What to stream this week: Nicki Minaj’s birthday album, Julia Roberts is in trouble and Monk returns
A Nicki Minaj album dropping on her birthday and the return of Tony Shalhoub’s quirky private investigator Adrian Monk with one final case are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are Julia Roberts starring in the psychological thriller “Leave the World Behind” and the new Britbox miniseries “Archie,” telling the story of how Cary Grant went from humble beginnings to become one of Hollywood’s most dashing leading men.
NEW MOVIES TO STREAM
— “Mr. Robot” creator Sam Esmail directs Julia Roberts in the new psychological thriller he adapted from Rumaan Alam’s novel for Netflix. In “Leave the World Behind,” An ad executive (Roberts), her college professor husband (Ethan Hawke) and kids (Charlie Evans and Farrah Mackenzie) are spending the weekend in a luxurious rental on Long Island. Late one night two strangers (Mahershala Ali and Myha’la) show up with news of a cyberattack and blackout, claiming that the house is theirs and seeking refuge. No one is quite sure who to trust as the apocalypse looms. “Leave the World Behind” will be available to watch on Netflix on Friday, Dec. 8.
— Indie auteur Kelly Reichardt (“First Cow,” “Wendy and Lucy”) reunites with her longtime muse Michelle Williams for the fourth time in “Showing Up,” about a ceramic artist in Portland, Oregon that begins streaming on Paramount+ on Thursday. Hong Chau co-stars as her landlady in a film that AP Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote was about the “The compulsions and pains of making modest, hand-crafted art. ” In an interview earlier this year, Reichardt said, “We were trying to make a film about someone who’s caught up in balancing the day-to-day, someone for whom working is like eating, but life has all these other demands of you.”
— Photojournalist Amanda Mustard turns her lens to her own family, investigating sexual abuses committed by her grandfather in “Great Photo, Lovely Life,” streaming on MAX on Tuesday. On this eight-year-journey, Mustard tries to uncover the abuses, coverups and secrecy — her grandfather was a chiropractor in Pennsylvania — and understand the impact of the generational trauma inflicted on her family.
NEW MUSIC TO STREAM
— Nicki Minaj has reason to celebrate and so do we. The rapper’s “Pink Friday 2” album lands on Friday, Dec. 8, her birthday. “This entire album will be the biggest gift I have ever given humanity thus far,” she modestly says of the album that has been five years in the making. “I have never in my life been so in love with something that I’m working on.” Its lead single, “Super Freaky Girl,” dropped back in August. As a frame of reference, the 10-time Grammy-nominated artist dropped her debut album “Pink Friday” in 2010.
— There’s good news if you’re burning, burning for Blue Öyster Cult: The classic rock band is celebrating its 50th anniversary with an album of three live sold-out shows, “50th Anniversary Live – First Night.” The set is built around three sold-out shows the band played in September 2022 at Sony Hall in New York City. Each show featured the band playing in its entirety one of their first three albums (“Blue Öyster Cult”, “Tyranny and Mutation” and “Secret Treaties”), followed by a set of deep cuts and classics from their other albums.
— Neil Young is looking back with “Before and After,” an album of solo acoustic re-recordings of songs from his deep catalog. The album will feature an “eclectic” fresh takes on songs like “My Heart,” “On the Way Home” and “Mother Earth.” “The feeling is captured, not in pieces, but as a whole piece — designed to be listened to that way. This music presentation defies shuffling, digital organization, separation,” the singer-songwriter warns. There’s also the previously unreleased song “If You Got Love.”
— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy
NEW SERIES TO STREAM
— Production on season three of Prime Video’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty” hasn’t begun yet but there’s a new swoon-worthy teen romance about a love triangle with two brothers coming to Netflix. In “My Life with the Walter Boys,” a recently orphaned teen named Jackie moves from New York to Colorado to live with her mother’s best friend — and her 10 sons. Jackie must adjust to a new home, new school, new family, and new feelings for two of the brothers, Alex and Cole. “My Life with the Walter Boys” is adapted from a novel originally published on Wattpad. All 10 episodes drop Thursday.
— Grab your hand sanitizer because Tony Shalhoub is reviving his Emmy Award-winning character, Adrian Monk, a private investigator with OCD, whom he played for eight seasons on USA. “Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie” premieres Friday, Dec. 8 on Peacock. Original series stars Ted Levine, Traylor Howard, Jason Gray-Stanford, Melora Hardin and Hector Elizondo also return.
NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
— The “Avatar” films have plenty of video-game DNA, from their immersive 3D graphics to the idea of humans virtually exploring an alien world. It’s been a while, though, since we’ve gotten a chance to play in James Cameron’s universe. Ubisoft is about to bridge the gap with Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. The protagonist is a Na’vi warrior who’s out for revenge after being held captive for years by the militaristic Resources Development Administration. The developer promises to show wildlife and regions of Pandora that we haven’t yet seen on IMAX screens, and you’ll be able to wield both Na’vi and human weapons as you try to destroy the RDA’s smoke-belching factories. Your banshee will be ready to take off Thursday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.
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