Films That I Saw: June 2026

 

Here in America, we are days away from our 250th birthday as it should be a time of celebration of how far we have come. Unfortunately, there is not much to celebrate as the best example to describe how far we have fallen is in one simple picture of the reflecting pool near Washington Monument in our nation’s capital of Washington, D.C. Some landmarks should have been left alone but Il Dumbfuck, as usual, had to fuck it up to play his own ego while he continues to shit himself around world leaders and his cabinet who have continued to make this country a fucking laughing stock. Of course, he blames on his predecessors who are now living in his head rent-free while they were at a more important event in the opening of the Barack Obama museum where everyone is being cool. Plus, I love this friendship between Michelle Obama and W. as everyone knows the former could kill that pussy-ass UFC who called her a man at that horrible UFC show at the White House.

Things are heating up with a heatwave already emerging in Europe as it has been bad while there is a revolution happening in Albania over government corruption and the presence of Ivanka Trump and her dumbass husband Jared Kushner. Most recently, there were two earthquakes in Venezuela that is devastating with thousands of people having already died and tens of thousands missing. Yet, we can no longer rely on TV news programs to give the people any real news as CBS News has died with CNN likely to be next and purchased by the douchebags at Skydance. These are some dark times as I have been disconnected from the world of film as I have been unable to keep up and lost a lot of interest in new releases as there has been too many to keep track of. I have not watched a lot of films recently as my review of The Last Emperor remains half-finished as it has not been fun writing reviews right now.

Thankfully, I have a new distraction and that is the FIFA World Cup as so far, this has been a phenomenal event. Instead of writing about films, I have chosen to write summaries on the daily events of the World Cup in my Letterboxd account along with some thoughts as it has been fun. Especially as I have people reading and commenting on my thoughts as it is fun to keep up as well as reading about visitors to the country coming here like the Scottish finding a place to party in Boston as the city has been welcoming towards them. I also learned that St. Louis is a home base for fans of Bosnia & Herzegovina as that is just fascinating. I do understand that these foreign visitors do have gripes on tipping culture and these horrific ticket prices for the World Cup as I cannot even afford to buy a ticket to a World Cup game. Yet, I have heard that the visitors here in Atlanta have been enjoying themselves with many stating that they prefer our stadium for their more affordable prices on food and drinks instead of the prices at other stadiums including Miami.

The knockout stage has already gotten started with Canada beating South Africa to enter the round of 16 as there are teams that I am rooting for. Croatia is still my pick to win the World Cup along with France, Spain, and Argentina. Yet, I also have Morocco as a dark horse pick to win the World Cup while I have been impressed with the U.S. national team as they have a shot in making it to the quarterfinals. While there are a few gripes about this year’s World Cup that I have as it relates to the dynamic ticket prices, the hydration water breaks in the games, and the treatment of the Iranian national team from FIFA and the U.S. government as we are still in an unfortunate war with them. There is a lot about this year’s World Cup that I have been fond of.

Notably as there are countries making their World Cup debut like Curacao, Jordan, Uzbekistan, and Cape Verde. Curacao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan I think did all right in their debut matches, but Cape Verde is the real surprise as they tied against Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia with a goalie in Vozinha being the breakout star of the tournament at the age of 40. This little island country in the west of Africa has become this Cinderella story that has won over the people as they are set to play Argentina in the knockout stages. The fact that they made it this far is an achievement as these are the little things that I like about the World Cup. 9 out of the 10 teams that have made it to the knockout stages are from Africa as I have been rooting for them as I do want a team that is not from Europe or South America to win the World Cup as I feel like it would be a big change.

Other countries such as Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ecuador have been impressive though Haiti did get eliminated in the group stage, but I was extremely impressed with a goal that Wilson Isidor did against Morocco in Atlanta as it is among one of the best goals I have seen so far. A lot of the games were good though there were a few that were not good. One team that should be considered the biggest disappointment is Uruguay as they tied against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia and then lost to Spain where they self-destructed in the last game. That was horrible as they have embarrassed themselves as I hope Luis Suarez chews them out for playing like chumps. The round of 32 has started and two of my picks in Japan and Germany have both been eliminated as that has made me sad.

