Fright-film followup expands its finely crafted creepiness into the world of a traumatized pop superstar
Smile 2 Starring Naomi Scott, Rosemarie Dewitt, Lukas Gage & Dylan Gelula Directed by Parker Finn Rated R
In theaters Friday, Oct. 18
A pop superstar begins having terrifying visions as she mounts an ambitious concert tour. Is she losing her mind, having alarming flashbacks from a troubled time in her life? Or is she infected by a vile demonic entity that feeds on human trauma?
If you saw the first Smile in 2022, you already know the answer. This masterfully nasty little house of horrors takes the premise of the first flick and lets it play out through a nightmarish new scenario with a troubling subtext about the high pressures—and high personal price—of fame.
As the singing superstar Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) tries to hold onto her sanity, she’s haunted by jarring memories of a horrific car crash—and freaked out by seeing people staring at her with crazed, malicious grins. Terrible things start happening around her, like the cokehead drug dealer (Euphoria’s Lukas Gage) who smashes his smiling face to a bloody pulp with a barbell weight.
It turns out the evil entity “replicates” people you know, and people you don’t, making you question reality before giving you a lethal “smile” of your own.
You never know what’s going to happen next, what’s lurking in the darkness, or when that evil grin is going to reappear. But when it does, it’s bad news. The movie mixes bloody shocks and “body horror” with the idea that witnessing, or experiencing, awful things can leave lasting impressions in your grey matter. It’s no wonder one of Skye’s hit songs is “I Want a New Brain.”
Returning director Parker Finn does another fine job of diving into the crazy swirl of this shock-filled disturbia spiked with jolting violence, jarring jump scares and the constant low hum of unbridled dread. More than once, we hear a character say, “This is f*cked up!” Indeed it is, in the way that well-crafted scary movies can really get under your skin.
Veteran actress Rosemary DeWitt plays Skye’s drill-sergeant stage mom, setting the stage for Scream 2’s return to the monstrous “mommy issues” of its predecessor. Drew Barrymore’s cameo, as the host of her real-life TV show on which Skye appears as a guest, might make you remember her breakthrough role in Scream in 1996, which is credited with revitalizing the horror-movie genre. Dylan Gelula had a freaky nocturnal encounter with Nicholas Cage in the mind-bending Dream Scenario.
But it’s Naomi Scott who channels all the horror in the mad, mad world in which her character finds herself trapped, dealing with her own toxic traumas. You may have seen the British actress singing and co-starring as Princess Jasmine alongside Will Smith in the Disney live-action remake of Aladdin back in 2019. She totally crushes her role here as a another kind of princess, a pop idol, playing stadium shows and trying to hold it together while her world tips upside down, inside out and out of control. (The movie does a great job of adding an even higher level of queasy creepiness to the often-uncomfortable encounters celebrities have with deep-dish fans.)
The movie kinda jumps the shark at the end, when it goes all-out for gross-out. But it introduces us to a new scream queen, once a Disney princess, and it reminds me of a song—the Temptations’ hit of 1971, “Smiling Faces,” in which the Motown group cautions listeners that smiling faces can mask lies. But the group probably didn’t know that, a half century later, unnerving grins can also mess you up for life…or what’s about to be left of it.
A ‘Young Sheldon’ spinoff, a ‘Family Guy’ Halloween & Taylor Swift’s boyfriend hosts a game show!
FRIDAY, Oct. 11 A Laurie Berkner Halloween Special Berkner, a musician and teacher known for her kid-friendly songs, hosts this hour-long TV party of costumes, dress-up, candy and classic Halloween music videos (YouTube).
Disclaimer Kate Blanchet (below), Kevin Kline, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Sacha Baron Cohen star in this new psychological-thriller series about an author who discoverers a new book—and is shocked to find out it’s about her and all her darkest secrets! (Apple TV+)
SATURDAY, Oct. 12 Nobody Dumps My Daughter An overbearing mom goes to extremes when a guy takes her daughter’s virginity (gasp!) then dumps her. Former Prince percussionist Shelia E. plays a fortune teller (8 p.m., Lifetime).
SUNDAY, Oct. 13 Tracker Justin Hartley returns for season two of the hit series about a lone-wolf survivalist who uses his instincts to find missing people—like tonight’s family, whose abandoned car leads him into a world of organized crime (8 p.m., CBS).
The Disappearance of Alissa Turney True-crime docuseries about a woman who turned to a grassroots campaign of podcasting to solve the mystery of her missing sister (8 p.m., Oxygen).
MONDAY, Oct. 14 NCIS Can you guess how many seasons this hit procedural has been on the air? I’ll give you a big hint: Tonight begins season 22, with returning star Mark Harmon, Sean Murray and Diona Reasonover (8 p.m., CBS).
Family Guy Halloween Special Peter and his friends try to unseat the reigning champion in Quahog’s annual Pumpkin Contest by any means necessary. Glen Powell from Twisters is the guest voice (Hulu).
TUESDAY, Oct. 15 Anatomy of Lies Docuseries follows the rise and fall of Grey’s Anatomy star writer Elisabeth Finch, whose jaw-dropping deceptions made her a master of manipulation and fooled Hollywood for years (Hulu).
American Horror Stories Special Halloween event features five all-new scary tales from the AHS franchise, with an all-star cast that includes Michael Imperioli, Henry Winkler, Victor Garber and June Squibb (Hulu).
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 16 Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? New spin on an old game show is hosted by NFL star Travis Kelce, with a panel of celebs helping contestants navigate correctly through questions about subjects taught in elementary school (Prime Video).
