Guillermo del Toro puts a potent new spin on the iconic tale of the man who made a monster
Frankenstein Starring Oscar Issac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz Directed by Guillermo del Toro Rated R
In theaters Oct. 24, on Netflix Nov. 7
With a walloping flourish of fresh Hollywood talent, some powerful filmmaking mojo and a potent message about life itself, a classic movie monster is spectacularly revived, once again, for the screen.
You know the age-old story: A mad scientist, Victor Frankenstein, creates a living creature from a dead human body. And things do not go well.
Director Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein hinges on the ethical questions at the root of the tale, based on Mary Shelley’s seminal 1818 novel: Is the real monster the creature or the “devil” who created him? And just because you can do something, should you do it? You might recall that Shelley’s story was subtitled The Modern Prometheus, referring to the Greek titan who stole fire from the gods—and suffered the consequences for eternity.
Del Toro also goes back to Shelley’s original narrative for much of his new staging of the tale, deviating somewhat from the seminal 1931 film starring Boris Karloff as the creature. Inventively, he breaks the movie into two parts, telling the story in reverse, first from Victor’s perspective and then from that of the creature.
Mia Goth as Elizabeth
The cast is top-notch. Oscar Issac (Ex Machina, A Most Violent Year, Inside Llewyn Davis) plays Victor, driven to control the powers of life and death. Mia Goth (Pearl, X) is Elizabeth, whose shifting affections become a significant plot driver. Christoph Waltz (D’jango Unchained, Inglourious Basterds) plays Victor’s scheming German benefactor, pouring profits from the Crimean War into Baron Frankenstein’s perverse experiments.
But the real star of the show is Jacob Elordi (Nate Jacobs on HBO’s Euphoria, and Elvis in Priscilla) as the unnamed creature, a stitched-together cadaver from the battlefield brought back to life by a jolt of lightning in Victor’s lab. A magnificent, hulking patchwork of scarred flesh and long, matted hair, he’s one hella hunka-hunka sexy uber-beast. You could easily picture him as an ‘80s rock star.
We see not only how Victor and his creature came to be, but also how the creature learns to speak, to feel and to hurt—and know that he will always be loathed, outcast and hunted. He eventually begins to long for companionship (Bride of Frankenstein, there’s your cue!). A side effect of Victor’s experiment gave his “monster” the ability to regenerate, for his body to heal after injuries, and impossible to kill—and therefore unable to find relief from his loneliness and yearning through the release of death.
It’s Elordi’s creature who gives this monster movie its beauty, and its tender, beating, aching heart.
It all fits perfectly into del Toro’s directorial wheelhouse, which has often swirled with hyper-visual elements from fairytales, mysticism and Gothic horror (as in The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth and a live-action remake of Pinocchio). His Frankenstein is monstrously majestic, with immense sets and grandly detailed, baroque embellishments…and eternal existential questions.
It’s a “monster movie,” of course, but it’s also a cautionary tale, a parable about the responsibilities of bringing a new life into the world, through natural procreation or otherwise—and how Victor Frankenstein was, in effect, father to an unnaturally made, highly unconventional “son” that he came to fear and despise. And we understand what Victor’s brother (Felix Krammerer) means when he tells him, “You’re the real monster.”
Mary Shelley’s “beast” has been one of the most popular and widely known movie monsters ever, appearing in more than 400 films and spinoffs. Appropriately, del Toro’s Frankenstein ends with a quote from the English poet George Gordon Byron: “And the heart will break, but brokenly live on.” With this impressive retooling, the epic, time-honored tale of Mary Shelly—and its messages about men and monsters, and playing God—lives on, in gloriously grand fashion. And it may just break your heart.
A new ‘Sheriff’ comes to town, country music hits ‘The Road’ and Charlie Brown re-discovers the Great Pumpkin!
Morena Baccarin stars in ‘Sheriff Country.’
FRIDAY, Oct. 17 Mr. Scorsese Documentary explores the life, career and movie masterpieces of the acclaimed filmmaker, whose decade-spanning works include Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Cape Fear and The Last Temptation of Christ (Apple TV+).
Sheriff Country Fire Country spinoff stars Morena Baccarin as a straight-shootin’ sheriff in California balancing crime fighting, competition for her job and motherhood (9 p.m., CBS).
SATURDAY, Oct. 18 It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown It’s time again for the timeless adventure as Charlie Brown preps for a party, Snoopy sets his sights on the Red Baron and Linus awaits a pumpkin patch miracle (Apple TV+).
Anything But Gray| New Southern-fried series follows designer Gray Benko as she transforms homes in Charleston, S.C., to bring out their character through color, whimsy and imaginative touches (1 p.m., Magnolia Network).
SUNDAY, Oct. 19 The Road New singing competition is hosted by country stars Keith Urban, Blake Shelton and Gretchen Wilson (9 p.m., CBS).
Hal & Carter Lili Reinhart, Betty Gilpin and Mark Ruffalo star in this drama about siblings whose closeness is both a blessing and a curse of co-dependence (Mubi).
MONDAY, Oct. 20 Ratified Explore the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) through Virginia’s pivotal ratification battle led by Black women and a multi-racial, multi-generational coalition, which enshrined gender equality in America nearly a century after it was proposed (10 p.m., PBS).
Summertide Drama about a marine biologist (Frank Rautenbach) who loses his wife to tragedy and moves with his rebellious teens back to his childhood home to begin again. But can the calm coastal waters hide the painful secrets roiling just beneath their surface? (Acorn TV).
TUESDAY, Oct. 21 Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud Documentary about the first American journalist to die while reporting on the war in Ukraine, and how the Arkansas native covered some of the world’s most dangerous conflicts (9 p.m., HBO).
The Rise of RFK Jr. Learn about the dramatic and controversial rise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and how this son of a storied dynasty broke with the Democratic party and his family, stoked conspiracy theories and is now reshaping government and public health as the U.S. secretary of health (10 p.m., PBS).
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22 Riot Women Joana Scanlan, Rosalie Craig and Tamsin Greig star in this episodic drama about menopausal British women who form a punk band to enter a talent contest, but then find out they have a lot more to shout about than they imagined (BritBox).
Lazarus Sam Clafin and Bill Nighy star in this new series about a man who becomes entangled in the mysteries surrounding the deaths of two family members (Prime).
