Awkwafina starring as a game-show-obsessed woman in 鈥淨uiz Lady鈥� and the animated historical drama 鈥淏lue Eye Samurai鈥� about a mixed-race, revenge-seeking female samurai in Japan are some of the new television, movies, music and games near you
Also among the offerings selected by The Associated Press鈥� are a studio album from Jason Aldean, a new Hulu series made from Charmaine Wilkerson鈥檚 novel 鈥淏lack Cake鈥� and Annette Bening portrays a real-life hero who swam the treacherous passage from Cuba to Key West in 2013.
NEW MOVIES TO STREAM
鈥� It took Diana Nyad more than 30 years and five tries . 鈥淔ree Solo鈥� filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin鈥檚 鈥淣yad,鈥� streaming Friday on Netflix, dramatizes her feat of endurance, along with the perseverance of her closest friends and collaborators. Bening plays Nyad, who was 60 when she began training herself again for the open-ocean swim. In a stand-out supporting performance, Jodie Foster plays her friend and trainer Bonnie Stoll. I wrote that there is enough here to help the film 鈥渋f not swim against the tide of sport-biopic convention then at least ride a swift current to the finish line.鈥�
鈥� In a 30-something accountant named Anne (Awkwafina) has devotedly watched every episode of 鈥淐an鈥檛 Stop the Quiz鈥� since she was 4-year-old. After her pug is kidnapped and held for ransom, Anne and her estranged sister Jenny (Sandra Oh) embark on a mission to get Anne on 鈥淐an鈥檛 Stop the Quiz,鈥� a 鈥淛eopardy!鈥�-like show in which Will Ferrell plays an Alex Trebek-like host. 鈥淨uiz Lady鈥� debuts Friday on Hulu.
鈥� The formidable trio of Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed and James Allen White anchor director Christos Nikou鈥檚 a sci-fi drama set in a near-future where couples can use science to determine if they鈥檙e meant to be together. In the film, which debuts Friday on Apple TV+, Buckley and White play a couple with a 100% positive score, proving that they鈥檙e soulmates. But things get complicated when Buckley鈥檚 character hits it off with a colleague (Ahmed).
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NEW MUSIC TO STREAM
鈥� Last month, the singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who turned his unique brand of beach bum soft rock and into a lifestyle and movement, . As the music world continues to mourn the loss of a giant, Mailboat and Sun Records have teamed up to release his final album, a posthumous release titled 鈥淓qual Strain on All Parts,鈥� recorded earlier this year. It features Paul McCartney, Emmylou Harris, Lennie Gallant, Angelique Kidjo, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Buffett鈥檚 light-hearted, goodtime jams live on, as evidenced on the previously released tracks, 鈥淢y Gummie Just Kicked In鈥� and 鈥淏ubbles Up.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淗ighway Desperado鈥� is the 11th studio album from mainstream country juggernaut Jason Aldean, released on the heels of his first , the controversy-creating 鈥淭ry That in a Small Town.鈥� Produced by Michael Knox, Aldean says 鈥淗ighway Desperado鈥� takes inspiration from his live show. 鈥淚 think when I look back on it, I built my career early on my live show, and have been on the road touring since I was 18 years old,鈥� Aldean said in a press release. 鈥淔or us, touring is our favorite part. Getting on the bus and going town to town and playing our shows and doing our thing and seeing the fans鈥� the title for the tour and album was really inspired from that.鈥�
鈥� In 2008, after having been on a hiatus as a group for 12 years, Boston boy band New Kids on the Block returned with a new album, 鈥淭he Block.鈥� This year, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the album responsible for the second chapter of their career, NKOTB will release 鈥淭he Block: Revisited.鈥� It includes four previously unreleased tracks as well as a new remix of their single this time featuring a new generation of boy band: Dino, DK, and Joshua of the best-selling .
