There’s no shortage of new TV and movies this week. Whether you’re planning to spend the weekend on the couch or looking to hit up your nearest movie theater, there’s plenty to choose from. Movie-goers and HBO Max subscribers can finally see Will Smith step into his role as Venus and Serena Williams’ father in King Richard. Halle Berry is premiering a sports movie of her own and making her directorial debut with Bruised, about a once-promising MMA fighter looking to make her way back to the ring. Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Netflix’s newest series Cowboy Bebop are proof that Hollywood is nowhere near done with making remakes. Netflix also released Tiger King 2 this week and even though people couldn’t stop talking about Season 1 in 2020, it’s not making much noise this time around; but it still might be worth checking out.
Check out this week’s best releases to watch this weekend below, including two that are bound to be Awards SZN favorites. Hit play on any of these this weekend and check back next week to see the latest in TV and movies we think you’ll enjoy.
'King Richard'
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When: Friday, Nov. 19
Where to Watch: HBO Max and in theaters
It takes a king to raise queens. Will Smith has been working overtime these past few weeks promoting his latest movie King Richard—and critics are already raving, saying that it might just be his best work yet. The film tells the story of how Richard Williams, played by Smith, supported, protected, and coached his two daughters Venus and Serena Williams as they became two of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen.
The actor’s portrayal of Williams in the biopic is already gaining plenty of Awards SZN buzz and it’s well-deserved. Smith’s portrayal of the athletes’ father is a prime example of what a parent’s love, faith, and dedication to their children can do for them. It seems like a crime to me that the movie star has never won an Oscar throughout his lengthy and triumphant career. He came close when he nabbed Best Actor nominations for his performances in 2002’s Ali and in 2007 for The Pursuit of Happyness, but those golden trophies went to Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker respectively instead. Based on the critics’ reactions so far (it already has a high score on Rotten Tomatoes), King Richard might just be the film that helps Smith land his first Academy Award. His performance is supported by Saniyya Sidney who stars as Venus, Demi Singleton who plays Serena, and Aunjanue Ellis who appears as their mom, Oracene Williams. The two tennis legends also served as executive producers on the film.
You can watch the Warner Bros. sports biopic from the comfort of your own home on HBO Max or with a bucket of fresh popcorn in theaters starting Friday, Nov. 19. — KR
'Ghostbusters: Afterlife'
![When: Friday, Nov. 19
Where: In theaters
Ah, nostalgia. Because I’m old(er than many of you), I grew up a fan of the Ghostbusters franchise. I was a baby when the first film hit, but the Bobby Brown song from the sequel is ingrained in my brain. Anyways, those memories are what drove me to head outside of my COVID cave to New York City for New York Comic-Con 2021, where unbeknownst to a number of Ghostbusters super-fans, Ghostbusters architect Ivan Reitman’s son Jason, along with Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and the rest of the Ghostbusters cast, would be giving them an advanced screening of the film, high in the sky in NYC, where the original film took place decades earlier.
A quick aside, if you will: In this day(-and-date) age, the remake feels like it’s king. Did you like some of Showtime’s Dexter? There’s likely a mid-ish revival about it. Few series really nail the revival/reboot/remake—one of my quarantine watches was to be Twin Peaks, primarily so I could take in what Lynch returned and crafted so many years later—and many of the reboot films are DOA because, simply, there isn’t enough care being put into making these new takes on old tales to feel worth it. In my humble opinion, Ghostbusters: Afterlife avoids that. The film ends up doing something else entirely, but you’ve probably read the polarizing vibe the film received after folks were able to screen it. So let’s get into it.
What Ghostbusters: Afterlife gets right is making you give a shit about being in that world in the first place. Sure, you have to take some important leaps early—this is way more of a “ghost story” than you might remember Ghostbusters being, which was important to Jason Reitman during a junket interview with Complex. “I’ll tell you a crazy story,” he began. “I was at the Director’s Guild once sitting next to Steven Spielberg, because I’m really lucky. And he asked me, ‘What are you doing next?’ I said, ‘Oh, I’m making Ghostbusters.’ And I swear to God, he turned to me and said, ‘Library Ghost. Top 10 scares of all-time.’” That library ghost is one of the most frightening things from any Ghostbusters film, and was the kind of horror that I grew up on (and may have immunized me to the breadth of the genre today). That’s the vibe Ghostbusters: Afterlife starts off with, and it maintains that sense of fear throughout its runtime, while heavily spooning large doses of nostalgia into the waiting mouths of Ghostbusters fans all over. Again, sitting in the media section behind fans who strapped Proton packs to their backs to walk around a convention, they hit. Every. Callback. It was cool, even when their applause drowned out a one-liner from Grace or Wolfhard, which is what we really need to be talking about.
