Wicked, Mountainhead and Nicolas Cage's Surfer: what's new to streaming in Australia in June

The Guardian

2 days ago

TV, Australia, 2025 – out 6 June
I wasn't a big fan of Jane Harper's murder mystery The Survivors: the characters never engaged me and it seemed obsessed with bridging a gap between past and present. Plus, its central metaphor – about the ocean dredging up old secrets – felt rather laboured. So I'm hesitant, albeit curious, about Tony Ayres' Netflix adaptation, which will surely deploy flashbacks aplenty, like the two previous Harper adaptations: The Dry and its sequel.
The setting is the fictitious Evelyn Bay, which is upended after a young woman is murdered on the beach. Charlie Vickers plays Kieran Elliott, who has recently returned to the town with his partner, Mia (Yerin Ha), and their baby, still feeling profound guilt over a terrible event that occurred 15 years ago. Could the two events be connected?
Film, USA, 2024 – out 26 June
The most audacious thing about Wicked is the framing of Elphaba Thropp. Turns out the so-called Wicked Witch of the West is actually a good person, her reputation cruelly sullied by Emerald City's propaganda machine. In director Jon M. Chu's glossy blockbuster, she is played by Cynthia Erivo, who of course belts out a show-stopping number about defying gravity. My favourite part is a daffy but good-natured, symbolism-heavy side plot, about animals being targeted by a government that wants to lock them up and remove their ability to speak.
Film, Australia/US, 2018 – out 28 June
Leigh Whannell's low-budget but very slick and polished sci-fi is a lean, mean, thrillingly executed revenge movie. Based in the not-too-distant future, the plot rockets to life when its mechanic protagonist, Grey (Logan Marshall-Green), is attacked by transhuman criminals, who kill his wife and turn him into a quadriplegic. An experimental procedure gives him back the use of his body, with the condition that he must share it with a computer.
Frenetic, frame-flipping action scenes show the computer taking control and making mince meat of any fool who stands in Grey's way. But maybe the AI has its own agenda. Whannell strikes a cracking balance, combining midnight movie thrills and spills with juicy ideas.
Honourable mentions: Rumours (film, 5 June), Tires season 2 (TV, 5 June), K.O. (film, 6 June), Titan: The Oceangate Disaster (TV, 11 June), Fubar season 2 (TV, 12 June), The Pope's Exorcist (film, 15 June), Squid Game: season 3 (TV, 27 June).
Film, Australia/Ireland, 2025 – out 15 June
Want to know what Wake in Fright would look like with Nicolas Cage taking the lead? The Surfer is the closest you'll come to finding out. Cage plays a well-off businessperson who, after many years abroad, returns to the small Australian coastal town he grew up in, determined to buy his old family home. When he arrives at the local beach, however, he's accosted by a gang of hoodlums who steal his surfboard and repeatedly bark their mantra: 'Don't live here, don't surf here.'
All-out war erupts, triggering a downward spiral for the protagonist and a familiar treat for the audience: watching Nic Cage go nuts. Before you know it, he's babbling like a madman and drinking beer from puddles. Director Lorcan Finnegan maintains an ironic touch, cutting to shampoo commercial visions of sand and surf. But the tone is ferociously surreal.
TV, UK, 2025 – out 4 June
Near the beginning of creator Stephen Butchard's BBC crime series, Sean Bean's character, Ronnie Phelan, wonders whether his margins 'could be better' and issues his right hand man Michael (James Nelson-Joyce) the following directive: 'Same gear, better price.'
Ronnie is a crime boss with an eye on retirement, wanting to boost his coffers before slipping off into the sunset with his wife (Julie Graham). This creates a succession struggle, the top contenders being Michael and Ronnie's eldest son Jamie (Jack McMullen). There's nothing wildly original about any of this, but, going by the first episode, it's diligently made, with strong performances and downcast vibes.
Film, Australia, 2025 – out 15 June
'At our beach, at our magic beach … ' If you're a parent there's a good chance those words have been emblazoned on to your psyche, thanks to the gorgeous writing and illustrations of Alison Lester. Separated into 10 chapters, each inspired by different pages and animated in a different style, Robert Connolly's adaptation – as I wrote in my review – is 'a beautifully imperfect production, shirking the straight lines, smooth curves and spit-polished surfaces so ubiquitous in mainstream kids' movies'.
Honourable mentions: The Last Man on Earth seasons 1-4 (TV, 4 June), Coming 2 America (film, 7 June), Magic Mike (film, 8 June), Marie Antoinette (film, 15 June), The Kids Are Alright (film, 25 June).
TV, Denmark/France/Sweden/Czech Republic/Belgium/Norway/Germany, 2024 – out 20 June
This is the first TV series from director Thomas Vinterberg, whose previous film Another Round was a sharp, entertaining, and very boozy tale of a group of school teachers who attempt to remain neither sober nor drunk. The subject is grimmer this time around: Families Like Ours is set in a climate-devastated future where Denmark is evacuated due to rising sea levels. Property becomes worthless and much of the population become refugees. In the words of the Guardian's Lucy Mangan, 'Vinterberg takes what most of us treat as an existential threat, a problem too huge and frightening to think about, and puts it into a more manageable frame.'
TV, Australia, 2025 – out 19 June