THURSDAY, Oct. 23 Nobody Wants This Season two begins of the romcom about a gentile podcaster (Kristen Bell) who falls in love with a Jewish rabbi (Adam Brody) (Netflix).
The Red King New series about a police sergeant (Anjli Mohindra) reassigned to an isolated island with an eerie past, strange rituals and unexplained deaths (AMC+).
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You know her as lead singer of The Pretenders. Now Chrissy Hyde is singing a new tune, and she’s got a bunch of musical friends with her. On Duets Special (Rhino), her fourth album under her own name, she’s harmonizing with k.d. lang, Blondie’s Deborah Harry, Julian Lennon, Lucinda Williams, Rufus Wainwright and more in 13 stripped-down arrangements with minimal instrumentation on tunes like “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration,” “It’s Only Love,” “Always on my Mind” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
How kool is this? Re-live all the smooth funky groovery of Kool & The Gang on the new reissue of the band’s Greatest Hits (Umusic), available on limited-edition vinyl as well as CD. You’ll get “Jungle Boogie,” “Hollywood Swinging,” “Ladies Night,” “Too Hot,” “Celebration,” “Get Down On It” and more!
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Find out all sorts of inventive do-ers in Lives of the Great Makers (Thames & Hudson), with 40 biographies of people like furniture magnate Thomas Chippendale, painters and glass artists, goldsmiths, sculptors, designers and many more men and women who’ve made our world a better place through the craftiness of their hands. It’s a testament to the creativity and artistry all around us.
How do Bob Dylan’s song lyrics reveal his story? If the answer, my friend, isn’t “Blowin’ in the Wind,” you may find it in Bob Dylan: Things Have Changed (Melville House). Read as former Village Voice reporter Ron Rosenbaum takes an intriguing dive into the life of the enigmatic, shape-shifting Nobel-Prize-winning music-maker via the words of his songs, tracing his trajectory from hippie folkster to Greenwich Village cultural revolutionary, countrified crooner and proselytizing Christian.
In Wild Ocean, acclaimed wildlife photogs Peter and Beverly Pickford highlight the eye-popping, pristine beauties of our planet’s seas, inhabitants and coastal areas, at a time when overfishing, pollution and global warming have plunged their futures into question. (Thames & Hudson)
Named Vogue Living‘s Designer of the Year in 2024 and recognized by Architectural Digest (Germany) as one of the world’s true design influencers, author Fiona Lynch is renowned for her mastery of mood. Her bold style and intuitive ideas are on full display in Material Wonder (Thames & Hudson), a stunningly illustrated book in which she explores new materials and techniques for her brand of “spirited minimalism” to make spaces look like…well, like they should be in a book!
Curb Your Enthusiasm fans will love No Lessons Learned (Black Dog & Leventhal), with first-person interviews from cast members (Larry David, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Garlin, Richard Lewis and many more), directors, producers and others (guests like Jerry Seinfeld, Richard Kind and Ben Stiller) who helped make it a huge hit on its HBO run, all the way back to 2000. Plus it’s packed with plot outlines, scripts, sketches, quotes and gads of never-before-seen behind-the-scenes pics.
Can you name the Black family who founded one of the country’s most durable construction dynasties? You’ll find the answer in The Black Family Who Built America (Black Privilege Publishing), about Moses McKissak, a former slave who became an exceptional craftsman and launched a family business now its fifth generation. It’s written by Cheryl MicKissack, a fifth-generation descendant of Moses who now leads the company.
Perfect bedtime reading the Halloween season, The Screen Chills Companion (McFarland) by Chris Fellner is a treasure trove for fans of scary movies during Hollywood’s “second wave” of horror in the 1940s, when monsters (Frankenstein, the Invisible Man, Dracula, the Wolf Man and more) were spawning all sorts of movie sequels.
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Re-bask in the opulence and intrigue of a bygone New York in The Guilded Age: The Complete Third Season (Warner Bros. Discovery), with all eight episodes of the HBO period drama starring Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Nathan Lane and Andrea Martin.
If you’re of an, ahem, certain age, you might remember Shari Lewis, the Peabody Award-winning ventriloquist, puppeteer and TV show host. Shari and Lamb Chop (kinolarber.com) tells her wide-ranging story—and how she created a puppet, Lamb Chop, for TV’s Captain Kangaroo in the mid-1950s, then parlayed that into success as a well-known children’s-TV icon through the decades to come.
Tom Cruise is back, baby, in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (Paramount), starring again as special agent Ethan Hunt in all kinds of perilous spy stuff, including escaping from a sunken submarine and hanging outside a biplane. Oh yeah, and trying to save the world! All in a day’s work!
Scattershot sequel to the 2021 horror hit feels like a movie misfire
Black Phone 2 Starring Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, Madeline McGraw & Jeremy Davies Directed by Scott Derrickson Rated R
In theaters Friday, Oct. 17
Ever since Lazurus, we’ve been fascinated with people who come back from the dead. Ethan Hawke pulls off his own resurrection trick in this gritty sequel to the 2021 horror hit in which his character was killed off in a climactic confrontation by the young teen he’d kidnapped and tormented.
In Black Phone 2, set four years later, Hawke’s creepy “Grabber”—so named because he snatched victims off the street and sweeps them away in his black van—haunts the dreams of the younger sister of the boy who ended his reign of neighborhood terror. Then those dreams become living nightmares.
The gang’s all here from the first film. Mason Thames (from the recent How to Train Your Dragon remake) is Finny, the only known survivor of the Grabber’s basement of horrors. Madeline McGraw (from Disney’s Secrets of Sulphur Springs) returns as his sis, Gwen, now haunted by nighttime visions of the Grabber, his deeds and his victims. Jeremy Davies is back as their father, battling alcoholism and his own traumatic past.
But this time around, it’s all about the ghostly Grabber being set on revenge by sinking his sinister hooks—or his hatchet—into Gwen.
There’s blood and visceral goop and terrible stuff going down, but not a whole lot of bone-chilling scares or shocks. And right off the bat, we know the Grabber is dead, right? The sequel is set in 1978, back when there were still wall-mounted telephones and payphone booths. Gwen’s dreams are shot in a way that looks, appropriately enough, like grainy, 8mm home movies. And a ringing phone likely means someone from the “other side,” or the Grabber himself, wants to talk. There’s a remote Colorado winter youth camp, a blinding snowstorm, and a group of mutilated kids killed by the Grabber, entombed under the ice of a frozen lake, their lost young souls crying out for eternal rest.