Shrinking Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Harrison Ford and Christa Miller return tonight to season two of the comedy series about a therapist who tells his clients exactly what he thinks (Apple TV+).
THURSDAY, Oct. 17 Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Montana Jordan and Emily Osment reprise their roles in this spinoff from Young Sheldon, taking their characters into the next stage of their relationship and parenthood (8 p.m., CBS).
Brothers A reformed criminal (Josh Brolin) tries going straight, but his best efforts are derailed by his twin brother (Peter Dinklage) on a cross-country road trip for the score of a lifetime (Prime Video).
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Attention gearheads: Immerse yourself in car culture with author Witold Rybczynsi and The Driving Machine (W.W. Norton), a highly personal treatise about automobiles as cultural icons, emblems of their era and reflections of national character. From functionality to outright fun, it breaks down (pun intended) all things automotive, from early three-wheeled vehicles to modern electric cars—and memories of the author’s first car, a VW Beetle.
What does a humanitarian world look like? In Human.Kind (Thames & Hudson) you’ll see some 300 images from around the globe, the work of 30 different photographers documenting efforts to bring more compassion and positive change to our planet. It’s an awesome tour of people living, working, playing and simply being, from every corner of Earth. Prepare to be moved, and hopefully inspired.
No, The Man in Black (Marinor Books) isn’t about Johnny Cash. It’s a collection of short stories from venerated British crime writer Elly Griffiths featuring characters from her “Ruth Galloway” mysteries and beyond. If you’re into ghost stories, “cozy” mysteries and psychologically twisty tales, curl up with these yarns of a young magician, a mysterious man in a bookstore, a fortune teller’s dire predictions, a cat’s fireside tale, and more!
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Just in time for Halloween, a classic gets a spiffy new 4K restoration. To celebrate its 40th anniversary, A Nightmare on Elm Street (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) includes additional footage, commentary, alternate endings and making-of docs in the original tale of Freddy Krueger slashing his way into your dreams….and launching an iconic horror franchise.
Once upon a time, back in the ‘70s, a bunch of celebrated actors made a series of five feature-length TV “teleplays,” shot live on videotape (like daytime dramas used to be). In The Classic Ghosts, you’ll see Vincent Gardenia, James Keach, Robert McCallum, Susan Sarandon and more in these TV tales including The Screaming Skull, The House and the Brain and And The Bones Came Together (https://kinolorber.com/shop).
Svengoulie’s monster mash, an Oprah Elvis special & kids tackle tough politics
All times Eastern.
FRIDAY, Oct. 4 Tia Mowery: My Next Act Eight-episode docuseries shines the spotlight on the actress (from TV’s Sister, Sister and the movie Seventeen Again) as she breaks new ground after a divorce and learns to be newly single while entering a new phase of motherhood (9:30 p.m., WeTV).
V/H/S Beyond Sixth installment of the horror/sci-fi anthology franchise stars Justin Long, Jordan Downey and Kate Siegel in more tales of terror and the supernatural (Shudder).
SATURDAY, Oct. 5 The Girl Who Wasn’t Dead Inspired by real events, it’s the tale of a girl who disappeared and was thought dead, only to reappear years later. Starring Lyndsy Forseca, Emma Tremblay and Kyle Clark (8 p.m., Lifetime).
Svengoolie’s Halloween Boo-Nanza TV’s iconic ghoul kicks off the Halloween season today with a collection of spooky Loony Tunes cartoons before the evening’s double feature of Son of Frankenstein and Monster That Challenged the World—followed by more vintage schlock flicks into the wee hours! (10 a.m., MeTV).
SUNDAY, Oct. 6 The American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special Tribute to a half century of the fan-voted awards ceremony from Dick Clark Productions, with live performances, artist interviews, special guests and archival footage of highlights (8 p.m., CBS).
Vinyl Obsession Pro wrestler Eric Young takes viewers deep into his collection of some 2,000 albums he’s collected over two decades (10:30 p.m., AXS).
MONDAY, Oct. 7 What Would You Do? Host John Quiñones returns for a new season that examines how people behave when confronting with a choice of “interfering” or just minding their own business (10 p.m., ABC).
TUESDAY, Oct. 8 Citizen Nation Documentary series follows teens across America with diverse backgrounds as they come together to compete in the nation’s premier civics competition, “We the People,” and make sense of our troubled political climate (9 p.m., PBS).
An Oprah Special: The Presleys—Elvis, Lisa Marie and Riley Queen O sits down at fabled Graceland with Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis, for a wide-ranging conversation about her late mother Lisa Marie, the grandfather she never knew, her famous family and her mother’s unfinished memoirs—which Keough completed as a co-writer (8 p.m., CBS).
The Accused Court is in session for season two of the hit series (above), with actors in flashback recreations of real-life crimes that ultimately land them in front of a jury. Cobie Smulders, Ken Jeong, William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman are among the new cast members (8 p.m., Fox).
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 9 Scamanda New docuseries based on a hit podcast about a blogger with cancer…and a secret she’s dying to keep (10 p.m., ABC).
La Maquina Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna and Elza Gonzalez star in this Spanish language series about a boxer staging a life-or-death rematch while struggling with personal demons in the dark side of the pugilism world (Hulu).
THURSDAY, Oct. 10 Citadel: Diana Italian actress Matilda De Angelis as a undercover agent trapped behind enemy lines in this new addition to the Citadel franchise, a foreign-language spinoff from the 2023 series (Prime).