Packaged in the form of six 10-minute episodes – though I recommend watching them all in one sitting – Moonbird is set on a remote Tasmanian island, exploring the relationship between a father (Kyle Morrison) who's teaching his son (Lennox Monaghan) about the Aboriginal tradition of muttonbirding, which involves the harvesting of mutton bird chicks.
There are tensions: the boy says he doesn't 'believe in murdering innocent sea birds' while Dad insists that 'this is your culture'. The story is modest but hits its emotional beats, and the location is immersively captured by director, co-creator and co-writer Nathan Maynard.
Honourable mentions: Two Hands (film, 1 June), The Last Samurai (film, 1 June), The Long Kiss Goodnight (film, 1 June), Paperback Hero (film, 6 June), La Storia (TV, 12 June), Lord of the Flies (film, 13 June), Black Daisies (TV, 26 June), Iris (TV, 26 June), Constantine (film, 27 June), Midsommar (film, 28 June), My Name Is Gulpilil (film, 30 June).
TV, UK, 2025 – out 3 June
How 'bout some good old-fashioned dinosaurs? The original Walking with Dinosaurs series premiered in 1999, generating big ratings. But, uh-oh, the remake didn't impress the Guardian's Jack Seale, who described it as nothing more than 'a decent dino documentary' that 'feels cheap and tired'. Sounds like (apologies) a dinosnore!
Honourable mentions: Police Rescue (TV, 1 June), Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont Spelling Bee season two (TV, 4 June), Bay of Fires season 2 (TV, 15 June), Little Disasters season 1 (TV, 15 June), Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius (TV, 16 June), Prime Suspect (TV, 29 June), The Gulf seasons 1-2 (TV, 20 June).
Film, US, 2024 – out 3 June
Nicole Kidman delivers one of her best and bravest performances in years as Romy Mathis, a robotics company CEO who engages in a very steamy and kinky affair with Samuel (Harris Dickinson), a much younger intern. As their relationship intensifies, one can sense things probably aren't going to end well, with plenty of intense 'no, don't do it!' moments. Kidman is unsettlingly good at layering a character turned on by danger and risk.
Honourable mentions: Mr Robot seasons 1-4 (TV, 1 June), Deep Cover (film, 12 June), Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (film, 1 June), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (film, 1 June), The Twisters (film, 4 June), Ready Player One (film, 17 June), We Were Liars (TV, 18 June), Promising Young Woman (film, 19 June), Countdown (TV, 25 June), Heretic (film, 26 June), The Hunger Games (film, 30 June).
Film, US, 2025 – out 1 June
Four ultra-wealthy tech bros gather for a poker weekend in the mountains in the film directorial debut of Succession creator Jesse Armstrong. As they're there – gasbassing about apps, deals, and the need for 'digital milkshakes' and 'robot handjobs' – the wider world descends into chaos, largely due to technology their companies have rolled out. This is strikingly sharp and timely satire, with smugly entertaining performances from Steve Carell, Cory Michael Smith, Ramy Youssef and Jason Schwartzman.
Film, US, 2025 – date TBC
The sensationally popular Minecraft movie doesn't do a great job introducing its world to people, like me, who are largely ignorant of it, beyond some basic information and an appreciation of that blocky aesthetic. But I got the sense this was deliberate; one, as they say, for the fans – and by god there are lots of them.
The story revolves around a bunch of people who are pulled into the 'Overworld' via a magical portal. The film is immensely boosted by Jack Black and Jason Momoa's highly entertaining performances – particularly the latter, who's dressed in an outrageously great pink leather jacket.
Honourable mentions: The Mortician (TV, 2 June), The Expendables 1-3 (film, 14 June), Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie (TV, 20 June), John Wick (film, 21 June), The Matrix (film, 21 June), The Matrix Reloaded (film, 21 June), The Matrix Revolutions (film, 21 June), Enigma (film, 25 June), My Mom Jayne (film, 28 June), When No One Sees Us (TV, 30 June).
Film, UK, 2025 – out 8 June
David Attenborough sure has a great work ethic – especially for someone who's almost 100. The new documentary from the legendary presenter and biologist is a deeply alarming assessment of the health of the world's oceans, which are in serious trouble due to overfishing. The film (co-directed by Colin Butfield, Toby Nowlan and Keith Scholey) carefully establishes that ocean life lives in a delicate balance, before examining the sheer ruination of the seas: a terribly sad state of affairs. The last act, as is common in activist documentaries, is more optimistic, offering some potential solutions. It's nicely shot and, of course, beautifully narrated by Atto.
Honourable mentions: Mission: Impossible 1-6 (film, 1 June), Predator: Killer of Killers (film, 6 June), The Incredible Hulk (film, 20 June), Ironheart (TV, 25 June), The Bear season 4 (TV, 26 June).
TV, US, 2025 – out 4 June
Will Apple's new comedy-drama do for golf what Ted Lasso did for baseball? Probably not. But its appeal extends far beyond those who love whacking balls across well-maintained lawns. In large part because of Owen Wilson, who's just so damn likable as Pryce Cahill, a former professional golfer with a chequered relationship to the sport. He's convinced that a young talent (Peter Dager) can crack the big time, taking the (initially reluctant) kid under his wing.
All of this fits comfortably within a familiar sports narrative format, at least going by the first two episodes. There's not the faintest desire to risk or innovate. But it's pleasant, moreish viewing.
Honourable mentions: Echo Valley (film, 13 June), Smoke (film, 27 June).