WHAT TO STREAM THIS WEEK
A new album from Ariana Grande and Garth Brooks taking viewers behind the scenes to the opening of his bar in Nashville are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed your way.
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: John Cena starring in the film comedy “Ricky Stanicky,” the debut of the admired Atlus’ video game Unicorn Overlord, and Emma Stone’s “Poor Things” lands on Hulu.
New movies to stream
Just in time for the Academy Awards, Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” is landing on Hulu on Thursday. At the Oscars, it’s nominated for 11 awards, including best picture, best actress for Emma Stone and numerous nods for its fantastical craft. In the Victorian-set film, adapted from Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel, Stone plays Bella Baxter, a woman brought to life by a mad scientist (Willem Dafoe) with a childlike brain and an adult body. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called “Poor Things” “among the year’s most sumptuous visual delights.”
While he’s off wrestling sand worms in “Dune: Part 2,” in theaters, Timothée Chalamet’s last box-office hit, “Wonka,” is arriving Friday, on Max.
In “Ricky Stanicky,” a trio of friends have long relied on a made-up pal named
Ricky Stanicky for excuses to keep them out of trouble with their spouses. When their families get suspicious, the three friends (Zac Efron, Jermaine Fowler, Andrew Santino) hire a struggling actor known as “Rock Hard” Rod (John Cena) to impersonate the fictional Stanicky. The film debuts Thursday on Prime Video.
– AP Film Writer Jake Coyle
New music to stream
Four years ago, Ariana Grande was switching up “Positions.” Five years ago, she changed the language around breakups with “Thank U, Next.” Then there were the earlier albums: “Sweetener,” “Dangerous Woman,” “My Everything,” and “Yours Truly.” And now, there is “eternal sunshine.” Grande has returned to her rightful place atop pop music’s throne with a new full-length release.
When he is not producing with Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Florence and the Machine, Clairo and many, many others, Jack Antonoff fronts the New Jersey band Bleachers. The group’s self-titled fourth studio album is a continuation of their previous work: ascendant pop-rock, deeply indebted to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band.
Kim Gordon, known for her work in the pioneering noise rock band Sonic Youth, is preparing to release her second solo album,
“The Collective” – an exercise in no wave modernity. The album is stacked with spoken-word vocals (known as sprechgesang to those with their pinkies extended), placed atop explosive and asymmetrical production – like the hip-hop beats and glass shattering sounds of the near-nu metal “Bye Bye,” or on the album’s best track, “I’m A Man,” a gothic assault on traditional images of masculinity under late capitalism. Decades later, and forever, Gordon’s art is not for the faint of heart.
Moor Mother, the musical moniker of Afrofuturistpoet-artist Camae Ayewa, has always considered Black history and Black music history in her work – creating albums that grapple with diasporic realities while entertaining listeners with their beauty and discomfort. On Friday, she returns with a fifth studio album, “The Great
Bailout,” an experimental album that examines the ever-present effects of British colonialism – and the relationship between displacement and liberation
– AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
New shows to stream
All hail the queens. A new docuseries on National Geographic follows female leaders of the animal kingdom. Narrated by Oscar-winner Angela Bassett, the sevenepisode series was filmed over four years in 12 countries by a female-led production team. Animal queendoms filmed include insects, orcas, hyenas and lions. The seventh episode focuses on those women who dedicate their lives to documenting wildlife and contributing to conservation efforts, as natural history is typically a maledominated field. “Queens” premieres Monday on National Geographic and streams next day on Hulu and Disney+.
“Friends in Low Places” is arguably Garth Brooks’ best song, as it never fails to get people to smile, sing along and have a great time. That’s the vibe Brooks is hoping for when he opens the Friends in Low Places Bar and Honky-Tonk on Thursday in Nashville. That same day, a “Friends in
Low Places” docuseries about the making of the bar premieres on Prime Video. – Alicia Rancilio
New video games to play Unicorn Overlord
Atlus’ is the early front-runner for title of the year. The protagonist is an exiled prince named Alain who’s fighting to reclaim his empire from the backstabbing General Valmore. Alain may have lost his throne, but he does have a magical ring that helps him recruit allies – humans and elves, angels and beasts – across a sprawling fantasy world called Fevrith. Unicorn Overload comes from Japan’s Vanillaware, the developer of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, and fans of that cult favorite will recognize the studio’s blend of colorful storytelling and real-time tactical battles. Saddle up Friday, March 8 on PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S or Nintendo Switch.