Teacup have art A desperate group in rural Georgia comes together to survive in this scary new series (above) inspired by the novel Stringer, adapted for the screen by horror maestro James Wan. With Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman and Chase Spencer. And as you might imply, a teacup takes on some significance (Peacock).
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To commemorate their induction into this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Foreigner has released Turning Back the Time (Rhino), a new career-spanning greatest hits collection. Turn back the time, indeed, and re-listen to the band’s radio-friendly ‘80s hits on two LPs or CDs, including “Cold as Ice,” “Hot Blooded,” “Urgent,” “Double Vision” and “Feels Like the First Time.” Plus, the all-new title track from original members Mick Jones and Lou Graham.
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In Crisis Averted: The Hidden Science of Fighting Outbreaks (Viking), scientist Dr. Caitlin Rivers looks at the oft-overlooked roles public-health initiatives play in our everyday lives, from the quality of air we breathe to the safety of food we consume, the bathrooms we use and the management of disease outbreaks. It’s a dirty world out there!
Is photography an art, a chronicle or a memento? In Looking at Photographs (Thames & Hudson) author Laurent Jullier examines what constitutes a “good” photo, how to interpret artistry in photography, how to take better pictures, and the many ways photos can intrigue, engage, inform, stimulate, stir our emotions—and instantly turn the present into the past. Now that almost everyone has a camera (on our smartphones), it’s essential reading on how we see the world.
Just in time for Halloween, find out about all kinds of movie monstrosities in The Cinematic Boogeyman (McFarland), a thorough look at the spectrum of characters that scare us in a larger context of psychology, history, cinematic study and folklore, tracing a thru-line from Bluebeard the pirate to Freddy Krueger in Nightmare on Elm Street. It’s a compelling read for anyone who wants to dig into why we’re frightened first by mythical creatures that morphed into fairy tales and finally, the silver screen.
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If you ever wondered what happened to the actors who played Otter (Tim Matheson) and Flounder (Stephen Furst) after classic college-comedy flick Animal House, well, they teamed up again in another movie—that wasn’t quite as successful as its predecessor. Still, Up The Creek, newly re-released by Kino Lorber (https://kinolorber.com/shop), is about a couple of college cutups trying to win an intercollegiate white-water raft race. And Cheap Trick sings the movie theme song!
Time to get in the Wayback Machine and get bougie! The Gilded Age: The Complete Second Season (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) brings Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Taissa Farmiiga and the rest of the “uppercrust” cast back for more of the Gilded Age period drama. Plus, more than 20 bonus features!
Powerful documentary about the man who embodied the iconic comic book hero in the ’70s, the tragedy that left him paralyzed, and how it made him a superhero anew
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story Starring Christopher Reeve Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui Unrated
In theaters soon
Handsome New York actor Christopher Reeve was a virtual unknown when Superman made him a movie megastar in 1978, re-introducing the iconic superhero with a grand cinematic splash to a new generation. Now this emotionally impactful documentary spotlights Reeve’s rocket ride into almost overnight fame at the age of 23, the enduring legacy of his role as the “Man of Steel” in three sequels, and when a tragic accident, less than two decades later, left him paralyzed from the neck down and altered the course of his life forever.
Breaking two vertebrae after being thrown from a horse in an equestrian event, Reeve would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, eventually relearning how to breathe and talk. But his story didn’t start and end with Superman, as he went on to become an undeterred advocate for disability rights, starting a foundation to raise awareness and pursue research on spinal cord injuries and paralysis.
The film’s narrative unfolds primarily through interviews with Reeve’s four now-adult children, archival footage and home movies, and conversations with his celebrity pals and the British model, Gae Exton, with whom he had a ten-year relationship before meeting and marrying his wife of 12 years, Dana. One of the most intriguing parts is the warts-and-all exploration of Reeve’s childhood in a fractured household, with an overbearing, aloof and absentee father and an absence of good examples.
Perhaps you already know he was lifelong friends (and former roommates) with actor Robin Williams, who saw his own star rise in the ‘70s and ‘80s. The movie examines their durable relationship, and how Williams—known as a leading Hollywood funnyman—worked hard to uplift Reeve’s spirits after his debilitating injury. When his buddy was in the hospital after the accident in 1995, Williams came to visit, masking himself in surgical scrubs and schtick-ing it up as an overzealous Russian proctologist. Reeves couldn’t talk or even smile, but Williams swears he saw his blue eyes twinkle.
Reeve ultimately lost his battle with his battered body in 2004; in a cruel coda, wife Dana (a lifelong nonsmoker) succumbed to stage four lung cancer two years later. But the work of their Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation continues, driven by the passion of their children. Super/Man is a wide-arcing, soaring tribute to hope, drive, determination and dedication, and you’re a stronger, stiffer person than me if you can watch it through without feeling your eyes get a bit moist. And you’ll certainly come away with a new appreciation for an actor whose biggest feat, it turns out, wasn’t flying high up on the screen, but traveling here in the trenches of the real world, spreading a message of hope and dignity in his final role from a wheelchair, as another kind of superhero entirely.
Johnny Cash gives the finger to Nashville, Will Ferrell explores America in a new light and dinosaurs roar all day!
All times Eastern.
FRIDAY, Sept. 27 Apartment 7A A prequel to the events of Rosemary’s Baby, this horror film with Julia Garner, Dianne Wiest, Jim Sturgess and Kevin McNally focuses on a young dancer in New York City who finds out there’s something disturbing going on in her apartment building (Paramount+).
