3-in-1 Movie Review: Robin, Leviticus, and the Girls Arrive on June 19

June 16, 2026

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

CREDIT: Aidan Monaghan/A24

The Death of Robin Hood

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgӓrd, Murray Bartlett, Noah Jupe, Faith Delaney, Jade Croot

Director: Michael Sarnoski

Running Time: 122 Minutes

Rating: R for A Decent Amount of Blood

Release Date: June 19, 2026 (Theaters)

CREDIT: Courtesy of Focus Features / © 2026 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

Girls Like Girls

Starring: Maya da Costa, Myra Molloy, Zach Braff, Levon Hawke

Director: Hayley Kiyoko

Running Time: 95 Minutes

Rating: R for Teen Partying and Some Language

Release Date: June 19, 2026 (Theaters)

CREDIT: NEON

Leviticus

Starring: Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Mia Wasikowska, Jeremy Blewitt, Ewen Leslie, Davida McKenzie, Nicholas Hope, Zamira Newman, Edwina Wren

Director: Adrian Chiarella

Running Time: 88 Minutes

Rating: R for Disturbing Horror Violence and Some Sexual Content

Release Date: June 19, 2026 (Theaters)

Welcome to all of you who just can’t wait for the Summer Movie Season! And also welcome to those of you who absolutely can’t resist the lure of the multiplex no matter what time of the year it is. If you enjoy reading about any and all new releases, well you’re in luck, because this is one of those times when I review more than one movie in a single post. They’re all set to debut in theaters on June 19, and their names are The Death of Robin Hood, Girls Like Girls, and Leviticus. They all promise to provide very different tones from each other, but they also all have one thing in common: none of them is Toy Story 5.

The Death of Robin Hood hands off the famous outlaw’s bow and arrow to Hugh Jackman, with Pig auteur Michael Sarnoski writing and directing. This is one of those revisionist takes that strips away the most recognizable elements of a very famous character, which is to say that this Robin doesn’t do a whole lot of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. So what does he do instead? Honestly, not much. This is certainly a movie that lives up to its title, with Robin essentially just lying around and making amends until he expires. In the course of his demise, he’s tended to by a nun (Jodie Comer) and kind of befriends a leper (Murray Bartlett). So it’s not totally event-less, but I still ultimately came to the conclusion that it took away the most interesting part of the character and didn’t really replace it with anything else interesting.

Girls Like Girls similarly lives up to the promise of its title, but in this case employing a strategy that’s presumably much safer for pleasing its target audience. It’s the directorial debut of singer-songwriter Hayley Kiyoko, based on her novel of the same name that was in turn based on her song of the same name. It follows the teenage Coley (Maya da Costa) in 2006 as she moves in with her dad (Zach Braff) following the death of her mom and finds herself spectacularly smitten with her new friend Sonya (Myra Molloy). You get the sense that this is the first time that Coley has ever felt this deeply for a girl, or anybody at all really. That’s the key to this movie’s power: the bigness of the feelings are contagious. We’ve all endured the struggles of uncertain love (no matter how queer or not queer), and we’re all looking for the support that Coley’s looking for promising that it’s all going to be okay.

We’ve actually got one more queer love story on the docket, although Leviticus doesn’t exactly offer much in the way of anything resembling a happy promise. Instead, this Australia-set supernatural chiller finds teenage boys Naim (Joe Bird) and Ryan (Stacy Clausen) spooked by an entity threatening to kill them after an encounter with a “Deliverance Healer” (Nicholas Hope), which is essentially the most evil case of “pray the gay away” that you can imagine. The entity takes the form of the person you’re most romantically obsessed with, so Naim and Ryan are screwed by any attempts at solidarity. Comparisons to It Follows are inevitable, but the despair I clocked has more to do with the geographical dispersion of Down Under. Truly, this is a nightmare worthy of the Outback.

Grades:
The Death of Robin Hood: 2.5 out of 5 Arrows
Girls Like Girls: 3.5 out of 5 AIM Messages
Leviticus: 3.5 out of 5 Doppelgangers

‘Talk to Me’ Invites You to Talk to the Hand and Take a Death Trip

July 27, 2023

jmunney Cinema, Movie Reviews , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Start talking (CREDIT: A24)

Starring: Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto, Zoe Terakes, Chris Alosio, Marcus Johnson, Alexandria Steffensen

Directors: Danny and Michael Philippou

Running Time: 95 Minutes

Rating: R for Bloody Possessions and Horny Dialogue

Release Date: July 28, 2023 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Let’s give ’em a hand! On second thought, maybe not. Especially if the hand in question is the one from Talk to Me, the feature directing debut from Australian brothers Danny and Michael Philippou. At first glance, it looks like a harmless, though creepy, piece of porcelain, with a bunch of handwritten messages all screwed across. But when you go in for a handshake and say “talk to me,” suddenly a pus-spewing spirit appears. Then when you add “I’ll let you in,” you’re suddenly possessed. It’s treated like a viral social media challenge, but of course it turns about as deadly as you might expect. Specifically, 17-year-old Mia (Sophie Wilde) takes it too far when she thinks she’s made contact with her mother Rhea (Alexandria Steffensen), who recently committed suicide. Her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen) urges at least some semblance of caution, but the opposite is in store when her younger brother Riley (Joe Bird) ends up with a bloody body and a trapped soul.

What Made an Impression?: A New Vision: Horror audiences are perhaps the most seen-it-all breed of moviegoer in the multiplex. So it’s special when you stumble across something that really doesn’t feel like anything else you’ve ever encountered before. Talk to Me‘s individual components are familiar, from the young people foolishly meddling with the supernatural, to the trauma-filled backstory, to the visions that can’t be trusted. But it’s all combined into a package with a new, spruced-up veneer. Maybe it’s all those thick Aussie accents giving me fresh vibes. Or it’s probably that hand – it’s quite a hook!
Young, Dumb, and Very Dumb: Horror movie characters aren’t exactly known for their sensible decision-making, especially if they’re teenagers. But the kids in Talk to Me take it to another level. Every possible warning was there to convince them not to mess with the hand in the first place. A prologue presents an earlier chapter in which a previous handshaker ended up stabbing his own brother and killing himself. The current batch of kids are fully aware of this backstory. It’s not some urban legend, but a well-known cautionary tale. But there’s a certain rush to flirting with death, and they’re all onboard for the extreme risks. It doesn’t make it any less maddening to watch them put themselves in harm’s way, though.
Fully Uncompromising: Talk to Me is not for the faint of heart. It fully earns its R rating with faces stuffed into bloody pulps and unrelenting treatment from demented spirits. It’s of course no surprise for this genre to be as deadly as possible, but it’s still an accomplishment when the demises are as devastating as they are here. Mia and her crew are immature and in over their heads, but their sudden twists of fate are much crueler than they deserve. The Philippou brothers aren’t here to let you get comfortable, though. So make peace with your maker, because if you’re looking for relief, you’ll need to find it elsewhere.

Talk to Me is Recommended If You Like: Sinister, Final Destination, It Follows

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Hands