What's Worth Watching on Netflix in June 2018

June 1

This crucial documentary goes behind the scenes of the terrorist attacks on Paris on November 13, 2015, during which 13o people were killed. Directed by brothers Jules and Gédéon Naudet (the makers of 9/11 (2002)), the three-parter includes interviews with survivors, police, firefighters, and then French President François Hollande.
June 3

In writer-director Craig Johnson’s high-school comedy, successful senior Alex Truelove (Daniel Doheny) is about to lose his virginity to his smart and pretty girlfriend Claire (Madeline Weinstein). He then decides its recipient should be new acquaintance Elliott (Antonio Marziale), a handsome boy from the other side of town. Let’s see if Claire responds like a certain Lady Bird, or if the three manage to become friends.

In the Melbourne-based Ali’s Wedding (2017), the charming title character tells a huge white lie that lands him in a stew with his Muslim family and specifically his dad, an Iraqi-born cleric. Studying at medical school (despite not being enrolled), Ali hurtles toward an arranged marriage (despite being in love with someone who isn’t the bride). Will he please his family, or do the right thing for himself? The award-winning Aussie romcom was based on the experiences of star and co-writer Osamah Sami, whose own arranged marriage lasted less than two hours.

After two series, Netflix canceled the beautiful looking sci-fi drama Sense8—created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski—in June 2017. This prompted a fan petition to bring it back. The result is a tw0-hour finale that may or may not resolve the fates of the threatened “cluster” of eight diverse, globally separated “sensates” who found they could see and converse with each other after experiencing a violent vision. A less costly spin-off series would go down well.
June 15

Spanish filmmaker Ramón Salazar’s Sunday’s Illness might be the Netflix movie of the month. Chiara (Bárbara Lennie) was eight when she was abandoned by her mother Anabel (Susi Sánchez). Thirty-five years later Chiara requests that Anabel spend 10 days with her, and whisks the white-haired woman away from her life of elegance and refinement to dwell with her at Chiara’s isolated mountain chalet home. Reviews have been excellent for this Berlin Film Festival entry, which explores the intricacies of a daughter and mother’s tortured relationship.

June 22

Based on the memoir of Susannah Cahalan, Gerard Barrett’s Brain on Fire (2016) tells the story of a young New York Post reporter suddenly stricken by blackouts, panic attacks, catatonia, and memory loss. Chloë Grace Moretz has the plum role. She is supported by Thomas Mann, Richard Armitage, and Carrie-Anne Moss.

Here we have the first ever competitive cooking show in which the common ingredient of the dishes is marijuana. The host is Josh Levya and the resident expert is Ngaio Bealum. Judges include Vitaly, Heather Pasternak, Mod Sun, Warm Brew, Wax, and Sam Jay.

June 26

As tensions mount between China and America, political journalist Harriet Dunkley (Anna Torv) stumbles on a web of related political conspiracies in the Australian capital Canberra. This six-part miniseries, based on Chris Uhlmann and Steve Lewis’s novels The Marmalade Files (2012) and The Mandarin Code (2014), co-stars the formidable Jacki Weaver, as well as Daniel Wyllie, Mekhi Phifer, and Alex Dimitriades. Season 2 was announced in February.
June 29

Alison Brie once again heads the cast of wrestling’s semi-glitzy answer to Orange Is the New Black. Joining Brie, Betty Gilpin, Kate Nash, and the others for the 10-part series is Shakira Barrera, who plays Yo-Yo, a lesbian Mexican-American dancer-stripper.

In this British teen drama, up-and-coming Tallulah Haddon excels as lonely Leila who, having just lost her mom, becomes hooked on a virtual reality game that transports her to the lush land of Azana. It’s “where nothing hurts,” she says before a more sinister reality kicks in. Inspired by Lottie Moggach’s 2013 debut novel, Kiss Me First was created by Bryan Elsley (Skins) and owes to The Matrix movie series. Simona Brown and Matthew Beard co-star.
And a classic to consider…

Credit to Netflix for making available (from June 1) the masterly 1988 PBS documentary series. Over six episodes, the journalist Bill Moyers interviews the eminent mythology scholar Joseph Campbell about subjects ranging from Jungian psychology and creation myths to God vs. nature and comparative religions. It’s a must-see for anyone interested in storytelling or, for that matter, where we’ve been and where we’re going.