And Hawke gets star billing, but he spends almost the entirety of the movie hidden behind the grinning devil mask that became the Grabber’s must-have accoutrement. Oh, the masked Grabber also ice skates, in a finale that suggests ax hockey might be hell’s most popular pastime.
The original Black Phone was a big box-office success. But maybe it was best just to let it rest in peace, rather than bring it back with a story that feels like a strained hodgepodge of horror-show cliches and stereotypes—the snowstorm, zombie-ghost children, a lakeside camp, a young woman accused of being “possessed,” bad dreams that bleed into reality. It’s like The Shining, Friday the 13th, The Walking Dead and Carrie all showed up in A Nightmare on Elm Street and took a Wrong Turn into The Exorcist before heading to an Ice Capades show.
And it also gets sidetracked by what seems to be an unfocused obsession with religion, with lots of scenes showing crosses and Bibles, recited lines of Scripture, and a foul-mouthed spew of venom at overly pious Christians. Most of the story is set in a Christian youth camp. But it never connects faith to the rest of the narrative.
“O death, where is thy sting?” Gwen asks the Grabber at one point, quoting the New Testament’s book of 1 Corinthians.
Fans of the first Black Phone might be asking the same question about this scattershot sequel with little of its predecessor’s sting. Where is the monstrous mojo of a phone call from beyond the grave? As creepshows about phone booths go, this one feels like a misdial.
Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield star in this heady sexual-accusation psychodrama set in the world of academia
After the Hunt Starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Ayo Edebirl, Michael Stuhlbarg & Chloë Sevigny Directed by Luca Guadagnino Rated R
In theaters Friday, Oct. 17
When a Yale doctoral student accuses one of her professors of sexual assault, it sets off a chain reaction of consequences in this provocative psychodrama set in the heady world of academia.
Julia Roberts leads the stacked, all-star cast as Alma Imhoff, an adjunct psychology prof suffering from some internal mystery malady (she heaves over the toilet a lot). Maybe it’s stress related, since she’s certainly anxious about getting tenure—and mired in conflict when one of her students, Maggie (The Bear’s Ayo Edebirl), claims she was raped by one of Alma’s professorial colleagues, Hank (Andrew Garfield).
The situation is further complicated by the fact that Alma really likes both Maggie and Hank. Maggie insists she was raped. Hank proclaims his innocence. Who does Alma believe? Who do you believe?
Another professor (Chloë Sevigny) sniffs about Yale’s “entitled” student body, and how they’re quick to claim victimization of any kind. Michael Stuhlbarg plays Frederick, Alma’s doting psychiatrist husband.
After the Hunt is a-swirl with recriminations, he-said/she-said ambiguity, long-buried secrets, career-altering revelations and smoldering sexual tension. It’s about a “hunt” for truth, and assigning blame. It’s interwoven with talk about white male patriarchy, female solidarity, #MeToo, sexual misconduct, morality, restorative justice and racial inequality. There are conversations dense with banter about Aristotle, Freud, Arendt, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard. Sometimes it feels like a philosophy crash course.
It’s a knotty, complex story, largely told through Alma’s perspective as she reacts to what’s going on all around her—and realizes the need to reconcile her own past with her present. Roberts and the rest of the cast are terrific. The soundtrack (by the three-time Oscar-winning duo of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) scores what we’re seeing onscreen with a sometimes-unconventional sonic undercurrent effectively conveying the sense of creeping uncertainty and growing dread. Director LucaGuadagnino continues his interest in exploring the many ways passion, sexuality and amour can be twisted into dysfunction and dysphoria; After the Hunt certainly slices into a thematic vein shared with the Italian director’s previous films Challengers, Queer, Call Me by Your Name, Bones and All and Suspira.
It’s all very handsome, tony, provocative and well-crafted, but it asks a lot from the audience—including, with a running time of over two hours, more than a bit of patience. And it presents some truly thorny ideas and issues without really resolving or wrapping them up in the end—even though a hospital scene in the final stretch offers some insight, if not a tidy little bow. A “five years later” coda adds to the sense that time may not, in fact, heal all wounds. It’s not a feel-good movie, by any means. It challenges you to watch, listen, think and stew along with its characters.
As Alma snaps to Maggie in a heated up-close encounter, “Not everything is supposed to make you feel comfortable.” That obviously includes After the Hunt.
Why we love John Candy, the horrors of John Wayne Gacy & a whole night of ‘NCIS’
FRIDAY, Oct. 10 John Candy: I Like Me Heartfelt documentary tribute to the legendary and much-loved Canadian comedy icon, with stories and memories from Candy’s family, friends, collaborators and admirers—including Tom Hanks, whose son, Colin, directed (Prime Video).
Vicious Dakota Fanning stars as a young woman who receives a mysterious gift from a late-night visitor, drawing her into a waking nightmare (Paramount+).
The Woman in Cabin 10 While on a luxury yacht for a travel assignment, a journalist (Kiera Knightly) witnesses a passenger thrown overboard, only to be told it didn’t happen. With Guy Pearce and Hannah Waddington (Netflix).
SATURDAY, Oct. 11 Monster in the Family: The Stacy Kananen Story Based on a true story, this drama follows a young woman (Elisha Cuthbert) who finds herself entangled in a web of buried bodies and manipulation (8 p.m., Lifetime).
SUNDAY, Oct. 12 Matlock In tonight’s “sneak peek” of season two, Kathy Bates returns to the TV role of lawyer Madeline Matlock (above) for the revived series that gender-flipped the 1980s original, which starred Andy Griffith (8:30 p.m., CBS).
The Chair Company New comedy series debut about a man who finds himself investigating a far-reaching conspiracy after witnessing an embarrassing incident at work. Starring Tim Robinson, Lake Bell and Sophia Lillis (10 p.m., HBO Max).
MONDAY, Oct. 13 DMV New workplace comedy starring Harriet Dyer and Tim Meadows, about a crew of lovable misfits (above) tackling bureaucracy, bad attitudes and busted printers—with minimum wage and maximum sarcasm (8:30 p.m., CBS).
Solar Opposites Sixth and final season of the animated series about space aliens trying to live on a budget. Dan Stevens and Thomas Middleditch provide voices (Hulu).
