Here鈥檚 a collection curated by The Associated Press鈥� entertainment journalists of what鈥檚 arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week.
NEW MOVIES TO STREAM
鈥� In Tom Hanks stars as a despondent and ornery widower whose suicide plans keep getting foiled by the needs of his neighbors. When it played in theaters in December, the Sony Pictures release proved the rare adult-oriented success at the box office, and grossed more than $100 million globally. Marc Forster鈥檚 adaptation of Fredrik Backman鈥檚 bestseller and remake of the 2016 Swedish film 鈥淎 Man Called Ove鈥� arrives Saturday on Netflix. I wrote that Hanks鈥� role 鈥渋nterestingly, if not always entirely successfully, caters to his strengths while tweaking his familiar screen presence.鈥�
鈥� A pegs the 1980s as the birth of Asian American cinema. The 12 collected films 鈥� mostly products of the independent film movement 鈥� chronicle some of the inroads Asian Americans made in mainstream film while exploring new definitions of identity. Among the films here are several by Wayne Wang (1982鈥檚 鈥淐han Is Missing鈥� and 1985鈥檚 鈥淒im Sum: A Little Bit of Heart鈥�), Peter Wang鈥檚 China-set culture-clash comedy 鈥淎 Great Wall鈥� (1986) and Steven Okazaki鈥檚 1987 rom-com 鈥淟iving on Tokyo Time.鈥�
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NEW MUSIC TO STREAM
鈥� Don鈥檛 count Ed Sheeran out this week, even if his latest album is 鈥�-鈥� or 鈥淪ubtract.鈥� The British singer-songwriter will be releasing the Aaron Dessner-produced acoustic album on Friday, marking the end of his mathematical album era (鈥淒ivide,鈥� 鈥淢ultiply鈥� and 鈥淧lus鈥�) and diving into his personal grief, hope and how he鈥檚 dealt with 鈥渇ear, depression and anxiety.鈥� Among the song titles are 鈥淟ife Goes On,鈥� 鈥淓nd of Youth,鈥� 鈥淪park鈥� and 鈥淣o Strings.鈥� If you need more Sheeran, tune into Disney+ on Wednesday for the four-part series to find out 鈥渨hat Ed thinks of the world, of himself and how his experiences have influenced his music and shaped him into the chart-topping artist he is today.鈥�
鈥� Smashing Pumpkins have the last chapter to their ambitious three-part rock opera 鈥淎tum鈥� on the way. Pronounced 鈥渁utumn,鈥� the band鈥檚 12th LP is being called the narrative successor to 1995鈥檚 鈥淢ellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness鈥� and 2000鈥檚 鈥淢achina/The Machines of God.鈥� The 33-song 鈥淎tum鈥� sounds different from the band鈥檚 2020 album 鈥淐yr,鈥� with music ranging from airy to and the new single has 1980s-inspired synths before a heavier guitar-led chorus kicks in.
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NEW SERIES TO STREAM
鈥� Fifty years later and Hollywood is still drawing from the Watergate well for entertainment. Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux co-star in for HBO as E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy. Hunt was a former C.I.A. agent and Liddy a former F.B.I. agent who were tapped by the Nixon administration to investigate his political adversaries and help get him re-elected to a second term. The pair orchestrated the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel that ultimately led to Nixon鈥檚 resignation. Hunt and Liddy were both characters in themselves and Harrelson and Theroux dive into their eccentricities. The five-episode series debuts Monday.
鈥� The producers of Netflix鈥檚 鈥淚ndian Matchmaking鈥� are broadening their TV search for love by filming Jewish singles ready to settle down. In professional cupid Aleeza Ben Shalom attempts to make love connections for Jewish singles in both the United States and Israel. She politely nods at some of their high-expectations and encourages others to go on another date or two to really decide if there鈥檚 chemistry. 鈥淚 have the hardest job in the world,鈥� Shalom remarks in the trailer. Watch her work her magic beginning Wednesday on Netflix.
鈥� Pete Davidson stars in a semi-autobiographical comedy series about navigating family, fame, and relationships in which he executive produced and wrote. Edie Falco plays his mom and Joe Pesci is his grandfather. The show also features many guest stars including Al Gore, Jon Stewart, La La Anthony, John Mulaney, Steve Buscemi and Colson Baker, who goes by Machine Gun Kelly. All eight episodes drop Thursday on Peacock.
鈥� Alicia Rancilio
NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
鈥� Zombies have been terrorizing video gamers for decades, from classics like Resident Evil to the recent Dead Island 2. But where have the vampires been all this time? According to Bethesda Softworks鈥� , an awful lot of them are hanging out on a Massachusetts island, where they鈥檝e blocked out the sun and isolated the locals. Your mission, along with up to three other slayers, is to stop them from bleeding the town dry 鈥� and you have supernatural powers of your own, like invisibility and teleportation, to complement some heavy weaponry. Redfall comes from the Arkane Austin studio, known for the terrific first-person adventures Prey and Dishonored. The stakes couldn鈥檛 be higher when it arrives on Xbox X/S and PC on Tuesday.
鈥� You know how classic fantasy novels like the 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥� books always have big old maps up front? Paradox Interactive鈥檚 turns a map like that into your own personal playground. Imagine a game like Civilization 鈥� but instead of human armies battling for dominance, you have wizards, demons and dragons flying around. Instead of building technological prowess, you鈥檙e searching for ever more powerful magic tomes. AoW4 marks the franchise鈥檚 debut on consoles, and Paradox is promising a more streamlined approach that should still satisfy fans of both strategy and role-playing games. Launch your own game of thrones on Xbox X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC on Tuesday.
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