Country superstar Chris Stapleton's fifth studio album and a documentary about Albert Brooks that includes Steven Spielberg, David Letterman, Ben Stiller, Larry David, Chris Rock and Wanda Sykes are some of the new television, movies, music and games near you.
Also among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press鈥� are Michael Fassbender playing a hitman in David Fincher鈥檚 鈥淭he Killer," Tim Allen putting on his Santa suit for season two of 鈥淭he Santa Clauses鈥� and 鈥淭he Buccaneers,鈥� Apple TV+鈥檚 eight-episode series answer to 鈥淏ridgerton.鈥�
NEW MOVIES TO STREAM
鈥� Michael Fassbender plays an unnamed hitman in debuting on Netflix on Friday. It鈥檚 based on a French graphic novel and adapted by Andrew Kevin Walker, who also wrote the screenplay for 鈥淪even鈥� (or 鈥淪e7en鈥� for the purists), this nameless assassin has some very specific rules for his chosen profession which he monologues to the audience. But of course, things go very wrong on this particular job in Paris, and he鈥檚 left to deal with the consequences in a globetrotting race. While it might not rank among Fincher鈥檚 stone-cold classics, reviews have been largely positive. ( .) 鈥� Rob Reiner enlists the likes of Steven Spielberg, David Letterman, Ben Stiller, Larry David, Chris Rock and Wanda Sykes to take stock the impact of Albert Brooks in the new documentary streaming on Max on Saturday. Reiner and Brooks, who have been friends for 鈥渁lmost 60 years,鈥� also have a one-on-one chat about his career, from stand-up to generation-defining writer and filmmaker with classics like 鈥淟ost in America鈥� and 鈥淢odern Romance,鈥� in a cozy restaurant with plush red leather booths. 鈥淚t took this to finally hear a compliment,鈥� Brooks laughs. 鈥淐an鈥檛 wait till I鈥檓 dead.鈥�
鈥� the enjoyable film about the GameStop stock frenzy got a little unfairly buried in its theatrical release 鈥� perhaps lost in the post-Barbenheimer, early strike haze. Paul Dano plays Keith Gill, otherwise known as Roaring Kitty, an amateur investor whose endorsement of GameStock on Reddit in 2021 created a viral frenzy that shook Wall Street power players. Two former Wall Street Journal Reporters, Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, wrote the script and Craig Gillespie (鈥淚, Tonya鈥�) directed a starry cast that includes America Ferrera, Seth Rogen, Anthony Ramos, Pete Davidson, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley and Nick Offerman. In his AP review, whose title comes from "the derisory term institutional investors call regular folk, wears its love of the little guy on its sleeve鈥� and that it鈥檚 a sort of corrective to 鈥淭he Wolf of Wall Street鈥� and 鈥淭he Big Short.鈥� It鈥檚 nowavailable on video-on-demand.
鈥�
NEW MUSIC TO STREAM
鈥� Country superstar 鈥檚 enigmatic voice 鈥� known for its raw versatility, so anchored in his chosen musical genre with an 鈥� is as present as ever on his fifth studio album, 鈥淗igher,鈥� out Friday. Recorded at Nashville鈥檚 famed RCA Studio A with an a-list crew of producer Dave Cobb, bassist J.T. Cure, pedal steel player Paul Franklin, drummer Derek Mixon, and multi-instrumentalists Morgane Stapleton (Stapleton's wife) and Lee Pardini, the release is a rich collection of up-tempo rock-stompers like 鈥淲hite Horse鈥� and stripped-down soulful harmonies of 鈥淚t Takes a Woman鈥� 鈥� sung with Morgane, of course. No one is immune when Stapleton鈥檚 textured, bellowing ballads play.
鈥� Once, were best known as the K-pop group that had their own AI avatars 鈥� a quartet that was actually an octet with digital twins who performed alongside them, in an effort to develop innovative transmedia storytelling to match a sound. Of course, sometimes that meant the conversation surrounding aespa distracted from the music itself. That shouldn鈥檛 have ever been the case, and they continue to prove their distinction on the high-octane 鈥淒rama,鈥� the group鈥檚 fourth mini album. That鈥檚 evident from the English-language lead single, 鈥淏etter Things,鈥� which its cheery, hand-clap production and kiss-off chorus. 鈥淚鈥檝e got better things to do with my time / Than you,鈥� they sing.
