Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
New This Week: Jeremy Renner, Metallica and 'Cocaine Bear'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
April 15, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week.

NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

— “Cocaine Bear” was technically inspired by a true story — a 1985 plane crash that scattered some $2 million worth of cocaine across Georgia hillsides and resulted in the death of a 175-pound black bear, who overdosed. The film, however, is pure fantasy about what might have happened if the bear went on a coke rampage instead of dying. After its wild trailer went viral, the R-rated pic directed by Elizabeth Banks and starring Keri Russell and O’Shea Jackson Jr. left audiences somewhat divided. Some thought it a B-movie delight, others were left cold by the excess. And starting on Friday, via Peacock, you can access it at home to decide for yourself.

— Katie Holmes directs and stars in “Rare Objects,” an adaptation of a novel by Kathleen Tessaro about a woman with a traumatic past trying to rebuild her life starting with a new job at a New York antique shop. Holmes has been working on making this film since 2016, and her adaptation moves the story from its Depression-era Boston origins to contemporary New York. In an interview with Variety, Holmes said she was drawn “to the female friendship and this metaphor of ‘you are more beautiful for having been broken.’” The film opens in theaters and on demand on Friday.

— Also on demand, on Tuesday, is “Linoleum,” a science fiction drama starring Jim Gaffigan as a children’s television host who dreams of being an astronaut. The film, which premiered to favorable reviews at South by Southwest last year, turns into fantasy when a satellite lands in his backyard and he starts to try to build it into a rocket of his own. Rhea Seehorn co-stars.

— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

NEW MUSIC TO STREAM

— Let’s just call this Metallica’s week. On Thursday, the hard rockers have a listening party in movie theaters worldwide for their upcoming 12th studio album, “72 Seasons.” The one-night event will feature the new music in surround sound with music videos and exclusive commentary from the band. The next day the album comes out on vinyl, CD and digital, their first collection of new material since 2016’s “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct.” Early singles include “Screaming Suicide” and “Lux Æterna,” with James Hetfield singing “Full speed or nothing.”

— Natalie Merchant returns with lush, gorgeous new horn-heavy music on the album “Keep Your Courage,” her first collection of all-new material in almost 10 years. The album was produced by the former singer of 10,000 Maniacs and features contributions from Celtic folk group Lúnasa, Syrian clarinet player Kinan Azmeh, jazz trombonist Steve Davis and singer Abena Koomson-Davis, who adds joy and warmth to “Come On, Aphrodite.” “For the most part, this is an album about the human heart. I think the pandemic was a great period of solitude and longing,” Merchant says. “I craved and savored human connection; it was the only thing that really mattered.”

— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy

NEW TELEVISION TO STREAM

— The half-hour critically praised comedy “Single Drunk Female” returns for its second season on Freeform. Executive produced in part by Jenni Konner (“Girls”), it stars Sofia Black-D’Elia as a 20-something magazine writer named Samantha who at the beginning of season one, is sent to rehab after (repeatedly) getting drunk on the job and ultimately assaulting her boss as he’s attempting to fire her. Samantha moves back home to build both a community and new life for herself, even if it’s a life she never pictured. In season two, Samantha is confident and ready to expand her horizons with independence, like finding her own place, and romance. Season two of “Single Drunk Female” debuts Wednesday and the entire season will hit Hulu on Thursday.

— Four months after surviving a serious snowplow accident in Nevada, Jeremy Renner’s four-part series “Rennervations” debuts on Disney+ on Wednesday. The two-time Oscar nominee, who plays Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will repurpose, and refurbish vehicles, to assist local communities. Examples include making a water treatment facility out of a delivery truck and transforming a tour bus into a mobile music studio. He’s assisted by celebrity friends including fellow Marvel star Anthony Mackie and Vanessa Hudgens. Renner is so passionate about “Rennervations” that he attended a premiere on Tuesday in Los Angeles for the show’s premiere.

— It’s never too early to teach children about protecting the planet and a new educational series coming to Apple TV+ called “Jane” aims to do just that. “Jane” aims to introduce kids to the ideals and work of primatologist and conservationist, Dr. Jane Goodall. The series is a combo of live action and CGI and stars Ava Louise Murchison as 9-year-old Jane Garcia, who is passionate about protecting the environment and saving endangered animals. Using her creativity and imagination, Jane takes her best friends David and a chimpanzee named Greybeard on adventures around the globe to help rescue wild animals. “Jane” premieres globally on Friday on the streaming service.

— Alicia Rancilio

NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

— The 1982 movie “Tron” wasn’t a huge success, but it seems like everyone who did see it became a computer game designer. One such acolyte is Mike Bithell, creator of the award-winning indie games Thomas Was Alone and Subsurface Circular. His Bithell Games studio is behind Tron: Identity, a new cyberpunk adventure from Disney. In an abandoned sector of the Grid that’s evolved in weird ways, your character is a “detective program” named Query assigned to investigate a break-in and robbery. It’s a dialog-driven mystery broken up by defragging puzzles, and its neon-infused look is bound to appeal to anyone who grew up on PC games of the 1980s and ’90s. Plug in Tuesday on Nintendo Switch and PC.