TUESDAY, Oct. 14 NCIS Night It’s all NCIS, all night, with season premieres of the flagship drama’s 23rd season, plus spinoffs NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney (begins 8 p.m., CBS).
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore An intimate look at the life of the actress, the first deaf performer to win an Academy Award, as she shares her story in her native America Sign Language (9. p.m., PBS).
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 15 From Rails to Trails Documentary narrated by actor Edward Norton about the movement, which began 60 years ago, to convert abandoned railroad trackways to public trails for cycling and walking (check local listings, PBS).
Murdaugh: Death in the Family Series based on the real-life family drama of Maggie and Alex Murdaugh and the murder of the fourth-generation scion of a local legal dynasty. Starring Jason Clarke and Patricia Arquette (Hulu).
THURSDAY, Oct. 16 Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy Limited series (above) dramatizes the evils of the notorious Gacy, who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering 33 young men in the 1970s. Starring Michael Chernus (from Severance), Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us) and James Dale Badge (1923) (Peacock).
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The political New York City activism of John Lennon and wife Yoko One is celebrated in Power to the People (Capitol/UME), a 12-disc boxed set with more than 100 tracks, a new remix of Lennon’s only full-length concert appearances after the Beatles, outtakes, home recordings, jam sessions and much more. Son Sean Lennon produced the project.
Get a big dose of downhome Texas Blues with The Last Real Texas Blues Album (Antone’s Records), part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the iconic Austin nightclub Antone’s. Fittingly, the album is filled with artists who’ve performed there, including The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmie Vaughn, Charlie Sexton, Lil’ Ed Wilson and McKinley James, performing classics like “You’ll Lose a Good Thing,” “The Sky is Crying,” “Flip, Flop and Fly” and “Going Down.” Put it on, turn it up, and dig it.
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Fans of the British supergroup led by brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher will dig Oasis: Trying to Find a Way Out of Nowhere (Thames & Hudson), a photo-packed visual chronicle by acclaimed rock photog Jill Furmanovsky—who was given unparalleled access to countless worldwide performances, recording sessions and offstage moments, beginning in the band’s early ‘90s heyday. With written commentary and insights by Noel about the wild ride of being in one of the top-selling groups of all time.
Wanna look like a million bucks? Author Natalie Hammond tells (and shows) you how in Style Codes: Cher (Abrams), a guide to looking your best based on the singing star’s own “reinvention” to become an icon of class, glamor, success sand style. From gowns to jackets, boots, bell bottoms and hairstyles, you’ll find out what worked for Cher, and how to find inspiration for your own assets.
Look! Up in the sky! No, it’s not superman, but rather Aviary: The Bird in Contemporary Photography (Thames & Hudson), a stunning look at how more than 50 modern photographers artistically “captured” winged splendor, illustrating not only the eye-popping spectrum of color and “design” in the aerial world, but also the ways it’s always inspired us down here on the ground.
How do borders define our world? In Atlas of Borders (Thames & Hudson), geopolitical experts Delphine Papin and Bruno Tertrais reflect on the world through the lens of the seen and unseen things that split it up and separate it. Filled with maps and infographics, it’s a fascinating crash course in the ways, and the whys, the Earth has been subdivided and sliced up, leading to walls, migrations and wars.
As foodies know, there’s something special about good ol’ Southern cookin’. Author and food historian Michael J. Twitty’s Recipes From the American South (Phaidon) is a lip-smackin’ guide to more than 260 yummies of all sorts from our country’s Southland, from bread and biscuits, stews, sauces, sweets to main courses like chicken and dumplings, red-eye gravy and mint julips.
Do you believe in magic? Well, you might, after reading podcaster Pam Grossman’s Magic Maker (Penguin Random House), about how magic and spiritualism have been long associated with creativity—and how you can make the most of those same “supernatural” vibes. It’s trippy and cool and a combination of guidebook and history of spells, magic and witchery, and how they’ve been channeled for centuries to fuel creative arts of all kinds.
What’s in a word? In Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary (Grove Atlantic), author Stefan Fatsis dives into the exotic world of America’s most famous publisher of dictionaries, Merriam-Webster, at a time when words are changing in many ways, including how we create, define, use and consume language. It’s a vibrant, colorful history of dictionaries and the company that made them household items, how spoken language makes winds its way into our lexicon, and who decides what those words mean. Word up!
Michael Jackson insiders reveal the high-stakes battle to revive the superstar’s reputation and sales mojo in the mid-‘90s after tabloids had started calling him “Wacko Jacko” and his personal life was widely known for its eccentricities. You’ve Got Michael (Trouser Press) avoids the controversies but goes right for the nuts ‘n’ bolts of keeping an outsized supersized career alive, as told by author Dan Beck, the Epic Records exec who worked for five years with the troubled superstar.
It’s been a while for most of us, likely, since we unfolded a paper map and used it for navigation. But such orienteering tools used to be the language essential to exploring and getting around—and they often had to be redrawn and rejiggered, as civilization advanced the geography morphed. The Library of Lost Maps (Bloomsbury) by geographer James Cheshire offers a scholarly tour, across the 19th and 20th centuries, of how maps remind us of our past…and provide gateways to the future for an ever-changing world in progress.
Dig into The Maya Myths: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes and Ancestors (Thames & Hudson), in which author Mallory E. Matsumoto presents a richly detailed look at the legends, beliefs and culture that over previous centuries built a thriving, complex society in what is now Mexico and Central America—before mysteriously collapsing and vanishing.
A spinoff of the popular TikTok series, F*cked Up Fairy Tales (W.W. Norton) by Liz Gotauco offers “grown-up” tellings of classic folktales from around the world, with gritty details that the “Disney-fied versions” conveniently omitted—of homicidal royals, cursed commoners, carnal couplings and all manner of beasts…and beastly behavior. For anyone who likes their mythology refreshingly bawdy, dig in!
Don’t ever tell anybody they’re “irreplaceable,” especially after you read Mary Roach’s ReplaceableYou (W.W. Norton), a sprightly exploration of the human body. You’ll better understand the many ways science and technology have risen to the challenges of altering (or outright replacing) our skin, our hair, our organs, our breasts and bones and teeth and just about everything else. (W.W. Norton)
BRING IT HOME
Ready for a good scare? Weapons, one of the year’s best supernatural horror flicks, depicts an unsettling scenario about a town in a panic when all the children from a classroom mysteriously disappear—all, that is, except one. Starring Josh Brolin and Julia Garner. Bonus features take you inside the making of the flick (Warner Bros. Discovery).
