New this week: Whitney Houston, Willie Nelson, John Lewis and more
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists
Movies
“John Lewis: Good Trouble”: “There are forces today trying to take us back to another time,” says the Civil Rights leader and Congressman John Lewis in the opening of Dawn Porter’s documentary. “We have miles to go.” Few voices have echoed louder and more truthfully through the last 55 years of American life than the 80-year-old Lewis.
Porter’s film, debuting on-demand Friday, is a sturdy vessel for Lewis’ story.
“Welcome to Chechnya”: David France’s documentary, airing on HBO, is about an underground pipeline rescuing LGBTQ Chechens from the Russian republic where the government has for several years waged a lethal crackdown on gays. France, the filmmaker of the Oscarnominated “How to Survive a Plague,” went to great lengths to capture LGBTQ Chechens’ road to safety. And to protect their anonymity, he used artificial intelligence to digitally replace their faces.
Western Noir: Film noir and the Western are the two great, intrinsically American genres of moviemaking and they can feel like diametric opposites. One is harshly bright and mapped across open plains, the other is cloaked in shadow and hustles down dark urban alleyways. But a new series, beginning Sunday on the Criterion Channel, finds common ground in a batch of post-WWII films of frontier gloom, including Anthony Mann’s “The
Naked Spur” (1953), with Jimmy Stewart and Robert Ryan; Robert Wises’ “Blood on the Moon” (1948), with Robert Mitchum; and Fritz Lang’s “Rancho Notorious,” with Marlene Dietrich.
Music
Whitney Houston: Thirty-five years ago the icon Whitney Houston released her self-titled debut album, taking over radio station across the world with anthems like “You Give Good Love,” “Saving All My Love for You,” “How Will I Know” and “Greatest Love of All.” To commemorate its milestone anniversary, Sony’s Legacy Recordings released a two-LP vinyl version of the 13x platinum album on Tuesday. The package will also include a second album — the U.S. release of the “Whitney Dancin’ Special” EP/remix album — which was previously released only in Japan in 1986.
Willie Nelson: Lucky
No. 70. You read that right. The legend Willie Nelson will release his 70th studio album, “First Rose of Spring,” today. The album was originally supposed to drop in April, days before he turned 87, but was pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic. “First Rose of Spring” features two new songs as well as Nelson’s interpretations of tunes written by Chris Stapleton, Toby Keith and others.
Jadakiss vs. Fabolous: Grammy-nominated rappers Jadakiss of The Lox and Fabolous will go headto-head in the latest “Verzus” series on Instagram Live. The skilled lyricists, often called on by R&B stars to co-star on songs, each have a good mix of pop hits and platinum albums, as well as respected lyrics and delivery that helped them rank among rap’s best performers. Jada and Fab even collaborated on the 2017 album “Friday on Elm Street.”