Social Studies What’s it like to be raised on social media? Documentary filmed over a school year follows a group of LA teens to explore how their phones have shaped—and reshaped—their childhoods (10 p.m., FX).
Will & Harper Will Ferrell and Harper Steele (above), an SNL writer he met on his first day of the TV show three decades ago, trek across the country in this documentary full of fun and feels as they explore America exploring Harper’s new life after “coming out” as a trans woman (Netflix).
SATURDAY, Sept. 28 Jurassic Park Trilogy Cue the dinos! Start the Jeep! And get ready to rip-roar with the original Jurassic Park, followed by its two movie sequels (12:15 p.m., TBS).
Saturday Night Live Live, from New York…. It’s the iconic late-night comedy series kicking off its landmark 50th season, with host Jean (Hacks) Smart and musical guest Jelly Roll (11:30 p.m., NBC).
SUNDAY, Sept. 29 The Summit Get a sneak peek tonight of the 90-minute premiere episode of new reality series as 16 strangers trek through the treacherous New Zealand Alps attempting to reach the peak of a distant mountain…and be rewarded by taking home $1 million (9 p.m., CBS).
Outrageous Pumpkins Just in time for Halloween, tune into this annual competition series to watch America’s best carvers create jack-o-lantern masterpieces (10 p.m., Food Network).
MONDAY, Sept. 30 Patrice: The Movie Documentary about a disabled couple navigating their relationship and planning for their future in an uncertain world. It’s sometimes funny, but always real (Hulu).
Rock Legends Series returns tonight with a spotlight on Outlaw Country, when a handful of country trailblazers (like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash) started shaking up and breaking Nashville’s rules (8 p.m., AXS).
TUESDAY, Oct. 1 Accused More stories in the new season dramatizing crime and punishment, told through the defendants’ points of view and showing how ordinary people can be caught up in extraordinary circumstances Watch for guest appearances by William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman and Michael Chiklis (8 p.m., Fox).
The American Vice President With a current VP on the ticket to possibly become the next U.S. president, this timely doc examines the role of the vice president in American politics and how it was forever transformed one fateful day in the 1960s (8 p.m., PBS).
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 2 Where’s Wanda? German-language series (don’t worry, just turn on your subtitles) about a set of parents (above) who make surprising discoveries about their neighbors after their teenage daughter goes missing (Apple TV+).
Big Freedia Means Business What does it take for a gay female entrepreneur and New Orleans-born rapper, to branch out into even more business ventures, plus record a gospel album and write a childrens’ book? Find out in season two of this unscripted docuseries about the colorful cat known as Big Freedia (Fuse).
Joan Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner stars in this new drama series (below) as the notorious British jewel thief Joan Harrington, who was well known in London’s criminal underbelly of the ‘80s (8 p.m., The CW).
THURSDAY, Oct. 3 Law and Order Producer Dick Wolf’s police procedural—the second longest-running drama in the history of TV—returns with new episodes and more crime investigation and prosecution. Starring Reid Scott, Mehcad Brooks and Hugh Dancy (NBC).
House of Spoils Ariana Debose stars in this suspense-horror thriller as an ambitious chef whose restaurant kitchen is overrun by pests of the supernatural kind (Prime).
Salem’s Lot Remake of the 1970s flick, based on Stephen King’s 1975 New England vampire tale, gets a streaming re-do with Lewis Pullman, Alfre Woodward, Bill Camp and others (Max).
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Now you can own a new slate of classic films with the Columbia Classics 4k Ultra HD Collection Volume 5, a deluxe roundup of All the King’s Men, On the Waterfront, A Man for All Seasons, Tootsie, The Age of Innocence and Little Women. Packaged with 20 hours of special features and an 80-page book on the history and impact of the movies, it’s a film lover’s feast.
One of TV’s most acclaimed political dramas comes to Blu-ray with The West Wing: The Complete Series (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment). Timed to coincide with the show’s 25th anniversary, it includes all 156 episodes of the Emmy-winning series with an all-star cast including Rob Lowe, Martin Sheen, Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford, and which began on NBC in 1999. Hours of bonus features include commentary, gags and goofs, unused scenes and more.
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Girl power flows off every page of How Women Made Music (Harper One), a spotlight on groundbreaking female artists including Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Joan Jett and Dolly Parton. It’s drawn from half a century of NPR’s music coverage, with contributions from female music critics, essays, photos, illustrations and lists. It’s not just about women making music, it’s about women making musical history.
You may not be familiar with her name, but she’s regarded as one of the most influential visual pioneers of the 20th century, especially noted as one of the first to produce artistic and environmental portraits of Black Americans—along with her striking chronicle of the social issues of her time, including urban poverty, workers’ rights, segregation and inequality. Find out all about her—and see many of her remarkable images in Consuelo Kanaga: Catch the Spirit (Thames & Hudson).
Saddle up with The Paranormal Ranger (William Morrow), author Stanley’s Milford’s sometimes chilling memoir about his illustrious career of serving the Navajo Nation, patrolling and protecting the 27,000-square-mile reservation spanning portions of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. In the course of settling mundane disputes and other day-to-day routines, he also encountered all sorts of eerie supernatural activity—including UFOs, “skinwalkers,” livestock mutilations and hauntings—which altered his view of the world…and our place in it.
Pet lovers will love Faithful Unto Death (Thames & Hudson), in which author Paul Koudaunaris presents a fascinating history of pet burial sites and memorials with remarkable stories of people whose bonds with their companion animals extend into the hereafter. Your heart will be warmed with tales of Elvis’ dog, the puppy who played Toto, Hollywood’s favorite lion, heroic pets and much more!
