The Mercury (Pottstown, PA)

New this week: ‘Banshees,’ Whitney Houston, ‘High on Life’

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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 “The Banshees of Inisherin,” director Martin McDonagh reteams with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, the stars of the playwright’s feature debut, 2008 s “In Bruges.” The results are just as good. On a small island off the west coast of Ireland in 1923, they play longtime pals whose friendship abruptly and a little mysterious­ly comes to an end. Both Farrell and Gleeson have already won awards for their performanc­es. It’s still playing in theaters but on Tuesday it reaches video on demand. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called it “an aching reverie about friendship and fulfillmen­t that is one of the very best films of the year.”

• Nikyatu Jusu makes one of the more arresting directoria­l debuts of the year in Amazon Studios’ “Nanny.” The grand jury prizewinne­r of the Sundance Film Festival,

“Nanny” stars Anna Diop as Aisha, a well-educated Senegalese caregiver for a white New York family. (Michelle Monaghan co-stars.) Aisha’s own daughter remains in Africa. She sends home money while her wealthy employers casually take advantage of her kindness. Jusu uses the dark atmosphere of a horror film to convey the dread and displaceme­nt of the immigrant experience. It streams Friday, Dec. 16, on Amazon Prime Video.

• The masterful Korean director Park Chan-wook is best known for genre extremes like “Oldboy” and “The Handmaiden.” In his prize-winning latest, “Decision to Leave,” he conjures a more subtly beguiling tale, a slinky fusion of police procedural and romance. The film, which began streaming on MUBI on Dec. 9, stars Park Hae-il as a Busan detective who becomes infatuated by the suspect (Tang Wei) of a murder investigat­ion. In her review, Bahr said the film lulls you “into a misty, dreamlike delirium until you’re not even certain of what’s right in front of your face.”

Music

• Rapper Ab-Soul returns with the album “Herbert” on Friday,

Dec. 16, his first full-length studio in six years and a follow-up to “Do What Thou Wilt.” Singles include “Do Better,” and “Gang’Nem,” which features Fre$h. The set will also feature Big Sean, Russ, Joey Bada$$, Jhené Aiko, SiR, Punch, Zacari, Fre$h, Ambré, ALEMEDA and Lance Skiiiwalke­r. The record is described as “a deliberate­ly intimate portrait of the man behind Ab-Soul going back to his foundation.” It’s a collection that shows off the impressive range he has, including the playful, busy old school hip-hop vibe of “No Report Card” to the slow, airy jazz of “Bucket.”

• A week before the movie release of the Whitney Houston biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” comes an album with 35 tracks that includes a never-before-released a cappella live recording of “Don’t Cry For Me.” Houston recorded it in 1994 while on The Bodyguard World Tour, flying back to perform it at an AIDS benefit concert. The song and an original re-imagined version of it by producer Sam Feldt is also included on “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” out on Friday, Dec. 16. The movie of the same name hits movie theaters Dec. 23.

• Brazilian global pop superstar Anitta will perform as part of the new weekly concert series Amazon Music Live streaming live Thursday night. Anitta, a best new artist Grammy nominee, joins a list of performers who have done the concerts, including Kane Brown, Lil Baby and Megan Thee Stallion. They are hosted by Grammy-winning hip-hop star 2 Chainz and air on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch. Anitta mixes Latin pop, R&B and reggaeton and has already landed six Latin Grammy nomination­s throughout the years.

Television

• If you’re not familiar with Dale Chihuly’s name, it’s possible you’ve seen his breathtaki­ng, colorful blown glass art. Now 81, his work can be found in museums worldwide (and even on the ceiling of The Bellagio casino in Las Vegas.) Chihuly’s story is compelling as well, as he’s battled mental health issues and experience­d personal tragedy. An avid collector of random things including Pez dispensers and midcentury refrigerat­ors, The Smithsonia­n Channel delves into the artist’s personal and profession­al life in a new documentar­y called “The Master of Glass: The Art of Dale Chihuly,” premiered Sunday.

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