New this week: ‘Peacemaker,’ Elvis Costello, Macbeth film
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.
Movies
In Joel Coen’s first film without his brother, Ethan, he directs the stark, expressionist “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” starring Denzel Washington and Frances Mcdormand. The film, which begins streaming Friday on Apple TV+, is shot in black and white and dense with atmosphere. And with leads in their 60s, it gives a new dimension to Shakespeare’s portrait of ambition and destiny. In her review, the AP’S Jocelyn Noveck called Coen’s “Macbeth,” “brilliantly imagined, brilliantly executed.”
The “Hotel Transylvania” franchise is now a decade old and its fourth installment, “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania,” is to be its last entry. Once planned by Sony Pictures to open in theaters, it will instead debut Friday on Amazon Prime. With a voice cast including Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kathryn Hahn and Jim Gaffigan, “Transformania” flips the franchise upside down when a “Monsterfication Ray” goes haywire, turning monsters into humans.
— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle
Music
Elvis Costello and his band The Imposters release “The Boy Named If” on Friday. The 13-song collection is described as “urgent, immediate songs with bright melodies, guitar solos that sting and a quick step to the rhythm.” The first single is “Magnificent Hurt” — a rocker with a pounding backbeat and some ’ 70s organ.
“Brightside,” the fourth studio album by The Lumineers, lands on Friday and it has a song inspired by a car crash. The new album was also preceded by the release of three singles: “Brightside,” “Big Shot” and “A.M. Radio.”
— AP Entertainment
Writer Mark Kennedy
Television
John Cena reprises his “The Suicide Squad” role in the DC universe spin-off series “Peacemaker.” No surprise to fans of the John Gunn movie, but there’s lots of violence, vulgarity and, yes, comedy. The cast includes Danielle Brooks (“Orange Is the New Black”) as newly introduced character Leota Adebayo; Freddie Stroma as Vigilante; Jennifer Holland as Harcourt, and Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith. The eight-episode series debuts with three episodes Thursday on HBO Max.
The best reason to check the attic or garage sales is back. PBS’ “Antiques Road Show” is in its 26th season and again visiting U.S. cities for local treasures. The series, which aired Monday, was taped at locations including the Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown, Conn., and Virginia’s Colonial Williamsburg.