New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
New this week: ‘Lord of the Rings’ prequel; ‘Honk for Jesus’ SPOTLIGHT
MOVIES
⏩ Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown star in the satirical comedy “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul,” that’s playing in theaters and streaming on Peacock on Friday. Brown plays husband to Hall and the pastor of a Southern Baptist megachurch that needs a big comeback in the aftermath of a scandal. The directorial debut of Adamma Ebo premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.
⏩ In 1976, Maurice Flitcroft, a shipyard crane operator, entered the British Open without ever having played golf before and shot the worst qualifying round in the tournament’s history. His story gets a quirky, uplifting spin in “The Phantom of the Open,” starring Mark Rylance as Maurice and Sally Hawkins as his wife Jean, which is available on video on demand starting Tuesday.
⏩ Also available on VOD on Tuesday is the documentary “Explorer,” which delves into the life of Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who the Guinness Book of Records called “the world’s greatest living explorer.” And at 78, he’s getting more reflective than he ever has been before in director Matthew Dyas’ film.
MUSIC
⏩ Yungblud has new music but you likely already knew that if you’ve watched any of ESPN’s coverage of the new college football season — his single “The Emperor” is part of the official TV anthem. Yungblud said he wrote the song when he was 17 as “an outburst of unfiltered energy that I knew would have its moment one day.” He will release his self-titled third studio album on Friday, which features the previously released singles “The Funeral,” “Memories” (featuring Willow) and “Don’t Feel Like Feeling Sad Today.”
⏩ Thrash metal icons Megadeth have put more than music on tap for their next sonic step. The band releases their 16th studio album, “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!” on Friday and fans can watch the connected 7-minute “Night Stalkers: Chapter II,” the latest installment of a multi-part short film about troubled band mascot Vic Rattlehead.
TELEVISION
⏩ An epic battle of fantasy prequels is nigh. “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” debuts Friday on Amazon Prime Video, on the heels of HBO’s “House of the Dragon.” which is set two centuries before “Game of Thrones.” The Amazon series takes place much earlier in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” novels, with evil a threat to peaceful Middle-earth. Whatever the dueling body counts may be, “House of the Dragon” set a high bar for viewership: Nearly 10 million tuned in to make it the mostwatched series premiere in HBO history.
⏩ The quartet of pals and business partners known as The Try Guys have gained a big YouTube following with their funny and offbeat willingness to venture into untested (for them) waters. They bring that approach to TV with “No-Recipe Road Trip with the Try Guys,” in which Ned Fulmer, Keith Habersberger, Zach Kornfeld, and Eugene Lee Yang visit restaurants in Nashville; Los Angeles; Charleston, South Carolina; Atlanta; and Santa Barbara, California, and make each eatery’s signature dish minus instructions. The series begins Wednesday on the Food Network and streams on discovery+.