Skip to main content

June 2016

Books on Screen

June 2016

Welcome back, Books on Screen lovers! Our headliner this month is a real tearjerker, but all you June bugs out there need not worry: No tear ducts, no tears!  

Out now is Me Before You, based on the weepy Jojo Moyes bestseller about a young woman who comes to care for and care for an unhappy quadriplegic man. The Book Report Network staff had the pleasure of seeing the film before it hit theaters, and this “Game of Thrones” fan was particularly happy to see star Emilia Clarke out of Mother-of-Dragons mode. Apparently, she has charm in spades when she’s not burning down patriarchal power structures in pursuit of world domination. The movie’s controversial ending might put some viewers off, but the adaptation --- penned by Moyes herself --- stays pretty faithful to the book. And PSA: Your sleeve is not a suitable substitute for tissues. Learn from my mistakes, people!

Also out this month is Genius, finally a movie about the OG gentleman editor --- no, not Editorial Director Tom Donadio --- Maxwell Perkins. Perkins’ name may not be familiar to some of you, but he edited some of literature’s greatest writers, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe. The movie, which stars an embarrassment of A-list actors, is based on A. Scott Berg’s immensely readable biography of Perkins, and tells the story of how a well-mannered man with a love of language and a pen changed the face of American letters. Full disclosure: I wrote my grad school thesis on Perkins, so color me biased!

And for those of you who don’t like to leave your own comfy shelters, there’s plenty to see on television this month. Gone are the days when summer TV meant reruns, reruns and...more reruns. While some of our favorite programming gears up for season finales (now is the time to prep for imminent “GoT” withdrawal), may I suggest ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ that new shows are just starting to heat up? The one to watch this month is USA’s “Queen of the South”: Based on the global bestselling novel LA REINA DEL SUR by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, it's the story of a resourceful young woman who seeks refuge in America after her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico. Also look out for season four of "Orange is the New Black," available on Netflix June 17th.

Read on for the full list of this month's Books on Screen. Now get out and swarm those bright-light screens! 

 

--- Written and compiled by Emily Hoenig


 

In Theaters:

Me Before You
Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Charles Dance, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Matthew Lewis, Vanessa Kirby
Director: Thea Sharrock
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: June 3rd (wide)
Based on: ME BEFORE YOU by Jojo Moyes

Adapted from the bestselling novel by Jojo Moyes, Me Before You tells the story of the unexpected relationship that blossoms between a contented small town Englishwoman and the wealthy, paralyzed Londoner who hires her as his caretaker. 

 

Blackway
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Julia Stiles, Ray Liotta, Hal Holbrook, Alexander Ludwig, Steve Bacic
Director: Daniel Alfredson
Distributor: Enderby Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: June 10th (limited)
Based on: GO WITH ME by Castle Freeman Jr.

Blackway is a suspenseful thriller set against the rugged backdrop of a Pacific Northwest logging community. When a young woman, Lillian, returns to her hometown after the death of her mother, she unwittingly raises the interest and eventual ire of Blackway, a crazed ex-cop turned violent crime lord. Blackway's stalking and relentless harassment force Lillian to seek help from the faint-hearted local sheriff who advises her to leave town. Undaunted, she forms an unlikely alliance with a retired logger, who is still grieving over the loss of his daughter, and carries his own secret vendetta against Blackway. Together with a young, introverted friend, the threesome set out for justice and revenge against the sociopathic Blackway, leading them on a violent, perilous journey that culminates in a face to face showdown with their nemesis.

 

Genius
Cast: Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Laura Linney, Dominic West, Guy Pearce
Director: Michael Grandage
Distributor: Summit Entertainment
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Release Date: June 10th (limited)
Based on: MAX PERKINS: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg

Genius is a stirring drama about the complex friendship and transformative professional relationship between the world-renowned book editor Maxwell Perkins (who discovered F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway) and the larger-than-life literary giant Thomas Wolfe. 

 

The Fundamentals of Caring
Cast: Paul Rudd, Craig Roberts, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Ehle, Megan Ferguson, Frederick Weller
Director: Rob Burnett
Distributor: Netflix
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Release Date: June 24th
Based on: THE REVISED FUNDAMENTALS OF CAREGIVING by Jonathan Evison

An 18-year-old with muscular dystrophy goes on a road trip with his caregiver, and the pair learn about life from the people they meet along the way. 

 

Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Cast: Julia Dennison, Sam Neill, Oscar Knightley, Rachel House, Rhys Darby, Rima Te Wiata
Director: Taika Waititi
Distributor: The Orchard
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Release Date: June 24th (limited)
Based on: WILD PORK AND WATERCRESS by Barry Crump

Raised on hip-hop and foster care, defiant city kid Ricky gets a fresh start in the New Zealand countryside. He quickly finds himself at home with his new foster family: the loving Aunt Bella, the cantankerous Uncle Hec, and dog Tupac. When a tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, both he and Hec go on the run in the bush. As a national manhunt ensues, the newly branded outlaws must face their options: go out in a blaze of glory or overcome their differences and survive as a family. 

 


 

On TV:

“Outcast”
Cast: Gabriel Bateman, Julia Crockett, Kip Pardue
Network: Cinemax
Air Dates: Premieres June 3rd; Fridays at 9pm ET
Based On: OUTCAST by Robert Kirkman

"Outcast" follows Kyle Barnes, a young man who has been plagued by possession since he was a child. Now an adult, he embarks on a journey to find answers but what he uncovers could mean the end of life on Earth as we know it.

