June 2022 JAX Movie Picks

“The Fifth Element” still.

Summer is here, and sure, that often means big blockbusters hitting the theaters. But, this month also marks some pretty big anniversaries in cinema history. So while “Jurassic World: Dominion” takes theaters by storm later this month, you can also revisit classics like “The Thing” and “The Fifth Element.”

These are five films celebrating big anniversaries this June that you can experience, perhaps for the first time, on the big screen in the Jacksonville area.

6.5 + 6.6

“The Wizard of Oz”
If you can believe it, it’s been 100 years since Dorothy and her little dog Toto traveled somewhere over the rainbow into the land of Oz. The film, featuring the stunning vocal talents of Judy Garland, stunned audiences with its use of technicolor to illustrate the beauty of the strange new world. Even now, the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys strike fear into our hearts. And I can bet most of us haven’t been lucky enough to catch this on the big screen before. Not Rated. 

6.12 + 6.15

“What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?”
The source of the wild rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford was born almost 60 years ago out of Robert Aldrich’s “What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?” Davis and Crawford, both queer icons in their own right, play two aging actresses who live together in an old mansion. The longer they cohabitate, the more resentment and anger bubble closer to the surface. Not Rated.

6.19 + 6.22

“The Thing”
John Carpenter’s “The Thing” is a marvel of horror cinema, a perfect example of how to use body horror and practical effects to the most gruesome extreme. And 40 years later, it’s still just as impressive. In the film, a group of American researchers is stranded in their Antarctic outpost due to a storm and something terrorizing them and destroying them one by one. What follows is a desperate struggle for survival that’ll chill you to the bone. Rated R.

6.26 + 6.27

“The Cat Returns”
Studio Ghibli doesn’t just release the works of Hayao Miyazaki. A mere 20 years ago, the famed animation studio released director Hiroyuki Morita’s “The Cat Returns.” In the film, a bored teenager meets the Cat King and is transported into a world of cats. It’s like the movie “Cats” but less horrifying and with way less music. It’s gorgeously animated and another whimsical release for the legendary studio. Rated G.

6.26 + 6.29

“The Fifth Element” at ​​Cinemark Tinseltown and XD
Luc Besson’s sci-fi epic starring Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Gary Oldman celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. What better way to celebrate than seeing all of that incredibly campy action on the big screen? Willis plays a taxi driver in the year 2257 who is swept up in a plot to save humanity. Plus Chris Tucker steals the show as Ruby Rhod. Rated R. Cinemark Tinseltown and XD: 4535 Southside Blvd, Jacksonville, FL; cinemark.com/theatres/fl-jacksonville/cinemark-tinseltown-and-xd 

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