Here’s a curated collection from the Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s coming to TV, streaming services, and music and video game platforms this week.
– “Train to Busan” and “Hellbound” director Yeon Sang-Ho have a new sci-fi action pic coming to Netflix on Friday. In the dystopian future of “Jung_E”, Earth has become uninhabitable and war is about to break out in the Vault, where one side figures out how to clone a famous mercenary into an army of AI robots. The film stars Kang Soo-yeon, in his final role, Kim Hyun-joo (as Jung-E), Ryu Kyung-soo, and Park So-yi.
– The Sundance Film Festival kicks off next week in Park City, Utah and Mubi pays homage to some festival gems from years past. On Thursday they’ll have Andrew Bujalski’s “Results,” a fun romantic comedy about personal trainers starring Guy Pearce and Cobie Smulders, followed by Sean Baker’s “Tangerine” about a trans sex worker’s journey through Los Angeles. Angeles on Christmas Eve, Friday. , and “Touchy Feely” by the late Lynn Shelton, with Rosemarie DeWitt as a massage therapist who is suddenly averse to physical contact, on Sunday.
– Audrey Diwan’s “Happening” got a little lost in the shuffle after winning the top prize at the Venice Film Festival in 2021 after being chosen to represent France at the Oscars (the country’s choice, “Titane” , was not chosen named). But its gripping adaptation of Annie Ernaux’s true story of an unwanted pregnancy in the 1960s, when abortion was illegal in France, has only grown in relevance, with the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the Nobel Prize honor of Ernaux. The film, a harrowing but essential watch, arrives on Hulu on Sunday. In his review, AP Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote, “It’s an abortion movie, yes, but it’s also a coming-of-age tale of one woman’s determination.”
— Lindsey Bahr, AP Cinema Screenwriter
MUSIC
— It’s back to basics for Lukas Graham. Returning to his songwriting roots, the singer behind the hit ‘7 Years’ wrote his new album in a comforting old rehearsal spot a 10-minute bike ride from his home in Copenhagen. His new full offering – “4 (The Pink Album)” – includes the singles “Wish You Were Here” with Khalid, “Home Movies” with Mickey Guyton and “Share That Love” with G-Eazy. “4 (The Pink Album)” was released on Friday and finds Graham “navigating the ups and downs of fame, pulling himself out of a creative rut and finding the joy of sobriety after being stuck in a cycle of self-medication. “.
– John Cale’s “Mercy” is the first full album of new material from the former co-founder of The Velvet Underground in a decade. The 80-year-old’s 12-track set is being called by his team the “continuation of a long, marvelous career” and features help from Laurel Halo, Sylvan Esso, Weyes Blood, Dev Hynes and Animal Collective. In the moody ‘Night Crawling’ dance number, he recalls being with David Bowie in the 1970s and in the slow-paced ‘Story of Blood’, Cale muses on mortality, singing ‘I’m here waiting , waiting in the morning / Sleepy and hoping the tide turns.
– Entertainment writer Mark Kennedy
TELEVISION
– “Your Honor” with Bryan Cranston, returns for its second and final season on Showtime on Sunday. Cranston plays Michael, a prominent New Orleans judge whose teenage son Adam accidentally kills another teenager in a hit-and-run. The dead teenager ends up being the son of a powerful mob boss. Michael takes his son to the police station to surrender but realizes who the victim’s family is, so he helps Adam cover it up. Season 2 picks up where Season 1 left off.
– “The Price of Glee” is a three-part documentary series on Fox’s former hit musical series “Glee” created by Ryan Murphy and featuring a cast including Lea Michele, Chris Colfer and Darren Criss. The series, which debuts Monday on ID, traces the instant success and popularity of “Glee” and the alleged drama and turmoil behind the scenes. It also details the tragic death of Cory Monteith during the show from a heroin overdose, Mark Salling, who died of an apparent suicide after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography, and Naya Rivera, who died in 2020 in a drowning accidental.
– Eric and Donna Foreman of “That 70s Show” (with Kelso, Fez and Jackie) have all grown up now with a teenage daughter, Leia. In the “That 90’s Show” spin-off, Leia decides to stay with her grandparents (played by Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp) in Point Place, Wisconsin for the summer. She makes a new group of friends, and they all hang out in the basement, just like Eric and his friends did. Most of the original cast are reprising their roles on recurring status with Smith and Rupp returning full-time.) The 10-episode series debuts Thursday on Netflix.
—Alicia Rancilio
VIDEO GAMES
– Mario, Zelda and Pikachu might be the standout names, but some Nintendo fans are eternally devoted to Marth, the dashing swordsman from the Fire Emblem series. In Fire Emblem Engage, you can summon Marth and other franchise veterans to fight alongside your troops in tactical battles against fantastic enemies. While the story is your typical sword-and-sorcery mumbo-jumbo – seriously, there are 12 magic rings of power here – Fire Emblem occupies a niche in Nintendo’s catalog. Each skirmish plays out like a game of chess as you maneuver your forces and combine their skills, calling more for agile thinking than quick reflexes. The war begins Friday on the Nintendo Switch.
-Lou Kesten
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Find AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/apf-entertainment.
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