WHAT’S NEW THIS WEEK
NEW ON DVD
“Force of Nature”: Emile Hirsch, Kate Bosworth and Mel Gibson star in this action drama about a group of thieves trying to pull off an elaborate heist during a hurricane.
NEW MUSIC FRIDAY
Willie Nelson, “First Rose of Spring”: Arriving months after his 87th birthday, the 70th album from the country legend is another collaboration with longtime friend and producer Buddy Cannon. It features two new songs they’ve written — “Blue Star” and “Love Just Laughed” — along with tracks from Toby Keith (“Don’t Let the Old Man In”), Billy Joe Shaver (“We Are the Cowboys”), Pete Graves (“Just Bummin’ Around”), Chris Stapleton (“Our Song”) and more.
Paul Weller, “On Sunset”: The 15th solo album from the former leader of The Jam and Style Council “brilliantly merges this new interest in the avant garde with his ever-changing future soul moods,” according to The Independent UK.
Boris, “NO”: The 27th album from the experimental Japanese band is being released DIY and includes a cover of Gudon’s “Fundamental Error.”
WHAT’S ON TV
“Unsolved Mysteries” (Out now, Netflix): Netflix reboots this former network series, focused on cold cases and paranormal phenomena, with 12 new episodes.
“The Baby-Sitters Club” (Friday, Netflix): Reboot of the TV series based on the bestselling books stars Sophie Grace, Malia Baker, Momona Tamada, Stacey McGill and
Dawn Schafer as the middle-schoolers who start a babysitting business in the town of Stoneybrook, Conn. Alicia Silverstone also stars.
“The Searchers” (10 p.m. Friday, TCM): Many consider this 1956 offering from veteran Western director John Ford to be the alltime best of the genre. It stars John Wayne as a Civil War soldier whose niece (Natalie Wood) has been kidnapped by the Comanches.
“Independence Day” (1 p.m. Saturday, AMC): Will Smith heads an all-star cast in this edge-of-your-seat 1996 sci-fi thriller about an alien armada on a mission to invade Earth.
“1776” (2:30 p.m. Saturday, TCM): Clever writing and perfect casting — William Daniels, Howard da Silva and Ken Howard in the roles of John Adams, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson — make this 1972 musical one of the best “based on actual events” flicks ever, and one that has become a TCM Independence Day tradition.
“Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular” (8 p.m. Saturday, WPXI): NBC still is firming up both the format and scheduled performers for this annual special. Country superstars Tim McGraw and Lady A — formerly known as Lady Antebellum — are due to provide some of the music entertainment.
“A Capitol Fourth” (8 p.m. Saturday, WQED): John Stamos returns as host of this annual holiday special, which will feature clips from past editions of this show. Among the featured performers are Patti Labelle, country stars Trace Adkins and Lauren Alaina, the Temptations, Tony Award-winning Broadway star Kelli O’Hara and opera star Renee Fleming.
“Outcry” (10 p.m. Sunday, Showtime): Emmy-winning filmmaker Pat Kondelis directed and produced this new docuseries, which revolves around the controversial conviction of Texas high school football star Greg Kelley on sexual assault charges.