In so many of these revival/reboot films, the idea is to thrust you immediately into this world. [Ed note: Think Snake Eyes.] It can feel very slapdash, forcing a story to alleviate the necessary world-building that Marvel Studios spent 10 years doing to get to where they are now. Part of Afterlife involves this, although it’s mostly the viewer’s nostalgia through Grace, the curious young brain with a knack for joke-telling and...possibly figuring out that their town is haunted. Oh, and that they have some connection to the Ghostbusters, who are something you can search for on YouTube and admire their very-’80s commercials the same way I ogle over five-hour blocks of the Saturday morning cartoons I grew up watching. Pairing this duo with Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd as the (sorry) Sigourney Weaver and Bill Murray-type love interest/relationship angle was dope, and resulted in some intriguing moments of suspense and, frankly, damn-fine work. Coon shined as a mother who is hellbent on escaping a past that is barreling right toward her. She brings the emotional depth needed in the story, and the cast feeds off of that.
Plus the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man is now a bunch of smaller marshmallow men. Their scenes had a weird quality; it was hella gruesome to see them just ramble on in our world without a care, but they were also the Baby Yoda-type character. If nostalgia isn’t your bag, Ghostbusters: Afterlife can be a lot, but it’s a project that was made by the son of the guy who directed the original. It’s deeper than rap, and something you’re going to have to accept if you’re trying to take the dive.
Now I won’t spoil where this story goes, but things happen in this film that I particularly wasn’t sure on. In story, they make sense, but I’m personally not sure how I felt about it. It’s a movie, but it’s a franchise—it’s a legacy. If everyone is cool with it, let it rock, I guess. I will shut up on that now, but truth be told, I’m ultimately not mad at Ghostbusters: Afterlife. It was funny when it needed to be, and even when it dragged, you knew that around the corner all hell could break loose. If you need a good scare—or want to see a better example of Hollywood reboot culture going good—hit the theaters. —khal](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HR-WxNVLZhQ/mqdefault.jpg)
View this video on YouTube
When: Friday, Nov. 19
Where: In theaters
Ah, nostalgia. Because I’m old(er than many of you), I grew up a fan of the Ghostbusters franchise. I was a baby when the first film hit, but the Bobby Brown song from the sequel is ingrained in my brain. Anyways, those memories are what drove me to head outside of my COVID cave to New York City for New York Comic-Con 2021, where unbeknownst to a number of Ghostbusters super-fans, Ghostbusters architect Ivan Reitman’s son Jason, along with Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and the rest of the Ghostbusters cast, would be giving them an advanced screening of the film, high in the sky in NYC, where the original film took place decades earlier.
A quick aside, if you will: In this day(-and-date) age, the remake feels like it’s king. Did you like some of Showtime’s Dexter? There’s likely a mid-ish revival about it. Few series really nail the revival/reboot/remake—one of my quarantine watches was to be Twin Peaks, primarily so I could take in what Lynch returned and crafted so many years later—and many of the reboot films are DOA because, simply, there isn’t enough care being put into making these new takes on old tales to feel worth it. In my humble opinion, Ghostbusters: Afterlife avoids that. The film ends up doing something else entirely, but you’ve probably read the polarizing vibe the film received after folks were able to screen it. So let’s get into it.
What Ghostbusters: Afterlife gets right is making you give a shit about being in that world in the first place. Sure, you have to take some important leaps early—this is way more of a “ghost story” than you might remember Ghostbusters being, which was important to Jason Reitman during a junket interview with Complex. “I’ll tell you a crazy story,” he began. “I was at the Director’s Guild once sitting next to Steven Spielberg, because I’m really lucky. And he asked me, ‘What are you doing next?’ I said, ‘Oh, I’m making Ghostbusters.’ And I swear to God, he turned to me and said, ‘Library Ghost. Top 10 scares of all-time.’” That library ghost is one of the most frightening things from any Ghostbusters film, and was the kind of horror that I grew up on (and may have immunized me to the breadth of the genre today). That’s the vibe Ghostbusters: Afterlife starts off with, and it maintains that sense of fear throughout its runtime, while heavily spooning large doses of nostalgia into the waiting mouths of Ghostbusters fans all over. Again, sitting in the media section behind fans who strapped Proton packs to their backs to walk around a convention, they hit. Every. Callback. It was cool, even when their applause drowned out a one-liner from Grace or Wolfhard, which is what we really need to be talking about.