Joaquin Phoenix, Austin Butler, Emma Stone and Pedro Pascal star in director Ari Aster’s Eddington (A24), a dark comedy set in a small town during the COVID-19 pandemic where disagreements cause political and social turmoil.
Are you ready for doomsday? Directory Kathryn Bigelow’s latest makes us think about the unthinkable.
Rebecca Ferguson gets a troubling phone call.
A House of Dynamite Starring Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Tracy Letts & Greta Lee Directed by Kathryn Bigelow Rated PG-13
In theaters Friday, Oct. 10 / On Netflix Friday, Oct. 24
As an intercontinental ballistic missile bears down on the United States, everyone scrambles to find out who fired it and what to do before it reaches its target in about 20 minutes. That’s the ultra-high-stakes situation in A House of Dynamite, which plops a bona fide doomsday scenario into our laps and forces us to think about the unthinkable.
Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) expertly tightens the screws and amps up the tension with every taught, fraught second, inventively overlapping timelines to show us how different politicians, advisors, generals, military personnel and Washington insiders grapple with the toughest decision they’ve ever made, from the U.S. President (Idris Elba) on down the chain of command.
Confusion, dread and disbelief abound. Who launched the missile, headed straight for Chicago? Was it Russia? North Korea? China? Why didn’t America’s intercept-and-destroy defense network work? “That’s what $50 million buys us!??” barks the incredulous Secretary of Defense (Jared Harris). Should the U.S. makes its own retaliatory strike, before it’s too late? What VIPs and essential personnel will be evacuated to safety deep inside a mountain bunker, and who’ll be left behind? Will a governmental communications expert (Rebecca Ferguson) ever see her husband and young son again?
And what about the 10 million citizens expected to die when the missile hits its target? The horrific specter of all-out nuclear Armageddon looms large, with one bomb likely to start a chain reaction of mutually assured destruction. As one character notes, we’re living in a house full of dynamite.
Bombers scramble to take out a Russian submarine in the Pacific.
The impressive ensemble cast includes Greta Lee, Anthony Ramos, Gabriel Brasso, Jason Clarke, Kaitlyn Dever and Tracy Letts. How does WNBA basketball star Angel Reese fit into things? Or a date with an Appleby’s waitress, elephants in Kenya, Civil War re-enactors or young soldier-sentries standing guard at a remote Alaskan outpost? The movie unnervingly depicts the wide-ranging ripple effect, across a spectrum of geography and life, about to be affected in the worst possible way.
It’s like Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant Dr. Strangelove, but without any of that 1964 film’s scathing satire—this is deadly serious stuff. And it takes on even more gravity with current events being what they are, global politics fraught with growing tensions, and nuclear proliferation a very real thing and a very real threat. How would today’s leaders—generals, cabinet members, and yes, the president—respond if faced with that situation?
And consider this unnerving premise from the film: Despite America’s expansive, high-tech defense systems, such an attack is well within the realm of possibility.
In one early scene, Rebecca Ferguson’s character toys with a tiny plastic dinosaur, handed to her by her son before she left for work that fateful morning. As she wonders if life as she knows it may be ending, that little prehistoric creature comes to represent an even more discomforting mega scenario, one in which all humankind might very well become extinct, extinguished like the dinosaurs. And, in a grim irony, done in by our devices.
A House of Dynamite is a sobering countdown, a colossally jarring wake-up call about the fragility of our very existence…and about a time—and a day, in a span of minutes—that we can only hope never comes.
Cyndi gets an all-star salute, 9-1-1 comes to Nashville & Svengooli kicks off Halloween!
FRIDAY, Oct. 3 V/H/S Halloween The eighth in the found-footage anthology franchise is about a collection of Halloween-themed videos that unleashes a new reign of terror to turn trick-or-treating into a struggle for survival (Shudder).
Steve Movie based on a New York Times bestseller follows a day in the life of a teacher (Cillian Murphy) struggling with mental health issues while interacting with a student (Jay Lycurgo) prone to rage and violence. What could possibly go wrong? (Netflix).
SATURDAY, Oct. 4 Svengoolie’s Halloween Boo-Nanza With The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, the vintage Don Knotts flick from the ‘60s, the TV horror host-with-the-most begins his annual month-long October weekly programming block of fun shocks (8 p.m., MeTV).
Saturday Night Live Perhaps you heard the hubbub about the exodus of cast at SNL (Heidi Gardner, Micheal Longfellow, Devon Walker, Emil Wakim) and the plans of producer Lorne Michaels “to shake things up.” Tune in tonight to see how the shakeup shook out, with Bad Bunny returning for his second time as host, Doja Cat performing, and cast newbies TommyBrennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska making their debuts (11:30 p.m., NBC).
SUNDAY, Oct. 5 A Grammy Salute to Cyndi Lauper: Live from the Hollywood Bowl The “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” ‘80s superstar is feted in this concert (filmed over two nights) with appearances by special guests including Joni Mitchell, Cher, John Legend and Mickey Guyton (8 p.m., CBS).
House of David Season two follows the aftermath of the battle between David and Goliath, and David’s rise to the throne (Wonder Project on Prime Video)
Tony Shalhoub Breaking Bread New series follows the award-winning Monk actor on a journey around the world, with bread serving as a common thread in a variety of international cuisines and cultures (9 p.m., CNN).
MONDAY, Oct. 6 Family Guy Halloween Special Brian and Stewie realize there is a shortage of quality Halloween songs, so they set out to write a hit, while Peter learns that lying about trick or treating can have serious consequences (Hulu).
Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp & the Biotech Revolution Mark Ruffalo narrates this inspiring story of vision, perseverance and the power of science to change the world, tracing the journey of Sharp, a Kentucky farm boy who became a Nobel Prize winner for his work in molecular biology and gene splicing—which has become a cornerstone of global innovation and economic growth, and transformed the health of billions (PBS).
TUESDAY, Oct. 7 Ozzy: No Escape from Now Documentary about rock icon Ozzy Osborne’s six-year health battle as he fights to get back on stage one last time for his farewell tour (Paramount+).
The Young and the Restless It’s officially middle-aged and not so “young” anymore, but one of daytime drama’s most durable dramas begins its 53rd season today (1 p.m., CBS).
