The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returns for season two and Adam Sandler’s first comedy special since 2018 are some of the new TV, film, music and game series on the way to a device near you.
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time, selected by The Associated Press’ Entertainment journalists: John Legend offers his first-ever children’s album, the fourth season of Only Murders in the Building moves to Los Angeles, and DJ and dance producer Zedd returns with an album after nearly a decade.
NEW MOVIES TO STREAM
— “A Colt for all occasions” is finally coming to Peacock, where it will stream alongside an “extended cut” version starting Friday, August 30. It may not have reached the blockbuster heights the studio dreamed of during its theatrical run, but it’s a pure delight: a comedy, action, romance that soars thanks to the charisma of its stars. Based on Lee Majors’ 1980s TV series (he has a cameo), the film stars Ryan Gosling as a stuntman, Emily Blunt as his director and dream girl, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as an egotistical movie star, and Hannah Waddingham of “Ted Lasso” fame as a Diet Coke-swilling producer.
— Ishana Night Shyamalan’s thriller, “The Guardians”, where Dakota Fanning plays an artist stranded in the western half of Ireland, where mysterious creatures lurk and haunt the night. Streaming on MAX begins Friday, August 30.
— Emma Stone delivers a remarkable performance (and expressive dance) in “ Types of kindness,” her latest collaboration with Yorgos Lanthimos hot on the heels of her Oscar-winning role in “Poor Things.” The film, which streams on Hulu on Friday, August 30, is a triptych with a large ensemble cast, including Willem Dafoe, Jesse Plemons (who won an award for his performance at Cannes), Hong Chau, Margaret Qualley, Mamoudou Athie and Joe Alwyn. Jocelyn Noveck writes in her review at Associated Press: described it as “a meditation on our free will and the ways we willingly surrender it to others – in the workplace, at home and in religion.” Noveck wrote that the “Stone-Lanthimos pairing … continues to foster an aspect of Stone’s talents that increasingly sets her apart: her fearlessness and the obvious joy she derives from it.”
— Somehow, Yorgos Lanthimos’ film is not the most eccentric new streaming offering this week. That title goes to “ Sasquatch Sunset,” Nathan and David Zellner’s experimental film about a family of Sasquatches simply living their lives. Starring a virtually unrecognizable Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough (in addition to Nathan Zellner), this Sundance oddity starts streaming on Paramount+ on Monday. In his report for the AP, Mark Kennedy wrote that it was “a confusing 90-minute, narrator-free, wordless experiment that is as brazen as it is outrageous. It’s not clear whether everyone was high when they made it, or whether we should be while watching it.”
NEW MUSIC TO STREAM
— DJ and dance producer Zedd is back with an album after almost a decade: “Telos”. The first single is aptly titled “Out of time” featuring Bea Miller, a dreamy tune with atmospheric strings that builds into a dancefloor smash. Zedd has revealed that he started writing ‘Out Of Time’ back in 2015 but was never able to finish it. That changed with Bea – “her voice added an emotional depth that completed the song. ‘Out Of Time’ really embodies the DNA of the Telos album, which is why I chose it as the song to usher in this new era,” he says.
— If you prefer a slower pace, listen to John Legend, who releases his first children’s album, “My Favorite Dream” on Friday, August 30. It is produced by the chamber pop band Polymath Sufjan Stevens and revolves around universal themes such as love, security, family and dreams on nine original tracks, two cover versions, a solo piano piece and three bonus covers of Fisher-Price songs.
— Get ready for an explosion of K-Pop Music — on your TV. Apple TV+ offers the six-part documentary “K-Pop Idols”, a behind-the-scenes look at the highly competitive reality of K-pop stardom, beginning Friday, August 30. It features Jessi, CRAVITY and BLACKSWAN as they learn choreography and pull it all together to conquer the stage. Producers say the series “follows the superstars through ups and downs, breaking down cultural and musical barriers in K-pop with passion, creativity and determination as they pursue their dreams.”
— RZA takes a sharp turn as a classical composer with the album “A Ballet Through Mud.” The composition made its debut last year in the form of a ballet performed by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Composed and set to music by the Wu-Tang Clan star, the piece reflects his journey from growing up in New York City public housing to becoming a famous artist and “weaves together stories of love, loss, discovery, Buddhist monks and a journey ‘through the mud.'” RZA says he began the project at the start of the pandemic after rediscovering notebooks full of song lyrics he wrote as a teenager. “The inspiration for ‘A Ballet Through Mud’ comes from my earliest creative output as a teenager, but the themes are universal – love, discovery and adventure,” he says.
— AP entertainment writer Mark Kennedy
NEW SHOWS TO STREAM
— Adam Sandler has captured the emotions in his new Netflix special “Adam Sandler: I love you” with his stand-up and branded comedy songs. Directed by Josh Safdie, who – together with his brother Benny – worked on Sandler’s Film “The Black Diamond” from 2019. “Love You” is Sandler’s first comedy special since 2018. It premieres on Netflix on Tuesday.
— Charles, Oliver and Mabel (Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez) drive in season four of “Only murders in the building”, because their podcast is being made into a movie. Their life in Hollywood is interrupted when another murder occurs, meaning the trio has a new case to work on. Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis and Eva Longoria join the cast. “Only Murders in the Building” premieres Tuesday on Hulu.
— A new animated series in “Terminator” universe is coming to Netflix on Thursday. It will feature new characters voiced by “House of the Dragon” actors Sonoya Mizuno, Timothy Olyphant, André Holland, Rosario Dawson and Ann Dowd.
— The second season of “The House of the Dragon” has already aired in its entirety on HBO. If your fantasy hunger still needs to be satisfied, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” returns with its second season on Prime Video on Thursday. The story takes place in the Second Age of Middle Earth, before the events of JRR Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”.
NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
— Luke Skywalker may grab the headlines, but the real MVPs of the Star Wars franchise are villains like Han Solo and Lando Calrissian. Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws introduces a new villain: Kay Vess, a young thief trying to work her way up the galaxy’s crime syndicates and pull off the big heist. She’s neither Jedi nor Sith, but she knows how to fire a blaster and fly a spaceship. Outlaws comes from Massive Entertainment, the developers of Tom Clancy’s The Division, and aims to spread Ubisoft’s brand of open-world adventures across multiple planets. It’s out Friday, August 30, for PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, and PC.
— Many gamers who grew up with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System remember 1993’s Secret of Mana as an introduction to a certain type of high fantasy RPG. It’s been 15 years since we got a new chapter in the Mana series, but Square Enix finally delivers Visions of Mana. A young man named Val is chosen to accompany his girlfriend Hinna on a pilgrimage to the life-sustaining Mana Tree. They must use magic and swordplay to fight all the monsters along the way. The lush, anime-style graphics will bring back memories for fans of old-school RPGs. Out Thursday, August 29 on PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S and PC.