 

“Rizzoli & Isles”
Cast: Angie Harmon, Sasha Alexander, Lorraine Bracco, Lee Thompson Young, Bruce McGill, Jordan Bridges
Network: TNT
Air Dates: Premieres June 6th; Mondays at 9pm ET
Based On: The Rizzoli & Isles series by Tess Gerritsen

"Rizzoli & Isles" follows Boston detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles, complete opposites and good friends who solve crimes and bust some of Boston's most notorious criminals.

 

"Orange is the New Black" 
Cast: Taylor Schilling, Jason Biggs, Kate Mulgrew, Laverne Cox, Uzo Aduba, Taryn Manning, Michael Harney
Network: Netflix
Air Dates: June 17th; all episodes available
Based on: ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK: My Year in a Women’s Prison by Piper Kerman

From the creator of “Weeds” comes a heartbreaking and hilarious new series set in a women’s prison. Piper Chapman’s wild past comes back to haunt her, resulting in her arrest and detention in a federal penitentiary. To pay her debt to society, Piper trades her comfortable New York life for an orange prison jumpsuit and finds unexpected conflict and camaraderie amidst an eccentric group of inmates.

 

“Queen of the South”
Cast: Alice Braga, Adriana Barraza, Veronica Falcón
Network: USA 
Air Dates: Premieres June 21st; Tuesdays at 10pm ET
Based On: THE QUEEN OF THE SOUTH by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

Teresa flees Mexico after her drug-runner boyfriend is murdered. Settling in Spain, she looks to become the country's reigning drug smuggler and to avenge her lover's murder.

 

“Roots”
Cast: 
Malachi Kirby, Forest Whitaker, Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anika Noni Rose, Anna Paquin, Tip "T.I." Harris, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Matthew Goode
Network: A&E, History, Lifetime
Air Dates: Premieres Monday, May 30th at 9pm ET
Based On: ROOTS: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley

An adaptation of Alex Haley's ROOTS, chronicling the history of an African slave sold to America and his descendants.

 

“Game of Thrones,” Season 6
Cast: Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Aidan Gillen, Natalie Dormer, Liam Cunningham, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams
Network: HBO
Air Dates: Sundays at 9pm ET
Based On: A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin

While a civil war brews between several noble families in Westeros, the children of the former rulers of the land attempt to rise up to power. Meanwhile a forgotten race, bent on destruction, return after thousands of years in the North.

 

“Hunters”
Cast: Nathan Phillips, Britne Oldford, Mark Coles Smith
Network: Syfy
Air Dates: Mondays at 10pm ET
Based On: The Alien Hunter series by Whitley Strieber

The disappearance of a decorated FBI agent's wife leads him to a secret government unit assembled to hunt a group of ruthless terrorists --- shadowy figures that may or may not be from this world.

 

“The Night Manager”
Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman
Network: AMC
Air Dates: Tuesdays at 10pm ET
Based On: THE NIGHT MANAGER by John le Carré

A night manager of a European hotel is recruited by intelligence agents to infiltrate an international arms dealer's network.

 

“Outlander,” Season 2
Cast: Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Tobias Menzies
Network: Starz
Air Dates: Saturdays at 9pm ET
Based On: The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

“Outlander” follows the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate relationship is ignited that tears Claire's heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

 


 

On DVD:

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Cast: John Krasinski, Pablo Schreiber, Max Martini, Freddie Stroma
Director: Michael Bay
MPAA Rating: R
DVD Release Date: June 7th
Based on: THIRTEEN HOURS: A Firsthand Account of What Really Happened in Benghaziby Mitchell Zuckoff

An American Ambassador is killed during an attack at a U.S. compound in Libya as a security team struggles to make sense out of the chaos.

 

Kill Your Friends
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, James Corden, Tom Riley, Georgia King, Ed Skrein, Rosanna Arquette
Director: Owen Harris
MPAA Rating: N/A
DVD Release Date: June 7th
Based on: KILL YOUR FRIENDS by John Niven

An A&R man working at the height of the Britpop music craze goes to extremes in order to find his next hit.

 

45 Years
Cast: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Dolly Wells, Geraldine James
Director: Andrew Haigh
MPAA Rating: R
DVD Release Date: June 14th
Based on: "In Another Country," short story included in IN ANOTHER COUNTRY: Selected Stories by David Constantine

There is just one week until Kate Mercer's 45th wedding anniversary and the planning for the party is going well. But then a letter arrives for her husband. The body of his first love has been discovered, frozen and preserved in the icy glaciers of the Swiss Alps. By the time the party is upon them, five days later, there may not be a marriage left to celebrate.

 

The Young Messiah
Cast: Adam Greaves-Neal, Sara Lazzaro, Jonathan Bailey, Sean Bean, Vincent Walsh, Lee Boardman
Director: Cyrus Nowrasteh
MPAA Rating: PG-13
DVD Release Date: June 14th
Based on: CHRIST THE LORD: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice

Inspired by Biblical accounts of Jesus' childhood, The Young Messiah tells a rare and unique story of Jesus and his family as they come to a fuller understanding of his nature and purpose.