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 8 Secrets of the Dead Exploring the history and legacy of the Roman Coliseum, which embodied the power and grandeur of Rome…and also “foreshadowed” its downfall (10 p.m., PBS).
Maintenance Required The fiercely independent owner of an all-female car-repair shop is forced to reevaluate her future when a flashy competitor moves in across the street and becomes her rival. Starring Madelaine Petsch and Jim Gaffigan (Prime Video).
The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs Ramp up for Halloween with tonight’s double feature of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Freddy vs. Jason, guided by host Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy the Mailgirl (8 p.m., AMC).
THURSDAY, Oct. 9 9-1-1 Nashville New entry into the 9-1-1 franchise about first responders in Music City stars Chris O’Donnell, Jessica Capshaw, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, LeAnn Rimes, Michael Provost and others (9 p.m, ABC).
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Here, kitty kitty! Calling all cat lovers, who’ll love photographer Tim Flatch’s Feline (Abrams). It’s a purr-fectly gorgeous coffee-table book with than 170 portraits of kitty cats of all kinds, from every angle (faces, feet, fur) with text about their species, their evolution from the wild into the domesticated, and why we’re so attracted to them.
Metalheads will totally dig Iron Maiden: Infinite Dreams—The Official Visual History (Thames & Hudson), a photo-packed chronicle celebrating 50 years of the pivotal heavy metal masters. It’s brimming with pics of the band, stage props, backstage antics, promo items, guitars, handwritten lyrics and commentary from band members past and present, including band founder SteveHarris and vocalist Bruce Dickinson.
BRING IT HOME
Celebrate two decades of the subversively funny TV series with Robot Chicken: The Complete Series (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment). It’s a collection of all 228 episodes of the stop-motion, sketch-comedy takes on nostalgia, pop culture and almost everything else, which began airing on Adult Swim, the Cartoon’s Network’s nighttime programming block, in 2005.
It’s the great Peanuts: 75th Anniversary Ultimate TV Specials Collection, Charlie Brown. The five-disc collection includes five decades of TV specials, 40 of them, from A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) to Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown (2011), plus a 28-page collectible booklet. (Warner Bros. Discovery)
Bob Odenkirk returns to the slam-bang action of Noboby 2 (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) as a suburban dad who’s also a highly skilled assassin. He needs a vacation and brings his fam to an amusement park, but in his line of work, it’s hard to get a break. With Connie Nielsen, Colin Hanks, Christopher Lloyd and Sharon Stone, and loads of bonus features, including a mini-doc about the film’s rock-‘em, sock-‘em stunt sequences.
Fulfill your need for speed with F1 The Movie, with Brad Pitt as a hunky Formula 1 driver on the comeback trail, alongside Javier Bardem as the racing team owner and Damson idris as his hotshot competitor for top dog on the track. Now on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD, it’s loaded with special features! Vroom!
The Rock takes on a new kind of role—and a pounding—in this bruising sports drama about a real-life “extreme fighter”
The Smashing Machine Starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt Directed by Benny Safdie Rated R
In theaters Friday, Oct. 3
The Rock’s latest role finds him taking a beating—and giving even more of them out—in this gritty drama about real-life mixed martial arts “extreme” fighter Mark Kerr, one of the pioneering superstars of the hybrid wrestling sport some 25 years ago.
As fans of extreme fighting know, MMA is a combo platter of combative styles from around the world, from judo and jiu-jitsu to boxing and street fighting. There’s a lot of grappling, eye gouging, neck choking, head kicking and fist pummeling. Sometimes the fights are staged in “cages.” The events of the film take place between 1997 and 2000, when Kerr was a rising star in the MMA global arena, especially in Japan. It’s kinda like Rocky, with saki!
Johnson—who was himself a pro wrestler known as the Rock before beginning his acting career—immerses himself in the role, making an almost phenomenal transformation into Kerr by using multiple facial prosthetics. The muscles and sculpted body look familiar, but you sometimes have to keep reminding yourself that it’s really the Rock in there, underneath the false nose, cheekbones, forehead and ears. It’s more than a few movie miles from the upbeat, popcorn-y roles Johnson became known for in pumped-up, action-adventure romps like Jumanji, Skyscraper, the Fast and Furious franchise and San Andreas, or animated family fare like Moana, Hercules or DC League of Super Pets.
Although we see plenty of Johnson’s character doing his thing in the ring—the brutal fight scenes are very convincing—we also watch Kerr in psychological battles with himself and with his girlfriend, Dawn (Emily Blunt). We see how the fighters may try to beat each other’s brains out, but they can be friends—even besties—when the show’s over. An actual former MMA fighter, Ryan Bader, has an integral supporting role as Kerr’s good buddy Mark Coleman, who’s also his direct competitor.
Eventually, Kerr becomes dependent on opioids and painkillers, and there’s little wonder why. He is indeed a human smashing machine; he even smashes a door to splinters in a burst of anger. All that smashing takes a toll on his body. But he loves it, loves the winning, loves soaking up the cheers of the crowd. “It’s orgasmic,” he says. “The highest of highs.”
For all its brawn and brawl, the movie’s a bit lite on the drama. There’s not a lot of conflict, or emotional highs and lows, or surprises, in Kerr’s fight-club sphere. We’re never told about his prior life, as a high school wrestler in Iowa, or how worked his way up into the pros. It’s not so much a biopic as a window on a compressed period, much like the 2002 documentary about Kerr (from which this movie takes its title). Director Benny Safdie, whose previous films include the edgy Good Times and Uncut Gems, keeps the edges messy, showing us the sweaty, unglamorous and often bloody world of “outlaw” wrestling, where combatants keep fighting because they need the money, they’re addicted to it…and they can’t really do anything else.
The movie overlays some highly appropriate music onto its scenes. It’s hard to miss the messaging when we watch Kerr training to the tune of Elvis singing Sinatra’s “My Way” (and its line about “But through it all / When there was doubt / I ate it up and spit it out”). Bruce Springsteen’s “Jungle Land” orchestrates a particularly stressful, combustive interlude between Kerr and Dawn. And it’s quite appropriate that it all ends with the Alan Parsons Project and “Limelight,” about how the limelight, the spotlight, was “all I ever wanted since it all began / Shining on me, telling the world who I am.”