Frances Ford Coppola’s spectacular movie mess is an overstuffed stew of past, present and future.
Megalopolis Starring Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LeBeouf & Jon Voight Directed by Frances Ford Coppola Rated R
In theaters Friday, Sept. 27
This big, bloated mess-terpiece of a movie is a longtime passion project for director Frances Ford Coppola, a dreamscape of ideas he’s been stewing on for decades. Set in a near-future New York City now renamed New Rome—that looks like Manhattan dressed up for a big toga party—it’s about a crumbling American society and a visionary architect (Adam Driver) seeking to remake it into utopia. There are warring politicians, abusive cops, scheming dames, chariot races at Madison Square Garden and a mystery substance called Megalon that can repair flesh, help crippled dogs walk and make see-thru invisi-dresses. But can it create a whole new world?
Oh, and time can also be stopped, if you’ve got the mojo to do it.
It’s a lot to unpack, and it’s often wildly incomprehensible, an impenetrable cinematic chowder chock-full of ideas drawn from world history, old Hollywood, futuristic sci-fi, classic literature and modern turmoil. There’s the full “To be or not to be” soliloquy from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Jon Voight dressed like Robin Hood and bragging about his erection, and Shia LeBeouf rocking a mega-mullet. Hey, is that Dustin Hoffman, Talia Shire (Coppola’s sister), Jason Schwartzman (Coppola’s nephew and Shire’s son), and singer-actress Grace Vanderwaal crooning in a swing at a vestal virgin auction? Yep, yep, yep and yep! Game of Thrones’ Nathalie Emmanuel wears a Red Riding Hood cloak and plays Driver’s love interest, Laurence Fishburne narrates in stately tones, and Aubrey Plaza is a horny gold-digger TV reporter named—I’m not kidding—Wow Platinum. Giancarlo Esposito—who has nearly 200 acting credits but is probably best known for Breaking Bad—is a mayor with a major secret. To boldface the movie’s preachy parallels to Rome collapsing from a mighty civilization into a fractured empire ruled by tyrants, characters are given names including Cesar, Cicero and Crassus. Just so we get it.
Massive colossus statues collapse under the sheer fatigue of world-weariness, sighing helpless and broken in the streets. A Russian satellite plummets downward on a collision course with Earth. Cars trail each other down dark, rain-soaked alleys. There’s a female body in the morgue marked Jane Doe, but who is she really? There are orgiastic parties, angry mobs and gladiators walloping each other in a three-ring circus maxiumus. An overheated sex scene is a prelude to an Ides of March-like confrontation in a steam room. In my notes from the screening, I wrote down “Caligula meets Chinatown.”
It’s impossible to miss the movie’s central themes—that America is headed down a path of self-inflicted destruction, and the world has always teetered back and forth between innovation and the status quo. With a fervent swirl of messaging about creating a better future, it’s a big, eye-popping, overstuffed spectacle, the director’s own sprawling, architectural concoction bridging past and present.
Coppola is one of the leading filmmakers of the 20th century, an iconic director and producer who’s given us landmark movies like The Godfather and its sequel, Apocalypse Now and The Conversation. But he’s also put out some real stinkers, like Jack, Rumble Fish and Twixt. He swings big and sometimes knocks it out of the park. And sometimes he misses. Megalopolis will likely go down as another ambitious, super-showy, Megaloaded, all-over-the-place movie misfire.
But hey, Shia LaBeouf gets shot in the ass with two arrows—at least those hit their mark.
Meet the new ‘Matlock,’ Shania Twain gives ‘People’ what they want & Demi Moore quests for the fountain of youth
Kathy Bates stars in TV’s reboot of ‘Matlock.’
All times Eastern.
FRIDAY, Sept. 20 La Maison Brush up your Francais for this contemporary French-language fashion drama set in the cutthroat world of opulent Parisian elegance(Apple TV+)
The Substance Demi Moore and Dennis Quaid star in this wickedly ruthless satire about a mysterious injection that gives a past-her-prime TV personality a new shot of youth. But she soon finds out the miracle “substance” has a steep downside (Mubi).
SATURDAY, Sept. 21 Buried Alive and Survived Can you guess what this movie’s about? If you said a woman who miraculously survives being buried alive (by her ex-), you’re right! (8 p.m., Lifetime).
SUNDAY, Sept. 22 Rescue: Hi-Surf The surf’s up indeed in this new lifeguard drama (above) set in Hawaii—like Baywatch in O’ahu!—partnered with the United States Lifesaving Association (on Fox, following the NFL double-header).
Matlock Kathy Bates steps into Andy Griffith’s shoes in this reboot about a brilliant septuagenarian who joins a law firm and uses her common sense, calm demeanor and unassuming wiles to crack cases and expose corruption (8 p.m., CBS).
MONDAY, Sept. 23 Brilliant Minds Zachary Quinto stars in this new drama series as a larger-than-life neurologist exploring the uncharted frontier of mental health with his team (10 p.m., NBC).
TUESDAY, Sept. 24 Out There: Crimes of the Paranormal Find out about true cases involving shocking encounters with the paranormal—like a young boy who disappears forever in the Smoky Mountains after being snatched by a mysterious ape-like beast (Hulu).
Fly What’s it like to soar like a gravity-defying flying squirrel? This doc about daredevil base-jumper couples will jangle your nerves! (National Geographic).
