#1 hit Expend4bles, Critics Choice nominee Mr Monk’s Last Case, Critics Choice Super nominees Infinity Pool & Polite Society
Expend4bles
Stream from 17 June
Armed with every weapon they can get their hands on – and the skills to use them – the Expendables are tasked with a brutal mission to stop a terrorist organisation targeting a consignment of nuclear warheads in a bid to trigger World War III.
In the #1 box office hit Expend4bles, Critics Choice nominee Jason Statham (aka The Transporter, and Shaw in the Fast & Furious franchise), three-time Oscar nominee Sylvester Stallone (aka Rocky Balboa and John Rambo), Dolph Lundgren (Ivan Drago in Rocky IV and Creed II, and Aquaman’s King Nereus), and Olympic wrestler and UFC World Champion Randy Couture reunite as the team of elite mercenaries that gets called in when all other options are off the table.
Joining the cast for the first time are Grammy and Emmy winner Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Power), Teen Choice winner Megan Fox (Transformers), Iko Uwais (The Raid), and Oscar nominee Andy Garcia (Wrath of Man, The Godfather Part III).
Also keep your eyes peeled for SAFTA-nominated South African actor and comedian Cokey Falkow as a bartender.
Mr Monk’s Last Case
Stream from 6 June
Four-time Emmy winner Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) returns as beloved and brilliant OCD detective Adrian Monk in Mr Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie. Based on the hit 2000s comedy series Monk – which ran for eight seasons and won eight Emmys – the film sees Monk tackling one last, very personal case involving his stepdaughter Molly, a journalist preparing for her wedding.
At this year’s Critics Choice Awards, Mr Monk’s Last Case was nominated for Best Movie Made for Television, with Shalhoub up for Best Actor.
Not released in South African cinemas, Mr Monk’s Last Case has a 95% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with TheWrap noting that, “Two decades later, we can all relate a bit to Adrian Monk. He may even be the perfect sleuth for the post-pandemic jungle we’re living in. Is this case truly his last? One can only hope the answer is ‘No’.”
Returning fan favourites include Traylor Howard as Natalie Teeger, Jason Gray-Stanford as Randy Disher, Emmy nominee Melora Hardin as Trudy Monk, and Emmy winner Hector Elizondo as Dr Bell.
Infinity Pool
Stream from 27 June
While indulging in an exclusive island getaway, novelist James Foster (Emmy winner Alexander Skarsgård from Big Little Lies) and his wealthy wife Em (Cleopatra Coleman from Rebel Moon) break the rules and venture beyond the resort grounds. But a tragic accident leaves James facing a zero-tolerance policy for crime and a horrifying choice – execution, or, for a hefty sum, watching himself die instead…
As Gabi, their seductive and mysterious guide through an unfamiliar world of hedonism, violence, and surreal horror, Mia Goth (X, Pearl, Suspiria) was nominated for the 2024 Critics Choice Super Award for Best Actress in a Horror Movie.
Along with Skarsgård, Goth was also nominated for Best Performance in a Leading Role, Drama at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards, where Infinity Pool was up for Best Picture, and both Achievement in Direction and Original Screenplay for Brandon Cronenberg (yes, he’s the son of legendary horror auteur David Cronenberg).
Not released in South African cinemas, the adults-only horror boasts an 87% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Time Out hailing it as “one hell of a twisted ride… damn-near unmissable and, from a safe distance, addictive as all hell.”
Polite Society
Stream from 20 June
Not released in South African cinemas, Polite Society follows martial artist-in-training Ria Khan, who believes she must save her older sister, Lena, from her impending marriage. After enlisting the help of her friends, Ria attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood.
As Ria, Priya Kansara was nominated for Best Actress in an Action Movie at this year’s Critics Choice Super Awards. She was also up for the Breakthrough Performance Award at the 2023 British Independent Film Awards, where her co-star Ritu Arya (Barbie, The Umbrella Academy) was nominated for Best Supporting Performance as Lena, and the movie earned director Nida Manzoor (the BAFTA-winning creator of the series We Are Lady Parts) a nom for Best Debut Screenwriter.
Following its world premiere at Sundance, Polite Society was named among The Guardian‘s Best Films of 2023 and racked up a 90% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “Polite Society throws, kicks, and punches the genre etiquette book out the window to deliver a fun film that blends Bollywood splendour and British wryness.” Or as Observer (UK) puts it, Polite Society is a “kickass celebration of sisterly bonds.”
Champions
Stream from 17 June
Their best shot is his last shot.
Three-time Oscar nominee Woody Harrelson (True Detective) stars in Champions as Marcus Marakovich, a hot-headed former minor-league basketball coach who, after a series of missteps, is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. He soon realises that despite his doubts, together, this team can go further than they ever imagined.
