This Week’s Must-Watch Streams: ‘Barbie,’ Dan & Shay, ‘The Morning Show’ and ‘Welcome to Wrexham’
Coming soon to your device, you can expect a variety of entertainment options including music from Dan & Shay and Vic Mensa, as well as a unique Hulu series called “The Other Black Girl” that takes place in the publishing industry. These offerings span across television, movies, music, and games.
Among the deals selected by Associated Press entertainment reporters are a cheery second season of “Welcome to Wrexham,” a $30 “Barbie” and the return of Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon for a third season of “The Morning Show.” .”
NEW MOVIES IN DELIVERY
— “Barbie” finally arrives on small screens, giving audiences everywhere the freedom to belt out “I’m Just Ken” with Ryan Gosling without shame. However, it will cost, at least for a while. Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar hit will be available as a VOD for $29.99 starting Tuesday. The film took on a life of its own after a wild marketing craze and “Oppenheimer” affinity, inspiring moviegoers to don their pinkest, sparkliest ensembles for group trips to the theaters. With over $1.3 billion in box office sales worldwide, it has become the biggest film of the year, the biggest Warner Bros. The biggest film in the 100-year history and the biggest live-action film directed by a woman. AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote in her review that “Barbie” “can simultaneously and fluidly both mock and admire its source material.”
– Unlike “Barbie,” Disney and Pixar’s latest offering, “Elemental,” didn’t set the cultural conversation or the box office on fire this summer. Lost in the sea of bubbles that preceded Barbenheimer, the film imagines a city where the anthropomorphized elements (fire, water, earth and air) live apart from each other and fear each other. Still, in a marketplace lacking meaningful offerings for young children, “Elemental” slid its way to $480 million worldwide, but if it didn’t make it into theaters, it’s coming to Disney starting Wednesday. In his review, AP film editor Jake Coyle asked where it fits in the Pixar canon. “Probably below,” Coyle wrote. “But ‘Elemental’—sincere and clever with a touch of dazzle—is closer to reviving some of the old Pixar magic than some recent entries.“
— And for something completely different, and definitely not for kids, Netflix has Pablo Larraín’s “El Conde” on Friday, September 15. The director of “Spencer” and “Jackie” returns to his homeland to make a dark satire on the subject. Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet as a 250-year-old vampire who would like to die. Thanks to great Ed Lachmann cinematography and clever allegorical retelling of history, “El Conde” is amazing to watch. It also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the coup that brought Pinochet to power.
— AP film writer Lindsey Bahr
PERFORMING NEW MUSIC
—Grammy-winning country-pop duo Dan & Shay have been known throughout their career as reliable, romantic balladeers—the soundtrack experts for a first dance or a cinematic moment between two lovers. This streak continues with their fifth studio album ‘Bigger Houses’, found on the title track, and ‘Heartbreak on the Map’ and Always Gonna Be. But they also offer room for surprises: as in the soaring, fast-paced single “We Should Get Married”. Get a duo that can do both.
– Six years after Vic Mensa released his debut album ‘The Autobiography’, the Chicago rapper is back with a sophomore release – the self-reflective self-titled ‘Victor’. With 18 tracks, Mensa explores culture, sobriety, Ghana, home and himself, leading to his most passionate work to date. “This album is a story of redemption; trial and triumph, pain and glory,” Mensa said in a statement. On single “Blue Eyes,” he takes on Eurocentric standards of beauty; on “Strawberry Louis Vuitton (feat. Thundercat),” he pays homage to the late great Virgil Abloh.
— AP music composer Maria Sherman
NEW SERIES to stream
– When we last saw Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon’s characters on “The Morning Show,” they were navigating COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic. Aniston’s Alex Levy even broadcast from her house due to the virus. In its third season, which debuted Wednesday on Apple TV, there’s been a time jump, and the network is now courting a sale to a tech giant played by Jon Hamm whose passion is to join the space race. (Sound familiar?) Once again, “The Morning Show” isn’t afraid to dive into real issues in our media landscape that affect the news, including mergers, budgets and ethics. Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Greta Lee and Julianna Margulies also return. The series has already been renewed for the fourth production season.
– When Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought a small, hapless football club called Wrexham A.F.C. In Wales, they wanted to document how the team and its blue-collar town rely on and mirror each other – in good times and bad. The team and the town have enjoyed international attention as a ‘Welcome to Wrexham’, but the team continued to struggle in their first season. The second season, which debuted on Tuesday on FX, shows things starting to click, where in the end (spoiler alert) Wrexham won their league and promoted them to the next level of competition.
– The new Hulu series “The Other Black Girl” takes place in the world of publishing, where editorial assistant Nella is the only black girl in the office. Nella is relieved and excited to meet her new colleague Hazel-May, who is also black and hopes to have a companion, now two examples of black representation in their workplace. However, Hazel-May assimilates nicely, and Nella starts to feel more and more outside her surroundings. Hazel tells Nella that she is her ally, but her actions don’t reflect that. The series, which has a genre mix of social satire and horror, is based on the novel of the same name by Zakiya Dalila Harris, who is also the executive producer and writer of the project. All 10 episodes drop on Wednesday.
— A new series coming to The CW may confirm some people’s fear of the sea making “Jaws” look downright silly. “The Swarm,” which debuted Tuesday, is about a deep-water predatory force that can dominate the ocean’s ecosystem. All marine life becomes hostile (including mussels and crabs), pathogens end up in drinking water, and dangerous weather such as tsunamis and hurricanes are provoked. The eight-episode series first aired in Germany and is based on Frank Schätzing’s novel.
– Alicia Rancilio
NEW VIDEO GAMES ARE PLAYING
— In the summer of 2016, millions of people explored the world with their smartphones up, hoping to find adorable little monsters in the Pokémon Go augmented reality app. Game developer Niantic is back with Capcom’s Monster Hunter Now, and the creatures have gotten a lot bigger and meaner – more like Godzilla than Pikachu. They won’t be nearly as happy to join your zoo, and you may need to team up with some friends to take down the particularly nasty ones. Between battles, you can scavenge for minerals, plants, and bones, which you need to craft better armor and weapons. Just be careful not to swing your phone too violently on the neighbor’s lawn. The hunt starts on Thursday on iOS and Android phones.
