NEW TO STREAM
Rundown of what’s arriving on entertainment platforms
MOVIES LeBron James’s origin story is dramatized
in the new film “Shooting Stars,” debuting exclusively
June 2 on Peacock. Based on the 2009 book, written by James and “Friday Night Lights” author Buzz Bissinger, the film looks at how he and his childhood friends (the self-anointed “fab four”) rose to basketball prominence on their high school team in Akron, Ohio. He and his friends would help lead their
St. Vincent-St. Mary’s team to three state championships in four years. James is played by newcomer Marquis “Mookie”
Cook, who co-stars with “Stranger Things’ ” Caleb McLaughlin as Lil Dru, Avery S. Wills Jr. as Willie McGee and Khalil Everage as Sian Cotton in the film directed by Chris Robinson.
Sydney Sweeney, of “Euphoria”
and “The White Lotus,” takes a starring role in “Reality,” now airing on HBO and streaming on Max. She plays former U.S. Air Force member and NSA contractor Reality Winner who was accused of leaking classified documents about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The film is based on actual dialogue between Winner and the FBI agents (Josh Hamilton and Marchant Davis) who showed up at her doorstep to interrogate her in 2017. It’s the directorial debut of Tina Satter, who adapted her 2019 play “Is This a Room?,” and it has gotten rave reviews since its debut at the Berlin Film Festival.
Method acting is in the spotlight in a new series
on The Criterion Channel, along with a conversation between Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio and Isaac Butler, who wrote a book on the matter (“The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned How to Act”). The films
feature performances by noted disciples like Sidney Poitier, Montgomery Clift, Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando. Included among the 25 titles are George Stevens’ “A Place in the Sun,” Sidney Lumet’s “12 Angry Men,” Elia Kazan’s “Splendor in the Grass,” Mike Nichols’ “The Graduate” and “Carnal Knowledge,” Bob Rafelson’s “Five Easy Pieces” and Warren Beatty’s “Reds.”
— Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press
MUSIC Foo Fighters have a new album,
the first since the death of the band’s drummer, Taylor Hawkins. The rockers say the 10-track “But Here We Are” is “a brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year.” The lead, driving single is “Rescued,” with the lyrics “I’m just waiting to be rescued/ Bring me back to life. Kings and queens and in-betweens/ We all deserve the right.” The new album, out June 2, is produced by Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters.
Bob Dylan’s rerecordings of old songs,
which first premiered on Alma Har’el’s 2021 film “Shadow Kingdom: The Early Songs of Bob Dylan,” will be released on audio formats for the first time June 2. The 14-track collection includes “Forever Young,” “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” and “When I Paint My Masterpiece.” The full-length “Shadow Kingdom” feature film will be available to download or rent June 6.
The Revivalists return with its fifth
full-length album, promising more of its spicy gumbo of horn-accented alt-rock, blues, folk and gospel. “Pour It Out Into the Night” is out June 2, and the New Orleans-based band offers three different takes on its sound, with the driving anthem “Kid,” the folky “Down in the Dirt” and the political protest tune “The Long Con,” with the lyrics “Every day they take away/ A little piece of you/ a little piece of me.”
Take the chance to honor
Kenny Rogers with some rare songs he left behind. The 10-track “Life Is Like
a Song” features eight never-before-heard recordings, spanning 2008 to
2011, including covers of Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight” and Lionel Richie’s “Goodbye,” as well as his duet with Dolly Parton, “Tell Me That You Love Me.” The collection is curated and executive produced by the late Country Music Hall of Famer’s widow, Wanda Rogers. There’s also two bonus tracks, a cover of the Mack Gordon/Henry Warren standard, “At Last” and the Buddy Hyatt-penned “Say Hello to Heaven.”
— Mark Kennedy, Associated Press
TELEVISION “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson
has a new gritty HBO series called “The Idol,” starring Lily-Rose Depp and Abel Tesfaye, also known as recording artist The Weeknd, who is a co-writer and co-executive producer. Depp plays a recording artist in LA who, after a nervous breakdown, enters a disturbing relationship with a selfhelp guru and cult leader played by Tesfaye. “The Idol” has already garnered
a lot of buzz for an alleged toxic work environment off camera and reportedly gratuitous sex scenes that are also violent, which the cast and Levinson have denied. The show premiered at the recent Cannes Film Festival where Levinson acknowledged at a news conference that while it is a “provocative” story, the media coverage has convinced him “we’re about to have the biggest show of the summer.” “The Idol” premieres June 4.
A new miniseries offers a history lesson
on the 32nd president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected to four terms in office. Co-executive produced by Bradley Cooper and biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin, “FDR” delves into some of the most pivotal times in Roosevelt’s life, including when he contracted polio disease and was permanently paralyzed from the waist down, when U.S. forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and his marriage to Eleanor Roosevelt who became a champion for human rights. The threepart miniseries is now airing on History.
ESPN’s award-winning “30 for 30” series has returned
with “The American Gladiators Documentary,” a two-part film examining the history of the realitycompetition show. It also reveals “American Gladiators” had a dark underbelly, involving greed, addiction and blackmail. Former contenders and crew members are interviewed.
Gearheads will rev up for “Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge,”
where contestants compete to transform nostalgia cars into lifesized Hot Wheels. Hosted by auto expert Rutledge Wood and featuring celebrity guests including Anthony Anderson, Joel McHale and Terry Crews, the winner of each episode gets a $25,000 prize. Jay Leno, known for his own love of automobiles and rare car collection, appears in the final episode where the winner is awarded $50,000 and will have their creation turned into an actual Hot Wheels diecast model that the public can purchase. “Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge” airs Tuesdays on NBC.
VIDEO GAMES Street Fighter 6 — the Capcom franchise’s
first release since 2016 — brings back 18 fan-favorite brawlers for more one-on-one punching and kicking. The new edition also lets you create your own avatar from scratch and go cruisin’ for a bruisin’ in cities all over the world. And there’s a battle hub where you and your friends can start fight clubs, compete in tournaments and play old-school Capcom arcade games. The fists and feet start flying June 2 on PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S and PC.