The return of the acclaimed English spy series “Slow Horses,” Astro Bot’s full-fledged adventure on the PlayStation 5 and George Strait’s 31st studio album are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.
New movies to stream
Jeremy Saulnier makes lean, suspenseful thrillers, several of which (“Blue Ruin,” “Green Room”) have turned into cult favorites. His latest, “Rebel Ridge” (on Netflix starting Friday), stars Aaron Pierre as an ex-Marine who becomes ensnared in a violent battle with a corrupt small-town police department and its chief (Don Johnson). The film, engrossing and stylish, is enlivened by the magnetic presence of Pierre.
“The Boy and the Heron” didn’t turn out to be Hayao Miyazaki’s swan song. (He’s said to be at work again on another film.) But it did live up to the considerable expectations built up for the long-in-coming late opus from the Japanese anime master. The film, streaming Friday on Max, was the best animated feature winner at the Oscars earlier this year and — in a first for the 83-year-old Miyazaki — No. 1 for a weekend at the box office. In it, a 12-year-old boy named Mahito, uprooted from Tokyo after the death of his mother during World War II, discovers a portal into a fantastical realm.
— Jake Coyle
New music to stream
They call him King George for a reason. On Friday, George Strait will release his 31st studio album, “Cowboys and Dreamers,” a collection of classic-sounding contemporary country from a Texas troubadour who has nothing left to prove, and no reason to quit. Standouts include a collaboration with Chris Stapleton (“Honky Tonk Hall of Fame”), who opened for Strait on his recent stadium tour; a cover of Waylon Jennings’ “Waymore’s Blues”; and the Jimmy Buffett-informed vacation stomper, “MIA Down in MIA.”
MJ Lenderman is no stranger to this space — last year, AP named an album by his band, Asheville, N.C.’s alt-country indie rockers Wednesday, as one of 2023’s best. As a soloist, the multi-instrumentalist — but perhaps most principally, a guitarist — has made a name for himself for his lax songwriting style — funny, acerbic, cutting with a wizened equanimity. On “Morning Fireworks,” out Friday, his skills have been sharpened. Heartbreak is amusing and suburban and timeless. It, like last year’s “Rat Saw God,” feels like an easy contender for one of 2024’s most exciting releases.
— Maria Sherman
New shows to stream
“Slow Horses,” the Apple TV+ British spy series starring Gary Oldman, returns for Season 4 just in time for the Primetime Emmy Awards. Season 3 received nine nominations including outstanding drama series and lead actor for Oldman. The show’s new season is also rated 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. In “Slow Horses,” MI5 agents who’ve made big mistakes are relegated to a division run by Oldman’s character Jackson Lamb. The story is based on Mick Herron’s “Slough House” novels. It returns Wednesday.
In “The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood,” crime writer Michael Connelly examines the 1981 quadruple massacre at Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles that inspired the film “Boogie Nights.” It premieres Sunday on MGM+.
— Alicia Rancilio
New video games to play
It’s been way too long since we’ve had a lovable new mascot to play with, but Sony is hoping Astro Bot can pick up the slack. The little guy first showed up in a game for Sony’s virtual reality headset, but this is the first time he’ll get a full-fledged adventure on the PlayStation 5. It begins with the destruction of the droid’s mothership, leaving him to travel across more than 50 planets to reassemble his crew — and perhaps meet some iconic PlayStation characters along the way. It’s the sort of running-and-jumping silliness that made stars out of Spyro the Dragon and Ratchet & Clank, interspersed with acrobatic flying antics. Astro Bot lifts off Friday.
The Casting of Frank Stone is an intriguing collaboration between two preeminent horror-game makers. It’s set in the world of Behaviour Interactive’s Dead by Daylight, a multiplayer survival hit, but it’s a solo game from Until Dawn designer Supermassive Games. The title character is a serial killer, while the protagonists are four teenagers who come up with the brilliant idea of making a movie about him. If you’ve played either of the aforementioned titles, you know someone’s going to wind up on the wrong end of a meat hook. The gore is flowing on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
— Lou Kesten