It’s a big week for entertainment fans, with a wide range of new movies, TV shows, music, and video games arriving on streaming platforms and store shelves.
Among the most anticipated releases, as highlighted by Associated Press entertainment journalists: the viral horror film ‘Backrooms’ arrives for home viewing, Netflix launches a fresh take on ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ and the Rolling Stones drop a new studio album packed with famous collaborators.
The wildly successful theatrical release ‘Backrooms’ becomes available for purchase through all major streaming platforms on July 7 as a premium video-on-demand title. The film was helmed by Kane Parsons, 20, who expanded his popular viral web series about the unsettling nature of liminal spaces into a full-length feature. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as a furniture store salesman. AP Film Writer Jake Coyle described the movie in his review as a ‘fitfully unsettling nightmare that never convincingly builds beyond its creepy, dated-decor premise.’
On July 10, Peacock begins streaming ‘Reminders of Him,’ based on a Colleen Hoover novel. Maika Monroe portrays a woman attempting to piece her life back together following prison, heartbreak, and tragedy, with Tyriq Withers co-starring. AP reviewer Mark Kennedy praised it as ‘a well-crafted, well-acted sad-happy Hoover adaptation,’ and gave Monroe special credit, writing that she ‘stretches out her dramatic muscles to play Kenna and nails the assignment, a woman with a hard shell who is looking for a little grace, a tricky role that’s both flirty and maternal.’
Also landing on July 10 is ‘The Long Walk’ on HBO Max, arriving just after the Fourth of July holiday. The film, adapted from a Stephen King story, is set in a bleak postwar America and follows 50 boys chosen by lottery to compete in a brutal endurance contest that ends only when a single survivor remains. Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson lead the cast, and the film was directed by Francis Lawrence, known for his work on the ‘Hunger Games’ franchise.
— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr
The Rolling Stones are back with a new album called ‘Foreign Tongues,’ due out Friday, July 10. The band tapped actors Anya Taylor-Joy and Charles Melton to appear together in the music video for the soulful R&B single ‘Jealous Lover.’ The album also features the Cure’s Robert Smith on guitar for the energetic track ‘Divine Intervention,’ along with contributions from Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith. In a touching tribute, the album also includes a recording from the late drummer Charlie Watts, captured during one of his final studio sessions before his passing in 2021.
‘Stranger Things’ actor Finn Wolfhard releases his second solo album, ‘Fire From the Hip,’ on July 10, one year after his debut record ‘Happy Birthday.’ The 12-track project marks a noticeable evolution — moving away from the lo-fi, distortion-heavy garage rock sound of his first effort toward more polished, melodic songwriting. The lead single ‘I’ll Let You Finish’ is a playful nod to the now-infamous 2009 Video Music Awards moment when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech.
Adam Lambert steps out on his own with his sixth solo studio album, simply called ‘Adam,’ also arriving this week. Lambert drew inspiration from 1990s alternative rock and electronic music, citing Nine Inch Nails, Björk, Prince, and Muse as influences. The 12-track record includes the dark, dance-floor-ready ‘Eat U Alive’ and the catchy glam track ‘Under the Rhythm,’ which samples ATC’s ‘Around the World (La La La La La).’ Both songs deal with the theme of losing yourself in a romantic relationship.
— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy
Husband-and-wife R&B duo The War and Treaty — Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount-Trotter, originally from Albion, Michigan — are releasing their latest album, ‘The Story of Michael and Tanya.’ The Associated Press first covered the pair in 2018, calling them ‘a powerhouse R&B duo who sound as though they were born to sing together.’ Their lead single ‘Don’t Say Goodbye’ is a smooth, timeless track built on rich harmonies and soulful production. The album also features guest appearances from Wynonna Judd and Whoopi Goldberg.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
Netflix launches a reimagined version of ‘Little House on the Prairie’ on Thursday, July 9. Like the beloved original series, this new production draws from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s classic book series, following the Ingalls family as they settle in Kansas during the late 1800s. Luke Bracey takes on the role of father Charles, while Crosby Fitzgerald plays matriarch Caroline. Skywalker Hughes portrays eldest daughter Mary, and Alice Halsey plays the spirited younger daughter Laura, nicknamed Half-Pint.
J.K. Simmons leads the cast of ‘The Westies,’ a new crime drama on MGM+ premiering Sunday, July 12. The eight-episode series is based on the real Irish gang that controlled the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood in Manhattan during the early 1980s. The story unfolds as the Jacob Javits Convention Center rises in their territory, bringing with it a wave of illegal opportunities — and tension between the gang’s younger and older members over how to run things.
— AP Writer Alicia Rancilio
EA Sports is getting football fans ready for the fall with the release of ‘College Football 27’ on Thursday, July 9. The game is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, and PC and features streamlined play-calling, a new ‘Dynasty Blueprint’ mode, and an updated ‘Road to Glory’ campaign that lets players chase the Heisman Trophy while earning sponsorship deals. Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy, Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney, and Oregon quarterback Dante Moore grace the cover. Perhaps the most talked-about new feature is Mascot Mashup, a mode that pits college mascots against each other in full 11-on-11 games.
Bandai Namco’s ‘Echoes of Aincrad’ arrives Friday, July 10, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, and PC. The game is set inside a 100-story floating castle — a virtual reality maze filled with friendly villagers on the lower levels and increasingly dangerous monsters, including giant cows, as players climb higher. A spinoff of the long-running Sword Art Online franchise, ‘Echoes’ marks the first entry in the series that allows players to build their own custom avatar instead of playing as the franchise’s signature teenage hero, Kirito.
— Lou Kesten
