What to stream this week: Conan O’Brien travels, ‘Migration’ soars and Taylor Swift will reign
This week’s new streaming entertainment releases include Taylor Swift’s eagerly anticipated album “The Tortured Poets Department,” a family of ducks is coaxed into flying south for the winter in the kid-friendly animated movie “Migration” and Conan O’Brien makes himself the brunt of jokes in his new travel show “Conan O’Brien Must Go” for Max. Fresh off her Oscar nomination, Lily Gladstone stars in a new limited series for Hulu called “Under the Bridge” with Riley Keough, and writer-director Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” lands on Netflix.
Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” landing on Netflix and Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” album are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.
NEW MOVIES TO STREAM
— The cautious father (Kumail Nanjiani) of a family of ducks is coaxed into flying south for the winter in “Migration” (steaming Friday, April 19 on Peacock), the latest animation from Illumination, the maker of “Despicable Me” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” Penned by “White Lotus” creator Mike White, “Migration” is another, albeit more kid-friendly examination of the pros and cons of an exotic vacation. In my review, I wrote that “Migration” “is vividly animated with warm cartoon tones that would do Daffy proud. But it never quite spreads its wings.” With Elizabeth Banks, Danny DeVito, Carol Kane, Awkwafina and Keegan-Michael Key.
— People tend to love or hate the films of Zack Snyder, the maker of brawny CGI extravaganzas like “Man of Steel,” “Justice League” and “Army of the Dead.” If you’re the former, the arrival of “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” (Friday, April 19 on Netflix) is a date you’ve circled since the December debut of the first installment. Sofia Boutella and Djimon Hounsou lead the ensemble cast in Snyder’s “Star War” riff space opera.
– If some films are laden and overstuffed, how about those that pass like a brief encounter? A new series streaming on the Criterion Channel asks: How much can happen in a night? The series collects some of the best films that transpire entirely from dusk ‘til dawn. Evenings may pass in conversation (“My Dinner With Andre”) or bloodshed (“Night of the Living Dead”), but in all of them, the sun eventually arrives to break a nocturnal spell. Among the highlights: Elaine May’s “Mikey and Nicky,” Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours,” Jim Jarmusch’s “Night on Earth” and Agnes Varda’s “Cléo from 5 to 7.”
NEW SHOWS TO STREAM
— Fresh off her Oscar nomination, Lily Gladstone stars in a new limited series for Hulu called “Under the Bridge” with Riley Keough. Based on a true-crime novel by Rebecca Godfrey, “Under the Bridge” tells the story of the murder of Canadian teen Reena Virk in the late 1990s. Gladstone plays a police officer investigating the case and Keough plays Godfrey, who immersed herself in Virk’s world to detail not only what happened, but the social and cultural implications surrounding her death. “Under the Bridge” premieres Wednesday on Hulu and is already garnering Emmy buzz for both Gladstone and Keough.
— Conan O’Brien loves to be the brunt of a joke and that’s on full display in his new travel show “Conan O’Brien Must Go” for Max. Cameras follow the comedian as he visits countries like Ireland, Thailand, Argentina and Norway. When the series was announced last May, Max released the following quote from O’Brien, “My fans around the globe never asked me to visit them, so I did.” “Conan O’Brien Must Go” debuts Thursday on Max.