Fate of the Furious looks to be on the line

Idris Elba brings magnetism to 1970s London in Guerrilla, writes Chris Lackner.

MOVIES

Big releases on April 14: The Fate of the Furious; Spark: A Space Tail

Big picture: The fate of the Furious franchise has never been in question. The insatiable need for speed — and to watch shiny, metal objects explode — has ensured this action series is like high-octane, box office fuel. Dom (Vin Diesel) and his crew are like Robin Hood and his Merry Men, only they launch cars instead of arrows (and have fewer campfire hangouts). This time around, Dom goes from hero to heel — seemingly turning on his friends at the behest of a dangerous crime boss (Charlize Theron). She’s described as “the very definition of high-tech terrorism” (which makes for a great business card). The likes of Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez and Jason Statham are all back for another cinematic tour of duty. Of course, blowing up sports cars is never enough for this bunch. This time they somehow procure a tank, face off against a submarine (seriously) and race through a plot that takes them everywhere from Cuba to the Arctic (they’ve come a long way since street racing).

Meanwhile, the animated adventure Spark is essentially Curious George meets Le Petit Prince meets Guardians of the Galaxy meets Star Wars. An outcast, teenage simian (with secret royal blood) must meet his destiny facing off against an evil intergalactic emperor named General Zhong. (Even the villain’s ship looks uncomfortably close to an Imperial Star Destroyer). Spark’s “rebel” pals include a smooth-talking fox, a wild boar and a buggy, green sidekick (essentially Jiminy Cricket without all the sanctimonious lectures). Nickelodeon star Jace Norman headlines, but the cosmic force is the supporting cast including Susan Sarandon, Patrick Stewart and Hilary Swank. (Spark also gets points for best titular tale pun since An American Tail in 1986.)

Forecast: “Let’s kick some asteroid,” Spark exclaims. It’s wishful thinking when going up against the juggernaut that is Furious, but it probably equals Diesel’s dialogue count. Nonetheless, car chases beat space races.

TV

Big events: Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Netflix, April 14); Guerrilla (April 16, CraveTV); The Kennedys: After Camelot (April 16, Bravo)

Big picture: Speaking of space tales, the cult classic ’90s series Mystery Science Theater 3000 is revived. The campy comedy series is like Spaceballs meets Pee-wee’s Playhouse. The basic premise: Mad scientists trap a janitor and force him to watch B movies aboard the “Satellite of Love” as part of their plot for world domination. Naturally, our hero crafts a crew of robot sidekicks to keep himself sane. The reboot’s cast features Patton Oswalt and Felicia Day (and various robots Rapper-actor Ludacris returns for The Fate of the Furious. that look like high school science projects). The oddball premise has many fans; high-profile cameos will include Jerry Seinfeld and Neil Patrick Harris.

As for Guerrilla, it follows the 1970s rise of a radical cell in London’s black activist movement. It also co-stars the magnetic Idris Elba (The Wire, Luther), who I’d pay to watch floss onscreen for 90 minutes, and the talented Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire). Meanwhile, the followup to the 2011 miniseries, The Kennedys: After Camelot, finds Katie Holmes reprising her role as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, with Canada’s own Matthew Perry joining the cast as Ted Kennedy. The two-part, four-hour sequel wraps on April 23. More importantly, it makes you wonder what nickname to give the Trump White House. My early suggestions include: Scarealot, Doesn’t Read-a-lot, The Dark Tower, The League of Extraordinarily Rich and Ignorant Gentlemen, and Castle Grayskull.

Forecast: Anything combining mystery, science and theatre can’t go wrong, right? And Perry’s surprising portrayal of the Kennedy family’s “lion” will make people forget post-Chandler setbacks such as The Odd Couple.

Honourable mention: Saturday Night Live (April 15, NBC/ Global), Sandy Wexler (Netflix, April 14), Better Call Saul (April 10, AMC). For the first time, SNL goes live coast to coast (yup, that means early yucks for west coasters). Alumnus Jimmy Fallon returns to host, which means the show could just end up being 90 minutes of him breaking character and giggling. In his latest Netflix original movie, Adam Sandler plays the titular character — a ’90s Hollywood talent manager that is a cross between Jerry Maguire and Forrest Gump. As his clients describe it, he “dresses like your grandfather” and has “the table manners of a horse.” Not surprisingly, he also speaks in the stilted, baby-man voice Sandler perfected in past outings including Billy Madison and The Waterboy. Finally, the third season of the Breaking Bad prequel promises the small-screen return of more fan-favourite characters (though fans may have to wait longer to see the resurrection of everyone’s favourite worst high school science teacher).

MUSIC

Big releases on April 14: John Mayer (The Search for Everything); Little Dragon (Season High)

Big picture: After a long soul search, Mayer is back at doing what he does best: average, pleasant pop music featuring aboveaverage guitar work. Approaching 40 — with folksy detours like Born and Raised, and Paradise Valley behind him — a wizened Mayer is back looking for the soft-rock hits that made him Top 40 famous.

After his split with Katy Perry, Mayer’s songs also prove breaking up is still hard to do. Case in point, Moving on and Getting Over and Never on the Day You Leave. (Apparently, wonderlands aren’t nearly as fun after the park closes and the lights go out).

Meanwhile, Little Dragon is an electronic-music band that grew faster than a scaly beast in Game of Thrones.

The Grammy-winning outfit hail from Gothenburg, Sweden — which sounds like the kind of place where Dracula is mayor, The Wolfman is police commissioner and Frankenstein is town crier (on a side note, this is a killer sitcom premise).

Forecast: Mayer wins another Grammy in the new category of Most Pretentious Album Title of the Year. His renewed career sparks albums titled: Everything Plus More, I’ve Got the Whole World in My Hands, Imagine My Imagination, and … Your Body is a Wonderland and I’m Exploring it to Find the Ultimate Truth of the Human Condition. (Meanwhile, Little Dragon will satiate anyone’s appetite for sugary ’80s pop and synth.)