— Lou Kesten

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

‘They’re Not Protests, They’re Riots’: Fresno Leaders Talk About LA Immigration Unrest

DON'T MISS

Pentagon Defends Troop Deployments to Los Angeles to Protect ICE Agents

DON'T MISS

Russia Launches One of War’s Largest Air Attacks on Kyiv

DON'T MISS

Israel’s Netanyahu Says Significant Progress Made in Talks to Release Hostages

DON'T MISS

Russia and Ukraine Exchange Sick and Wounded Prisoners of War

DON'T MISS

The Democrats’ Problems Are Bigger Than You Think

DON'T MISS

How Much Will Fresno Unified Trustee’s Steak Dinner Cost After FPPC Fine?

DON'T MISS

Does US Law Allow Trump to Send Troops to Quell Protests?

DON'T MISS

Republican Congressman Green to Resign After Tax Bill Vote

DON'T MISS

UN Says Most Flour Delivered in Gaza Looted or Taken by Starving People

UP NEXT

Did That Clint Eastwood Interview Happen? Yes, Kind Of.

UP NEXT

‘Lilo & Stitch’ Passes ‘Sinners’ to Become 2nd Highest Grossing Film of 2025

UP NEXT

‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home

UP NEXT

Mattel Is Combining Film and Television Units to Create Mattel Studios

UP NEXT

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

UP NEXT

In Marseille, a Shadow Becomes Art in Banksy’s Latest Street Mural

UP NEXT

Taylor Swift Has Regained Control of Her Music, Buys Back First 6 Albums

UP NEXT

NY Times Bestselling Author Celebrating Book Release at Fresno Barnes & Noble

UP NEXT

A Former Aide Says Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Kidnapped Her in a Plot to Kill Kid Cudi

UP NEXT

Ecstasy and Bribery Accusations in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial Bolster Racketeering Charge

Britain and Allies Sanction Israeli Far-Right Ministers for ‘Inciting Violence’

2 hours ago

Trump Aide Criticizes Mexican President on Los Angeles Protests

3 hours ago

Do Americans Support Trump’s Use of Marines in LA? The Numbers Might Shock You

3 hours ago

Israeli Gunfire Kills 17 People Near Gaza Aid Site, Health Officials Say

3 hours ago

Parliament Member Corbyn Calls for Inquiry Into UK Role in Gaza War

4 hours ago

Turkey Condemns Interception of Gaza-Bound Aid Ship, Calls Israel a ‘Terror State’

4 hours ago

Andy Pages, Tommy Edman Deliver in 10th as Dodgers Edge Padres

4 hours ago

US Military Evaluating Options to Prevent Nuclear-Armed Iran, General Says

4 hours ago

Israeli Military Says Missile Launched From Yemen Toward Israel, Seeking to Intercept It

4 hours ago

Marines Will Deploy to LA for 60 Days, Costing Taxpayers $134 Million

4 hours ago

Wall Street Ends Higher as Investors Track Progress of US-China Trade Talks

(Reuters) – The S&P 500 ended higher on Tuesday, lifted by a rally in Tesla as investors bet on positive results from U.S.-China t...

1 hour ago

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 5, 2025. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/ File Photo
1 hour ago

Wall Street Ends Higher as Investors Track Progress of US-China Trade Talks

A bridge crane damaged by Israeli air strikes is pictured in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen July 31, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah//File Photo
2 hours ago

Israel Strikes Hodeidah Port, Threatens Naval, Air Blockade

U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for North Carolina at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
2 hours ago

Trump Warns Protests at Army Parade Will Be Met With Force

Far-right Israeli lawmakers Itamar Ben Gvir, center, and Bezalel Smotrich, right, attend the swearing-in ceremony for the new Israeli parliament, at the Knesset, or parliament, in Jerusalem, November 15, 2022. Maya Alleruzzo/Pool via REUTERS/ File Photo
2 hours ago

Britain and Allies Sanction Israeli Far-Right Ministers for ‘Inciting Violence’

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum attends a press conference on the country's first judicial election, held on June 1, at the National Palace, in Mexico City, Mexico June 2, 2025. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo
3 hours ago

Trump Aide Criticizes Mexican President on Los Angeles Protests

People attend a rally against federal immigration sweeps, in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 9, 2025. REUTERS/David Ryder
3 hours ago

Do Americans Support Trump’s Use of Marines in LA? The Numbers Might Shock You

Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, according to the Gaza health ministry, near an aid distribution center in central Gaza, at Al-Shifa hospital, in Gaza City, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
3 hours ago

Israeli Gunfire Kills 17 People Near Gaza Aid Site, Health Officials Say

Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, May 19, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
4 hours ago

Parliament Member Corbyn Calls for Inquiry Into UK Role in Gaza War

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend