‘Judy Blume,’ Rodrigo y Gabriela, Minecraft
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week.
Movies
• In her young, flourishing career, Ana de Armas has already made three films with Chris Evans. In the Apple TV+ release, premiering Friday, “Rocketman” director Dexter Fletcher pairs them in a film that fuses rom-com with action thriller. After a promising first date between Cole (Evans) and Sadie (de Armas), Cole pursues the unreachable Sadie and becomes ensnarled in an international spy adventure.
• One of 2022’s best films arrives Tuesday on the Criterion Channel. For years, Iranian director Jafar Panahi has been finding intrepid ways to make films that cleverly reflect Iranian society despite government control. In “No Bears,” Panahi — who has made acclaimed movies from within his apartment or the confines of a car — again plays a fictionalized version of himself, this time while he endeavors to remotely direct a film.
• Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok’s lively bio-doc “Judy Blume Forever” profiles an author who’s had a lasting impact on generations of young readers. The film, which debuts Friday on Prime Video, mixes interviews with Blume, now 85, and her many fans, ranging from kids to Lena Dunham and Molly Ringwald.
Music
• Guitar virtuosos Rodrigo y Gabriela — Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero — return with a new album, “In Between Thoughts... A New World,” out Friday.
• UK group Everything But the Girl will make a comeback this spring with their first studio album since 1999, when “The Matrix” came out. The duo of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt — known for the dreamy hit “Missing” — will release “Fuse” on Friday.
• Have you been praying for some old-school punk and garage rock? Then say “Amen,” the new album from The Heavy, their first in four years. The band — known for the song “How You Like Me Now?” — return with their humor intact as one of the singles shows — “Stone Cold Killer,” a song about guitarist Dan Taylor’s new kitten. “We got a new cat, a female Burmese. She’s the cutest thing you’ve ever seen, but an absolute enemy of every living thing in the garden,” he explains. The 10 new songs also include “I Feel the Love” and “Hurricane Coming.”
Television
• Galey Alix used to work on Wall Street in finance and dabble in interior design and renovations on the side. She would post about her projects on social media and amassed millions of followers. “Home in a Heartbeat” debuts Wednesday.
• Netflix already used the title “Warrior Nun” so in Peacock’s new series about a nun out for vengeance they went with “Mrs. Davis,” which premieres Thursday, with the first four episodes on Peacock.
• Keri Russell returns to TV in the Netflix series “The Diplomat,” as Kate Wyler, a career envoy with a passion for Mideast affairs who randomly gets reassigned as the new US ambassador in the UK. It’s a major change for Wyler because diplomacy in the UK is much lower stakes than her previous post. “The Diplomat” drops its eight-episode season on Thursday.
Video games
• Ten years ago, it seemed like every kid I knew was playing Minecraft. It’s still hugely popular, but some of those kids have graduated to more complex games. Enter Minecraft Legends, in which developer Mojang turns its blocky sandbox into a battleground. The idyllic Overworld has been invaded by nasty piglins from the hellish Nether. Your mission is to unite the assorted Overworld mobs of golems, zombies, skeletons and such while building defensive structures and attacking enemy outposts. There’s also a competitive mode in which you and your friends can try to destroy each other’s fortresses. Dig in Tuesday on Xbox X/S/One, PlayStation 5/4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
• The online battle arena League of Legends is an esports phenomenon, but it’s somewhat daunting for newcomers. So publisher Riot Games has been expanding the franchise with the well-received Netflix series “Arcane” as well as a line of single-player games. The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story takes place in a kingdom where sorcery has been banned; the protagonist, Sylas, is a mage who is determined to liberate his spell-wielding cohorts. Mageseeker arrives Tuesday on Xbox X/S/One, PlayStation 5/4, Nintendo Switch and PC.
• Dead Island 2 is set in Los Angeles — which, as of the last time I checked, is not an island. If that sort of deliberate knuckleheadedness amuses you, this long-awaited sequel may be your cup of blood. The zombie infection that plagued a tropical paradise in the 2011 original has landed stateside, but you can build an arsenal, from baseball bats to machine guns, to fend off the undead hordes. Publisher Deep Silver promises loads of gory, squishy ultraviolence, and who wouldn’t want some brainless fun when you’re about to get your brains eaten? The mayhem begins Friday on Xbox X/S/One, PlayStation 5/4 and PC.