Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.
MOVIES
— As an action star, Sylvester Stallone's most iconic characters — Rocky Balboa, Rambo — have always relied on plain old brawn for his powers. (OK, and some human growth hormone.) But in “Samaritan," the 76-year-old Stallone stars as aged superhero with superhuman strength living anonymously as a garbage collector. The film, which premieres Friday, Aug. 26, on Amazon Prime Video, was made by MGM but has seen its release delayed numerous times over the past two years before landing exclusively on the streaming platform.
— “Funny Pages,” which opens Friday, Aug. 26 in theaters and on video-on-demand, represents an even more winding path to release. Owen Kline (son of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates) struggled to find attention for his directorial debut. But after “Uncut Gems” filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie signed on as producers, A24 picked up the film and it premiered earlier this year in the Directors' Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival. And the film — a grungy coming-of-age tale that channels a low-budget '90s indie spirit — is one of the year's standout debuts. Daniel Zolghardri stars as a teenage cartoonist who shirks his posh family life in Princeton, New Jersey, to live alone in Trenton and try to make it as an R. Crumb-like artist.
— In “Me Time,” Kevin Hart plays a stay-at home father whose wife (Regina Hall) and kids go away for the weekend, allowing him to reconnect with an old friend (Mark Wahlberg). A wild weekend ensues. Streaming Friday, August 26, on Netflix.
— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle
MUSIC
— If 13 is an unlucky number, don’t tell DJ Khaled. His new album “God Did” is his 13th full-length set and he’s teased it with the banger “Staying Alive” alongside frequent collaborators Drake and Lil Baby. Another apparent combo on the Friday, Aug. 26 release is a song with Future and Lil Baby, at least according to an Instagram post. Khaled also confirmed that Future would be featured on the record two times, and in a third post shouted out his two rap peers for “believing” in him. “They don’t believe in us, Future did, Lil Baby did,” Khaled wrote. If that’s not enough to entice you, earlier in August he confirmed that Jay-Z would also feature on the record.
— Marcus King and his blistering guitar skills have once again teamed up with Black Keys frontman and Grammy-winning producer Dan Auerbach to create the album “Young Blood,” out Friday, Aug. 26. “Young Blood” follows King’s Grammy-nominated album “El Dorado,” and features the bluesy, rocking “Blood on the Tracks.” Born into a musical family, King’s musical gifts earned him a following as a teenager and the album is soaked in ’70 rock ’n’ roll. One highlight is the Free-sounding “Good and Gone” with the opening line “Look out your window baby, here come your man/Looking suspicious with that gun in his hand.”
— Duncan Sheik returns with a clutch of his own music on Friday, Aug. 26 after working on theater musicals for a while. “Claptrap” is the singer-songwriter’s ninth studio album and first in seven years. It boasts the slinky “Experience,” the Peter Gabriel-ish ballad “Maybe” and the electronic-bouncy “There’s No Telling,” which includes a nod to his theatrical roots in the lyric, “Don’t cry for me, Argentina.” The “Barely Breathing” songwriter has made a second name for himself on the stage, including the Broadway shows “Spring Awakening” and “American Psycho” as well as the new “NOIR.”
— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy
TELEVISION
— The nickname Canoe Man has a friendly ring to it. It was, however, what a British man was branded for faking his drowning death in an insurance scam. The quirkily titled miniseries “The Thief, His Wife & The Canoe” is based on the real-life story of a former prison officer whose scheme went far afield of what he promised his spouse. The couple, played by Eddie Marsan (“Sherlock,” “Ray Donovan”) and Monica Dolan (“A Very English Scandal”), left their sons in the dark and grieving over their still-alive dad, which didn’t endear them to the judge who ultimately presided over the case. The series debuts Tuesday on the BritBox streaming service.
— “Katrina Babies” reveals the hurricane’s unending toll on New Orleans. The HBO documentary is from first-time filmmaker and New Orleans native Edward Buckles Jr., who was 13 when the deadly hurricane hit in 2005. He’s spent the past half-dozen years collecting the memories of those who also endured the tragedy as youngsters. The film combines interviews, home movies, animation and archival footage to reveal the grief yet harbored by survivors and to probe the trauma of multigenerational racism. “Katrina Babies” debuts Wednesday on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
— Looking for something to tide you over until “The Crown” returns later this year? Try PBS’ “The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family,” a three-part docuseries debuting Sunday, Aug. 28 on PBS and PBS.org. Even casual royal followers may know that Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, was beheaded for alleged crimes of adultery and treason. Turns out Anne’s fate was rooted not only in her lofty ambitions but those of her power-hungry family, as detailed in the series by rare original letters and documents from the 16th-century, the perspective of Tudor scholars and dramatic re-enactments.
— AP Television Writer Lynn Elber
