Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver” landing on Netflix and Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” album are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.
New movies to stream
People tend to love or hate the films of Zack Snyder, the maker of brawny CGI extravaganzas like “Man of Steel,” “Justice League” and “Army of the Dead.” If you’re the former, the arrival of “Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver” (Friday on Netflix) is a date you’ve circled since the December debut of the first installment. Sofia Boutella and Djimon Hounsou lead the ensemble cast in Snyder’s “Star War” riff space opera.
If some films are laden and overstuffed, how about those that pass like a brief encounter? A new series streaming on The Criterion Channel asks: How much can happen in a night? The series collects some of the best films that transpire entirely from dusk ’til dawn. Evenings may pass in conversation (“My Dinner With Andre”) or bloodshed (“Night of the Living Dead”), but in all of them, the sun eventually arrives to break a nocturnal spell. Among the highlights: Elaine May’s “Mikey and Nicky,” Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours,” Jim Jarmusch’s “Night on Earth” and Agnes Varda’s “Cléo from 5 to 7.”
— Jake Coyle
New music to stream
It is Taylor Swift’s world, and we continue to just live in it. On Friday, the savior of both contemporary pop music and the U.S. economy will release her highly anticipated 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” Swift surprise-announced the release in February at the 2024 Grammys after receiving the trophy for best pop vocal album for her 10th LP, “Midnights.” No songs have been released from “TTPD,” so little is known about it — which only serves to heighten the anticipation. Here’s what we do know: The day after the Grammys, Swift shared the track list, teasing 16 songs and two features: “Fortnight,” featuring Post Malone — who is fresh off a feature on Beyoncé’s “Act ll: Cowboy Carter” — and “Florida!!!” featuring Florence + the Machine.
Pearl Jam’s 12th studio album, “Dark Matter,” arrives the same day as Swift’s. Produced by Andrew Watt, “Dark Matter” is Pearl Jam’s first new record since 2020’s “Gigaton” — a hard-rocking collection of songs from the saints of the 1990s Seattle scene.
— Maria Sherman
New shows to stream
Fresh off her Oscar nomination, Lily Gladstone stars in a new limited series for Hulu called “Under the Bridge” with Riley Keough. Based on a true-crime novel by Rebecca Godfrey, “Under the Bridge” tells the story of the murder of Canadian teen Reena Virk in the late 1990s. Gladstone plays a police officer investigating the case and Keough plays Godfrey, who immersed herself in Virk’s world to detail not only what happened, but the social and cultural implications surrounding her death. “Under the Bridge” premieres Wednesday on Hulu and is already garnering Emmy buzz for both Gladstone and Keough.
Conan O’Brien loves to be the brunt of a joke, and that’s on full display in his new travel show “Conan O’Brien Must Go” for Max. Cameras follow the comedian as he visits countries such as Ireland, Thailand, Argentina and Norway. When the series was announced last May, Max released the following quote from O’Brien, “My fans around the globe never asked me to visit them, so I did.” “Conan O’Brien Must Go” debuts Thursday on Max.
The popular fantasy children’s book series “The Spiderwick Chronicles” has been adapted for TV. The story follows teenage twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory after they move to an old, family estate called Spiderwick, which is also inhabited by magical creatures. The show also stars Christian Slater, Joy Bryant and Jack Dylan Grazer. “The Spiderwick Chronicles” premieres on Roku Channel on Friday.
— Alicia Rancilio
New video games to play
The second thing you’ll notice about Harold Halibut — after its goofy title — is its distinctive graphics. German indie studio Slow Bros. has built an entire game around handcrafted models, and the result looks like stop-motion animation. The setting is a city-sized spaceship, the Fedora, that fled Earth 250 years earlier but unfortunately landed at the bottom of an alien ocean. Harold himself is the awkward young assistant to the ship’s chief scientist, who’s trying to figure out how to get it back into space. Will Harold help with that relaunch — or will he find himself drawn into the mystery of this strange planet? Dive in Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.
— Lou Kesten