 out of 5 Flans