鈥� For some, Australian-via-Zimbabwe rapper-singer 鈥檚 unique vocal tone might be most closely associated with her cover of the 1988 Pixies鈥� song 鈥淲here Is My Mind?鈥� as utilized in an Apple AirPods commercial. (She recasts the song in a style all her own 鈥� quite the feat for a track frequently covered and tethered to the final scene in 鈥淔ight Club.鈥�) But it鈥檚 her original work that deserves attention. 鈥淪weet Justice,鈥� her sophomore album that follows 2016鈥檚 self-titled debut and a 2020 EP series 鈥� is an eclectic collection of soulful electronics and psychedelic production elevated by her playful flow and smooth vocal tone.
鈥� Lenny Kravitz makes inspiration rock with a soaring new single he made for the upcoming Netflix film, 鈥淩ustin.鈥� Kravitz sings and plays drums, bass, piano, Hammond organ and rocks a tambourine on which plays over the film鈥檚 end credits. The movie centers on Bayard Rustin, the civil rights activist and primary architect of the , who often worked tirelessly out of the limelight. which arrives in select theaters Friday and lands on Netflix on Nov. 17,
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NEW SERIES TO STREAM
鈥� Before Charmaine Wilkerson鈥檚 novel was published in 2022, Oprah Winfrey secured the TV rights in a bidding war and it鈥檚 now a new Hulu series. The first three episodes of 鈥淏lack Cake鈥� dropped Wednesday, with new episodes released weekly. It follows Benny and Byron, adult estranged siblings whose mother has died and left them a mysterious flash drive with the details of her family history, explaining how she arrived in California from the Caribbean in the 1960s. The story also connects to a Caribbean Black cake from their heritage.
鈥� Another popular novel, the WWII-themed by Anthony Doerr, has also been turned into a series. the story of Marie (played by newcomer Aria Mia Loberti) as a blind, young woman in hiding in German-occupied France and a Nazi solder named Werner (Louis Hoffman). He鈥檚 an orphan who was drafted against his will and the show explores how they鈥檙e linked by a radio broadcast, despite their different backgrounds. The four-episode series also stars Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie and premiered Thursday on Netflix.
鈥� The animated historical drama about a mixed-race, revenge-seeking female samurai in Japan is already getting praise for its use of 2D and 3D artistry. Maya Erskine voices the lead character, Mizu, alongside Masi Oka, George Takei, Randall Park, Kenneth Branagh, Brenda Song, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Darren Barnet. 鈥淏lue Eye Samurai鈥� drops Friday on Netflix.
鈥� Naturalist Sir David Attenborough narrates a long-awaited third installment of the series. The new episodes use modern technology including drones, submersibles, and high-speed cameras to capture both awe-inspiring views of nature and the heartbreaking struggles of wildlife because of climate change. 鈥淧lanet Earth III鈥� debuts Saturday on BBC America and AMC+.
鈥� In 2021, National Geographic premiered the limited series called 鈥�9/11: One Day in America,鈥� to critical acclaim. A second installment called premieres Sunday. The three-part series has previously unseen testimony from surviving witnesses to create an oral history of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Nov. 22 marks the 60th anniversary of his death. 鈥淥ne Last Day: JFK鈥� will also stream on Disney+ and Hulu a day later.
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NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
鈥� The bad news: Humanity is extinct. The good news: Our robot descendants are fans of human culture. In , you are an artificial intelligence on a mission to figure out how people screwed it all up, and maybe avoid repeating their mistakes. The 2014 original, from the Croatian developer Croteam, was one of the more challenging puzzle games of its generation. The studio is promising a wider array of 3D brainteasers in the sequel, with new techniques like gravity manipulation and mind transference 鈥� not to mention 鈥渜uestions about the nature of the cosmos and the purpose of civilization.鈥� If you dig mind-benders like Portal and The Witness, you probably already have Talos II on your wish list for Thursday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.
鈥� Another highly regarded European studio, France鈥檚 Don鈥檛 Nod, is back with another intriguing puzzle game, . The goal here is to climb to the top of a gigantic, mysterious tower, but as you ascend, you鈥檒l discover different environments and artifacts from a lost civilization. I found it exhausting to just watch the preview, but the developer 鈥� best known for the time-twisting adventure Life Is Strange 鈥� describes Jusant as 鈥渁 meditative journey.鈥� And you have an adorable companion, a watery blob named Ballast, to ask for clues when you get stuck. The conquest began Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.
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