SCREEN TIME
Best movies and TV shows: Lizzo documentary, ‘The Woman King’ with Viola Davis, and ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’
This week’s new entertainment releases include the criminal profile spinoff series “Criminal Minds: Evolution,” a documentary about the plucky Mars Rover Opportunity and a TV series that focuses on the backstage melodrama at the Chippendale’s male strip clubs. There’s also the new documentary “Love, Lizzo,” an intimate portrait of the superstar musician.
Here’s a collection of the best of what’s arriving on TV, and streaming services this week.
‘Love, Lizzo’
Filmed over three years, during the “Cuz I Love You” tour, through the height of the pandemic and during the recording of “Special,” the new documentary “Love, Lizzo” is an intimate portrait of the superstar musician, with candid talk about bodies, self-love and being a Black woman. “Love, Lizzo” is streaming on HBO Max on Thursday.
‘The Woman King’
If you missed Viola Davis’s turn as an Agojie warrior in “The Woman King” in theaters, the Gina Prince-Bythewood epic will be available to rent on VOD starting Tuesday. The $50 million action epic, set in 1820s West Africa, tells a story about the all-female army of the Kingdom of Dahomey in the vein of films like “Braveheart,” “The Last of the Mohicans” and “Gladiator.” It was a bit of a miracle that the film even got made at the budget it did, due to antiquated thinking in Hollywood, but Davis told the AP that the success of “Black Panther” was a turning point. And audiences clearly wanted “The Woman King,” which has grossed over $91 million worldwide.
‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’
It’s almost criminal how much people love crime dramas. But because they do, and because franchises are a solid bet, here comes “Criminal Minds: Evolution” on Paramount+.
Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness and Aisha Tyler are among those reprising their
original “Criminal Minds” roles in the spinoff. The mission for the FBI elite criminal profilers: track down a network of serial killers formed during the pandemic. The series debuts with two episodes on Thursday as a Thanksgiving chaser.
‘Good Night Oppy’
When the Mars Rover Opportunity, nicknamed Oppy, launched in 2003, it was only supposed to last 90 sols (or Mars days). But 15 years later it was still out there exploring. The documentary “Good Night Oppy,” coming to Prime Video on Wednesday, tells the story of not just Oppy and its counterpart Spirit, but the scientists and engineers who cared for the robots and their discoveries on Mars. With shades of some of cinema’s
most lovable robots, from WALL-E to R2-D2, “Good Night Oppy,” directed by Ryan White, is a sentimental and inspiring and a great film to watch with the family over the holiday.
‘Blood Relatives’
A loner vampire gets a
surprise when a teenager shows up claiming to be his daughter in “Blood Relatives,” a road trip comedy/ horror coming to Shudder on Tuesday. It’s the directorial debut of actor Noah Segan, a mainstay of Rian Johnson’s films, who stars as well alongside Victoria Moroles, as the teenage
Jane.
‘Welcome to Chippendales’
The risqué shows at Chippendale’s male strip clubs paled in comparison to the backstage melodrama created by the enterprise’s
founder, Somen “Steve” Banerjee. The events, so steeped in greed and criminality that they’ve been recounted in movies, miniseries and documentaries, gets another look in Hulu’s “Welcome to Chippendales.” Kumail Nanjiani leads the cast that includes Murray Bartlett, Juliette Lewis, and Annaleigh Ashford in the series debuting with two episodes now available.
‘Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin’
“Pitch Perfect” fans of
the movies in general and Adam Devine’s Bumper in particular are in luck. Peacock’s “Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin” finds the singer jumping at a chance to become a star in Germany with the help of Pieter Krämer’s Flula (from “Pitch Perfect 2”). Also along for the ride is Sarah Hyland, Devine’s castmate in their “Modern Family” days. The series is now available on Peacock, with NBC viewers getting a taste of it when episode one airs Nov. 28.