Here’s a curated collection from the Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s coming to TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.
MOVIES
– Ron Howard is a master of headline-ripping drama and this time he tackles the riveting story of the 2018 rescue of a boys’ soccer team from Tham Luang cave in the new movie ‘Thirteen Lives’, at Coming to Prime Video Friday, Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen play the English cave divers who travel to Thailand to help with the impossible rescue mission. The film is careful to present a holistic picture of all the disparate components that came together to ensure the success of the rescue, including the help of Thai Navy Seals, cave and water experts, and neighboring farmers. As in “Apollo 13”, it doesn’t matter that we already know the ending: Howard makes it a suspenseful and thrilling adventure.
– Rebecca Hall plays a single mother to a teenage daughter whose busy life is turned upside down when a figure from her past, played by Tim Roth, returns in “Resurrection” taking with him the “horrors of her past.” Writer-director Andrew Seman’s film caused a stir at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will be available to rent Friday from IFC. As with Hall’s unsettling turn in “The Night House,” his performance in this devilish psychological thriller promises to sink deep into your psyche.
— Lindsey Bahr, AP Cinema Screenwriter
MUSIC
— Has it really been five years since Calvin Harris released his awesome “Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1”? It is, but now it’s time to celebrate: Vol. 2 drops this week. You’ve probably heard “Potion” with Dua Lipa and Young Thug and the list of contributors on “Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2” is stunning: 21 Savage, Stefflon Don, Chlöe, Charlie Puth, Pusha T, Shenseea, Tinashe, Normani, Lil Durk, Halsey, Offset, 6lack, Justin Timberlake, Coi Leray, Busta Rhymes, Donae’O, Latto, Pharrell , Swae Lee, Jorja Smith and Snoop Dogg. A disco throwback ahead of Friday’s release is “Stay With Me,” which features Timberlake, Halsey, and Pharrell.
– Rising country star Travis Denning has a six-song EP that shows off a lot of his style. “Might As Well Be Me” includes the sweetly rocking song “Buy a Girl a Drink”, the ballad “She’s On It” and the upbeat “Don’t Give a Truck”. Hailing from Warner Robins, Georgia, Denning celebrated his first No. 1 single with “After A Few” and made waves with the release of his first Top 40 single “David Ashley Parker From Powder Springs.” He is currently on the road this summer with Dierks Bentley and will join Jake Owen on tour this fall.
— T Bone Burnett is back for the second installment of his project The Invisible Light, which is a fusion of trance, electronic, folk, tribal and global music. The first installment in the trilogy, “The Invisible Light: Acoustic Space”, was released in 2019 and now it’s time for “The Invisible Light: Spells”, to be released on Friday. Burnett teamed up again with Jay Bellerose and Keefus Ciancia. Among the singles from the nine-track album are the utterly eerie spoken word “Realities.com” and the captivating and driving “I’m Starting a New Life.”
– Mark Kennedy, AP Entertainment Writer
TELEVISION
– Straight out of San Diego Comic-Con, here is “The Sandman”. Neil Gaiman, who wrote the acclaimed series of graphic novels published by DC Comics, developed and is executive producer of the 10-episode series which debuts Friday on Netflix. Tom Sturridge plays the title character, who is everyone’s dream control center until he is captured and imprisoned for a century and more. His mission: to travel across worlds and time to repair the damage caused by a fall at work. The sprawling and eclectic cast includes Boyd Holbrook, Patton Oswalt, Jenna Coleman, David Thewlis, Stephen Fry, Asim Chaudhry, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Joely Richardson.
– As the title suggests, the four-part docuseries ‘My Life as a Rolling Stone’ takes a one-on-one approach to band members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and the late Charlie Watts. Each is the subject of an hour-long film that draws on never-before-seen and archival interviews and unseen footage to create “intimate” portraits of the artists. The films also trace how they came together to create a timeless work. The chapter on Watts, who died in August 2021 at age 80, includes tributes from fellow band members and peers. The series kicks off Sunday on the Epix channel with Jagger’s story and continues Sunday through August 28.
— Lynn Elber, AP Television Writer
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Find AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/apf-entertainment.