Emmy nominee Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Hacks) co-stars, along with an impressive young cast who hold their own opposite the likes of Black Reel nominee Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters’ Winston Zeddmore), and Grammy-winning comedy legend Cheech Marin (War with Grandpa).
Not released in South African cinemas, Champions won the 2024 Seal of Authentic Representation from the Ruderman Family Foundation, and the Truly Moving Picture Award at the Heartland International Film Festival. Newsday says, “Harrelson shines as a man learning that there’s more to life than NBA fame, and he has a terrific leading lady in Kaitlin Olson,” while Financial Times says, “By the end you just want to hug everyone in it.”
Champions is written by Gravity Falls story editor and Green Eggs and Ham co-producer Mark Rizzo, and directed by Bobby Farrelly (of the Farrelly brothers, who’ve given us comedy blockbusters like There’s Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber, and Me, Myself and Irene), in his solo directorial debut.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Stream from 6 June
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry tells the story of an ordinary man who has passed through life living on the sidelines, until he goes to post a letter one day and just keeps walking.
The uplifting tale of self-discovery and learning to seize the moment stars Oscar winner Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge!, Iris) and Screen Actors Guild winner Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), with BAFTA nominee Linda Bassett (Call the Midwife, East is East, Calendar Girls) among its support cast.
With BAFTA-winning director Hettie Macdonald (Normal People) at the helm, and a screenplay by Rachel Joyce, who penned the bestselling novel of the same name, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry has earned an 80% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Spectator says, “Broadbent is a wonder, so real and sincere it doesn’t feel like acting,” while Times (UK) says The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry “is immediately one of the great movies about ageing and regret.”
Greatest Days
Stream from 17 June
Multiple Brit Award-winning boy band Take That’s official stage musical The Band became a smash hit, but so far it’s only toured the UK and Europe. Luckily for us, its movie adaptation Greatest Days is coming to Showmax.
Greatest Days follows a group of best friends who have the night of their lives watching their favourite boy band in concert. Twenty-five years later, their lives have changed in many different ways as they reunite for one more epic show by their beloved band, and a chance to rekindle their friendship.
Digital Spy says, “It’s a wholesome celebration of friendship, tinged with heartbreak… a crowd pleaser whether you like Take That or not.”
Featuring hit songs like Back For Good and Shine, Greatest Days is exec produced by band members Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald, who sneak in a cameo appearance to watch out for.
Greatest Days is penned by BAFTA-nominated Calendar Girls writer Tim Firth, directed by BAFTA winner Coky Giedroyc (How to Build a Girl, Save Me, Harlots), and stars the likes of BAFTA winner Aisling Bea (Alice & Jack).
+ The Stath vs the shark, Nicolas Cage’s first Western, and classics on the couch
Other highlights include Critics Choice nominee Jason Statham taking on another massive shark in Meg 2: The Trench (from 10 June) and Oscar winner Nicolas Cage (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent) in his first-ever Western, The Old Way, as a cold-blooded gunslinger turned respectable family man, from 24 June.
Showmax is also bringing back a wide range of classics this month, including:
• Oscar winners like the animated Happy Feet (from 17 June) and Oscar nominees like Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, based on Ernest Cline’s bestselling sci-fi novel (from 27 June)
• Edge of Tomorrow (from 3 June), which earned Emily Blunt the Critics Choice Best Actress In An Action Movie Award
• #1 box office hits like the romcom Hitch (from 3 June), starring Will Smith; the horrors Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation and The Conjuring 1 and 2 (all from 6 June); The House Bunny (from 10 June); the comedy Due Date, with Robert Downey Jr (from 13 June); The Equalizer 1-2, starring Denzel Washington, and Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (all from 20 June); and Jumanji: The Next Level, starring Dwayne Johnson; Pixels, starring Adam Sandler; and Resident Evil: Extinction, starring Milla Jovovich (all from 27 June)
Everything on Showmax in June
Other highlights on Showmax in June include:
- All 51 UEFA EURO 2024 games (from 14 June) on Showmax Premier League
- The second season of the Emmy-winning fantasy House of the Dragon (from 17 June)
- Sonic The Hedgehog spinoff series Knuckles, the most-watched kids and family title ever on Paramount+ (from 14 June)
- The 2024 BAFTA-nominated documentary David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived, about Harry Potter’s stunt double (from 5 June)
- The 2024 BAFTA-nominated reality series My Mom, Your Dad, hosted by Yvonne Orji (from 13 June)
- The S2 reunion of the smash hit reality TV show The Mommy Club (from 10 June)
- The new Showmax Original reality series Born Into Fame (from 18 June)
Find out more here: stories.showmax.com/za/what-to-watch-on-showmax-in-june-2024