鈥�
NEW SERIES TO STREAM
鈥� is Apple TV+鈥檚 answer to 鈥淏ridgerton,鈥� featuring attractive young people in London in the late 1800鈥檚 with contemporary dialogue and corsets. The eight-episode series is inspired by an unfinished novel by Edith Wharton with the same name. It鈥檚 about a group of American girls who travel to London for the social season, to hopefully find husbands. They鈥檙e regarded as loud, brash, and far too independent-minded. The series stars Kristine Froseth who ends up in a love triangle, along with Alisha Boe (鈥�13 Reasons Why鈥�), Mia Threapleton (daughter of Kate Winslet), Imogen Waterhouse and Christina Hendricks. 鈥淭he Buccaneers鈥� debuted Wednesday.
鈥� Octavia Spencer executive produces the new series for ID which goes inside the FBI to reveal details of some of their most unusual and high-profile cases. 鈥淲e had unparalleled access to the FBI,鈥� Spencer told The Associated Press. 鈥淭hese agents are still active and tell their stories in their own voice. They are also unsung heroes. it was a way for us to demonstrate exactly what they go through on a on a daily basis.鈥� 鈥淔贰顿厂鈥� premiered Wednesday on ID and will also stream on Max.
鈥� Tim Allen puts on his Santa suit for season two of on Disney+. The series is a continuation of the films starring Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, an everyman who also happens to be Santa Clause. Calvin is ready to retire but hasn鈥檛 found the right replacement. Elizabeth Mitchell also reprises her film role as Mrs. Clause for the series. Eric Stonestreet of 鈥淢odern Family鈥� and Gabriel Iglesias also join the second season with Tracy Morgan making a special guest appearance.
鈥� In a new Showtime series called Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder play Whitney and Asher, a married couple with their own home improvement show whose shiny, happy lives on camera aren鈥檛 so perfect behind-the-scenes. Their lives unravel even more after a young girl curses them with bad fortune. The series is created by Fielder and Benny Safdie, who plays their producer. 鈥淭he Curse鈥� premieres Friday on Paramount+ and Sunday on Showtime.
鈥� After playing shrewd billionaire Logan Roy in HBO鈥檚 鈥淪uccession,鈥� Brian Cox will next serve as a mastermind in the new game show for Prime Video. The competition features nine pairs who take part in James Bond-inspired challenges across the globe, testing them physically and mentally, to answer questions hidden by Cox. Cox is 鈥淭he Controller鈥� who instructs the contestants where to go, what the exercise is, and monitors their progress. The winning team gets $1 million pounds. All eight episodes drop Friday on Prime Video.
鈥�
NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
鈥� When Call of Duty premiered in 2003, reviewers raved about it but few predicted what a monster it would become. But here it is 20 years and 20 games later, racking up blockbuster sales figures even if most of us critics have long since moved on. The latest chapter, , welcomes back iconic villain Vladimir Makarov, architect of the most heinous terrorist attack in the franchise鈥檚 history. Can the good ol鈥� boys of Task Force 141 once again stop him from starting World War III? Hope so. Will most CoD diehards zip through the campaign so they can dive back into multiplayer combat? Yes. Will publisher Activision keep raking in billions of dollars? Don鈥檛 bet against it. The bullets start flying Friday on PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S/One and PC.
鈥� Sega鈥檚 Yakuza/Like a Dragon series has been around almost as long as CoD, but while it鈥檚 huge in Japan, it鈥檚 more of a cult favorite in the West. The latest chapter, , picks up the story of Kazuma Kiryu, who faked his own death and went into hiding before being dragged back into the gangster life. Kiryu has two ways to fight back: He can be an aggressive brawler or use high-tech gadgets for precision takedowns. Or he can just relax and sing karaoke or race slot cars. The Yakuza mythology can be overwhelming to newcomers, but if you鈥檙e in the mood for unpredictable, sometimes loopy storytelling, you should give it a shot. The drama resumed Thursday on PlayStation 5/4, Xbox X/S/One and PC.
鈥�
___
Catch up on AP鈥檚 entertainment coverage here:
The Associated Press