We Will Dance Again Survivors recount their struggle to stay alive during last year’s Hamas terror attack on the Nova Music Festival, which became the staging ground for the deadliest attack in Israel’s history (Paramount+).
WEDNESDAY, Sept 25 Chicago Fire It’s season 12 and things are again heating up in the Windy City, where the firefighters and paramedics of Firehouse 51 continue to risk their lives to save others. With Taylor Kinney, David Eigenberg and Miranda Rae Mayo (NBC).
Grotesquerie Niecy Nash-Betts (above), Lesley Manville and Courtney B. Vance star in this new horror drama series from creator Ryan Murphy about a series about a small community teetering on the brink of unfathomable evil (10 p.m., FX).
The Masked Singer Who are the stars underneath the goofy costumes? Join the panel of celebrity judges and out tonight with the all-new season of the hit series hosted by Nick Cannon. And be watchful: Clues are everywhere! (8 p.m., Fox).
THURSDAY, Sept. 26 Dr. Odyssey Joshua Jackson, Don Johnson and Phlllipa Soo star in this new Ryan Murphy-produced series (above) about the high-stakes, high-seas adventures of an onboard doctor for a luxury cruise line. Think Love Boat, but serious-er (9 p.m., ABC).
Killer Heat Classic noir-style mystery thriller stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a hard-boiled private eye and Shailene Woodley as the sister-in-law of a dead guy who doesn’t believe the police report about how he died (Prime).
People’s Choice Country Awards Shania Twain hosts this two-hour live special all-star event—a country music extension of the fan-voted People’s Choice Awards—from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, recognizing artists in various categories and configurations (NBC, 8 p.m.)
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Beatles fans will flip their wigs with Mind Games (Thames & Hudson), the new definitive exploration of the making of the late John Lennon’s 1973 musical-masterpiece album. With reproductions of handwritten lyrics, letters, artwork and more, it’s a deep dive into the post-Beatles world of Lennon and his collaborator/soul mate/wife Yoko Ono, shedding new light onto the apex of their period of transformation and musical experimentation.
Like to talk sports? Like to argue sports? Well, in Got Your Answers: The 100 Greatest Sports Arguments—Settled (Hyperion Ave.), authors Mike Greenberg and Paul Hembekides break down such often-debated topics as the top five college football rivalries, the best pitch in baseball history, the NFL’s top 10 most lopsided trades, the top seven Game 7 World Series matchups, and much more. Put on your favorite team jersey and dig in!
Where’s the fire? In The Burning Earth: A History(W.W. Norton), author Sunil Amrith examines how the world has been shaped and reshaped by humanity’s pursuit of fossil fuels, the turmoil of war, population growth and the all-around exploitation of rivers, seas, forests and animals. Not exactly a sweet bedtime story, but nonetheless a riveting, vital read about the misdeeds we’ve done to the place we call home—most of them, ironically, done in the march toward “a better life.”
Why does it take the future so long to get here? We’ve been dreaming about flying cars ever since The Jetsons, so what’s the holdup? In The Long History of the Future(Bloomsbury), author Nicole Kobie takes a look at why technology—despite its remarkable strides—always seems to lag behind our dreams. And why we may have artificial hearts, escalators and self-driving cars, but Rosie the Robot still hasn’t arrived to make housework any easier yet!
One of the big Christmas movies this year will the theatrical version of the long-running Broadway hit Wicked. Now you can own all four of the Gregory Maguire novels on which the play (and movie) is based, about the “backstory” of the witches in The Wizard of Oz, in the new box set The Wicked Years (Harper Collins). It’s a perfect gift for all your Wicked friends!
In The Road is Good (Viking), Emmy-winning actress Uzo Aduba (from Orange is the New Black) tells her own compelling story—of the support of her Nigerian mother, her experience of being Black and immigrating to America, her growing career and her newest role as a mom.
BRING IT HOME
A sexy, steamy classic, Body Double, is newly repackaged as a deluxe 4K set in honor of its 40th anniversary, with loads of extras. Director Brian De Palma’s 1984 neo-noir erotic thriller starring Melanie Griffith, Gregg Henry and Craig Wesson was a commercial flop. But it gained a cult following later for its stylish cinematic allusions to Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Vertigo and Dial M for Murder (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment).
Those little minions are at it again in Despicable Me 4 (Universal Home Entertainment), the latest subversively witty, action-packed animated comedy about the now-reformed supervillain Gru (voiced by Steve Carrell), who finds himself on the run when he and his family get in the crosshairs of a new nemesis. Listen closely and you’ll also hear the voices of Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Sofia Vergara, Stephen Colbert and Miranda Cosgrove.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the latest of director George Miller’s acclaimed post-apocalyptic, diesel-punk-spectacular action-epic franchise, and it’s joined in a splendid new Mad Max 5-Film 4K Collector’s Edition boxed-set (Warner Bros. Home Entertainent) with its four predecessors—Mad Max(1979), Mad Max 2: The RoadWarrior(1981), Max Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2024). If you’re a Mad Max fan, it’s the maximum Max you can get in one place!
A ‘Men in Black’ marathon, plus all about child stars, the hair-metal ’80s and big cats!
All times Eastern.
FRIDAY, Sept. 13 How to Die Alone Natasha Rothwell stars in this new comedy series as a broke and lonely JFK airport employee whose brush with death spurs her onto a journey to find love and start living anew (Hulu).
Three Women Shailene Woodley (below), Betty Gilpin and DeWandaWise star in this new series based on the bestselling book, about three women who change courses in their relationships, altering their lives forever (10 p.m., Starz).
