Colman Domingo's incredible performance in the civil rights biopic âRustinâ and Dolly Parton's rock music album are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Pressâ entertainment journalists are a series where Godzilla, King Kong and other monsters are real, the fifth Persona video game and return of âThe Crown.â
â A powerhouse performance by Colman Domingo fuels the Netflix $NFLX drama âRustin,â streaming Friday, about the civil rights pioneer and March on Washington architect Bayard Rustin. The film, directed by George C. Wolfe, chronicles the run-up to the indelible 1963 march where Rev. Martin Luther King delivered his âI Have a Dreamâ speech. âRustin,â the first narrative feature from Barack and Michelle Obamaâs production company Higher Ground, is a portrait of grassroots activism and of the often under-sung Rustin, an openly gay man combating injustice on numerous fronts. In his review, the APâs Mark Kennedy praised Domingoâs âdebonair, frisky, droll, passionate and utterly captivatingâ performance.
â The shorts by the âSaturday Night Liveâ trio Please Donât Destroy â Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy â have for several years been a highlight on the NBC sketch show. In âPlease Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain,â they, like âSNLâ standouts before them, get their first feature-film shot. In the film, directed by Paul Briganti and produced by Judd Apatow, the trio embark on a ludicrous adventure that nevertheless preserves their relaxed surrealism. âSNLâ castmate Bowen Yang drops in, too, though it's Conan O'Brien who nearly steals the show as Marshall's disapproving father. Streaming Friday on Peacock.
â November is the month for noir on the Criterion Channel (which is hosting a series of favorites) and on TCM, which will marathon classics like âDetourâ (1945) and âThe Narrow Marginâ (1952) on Friday. But also seek out the Criterion Channel's âWomen of the Westâ series, streaming this month. The western may be a predominantly male genre, but some of the best ever made are centered on strong frontier women who back down from no one. Among them here are Marlene Dietrich ("Rancho Notorious") and Barbara Stanwyck ("Forty Guns," âThe Fluriesâ), but nothing beats Nicholas Ray's 1954 Technicolor masterpiece âJohnny Guitar." Joan Crawford as saloon owner Vivienne remains one of the most raging, smoldering performances you'll ever seen.
â Last year, Dolly Parton politely asked to be removed from consideration for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. She thought that as a country musician, not a rock ânâ roll one, she didnât deserve the honor. Of course, her musical legacy is undeniable, and they brought her in anyway. The move inspired âRockstar,â her first release in the rock genre. Out Friday, it is 30-tracks of star-studded covers, from âLet It Beâ with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to âWhatâs Up?â with Linda Perry and Lizzo lending her flute-chops to âStairway to Heaven.â There are also nine originals, written across the last few decades. Now, surely only Parton herself would doubt that sheâs earned a spot in the Hall and then some â but the fact that it produced a leather-clad, anthemic, barn-burninâ record? Thatâs gold.
â Danny Brown is one of the most inventive, at times, absurdist contemporary rappers in the game â so when he releases a new full-length record, thereâs no telling which direction heâs moving in. âQuaranta,â named after the Italian word for â40â â though it certainly sounds similar to a less attractive âqu-â word in âquarantineâ â is Brownâs sixth solo studio album, a highly-anticipated follow-up to 2019âs âUknowhatimsayinÂżâ via Warp Records. He considers it a âspiritual sequelâ to âXXX,â his 2011 break out album. On âQuaranta,â the lead single âTantorâ teeters is skonk-y avant-rap, a track that plays like an unearthed recording captured decades in some techno-future. Heâs called the album his more personal to date, written and recorded before long stint in rehab. "It was almost like, if I died, this is what I have to say,â he told Rolling Stone.
