New this week: ‘Power of the Dog,’ ‘Annie’ live and Kenny G
MOVIES
— Jane Campion, whose last movie was 2009’s “Bright Star,” makes a triumphant return to filmmaking in “The Power of the Dog,” a frontier psychodrama starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons. “The Power of the Dog” begins streaming Wednesday on Netflix.
— Documentary filmmakers E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin last made the Oscar-winning “Free Solo,” about mountain climber Alex Honnold. In “The Rescue” (streaming Friday on Disney+), they swap high peaks for watery depths, chronicling the 18-day rescue of 12 young soccer players and their coach in a flooded Thailand cave. As well covered as that 2018 event was, the riveting documentary details anew how a global coalition and a handful of cave-diving hobbyists pulled off an extraordinary feat.
— Director Matthew Heineman (“Cartel Land,” “A Private War”) has filmed before in an active war zone. In “The First Wave” (streaming on Hulu beginning Sunday), he plunges into the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic in a bracingly intimate portrait of doctors, nurses and patients during the first four months COVID-19 in New York. Heineman shot his film at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens amid the virus’ first surge to craft an emotional and vital time capsule of the health crisis.
MUSIC
— Five decades have passed since The Doors released “L.A. Woman,” and to honor its anniversary, Rhino Records has a box set being released Friday that has the album remastered and adds more than two hours of unreleased recordings.
— Saxophone legend Kenny G will release his first new album in six years, “New Standards,” on Friday through Concord Records. The 11-song collection of original compositions takes inspiration from the jazz ballads of the ’50s and ’60s.
TELEVISION
— In “Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas,” the title character is determined that her family get the memorable Christmas that her now-ill father always provided. The movie debuts Wednesday on the Roku Channel.
— The sun will come out Thursday for NBC’s live production of the hit Broadway musical “Annie.” Based on the “Little Orphan Annie” comic strip, the show includes the tunes “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard Knock Life.” Celina Smith has the title role, backed by co-stars including Harry Connick Jr. as Annie’s rescuer, Daddy Warbucks, and Taraji P. Henson as the orphanage’s callous Miss Hannigan. Nicole Scherzinger, Tituss Burgess and Megan Hilty also are in the cast of “Annie Live!,” airing at 8 p.m. and directed by Lear deBessonet and Alex Rudzinski.
— If the big city vibe falls short of your holiday expectations, UpTV is offering a travel-free solution with its new “Small Town Christmas” reality series, hosted by Megan Alexander of “Inside Edition.” Each episode (airing 9 p.m.) promises to share what the “heart and magic of Christmas celebrations” in towns nationwide, showcasing their music, entertainment, food and faith. The destinations and air dates: Branson, Mo., on Dec. 5; Charleston, S.C., on Dec. 12; Bethlehem, Pa., on Dec. 19; and Natchitoches, La., on Dec. 24.