SATURDAY, Sept. 14 Have I Got News for You Comedian and actor Roy Wood Jr. hosts this new American version of a long-running BBC comedy quiz show, with a smart and edgy spin on real weekly news (9 p.m., CNN).
Men in Black Marathon Tune in for all the space-alien comedy in all three of the Tommy Lee Jones/Will Smith films back to back…followed by an Ocean’s heist-caper marathon (Ocean’s Thirteen, Oceans Twelve and Ocean’s Eleven (starts 11 a.m., TBS).
SUNDAY, Sept. 15 The Emmy Awards The annual event honoring the best of television returns live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, hosted by father-son acting duo of Eugene and Dan Levy (8 p.m., ABC).
Tulsa King Sylvester Stallone returns for season two of the mob drama set in Oklahoma as a transplanted Chicago capo and his crew grow their new crime empire and fend off threats from interlopers (Paramount+).
MONDAY, Sept. 16 Celebrity Family Feud Tonight it’s the casts of Jury Duty and 9-1-1 facing off for fun and charity, followed in the next hour by Deadliest Catch vs. Star Trek (8 p.m., ABC).
TUESDAY, Sept. 17 High Potential New procedural based on a hit French series stars Kaitlin Olson (above) as a mom with exceptional organizational skills who’s onboarded to become part of a crime-solving team (10 p.m., ABC).
Child Star What’s it like to be a famous showbiz kid? This new doc features interviews with actors who got their starts as kids, including Drew Barrymore, Kenan Thompson, Raven-Simone and Christina Ricci (Disney+).
Nothin’ But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of ‘80s Hair Metal Come to this three-part headbanger’s ball with the inside story of life in the heavy-metal fast lane, told by those who lived it…and lived through it, like Poison (below) (Paramount+).
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 18 Big Cats 24/7 Six-part series follows lions, leopards and cheetahs day and night, revealing their round-the-clock lives like never before (8 p.m., PBS).
The Golden Bachelorette In tonight’s season premiere, two dozen men strut into the spotlight trying to impress Bachelorette Joan Vassos. Who’ll be the lucky fella a few weeks from now? (8 p.m., ABC).
THURSDAY, Sept. 19 Frasier Kelsey Grammar’s TV comeback as TV’s favorite on-the-air shrink heads into season two tonight (Paramount+)
The Penguin Colin Farrell reprises his role from The Batman as Oz Cobb (above), better known in Gotham City’s criminal underworld as The Penguin (HBO and MAX).
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Is there any multimedia hill that Dolly Parton can’t summit? Now the superstar entertainment mogul has released a new cookbook, Good Lookin’ Cookin’ (Ten Speed Press), with her sis, Rachel Parton George. It’s a sumptuous collection of down-home recipes for year-round scarfin’, including ham and biscuits, meatloaf, spare ribs, and Slaw of Many Colors—of course!
In The Road to Wisdom (Little, Brown), author Dr. Francis Collins tackles some big issues—about faith, facts and medical breakthroughs—while addressing the elephant in the room: the growing distrust of science and its politicization, especially among those who profess their religion. It’s all the more pressing for the author, because he was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.
James McAvoy goes into full creep mode as a monster hiding behind a friendly face
Speak No Evil Starring James McAvoy, McKenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi & Scoot McNairy Directed by James Thomas Watkins Rated R
In theaters Friday, Sept. 13
James McAvoy is a very versatile actor who’s been in dozens of TV shows, plays and movies since the 1990s. But he seems to have a special knack for masked malevolence, like the creepiness and coiled, rip-roaring craziness of his characters in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split (2016) and its follow-up, Glass (2019). In this psychological horror thriller, he’s Paddy, a crudely boisterous Brit who lives off the grid in the scenic rural countryside, loves hunting and bemoans the conveniences and lifestyle choices of the modern world.
When Paddy and his wife, Ciari (Aisling Franciosi from Game of Thrones), meet a more refined, citified London couple, Louise (MacKenzie Davis, who starred in AMC’s Halt & Catch Fire) and her milquetoast husband Ben (Scoot McNairy), on a vacation in Italy, they all become tentative friends. But something seems a bit off right from the start, and it starts feeling even more off after Paddy invites Ben, Louise and their preteen daughter (Alix West Lefler, who plays Genevieve on TV’s Fire Country) to visit them at his rural home.
Alix West Lefler, MacKenzie Davis & Scoot McNairy play a London family whose countryside holiday turns into a nightmare.
Paddy and Ciari also have a young child, a boy named Ant (newcomer Dan Hough) who is unable to communicate beyond moans and mumbles. Ant’s “condition”—and don’t worry, you’ll find out more about it—gives the movie its title. But it also refers to how Ben and Laura try to act polite and mannered and not complain, speaking no evil as their pastoral retreat starts to go off the rails, before Paddy’s mounting transgressions and bothersome behaviors build to shocking revelations and a bloody fight for their lives against a sadistic psychopath.
Director James Watkins certainly knows how to tighten down the screws in a horror movie, as he did in Eden Lake (2008) and The Woman in Black (2012). In this remake of a 2022 Danish film of the same title, he remains faithful to the devilish dread of the original but gives it some new violently nasty tweaks at the end, and that’s all I’ll tell you about that.
The movie is spiritual kin to Straw Dogs, Get Out, Funny Games and other flicks that use normalcy as the jumping-off spot before deep-diving into something much darker, disturbing and deviant. One of the things I liked about Speak No Evil is how it’s not a “slasher” flick; it’s more subtle than that. The terrors at its core worm their way into our awareness without a need to see them. That might disappoint some gorehounds, attracted to the film’s BlumHouse production banner, but just knowing—and leaving some details to the murky recesses of the imagination—is supremely unsettling and jarringly nerve-wracking.