The Smashing Machine shows the who-I-am about an ultimate fighter who ultimately finds himself on the other side of the spotlight. But more impressively, it also shows how Dwayne Johnson has found the other side of the showbiz coin, as a serious actor in a substantial role, a smashing success at playing a real person instead of exaggerated, often cartoonish caricatures.
Family secrets, Halloween’s almost here and ‘The Simpsons’ plunge into season 37!
“Edward Scissorhands” kicks off a month of Halloween-themed fun on Freeform.
FRIDAY, Sept. 26 Hispanic Heritage Awards 38th annual event celebrates Latino history and culture with performances by some of the most talented acts in Latin music (9 p.m., PBS).
All of You Best friends (Brent Goldstein and Imogene Poots) spend years trying to resist the urge to couple up despite the undeniable feeling that they belong together (Apple TV+).
SATURDAY, Sept. 27 Unlocked: Family Secrets New reality series focuses on “hidden” things families find (and find out about) their loved ones in their homes (9 p.m., Own).
SUNDAY, Sept. 28 America’s Funniest Home Videos Think you’ve had all the home-video yuks possible since this show started airing 36 years ago? Not by a long shot, as tonight’s start for the new season will show you! (7 p.m., ABC).
The Simpsons Hear, hear: Tonight begins season 37 (!) of the iconic animated grown-up comedy series, in which Lisa gets hooked on Marge’s ‘90s wardrobe and becomes part of a fashionista bling ring (8 p.m., Fox).
MONDAY, Sept. 29 Epic Ride: The Story of Universal Theme Parks Three-part docuseries spotlights the new theme park, Universal Epic Universe in Orlando, Fla., touted as the “theme park of the future,” and the broaders theme park legacy of Universal (Peacock).
Murder Before Evensong Matthew Lewis (from Harry Potter and All Creatures Great and Small) stars in this new murder mystery series set in 1980s England after a dead body turns up in a church. Holy s*&%! (Acorn TV).
TUESDAY, Sept. 30 Chad Powers Glen Powell stars in this new series (above)—with Peyton and Eli Manning among the producers—as a washed-out college football star who takes on a new identity for a struggling Southern team (Hulu).
Hard Hat Riot Learn how a group of workers clashed with Kent State University protestors in 1970, just days after four of the students were shot dead by National Guardsmen, in a disturbance that came to define and reshape the era’s political climate for decades to come (9 p.m., PBS).Hard Hat Riot
Mark Wahlberg and LaKeith Stanfeld
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 1 Play Dirty Mark Wahlberg leads the cast as an expert thief planning a mega heist who runs afoul of the New York mob this action drama that also features LaKeith Stanfeld, Nat Wolff, Keegan-Michael Key and Tony Shalhoub (Prime Video).
31 Nights of Halloween The network’s month-long fun fest of scary movies begins tonight, with EdwardScissorhands,The Haunted Mansion (2003), Casper (1995), Beetlejuice and Hocus Pocus (Freeform).
THURSDAY, Oct. 2 Karen Pirie Outlander’s Lauren Lyle returns for season two in this Brit series in the role of an investigator looking into a brutal high-profile 1984 kidnapping…and a murder (BritBox).
BRING IT HOME
Get ready for Halloween with the new Nightmare on Elm Street 7-Collection (Warner Bros. Discovery), a roundup of Freddy Krueger’s greatest hits from 1984 into the ‘90s. Watch for some familiar faces in between the blood spatters, including Johnny Depp, John Saxon and Ronee Blakley. Special features include closer looks at the movies and their cultural impact.
Tom Hiddleston stars in The Life of Chuck (Decal/Neon), a creatively awesome tale adapted from a Stephen King story about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man who discovers the importance of the connections he’s made in his lifetime. It’s also got a lot to chew on about art, science, music, life and death, ghosts…and dancing. With Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay and Mia Sara (who played Sloan, the girlfriend, in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off).
A New York City matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) thinks she has love down to a formula when she unexpectedly falls for a dapper “unicorn” (Pedro Pascal), which throws her relationship with her boyfriend (Chris Evans) into a tailspin. It’s all part of the urban, urbane tangled-love-triangle comedy in Materialists from director Celine Strong (Past Lives).
For the living, we’ve sure thought a lot about the dead. In The Undead in World Mythology and Folklore (McFarland), author Theresa Bane digs into our long, deep fascination with the idea of zombies—and nearly 400 other kinds of creatures, from the ancient abhartach to Frankenstein’s monster—that have for centuries sparked our imaginations, shaped our stories…and fueled our nightmares.
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Twenty-two years after its initial release, Cher’s The Farewell Tour (Warner Bros.) makes a remastered appearance on vinyl with more than 20 songs recorded live, including “If I Could Turn Back Time,” “Believe,” “Half-Breed” and “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me).” Cher this new with a friend who loves Cher!
Jam again to the British prog-rock of The Zombies, newly remastered in glorious mono to sound just like they did back in 1968. The retooled vinyl for Odessey and Oracle—originally released as the band’s second LP—reminds us of how it became a cult favorite and a classic of the era’s pop-psychedelic scene, largely with its iconic track “Time of the Season.” And the deep track “This Will Be Our Year” found life beyond the album with later use as a soundtrack song on Mad Men, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Schitt’s Creek.
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What makes a house a home? Get some great ideas in The Family Home (Hardie Grant Books), in which authors Courtney and Michael Adamo share how to create living spaces that address personal stylistic choices while meeting the evolving practical needs of a growing family. Packed with photos and inspiration from just about everywhere, from California houses to inner-city London pads, it shows how to make a house a home for the everyone under its roof.
Get your oom-pah-pah’s out with The Perfect Tuba (Bloomsbury), author Sam Quinones’ rousing look at musicians who play the tuba—from symphony members to high school marching bands—and how they weave a very specific musical thread into America’s cultural fabric. And, lest you think the tuba is only one kind of instrument, you’ll learn about its three varieties!
A Batman marathon, Farm Aid returns & inside the event that was Lilith Fair
FRIDAY, Sept. 19 Night of the Reaper A year after a young woman is brutally murdered, her sister returns home—as does the killer—in this network original nail-biter (Shudder).
Happy Mess Method Organizational expert Sabrina Soto and New York Times bestselling author Jennifer McCartney help celebrity and non-celebrity clients in this new series to find realistic and sustainable methods for keeping their homes tidy (Roku).
