Noah CentineoiHeartRadio Wango Tango, Los Angeles, USA - 02 Jun 2018
Photo by Mediapunch/Shutterstock
Back in summer 2018, Netflix introduced us to the power couple of Lana Condor and Noah Centineo—better known as Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky, the romantic focus of To All the Boys I've Loved Before.
Arguably the best Netflix original rom-com in recent history (seriously—it has a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes), To All the Boys solidified Centineo's status as an official White Boy of the Month and "the internet's boyfriend" upon its release. But all fleeting teen crushes must come to an end, and the Centineo storm has since simmered down, partially due to his unbearably cringey social media presence. And if the just-released trailer for the sequel, To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, is any indication, it seems Lara Jean might be starting to get over Peter, too.
To All The Boys P.S. I Still Love You | Official Trailer | Netflixwww.youtube.com
The follow-up finds the pair of Lara Jean and Peter in a newly "real" relationship, having spent most of the first film in a phony fling to spark jealousy in their mutual rival, Gen. All seems fine and well, but things get tricky when John Ambrose McClaren—the last recipient of Lara Jean's many love letters—makes a surprise appearance. It's a love triangle to end all love triangles!
Surely, this sequel can't be better than its original, but as a viewer who identified with Lara Jean to an alarming degree, I'll absolutely be tuning in (and continuing to fear the day that my private Tumblr from high school inevitably gets leaked).
Netflix's What/If transcends the good-bad spectrum.
What/If has spawned countless reviews, articles, and think pieces, all trying to parse some iota of sense from a TV show that seems purposely designed to be terrible. It's not exactly so-bad-it's-good, because that implies an earnestness of intent and What/If clearly does not hold itself to any conceivable standard. And yet, What/If is just on the cusp of being generic enough to gaslight a viewer into believing that maybe, possibly, someone at some stage of production thought they were making an unironic TV drama, as opposed to an absolute dumpster fire of a show.
But that's probably not the case. If anything, when Netflix ordered What/If to series, their goal was clear as day: to take a massive dump on anyone who has ever wanted to work in television and failed to achieve their dreams.
Every year, thousands of eager, fresh-faced young hopefuls make their way out to Los Angeles in hopes of becoming the next great actor, writer, director, etc. Most of them quickly grow jaded as they come face-to-face with the limits of their own talents and the hierarchical crapshoot nature of Hollywood. Many fail, regardless of talent. So they move back home to their parents' houses with their glossy reels and their dusty scripts and say, "I tried my best, but I just couldn't cut it."
Then Netflix releases What/If, a series so ridiculously stupid that it boggles the mind. From the opening shots of psychotic, gazillionaire investor Anne Montgomery (Renée Zellweger) pruning a tree as she recites Ayn Randian garble about morality, What/If is a special breed of awful. The dialogue is inhuman, so overwritten and on-the-nose that it's laughable. The sets look cheap. Even the camera work is terrible, featuring strange close-ups of characters' faces, poor angle choices, and cheesy zooms. What/If feels like watching a lost soap opera from the early 2000s, except that's unnecessarily insulting towards all the people who work on soap operas.
By the time What/If forces you to witness a chimp-faced man with a '90s haircut dance around a bedroom in his underwear and a torn Backstreet Boys t-shirt, you must know on some level that this show is an elaborate joke. But is that the punchline, or are you?
Anyone who has ever tried to make it in a creative field knows the blood, sweat, and tears that go into making art. Directors break scenes apart from every possible angle to determine the best course of action to tell a given story. Writers craft draft after draft, tweaking dialogue and structure until every scene is just right. Actors perform take after take, becoming one with the mind of their characters.
And yet, here stands What/If, a show wherein the characters talk incessantly about playing psychological chess with one another yet continue to be surprised when their opponents do something dirty.
Thousands of scripts, hundreds of thousands of hours of work, sit unread on laptop hard drives. Talented actors grow old without ever catching their break. Great indie shorts go unwatched on no-name YouTube channels.
And yet, here stands What/If, a show in which a man claims he has a dad bod before revealing chiseled six-pack abs, as if even the casting director wanted to give the middle finger to the audience.
Indeed, What/If is a big middle finger to anyone who has ever worked hard on a piece of art and failed to see their creation thrive. What/If is proof that talent doesn't matter and that quality is irrelevant. What/If is a creative wasteland devoid of talent and vision, and the fact that it's so fun to watch makes all your failures that much more bitter.
Summertime always means great new movies, and this year has not disappointed.
So far, we've found even more love in our hearts for Keanu Reeves thanks to John Wick 3, Disney's Aladdin took us to a whole new world, Booksmart confirmed that high school comedies are still hilarious and charming, and Avenger's: Endgame was expectedly sensational.
Another month has come and gone, and that means Netflix is also welcoming a new wave of titles to contribute to your choice fatigue.
It wouldn't be a Netflix rollout without some Netflix originals. This June, the techno-dystopian Black Mirror (Season 5) is coming back in three new episodes, one of which features Miley Cyrus. Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler also teamed up for the new Netflix original movie, Murder Mystery. Plus, the Amanda Bynes early aughts flick, What a Girl Wants, that's canon to some (me), is coming to the streaming platform this June. We're also getting Carrie, Magic Mike, Cabaret, 20th Century Women, and 50/50.
If you're looking for something a little more real and raw, Martin Scorsese is releasing his Bob Dylan documentary, Rolling Thunder Revue, straight to Netflix in June, too. If that isn't your style, and you didn't get your superhero fix with Avengers: Endgame, then Netflix's June selection might still be up your alley. This month brings Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse on June 26th, plus the third and final season of Marvel's Jessica Jones. If you're craving the classics, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight are also both coming this month.
It's not a massive month for comedy releases, but Documentary Now: Season 3 is coming to Netflix, as well as Jo Koy's comedy special, Comin' In Hot, and season 5 of Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce.
Here's everything coming to Netflix in June 2019.
Available June 1
Arthdal Chronicles
Oh, Ramona! (Netflix Film)
50/50
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
Batman Begins
Cabaret
Carrie
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Dynasty, Season 2
Good Night, and Good Luck
Gran Torino
Life in the Doghouse
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Magic Mike
Network
Platoon
Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz
Satan & Adam
Small Soldiers
The Dark Knight
The Phantom of the Opera
The Space Between Us
What a Girl Wants
Available June 3
Documentary Now, Season 3
Malibu Rescue: The Series (Netflix Family)
Available June 4
Miranda Sings Live…Your Welcome (Netflix Original)
Available June 5
A Silent Voice
Black Mirror, Season 5 (Netflix Original)
Dr. Seuss' The Grinch
Available June 6
Alles Ist Gut (Netflix Film)
Todos lo Saben
Available June 7
3%, Season 3 (Netflix Original)
Belmonte
The Black Godfather (Netflix Film)
The Chef Show (Netflix Original)
Designated Survivor, Season 3 (Netflix Original)
Elisa & Marcela (Netflix Film)
I Am Mother (Netflix Film)
Pachamama (Netflix Family)
Rock My Heart (Netflix Film)
Super Monsters Monster Pets (Netflix Family)
Tales of the City (Netflix Original)
Available June 8
Berlin, I Love You
Available June 11
Disney's Ralph Breaks the Internet
Available June 12
Jo Koy: Comin' In Hot (Netflix Original)
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (Netflix Film)