Beneath its surface, it touches on toxic masculinity, marital discord, motherhood, feminine empowerment, lost childhood and parenting, with a modern-world nod to classic Old World fairy tales about the dangers lurking in deep forests full of trolls, witches and demons. And it’s certainly a cautionary tale about stranger danger—and the twisted intentions that might be hiding behind a friendly face.
And for sure, you’ll never again hear The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame” the same again after you hear it hijacked by Paddy, a monster whose initially friendly smile becomes a scowling grimace of unspeakable acts in a real house of horrors. Speak No Evil and James McAvoy work hard to get under your skin, and they certainly come through loud and clear.
Inside TV’s most famous mob family, Mormon wife hotties & the new “Money Game” of college athetics
All times Eastern.
Go inside ‘The Sopranos’ and its creator, David Chase, Saturday on HBO.
FRIDAY, Sept. 6 The Boy and the Heron The Oscar-winning animated film begins streaming tonight, about a young man who loses his mother in a hospital fire then meets a mysterious bird (Max).
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Controversial reality show—about a swingin’ bunch of Mormon hottie wives (below) and social media “influencers”—was making waves long before it headed to the airwaves. See what all the fuss was about tonight! (Hulu)
SATURDAY, Sept. 7 Held Hostage in My House Formerly known as Blunt, this psychological thriller—about a single mom entrapped in her vacation home—stars Amy Smart, Matt Davis, Billy Zane and Ne-Yo. Can she discover who’s holding her hostage, and why? (8 p.m., Lifetime).
Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos How did David Chase come to create one of the most culturally impactful TV shows of all time? This two-part doc delves into the man behind the media-sensation mobsters and the real stories that inspired the show (8 p.m., HBO).
SUNDAY, Sept. 8 Universal Basic Guys Mark and Hank try to reconnect with their primal roots by purchasing a heat-seeking crossbow to hunt deer, kicking off a new season of the adult animated comedy (on Fox following the NFL double-header).
The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood Four-part docuseries delves into the twisted tale one of Hollywood’s most famous murder cases—a sordid story of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll from 1981 that inspired the movie Boogie Nights (MGM+).
MONDAY, Sept. 9 Name Me Lawand A young man deaf since birth seeks a fresh start with his new family in the U.K. after a year in a refugee camp in this touching documentary about the power of friendship and community (10 p.m., PBS).
Flip Side Jaleel (“Urkle”) White hosts this new game show with teams trying to guess how different groups of people have answered the same questions (syndicated, CBS).
TUESDAY, Sept. 10 The Chicken Sisters Cluck cluck! New family drama (above) on Hallmark’s new streaming service is dipped in Southern charm with a saucy side of romance! With Lea Thompson, Wendie Malick and Schuyler Fisk (Hallmark+).
The Money Game How is the NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) ruling—which allows college athletes to be paid for endorsements and advertising—revolutionizing sports? This doc focuses on Louisiana State University and the big-bucks players there who’ve become young millionaires (Prime Video).
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 11 John Legend: Live from the Artists Den The award-winning R&B singer and songwriter performs at Manhattan’s historic Riverside Church, with powerful renditions of “All of Me,” “Glory” and more (10 p.m., AXIS).
THURSDAY, Sept. 12 The Taylor of Sin City True-crime docuseries follows the tale of a gifted tailor who built a drug and fashion empire in Las Vegas with the help of the Mob and a South American cocaine kingpin (10 p.m., Sundance TV).
The Old Man Jeff Bridges returns to season two of the series about a former FBI agent, tonight setting off on an adventure to recover a kidnapped girl with a mysterious past. With John Lithgow, Amy Brenneman and Alia Shawkat (10 p.m., FX).
BRING IT HOME
Get ready for some outrageously funny stuff with this Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment), a one-man show recorded live onstage at the Hollywood Palladium in the early 1980s, when he was hot stuff in Hollywood with movies including The Toy, Silver Streak and Stir Crazy.
What’s the highest-grossing animated film of all time? It’s Inside Out 2, and now you can own it on DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD! This new home-entertainment release comes with multiple mini-features, including scenes that didn’t make the movie (which features voices by Amy Poelher, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri and Tony Hale), and a making-of doc about creating the movie’s “new” emotions of Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy and Ennui (Disney Home Entertainment).
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In the handsome Man Ray: Liberating Photography (Thames & Hudson), you’ll see the remarkable photos by the camera artist—including his groundbreaking, experimental and avant-garde work in the 1920s and ‘30s for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair—who introduced new ways of thinking about the visual world.
It sounds like the stuff of sci-fi movies, but in Robin George Andrews’ How to Kill an Asteroid (W.W. Norton), you’ll find out how real-life scientists have been working on real-world solutions—like “deflection campaigns”—to defend against what could very possibly turn out to the Earth’s greatest threat from the cosmos. It’s engaging, eye-opening reading…and a reason to keep your eyes on the skies!
Louis Stettner (Thames & Hudson) chronicles the wide-ranging work of the New York-born master photographer, acclaimed for his portraits, streetscapes and hustle and bustle of life in the Big Apple and Paris. Learn how Stettner, who began roaming the streets as a preteen with a camera, became one of the most influential lensmen of the 20th century, finding the beauty and sensuality of everyday things and people.
The Media Tourist 