SATURDAY, Sept. 20 Batman Day Celebrate the caped crusader with a marathon of movies, starting with Batman, followed by Batman Returns, The Batman and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. And if you want more, well, bat’s all, folks! (11 a.m., TNT).
Farm Aid 40 The concert event to help farmers hits the big 4-0 this year, live from Minneapolis with performances by original founders Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp, plus Dave Matthews and Margo Price (7 p.m., CNN)
SUNDAY, Sept. 21 A Grammy Salute to Earth, Wind & Fire Live: The 21st Night of September Honoring the genre-bending Chicago-based band whose hits include “Sing a Song,” “Fantasy,” “Let’s Groove,” “Shining Star” and “Boogie Wonderland” (8 p.m., CBS).
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery Feature-length documentary offers the untold story of the groundbreaking music festival (above) that featured only female artists, started by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan and her team in the 1990s in opposition to systemic barriers to women in the music business (Hulu).
MONDAY, Sept. 22 The Bitter Pill Documentary follows an attorney who takes on pharma giants in the wake of the vast devastation cause by opioids in his West Virginia community, resulting in the largest civil litigation in U.S. history (PBS).
The Voice NBC’s four-time Emmy Award-winning musical competition series returns with all-star coaches Michael Bublé, Snoop Dogg, Niall Horan and Reba McEntire reclaiming their red chairs for season 28 (7 p.m., NBC).
TUESDAY, Sept. 23 The Lowdown New series follows the gritty exploits of a citizen journalist (Ethan Hawke) whose obsession with the truth always seems to get him in trouble, especially when he noses around after the suspicious suicide of a powerful family’s “black sheep” (Tim Blake Nelson) (FX, Hulu).
Murder in a Small Town A new police chief (Rossif Sutherland) relocates to a quiet coastal town in this new series, but quickly learns that the paradise-like setting holds many dark secrets (8 p.m., Fox).
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 24 The Golden Bachelor Two-hour season premiere features a new leading-man hunk, Mel Owens, lookin’ for love on the hit dating reality show (8 p.m., ABC).
99 to Beat New game show hosted by Ken Jeong and Erin Andrews pits 100 contestants in a gauntlet of games and competitions, with one of them eventually winning $1,000,000 (9 p.m., Fox).
THURSDAY, Sept. 25 The Amazing Race 38th season premiere kicks things off tonight with racing competitors from TV’s Big Brother (9 p.m., CBS).
Special Forces: The World’s Toughest Test Celebs from all genres and walks of life take on, and try to survive, demanding training exercises just like “real” special forces agents in tonight’s season four launch (9 pm., Fox).
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38 Special, the Southern rockers who gave the world the hits “Hold On Loosely” and “Caught Up in You,” celebrate five decades of musical togetherness with Milestone, their first album in more than 20 years. Guest stars Randy Bachman (from Bachman-Turner Overdrive) and Pat Monihan (from Train) join the party, and the band is touring in support of the new release. Rock on, Southern boys!
Soul master Ray Charles’ long-out-of-print 1963 album Ingredients in a Recipe of Soul is newly released on vinyl, with a tasteful blend of genre-hopping pop and soul that made him a hitmaker and signaled his musical director for the decades to come. It’s a feast for the ears with tracks including “Busted,” “That Old Lucky Sun,” “Over the Rainbow” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
BRING IT HOME
Superhero mythology gets a Mesoamerican tweak in Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), which puts a new animated version of the caped crusader against a backdrop of deep-dish Mexico history—and into a tale of a young Aztec boy who experiences tragedy when his father is murdered by Spanish Conquistadors.
Marvel anew to the stop-motion mastery of director Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), the newly mastered 2005 classic featuring the voices of Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant and Christopher Lee.
Look! Up in the air! It’s Superman (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), the latest big-screen incarnation of the iconic Man of Steel. Director Peter Gunn (of Guardians of the Galaxy fame) creates a vibrantly imagined DC universe with epic action, humor and heart, delivering a new Superman (David Corenswet) driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.
One of crime fiction’s greatest detective sidekicks—Sherlock Holmes’ loyal assistant—was reinvented earlier this year for TV in a modernized version. Now you can own the first season of the CBS series Watson (Paramount Pictures), starring Morris Chestnut as a former London detective now running a clinic and cracking medical mysteries.
Fortified with new upgrades, the rampaging robot dolly makes her return in M3GAN 2.0, this time fighting a new military-grade techno-horror. With Allison Williams, Violet McGraw and Jenna Davis.
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Get busy rockin’ and readin’ with Rockin’ Round the Christmas Tree (Harper Collins Focus), a nostalgic guide to holiday celebrations inspired by the classic yuletide classic from Brenda Lee. Filled with recipes, drinks, crafts, activities, games and topics like the history of mistletoe, how to choose a tree and ornaments, it’s an ideal holiday companion for just about anyone. And you’ll even get Brenda Lee’s own recipe for Praline Pumpkin Pie!
Forget about fussing around in the kitchen, you should be paying more attention to the company in your living room. That’s the message, or part of it, in Let The Biscuits Burn (Nelson Books), author Abby Kuykendall’s advice to hosts and hostesses about putting hospitality and home entertaining at the fore, and how welcoming others into your home makes for a richer, fuller life. And what’s God got to do with it? You’ll find out that, too.
What’s it like to live in a tropical paradise? Well, most of us won’t ever know first-hand, but The Iconic Tropical House (Thames & Hudson) architectural photographer Patrick Bingham-Hall shows off homes in exotic spots in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and other far-flung ports of call, explaining why they look so, well, tropical—a combination of climate, location, colonization and modernism. So kick off your shoes, relax, feel the breeze, and let the 350 high-quality photographs take you there.
Here kitty, kitty! In Cat Tales: A History (Thames & Hudson), you’ll learn from anthropologist Jerry D. Moore all about our long, incredible and even improbable history of relationships with felines, and how they became one of the most popular domesticated animal companions in the world. From fearsome prehistoric predators to spoiled house pets, it’s all here. And it asks the purr-fect question, Who domesticated who? Illustrated with photos, maps and artwork.
Since the beginning of time, humans have longed to fly, like the birds. Iver P. Cooper‘s But Will It Fly? (McFarland) is a sprightly history of the many unconventional ways our predecessors tried to get off the ground, with muscles, steam, sails, oars, flapping wings and rockets. Find out all about it in this colorful, richly detailed history of our long history of trying to get up in the air.
The Media Tourist 