In the month of June 2026, I only saw 3 films as they were all first-timers as I spent much of my time watching the World Cup. I need a break from films for now as I am having too much fun with the World Cup.

Monthly Mini-Reviews

Blue Morpho: The Three Act Play



Kit Monteith’s 15 ½ minute short film is really a promotional piece for Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien’s new album of the same name as he talks about his love for nature and his own battle with depression that would inspire the album. It is a low-key yet somber piece where it shows O’Brien talking about the record as well as playing pieces of music from the album. It is a unique album that is more about mood and ambiance that does fit into the similar style of Radiohead as I am still waiting for them to tour the U.S. and hopefully do something with Nine Inch Nails.

Kylie

Madonna, Cher, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, and Beyonce. Those are names everyone knows when it comes to who are the queens of pop music. Yet, there is one name that belongs in that conversation even though she has only had a few hits here in the U.S. Around the world, Kylie Minogue is an icon who sold more than 80 million albums worldwide with an impressive record of having #1 albums in the U.K. in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s as well as being considered a national treasure in her native Australia. The 3-part, 3-hour documentary film explores her life and career where Minogue herself talks about her life as well as remaining this figure of positivity to her audiences as the film also has interviews with her sister Danni, music producer Pete Waterman, her former Neighbours co-star Jason Donovan, and Nick Cave who had been instrumental in allowing Minogue to explore new ideas in the mid-90s. It is an exhilarating and touching documentary film that explores the many highs of Minogue’s careers as well as some of the tough moments such as the death of her former boyfriend in Michael Hutchence of INXS, horrible criticism early in her music career, and two battles with cancer that she has beaten. In this world, there is only one Kylie, and she is the Only Kylie That Matters (with all due respect to porn actress Kylie Rocket).

United Passions

For those who have not read my list about the best films to watch on futbol would be surprised at one of the films I did watch this month and man, it is one of the worst films ever made. It is about the creation of FIFA and the World Cup and the people who helped turn this small sports organization into something gigantic but also filled with a lot of corruption. It is a film funded by FIFA where they wanted to make some of their figureheads, including Sepp Blatter as saintly figures. Yet, it feels off knowing that there was a lot dirty dealing and all of that as the only thing missing from the faces of Sam Neill as Joao Havelange and Tim Roth as Blatter were evil mustaches for them to twirl and with a cackle. It is fucking shit.

Well, that is all for June as I have no idea what I will do in July other than continuing my coverage for the World Cup on Letterboxd. After that, I am unsure if I will go back to the movie theaters with the upcoming releases of The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Her Private Hell looming. I am also unsure on what reviews I plan on writing or restarting my Blind Spot series as I just want to take an extended hiatus from that for a while. I would love to go on a vacation, but I cannot afford it and it is just a bad time to go anywhere right now because of inflation and other dumb shit.



Before I bid adieu, I must acknowledge those who passed away this month such as the famed music executive Clive Davis who discovered many great artists as well as creating Arista Records that did a lot for many artists such as Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow, and Santana. Without him, I do not think we would have music that have defined our lives and he will be missed. Also who will be missed include the economist Alan Greenspan, pro wrestler Joe Doering, actress Dame Penelope Keith, Chicago co-founder Walter Parazaider, actor Tom Ligon, Ann Blyth, David Clayton of Blood, Sweat, & Tears, French singer Guesch Patti, visual effects artist Jeff Olson, actor Michael Byrne, voice actress Akihiro Miwa, TV showrunner James Burrow who gave audiences the show Cheers, Justin Carey of Sixpence None the Richer, music producer Tay Keith, comedy actor Tom Dreesen, pro wrestler the Duke of Dorchester, video game music composer Bobby Prince, TV actress Anne Schedeen, Dee Palmer of Jethro Tull, film editor David Gamble, film critic Gene Shalit, actor Ronnie Schell, artist David Hockney, Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand, Stacey King of the Chicago Bulls from the 1990s, astronomer Alan Hale, actor Anthony Guidera, author James Bradley, actor Patrick Godfrey, actor James Handy, Peabo Bryson, Anthony Head, and Daveigh Chase. We will miss you. This is thevoid99 signing off…

© thevoid99 2026