â Twenty years ago, a mall goth battle cry rung out across the world: âBring Me to Life,â the lead single from nu-metal alt-rock band Evanescenceâs debut album âFallenâ connected with an apathetic audience searching for dooming catharsis â frontwoman Amy Leeâs airy soprano challenged traditional images of the genre. Then, of course, were the other Myspace-ready records on âFallenâ: âMy Immortal,â âEverybodyâs Fool,â and âGoing Under.â Now, two decades removed, âFallenâ is getting a remastered release â and it sounds as immediate as ever.
â Season 21 of âNCISâ is delayed due to the actorsâ strike but fans can get their fix with the franchiseâs first international spin-off, âNCIS: Sydney.â The CBS series, which debuted Tuesday, follows a task force of U.S. and Australian law enforcement investigating naval crimes in waters connecting the Indian and Pacific oceans known as Indo Pacific. Episodes will also stream on Paramount $PARA+.
â The new limited series âA Murder at the End of the Worldâ has a âKnives Outâ vibe but with Emma Corrin as the detective. When a reclusive billionaire (Clive Owen) hosts a retreat in a remote location and one of the guests ends up dead, Corrinâs character Darby launches an investigation. The show also stars Brit Marling, who co-created, wrote and directed the series with Zal Batmanglij. The first two episodes dropped Tuesday on FX on Hulu.
â The first half of the sixth and final season of âThe Crownâ returned to Netflix on Thursday. The episodes begin with Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) connecting with Dodi Fayad as Dominic Westâs Prince Charles seeks the Queenâs (Imelda Staunton) blessing of his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.
â Swizz Beatz isnât just a music producer, heâs also an avid car enthusiast and collector. In his new Hulu docuseries âDrive with Swizz Beatzâ, Beatz and his son, Nasir Dean, travel to destinations near and far (such as Atlanta, Houston, Japan and Saudi Arabia) to experience their car culture and learn about what inspires, or drives, their communities. âDrive with Swizz Beatzâ started its engines Thursday on Hulu.
â Sarah Lancashire returns as Julia Child for season two of the Max series âJulia.â In the new episodes, Julia and Paul (David Hyde Pierce) return to Boston from a sojourn in France and sheâs ready to resume her popular cooking show, âThe French Chef.â As Juliaâs profile rises, the personal and professional demands on her increase too. âWe need new content yesterday,â declares the station manager in a scene that seems very timely. Can this chef maintain her joie de vivre? The first three episodes dropped Thursday.
â Kurt and Wyatt Russell star in the new MonsterVerse series âMonarch: Legacy of Monstersâ but the real-life father and son donât have scenes together. Thatâs because they play the same character at different ages. Wyatt plays army officer Lee Shaw in the 1950s and Kurt steps in as the character in present day. The live-action series takes place in world where Godzilla, King Kong and other monsters are real, and a secret multi-government agency known as Monarch tracks and studies them. In the series, Monarch becomes threatened by Shawâs monster knowledge. âMonarch: Legacy of Monstersâ premieres Friday on Apple $AAPL TV+
â An eight-episode anime series inspired by the 2010 movie âScott Pilgrim vs. the Worldâ arrives on Netflix on Friday. â Scott Pilgrim Takes Off â features the voices of the film cast including Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Brie Larson and Anna Kendrick.
â Alicia Rancilio
â Atlusâ Persona 5 dazzled role-playing game fans back in 2016, and its characters are so beloved that theyâve branched out into three spinoffs. In the latest, Persona 5 Tactica, Joker, Morgana and the rest of the Phantom Thieves are summoned to an oppressive dystopia and tasked with leading an âemotional revolution.â As usual, our teenage heroes can fight with standard weaponry like swords and firearms â or they can conjure up mythical beasts to get the job done more quickly. Tactica takes P5âs flashy animation and puts it in colorful, 3D battle arenas, and it looks quite a bit more challenging than the flagshipâs dancing spinoff. While weâre all waiting for Persona 6, itâs still nice to see the gang reunite, starting on Xbox X $TWTR/S/One, PlayStation 5/4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
â Lou Kesten
___
Catch up on APâs entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/entertainment.
