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
Recommended Videos
— Christian Bale reunites with filmmaker Scott Cooper, who directed him in “Hostiles” and “Out of the Furnace,” for “The Pale Blue Eye,” a murder mystery set in 1830 New York. This time Bale plays a detective investigating a series of killings alongside a young Edgar Allen Poe (played by “Harry Potter” and “The Queen’s Gambit” alum Harry Melling). In his review for The Associated Press, Mark Kennedy wrote that “a very satisfying and unexpected ending” awaits those who can bear the movie's chill, which should be easier when it’s available in your living room, on Netflix, on Thursday.
— If you haven’t consumed enough rich food, or content about very rich people, over the holidays, HBO Max has a treat coming your way with “The Menu,” streaming on Monday. Ralph Fiennes plays a celebrity chef at a very exclusive restaurant where things take a decidedly sinister turn for its various patrons including a foodie fanboy (Nicolas Hoult) and his skeptical date (Anya Taylor-Joy), a movie star (John Leguizamo) and a food critic (Janet McTeer). AP Film Writer Jake Coyle, in his review, wrote that the screenwriters "bake an amuse-bouche of commentaries on class and service industry dynamics into an increasingly unhinged, and bloody, romp.”
MUSIC
— Get the year started right with a pop — from Iggy Pop. “Every Loser,” his latest album, out Friday, includes the the savage “Frenzy” and the very catchy “Strung Out Johnny.” Pop is joined on the album by members of Blink 182 (Travis Barker), Foo Fighters (Taylor Hawkins), Guns N’ Roses (Duff McKagan), Jane’s Addiction (Chris Chaney, Dave Navarro, Eric Avery), Pearl Jam (Josh Klinghoffer, Stone Gossard) and Red Hot Chili Peppers (Klinghoffer, Chad Smith). The result is 11 songs, his team says, “by a man who refused to go gently into that good night.”
— Rising country singer-songwriter Brandon Ratcliff on Friday drops the album “Tale of Two Towns,” with a really lovely and melancholy title track that explores the push-pull of staying or escaping home. ”Are you more brave for leaving or sticking around?” he asks. More singles include “Drove Me Country,”“Someone Who Believes In You” and “Always Moving On,” revealing a hard-to-pin down and exciting artist. Ratcliff has toured with Kelsea Ballerini, Brett Young and Keith Urban, and in 2020 was named to Pandora’s Ones to Watch list and topped Rolling Stone’s all-genre Breakthrough Artists chart. He is the son of multi-Grammy Award winner Suzanne Cox.
— Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy
TELEVISION
— It wasn’t until the 2019 Lifetime docuseries, “Surviving R. Kelly,” that criminal investigations into the disgraced singer were kicked into high-gear. Earlier this year, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison where a jury in New York found him guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking. A second trial in Chicago ended on Sept. 14 with his conviction on charges of producing child pornography and enticing girls for sex. Lifetime will conclude its coverage on R. Kelly’s victims with “Surviving R. Kelly: The Final Chapter,” with a two-night special, premiering Monday and Tuesday.
— A new Netflix docuseries delves into the rise and fall of financier Bernie Madoff, who was behind the largest Ponzi scheme in history and died in prison in 2021. The series features clips of Madoff’s court depositions and interviews with people including investigators, his former employees and victims. All four-episodes of “Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street” drop Wednesday on the streamer.
— Sixty acts from past seasons of “America’s Got Talent” and other “Got Talent” iterations across the globe will compete in “America’s Got Talent: All-Stars.” Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel and Heidi Klum return as judges with Terry Crews as host beginning Monday on NBC.
— Alicia Rancilio
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Catch up on AP’s entertainment coverage here: https://apnews.com/apf-entertainment.