Rapper Harlow makes acting debut in remake
Here’s a collection by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving this week.
NEW MOVIES
■ Three decades after Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson mixed it up on the black top, there’s a new “White Men Can’t Jump.” A remake of that 1992 film teams Sinqua Walls and rapper Jack Harlow as a pair of basketball players who hustle hoops for money and compete in a lucrative three-on-three tournament. The film, out Friday on Hulu, is directed by Calmatic and co-written by Kenya Barris (“black-ish”). In it, Harlow makes his acting debut.
■ Anna Nicole Smith gets the Netflix documentary treatment in “Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me.” The film, which debuted Tuesday, chronicles Smith’s life as a model, Playboy playmate and reality star. Smith died in 2007 at the age of 39 from an accidental overdose. “You Don’t Know Me” includes home video of Smith, whose birth name was Vickie Lynn Hogan.
■ Cristian Mungiu’s “R.M.N.” is one of the cinematic highlights of the first half of 2023. The latest from the acclaimed Romanian filmmaker (“4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”) is a powerful microcosm of a migrant drama that has played out all around the world. A mountainous Transylvania village is increasingly torn apart by violent nationalist impulses that course through the town’s civic life in response to a handful of foreign workers. Currently playing in theaters, “R.M.N.” is available on-demand beginning Friday.
— Jake Coyle
NEW MUSIC
■ Check out Kesha’s new album for what “post-pop” sounds like. That’s what the ever-changing pop star is calling her Rick Rubin-produced record “Gag Order.” Single “Fine Line” is an introspective, beatless ballad with the lyric “Am I bigger than Jesus/ Or better off dead?/There’s a fine line between genius and crazy.” There’s also “Eat the Acid,” an experimental, mournful number.
■ Def Leppard is following in the footsteps of Metallica, the Scorpions and Bring Me the Horizon with an orchestral reworking of their catalog. “Drastic Symphonies” features their greatest tracks reimagined by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Fifteen of the hard rockers’ hits like “Animal,” “Love Bites,” “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me” have a new sound.
■ May turns out to be a great month for 11-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Brandy Clark. Her Broadway musical “Shucked” was nominated for best original score and she’s got a new self-titled album out Friday. Produced by Brandi Carlile, the album showcases Clark’s tenderness, with the 11 songs including the heartbreaking “Buried,” a celebration of her home in “Northwest” and a loving tribute to her grandma with “She Smoked in the House.”
— Mark Kennedy
NEW SERIES
■ Stock up on tissues because home renovation twins Drew and Jonathan Scott’s series “Celebrity IOU” is back with new episodes on HGTV. Each episode features a Hollywood star who dreams up a home renovation project for someone they want to help. Enter the Scott brothers, who use their knowledge of construction to make it happen. The episodes follow each project from start to finish. This batch of eight episodes features Heidi Klum, Kristin Chenoweth, Glenn Close, Taraji P. Henson, Jay Leno, Derek Hough, Kristin Davis and Emma Roberts. “Celebrity IOU” returns Monday.
■ If you watched the “To All the Boys” movies, you probably remember scene-stealer Anna Cathcart as the confident, chatty kid sister, Kitty, to Lana Condor’s Lara Jean. Cathcart has landed her own spinoff series called Kitty.” Created by “To All the Boys” author Jenny Han, Kitty travels to Korea to attend an elite boarding school that her boyfriend attends. It’s also the same school her late mother attended. Kitty imagines a seamless transition to a new school in a new country and a romantic reunion with her boyfriend but quickly realizes life doesn’t always go as planned. All 10 episodes drop today on Netflix.
■ Wilderness expert and adventure-seeker Bear Grylls has never encountered a mountain he won’t climb or a random creature he won’t eat. We’ve seen him on TV venture into the great outdoors with celebrities but now he’s taking everyday people out of their comfort zone in a new show, “I Survived Bear Grylls.” With the help of comedian co-host Jordan Conley, Grylls uses simulated challenges to test contestants on their survival skills, physicality, and grossout tolerance. “I Survived Bear Grylls” debuts today on TBS.