Kathryn Bigelow's nuclear fallout thriller “House of Dynamite” and albums from Brandi Carlile and Demi Lovato are just a few of the new TV shows, movies, music and games. headed towards the device next to you.
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as chosen by The Associated Press. entertainment journalists: Nobody Wants Season 2 sees the relationship between Adam Brody's rabbi and agnostic podcast host Kristen Bell get more serious, Ninja Gaiden 4 challenges gamers to fight their way through cybersoldiers and other evil creatures, and director Ben Stiller pays homage to his comedian parents in Stiller. & Meara: Nothing is lost.”
— An old genre, the hypothetical nuclear fallout thriller, is making a comeback “House of Dynamite” by Kathryn Bigelow (Friday, October 24, Netflix), a minute-by-minute White House drama in which a mysterious missile approaches Chicago. Movie reports that an 18-minute run-up will affect the result from three different perspectives, with an ensemble that included Rebecca Ferguson, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos and Idris Elba as president. In my reviewI wrote, “With stunning efficiency, Bigelow creates a tense, real-time thriller that starts off explosively but fades with each subsequent iteration.”
– IN “Stiller & Meara: Nothing is lost.” Director Ben Stiller pays tribute to his comedian parents Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, reflecting on how their lives in show business influenced his own family. Premiering Friday, October 24 on Apple TV, the film is clearly a family affair, drawing on the extensive archives of Meara and Stiller, who have recorded as much in their personal lives as they have in film and television.
— Ron Howard “Eden” (Wednesday on Prime Video) is based on the true story of a group of disillusioned Europeans who tried to create a utopia on a Galapagos island in 1929. Things didn't go so well. Howard's film was a box office success despite a star-studded cast that included Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby and Sydney Sweeney. In his AP reviewItzel Luna wrote that the ensemble “isn't always enough to compensate for the film's overambitious plot, which drags out in the middle.”
— On Thursday modern R&B-list talent Miguel returns with his first full-length album in nearly a decade. The bilingual “Caos” (Spanish for “Chaos”) is the long-awaited sequel 2017 “War” & Leisure,” and marks a conceptual fulcrum for the musician. “In order to recover, I had to destroy myself. This is the main confrontation of Kaos,” Miguel said in a press statement. “Through my personal evolution, I have learned that transformation is violent. 'Caos' is the sonic version of me turning that violence into something that is felt everywhere.”
-Who is busier than Brandi Carlile? Just a few months ago, the musician known for combining folk, alt-country, rock and Americana entered into a partnership with the great Elton John for the charming joint album, “Who believes in angels?” Now, on Friday, she's preparing to release a new solo album, “Returning to Myself,” her first since 2021's “In These Silent Days.” If you need any confirmation of her timeless talent, remember The War With Time, written by Carlyle and often Taylor Swift co-author Aaron Dessner of The National. What about piano/backing vocals? This is Justin Vernon from Bon Iver.
– This “BROTHER” autumn For Demi Lovato, whose ninth studio album, It's Not That Deep, combines club-ready dance beats with catchy pop songs. It's a marked departure from her last two records, 2022's Holy Fvck and 2023's Revamped, which were more traditionally rock 'n' roll oriented. Both modes work for Lovato: give her belt space with some advantage and she'll fashion an earworm.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
— As Halloween approaches, a number of new horror shows will debut this month. Sam Claflin (“Daisy Jones & Six”) stars in a new Prime Video mystery from bestselling author Harlan Coben. He plays a forensic psychiatrist who has to connect the dots between several unsolved cases after the death of his father. “Harlan Coben's Lazarus” debuts Wednesday.
— The delightful TV romance between Adam Brody's Rabbi Noah and Kristen Bell's agnostic podcast host, Joan, continues Thursday on Netflix. “Nobody wants this.” The second season picks up shortly after the end of the first, with two characters trying to reconcile their lives while becoming more serious. Joanna is also still struggling with the idea of converting to Judaism because for Noah it is non-negotiable. In a world that seems to have become more complex over the past year, investing in the relationship of these two fictional characters is a big distraction. Team Joa!
– AMC continues to adapt and use the works of Anne Rice (known as The Immortal Universe), while “Anne Rice's Thalamasca: The Secret Order.” Debuting Sunday, October 26th on AMC+, it's about a secret society that tracks immortals like witches, vampires and the like. “Talamasca” stars Nicholas Denton and Elizabeth McGovern, with cameo appearances from “Interview with the Vampire” actors Eric Bogosian and Justin Kirk.
— Prequel series “It” films called “This is Welcome to Derry” (thankfully untitled Stephen King: It – Welcome to Derry and therefore less of a tongue twister), comes to HBO Max also on Sunday, October 26th. Set in 1962, Taylor Page and Jovan Adepo play Charlotte and Leroy Hanlon, a couple who move to Derry, Maine with their son and begin to realize that the town is quite creepy. It fans will recognize Hanlon's name and story. Additionally, Bill Skarsgård reprises his role as Pennywise the Clown from the films.
— Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 puts you in the cloak of a bloodsucker named Fire, who slept for a hundred years and somehow woke up in Seattle. But you're not alone – a “vampire detective” named Fabian has infected your blood and will tell you about grunge, that “Twilight” nonsense and 21st century goth culture. This includes six competing vampire clans: some are cruel, some are sneaky, and some are just downright seductive. It's all based on a popular tabletop role-playing game that has had a hard time translating into video games, but publisher Paradox Interactive has had some success with role-playing games like Pillars of Eternity and Crusader Kings. Grab Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.
— If you don't want to be a vampire for Halloween, why not try on Ninja Gaiden 4? In near-future Tokyo, a genius named Yakumo must fight his way through cybersoldiers and other evil creatures in an attempt to lift a curse on his neon-drenched city. He soon crosses paths with Ryu Hayabusa, a legendary hero from previous Gaiden games. The latest chapter is a collaboration between two respected Japanese studios: Team Ninja, which has been working on the franchise for 20 years, and Platinum Games, best known for its beloved hack-and-slash game Bayonetta. Swords will start rolling out on Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.
