MOVIES
Ben Affleck is back with another win in “The Tender Bar,” George Clooney’s adaptation of J.R. Moehringer’s memoir about growing-up on Long Island. The video will be streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting Friday. Tye Sheridan plays Charlie (Affleck), the author who, in the absence his father, turns to Charlie (Affleck). Mark Kennedy, who reviewed the film for The Associated Press, said that “The Tender Bar” is a tender, loving, and oddly crafted look at men. It was fueled by a soundtrack featuring classics such as ’50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’ by Paul Simon and ‘Do It Again’ by Steely Dan. It’s a valentine to those guys who rise to the occasion.
You’ve made it through Season 2 and all the romantic comedy staples on Netflix. Why not try something new? “Four to dinner,” an Italian twist on the genre, will be available on Wednesday. This new flick stars Matteo Martari and Matilde Gioli as well as Giuseppe Maggio (Ilenia Pastorelli), Luis Filipe Eusebio, and Elmano Sancho.
The Criterion Channel also has a series featuring Lee Grant (yes, that actor Lee Grant), available on Monday. She focuses on poverty in 1980s America in 1986’s “Down and Out in America”, which was nominated for an Oscar. She examines the transgender experience in “What Sex Am I” (1985). She also focuses on Kirk and Michael Douglas in “A Father… a Son… Once Upon a Time In Hollywood”.
— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr
MUSIC
RuPaul is an entertainer who has a successful VH1 reality series called “RuPaul’s Drag Race”. He also has a long music career that includes “Supermodel (You Better work)”. Now the drag queen will go one step further musically with his 14th studio album, “Mamaru,” which drops Friday. The single “Blame it On the Edit” is the lead track. It appears to be about the editing process for the “Drag Race.”
The Wombats have been pushing the release of their new album “Fix Yourself. Not the World.” But the English rock band will offer a sneak peek of the album in an intimate tour a week before its official release. On Thursday, the band will begin their tour in Kingston Upon Thames, United Kingdom. The band will then make seven more stops before finishing the tour in Brighton on January 12, two days before their fifth album’s release. They will be appearing in America later in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New York, and Boston.
Jonathan Landrum Jr., AP Entertainment Writer
TV
The stage is set for the sixth season of NBC’s “This Is Us.” Rebecca, the Pearson family matriarch, is in the grips of dementia. Madison and Kevin are getting married (Justin Hartley, Caitlin Thomson); the marriage of Kate (Chrissy Meetz, Chris Sullivan) has been canceled. Randall (Sterling K. Brown), who is the most likely Pearson sibling, appears poised to fulfil his destiny. Scene-stealers Lyric Ross and Asante Blackk, as Malik or Deja, are also to be considered. Tuesday’s 18th chapter of the series will be aired at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
CBS’ “Good Sam” debuts Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET. It features a father-daughter bond. Brilliant, but difficult heart surgeon Dr. Rob Griffith (Jason Isaacs), out of commission as the hospital’s chief surgeon. His talented but under-appreciated offspring, Dr. Sam Griffiths, (Sophia Bush), steps in and proves to be a natural. Her father, who is now recovering from his injuries, is not pleased. Producers Jennie Snyder Urman and Katie Wech have some lighter moments in the series, which features their clashes. They worked together on “Jane the Virgin”.
Two ABC programs focus on a disturbing chapter in American civil rights history. “Women of the Movement” focuses on Mamie Till-Mobley’s quest for justice for Emmett, her 14-year old son’s 1955 Mississippi racially motivated killing. The series will air on Thursdays from 8-10 p.m. ET, featuring Adrienne Warren, 2021 Tony Award winner. It will be paired with “Let the World See”, an ABC News documentary that details Till-Mobley’s efforts to bring her son’s body back to Chicago and hold an open casket funeral to expose the horrific nature of his death. Each Thursday, “Let the World See,” a three-episode series, will be followed by “Women of the Movement” at 10:01 p.m. ET.
— AP TV Writer Lynn Elber