In so many of these revival/reboot films, the idea is to thrust you immediately into this world. [Ed note: Think Snake Eyes.] It can feel very slapdash, forcing a story to alleviate the necessary world-building that Marvel Studios spent 10 years doing to get to where they are now. Part of Afterlife involves this, although it’s mostly the viewer’s nostalgia through Grace, the curious young brain with a knack for joke-telling and...possibly figuring out that their town is haunted. Oh, and that they have some connection to the Ghostbusters, who are something you can search for on YouTube and admire their very-’80s commercials the same way I ogle over five-hour blocks of the Saturday morning cartoons I grew up watching. Pairing this duo with Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd as the (sorry) Sigourney Weaver and Bill Murray-type love interest/relationship angle was dope, and resulted in some intriguing moments of suspense and, frankly, damn-fine work. Coon shined as a mother who is hellbent on escaping a past that is barreling right toward her. She brings the emotional depth needed in the story, and the cast feeds off of that.
Plus the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man is now a bunch of smaller marshmallow men. Their scenes had a weird quality; it was hella gruesome to see them just ramble on in our world without a care, but they were also the Baby Yoda-type character. If nostalgia isn’t your bag, Ghostbusters: Afterlife can be a lot, but it’s a project that was made by the son of the guy who directed the original. It’s deeper than rap, and something you’re going to have to accept if you’re trying to take the dive.
Now I won’t spoil where this story goes, but things happen in this film that I particularly wasn’t sure on. In story, they make sense, but I’m personally not sure how I felt about it. It’s a movie, but it’s a franchise—it’s a legacy. If everyone is cool with it, let it rock, I guess. I will shut up on that now, but truth be told, I’m ultimately not mad at Ghostbusters: Afterlife. It was funny when it needed to be, and even when it dragged, you knew that around the corner all hell could break loose. If you need a good scare—or want to see a better example of Hollywood reboot culture going good—hit the theaters. —khal
'C'mon, C'mon'
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When: Friday, Nov. 19
Where to Watch: In theaters
I’d pretty much watch any movie Joaquin Phoenix is in without question, and C’mon C’mon is no exception. Phoenix is back for his first starring role since his Oscar-winning performance in 2019’s Joker. This time he’s playing Johnny, a radio journalist who interviews kids about their dreams and their futures for a documentary. While kids inspire his work, he has none of his own. His life as a single, child-free man changes when his sister Viv (Gaby Hoffmann) asks him to look after her son, Jesse (Woody Norman) while she takes care of her bipolar husband Paul (Scoot McNairy). Johnny has to take Jesse on the road with him as he works on the documentary and finds himself learning and facing the pressures, vulnerability, and responsibility that come with parenting. Mike Mills, who wrote and directed the film, was inspired by his own relationship with his son and told Yahoo! that finding the right child actor to play Jesse was key. According to Mills and Phoenix, the 11-year-old actor is the heart of the film and in a world that lives for superheroes and action flicks, a good black-and-white drama that gets us thinking and feeling is sometimes just what we need.
C’mon C’mon premieres Nov. 19 in theaters. — KR
'Tiger King 2'
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When: Wednesday, Nov. 17
Where: Netflix
Back when we ranked the characters of Tiger King, the idea was never that this was a GOOD docuseries. People just needed something to take their minds off of what they thought was a two-to-three-week quarantine for everyone. And given the caliber of people we were examining during the first season, it felt weird to celebrate some of this insanity. Anyways, since the first season blew up, we have to delve back into the lives of these people. Kind of. Well, you can if you want.
Look, I don’t want to say it’s hard to justify taking the time out to give this story more time out of your life. But there is a LOT of quality television out there. Think about what you COULD be watching, you know? Treat yourself, don’t cheat yourself. —khal
'Bruised'
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When: Wednesday, Nov. 17
Where: Netflix or in theaters
Halle Berry is making her directorial debut with Netflix’s new MMA drama Bruised. The Oscar winner tried to get the movie made for years with some hurdles along the way and ended up stepping behind the camera and teaming up with Netflix to make it happen. Berry also stars in the film as Jackie Justice, a disgraced MMA fighter looking to redeem herself in the ring after four years away, while also attempting to mend the relationship with the son she gave up as a baby. The story is no different than any other sports story about a has-been trying to rebuild themselves into fighting shape, but this time it’s told from a woman’s perspective.
Berry relied heavily on a feminist angle for this one, enlisting Cardi B’s help to not only record a track titled “Bet It” for the soundtrack but also to executive produce the entire project. The project features six original and seven previously unreleased songs performed by an all-women lineup, including City Girls, H.E.R., Latto, Erica Banks, Saweetie, Baby Tate, and more.
Catch Halle in the ring in theaters now or on Netflix starting Wednesday, Nov. 24. —KR
'Cowboy Bebop'
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When: Friday, Nov. 19
Where: Netflix
A live-action remake of the popular 1998 science fiction neo-noir anime series Cowboy Bebop is now on Netflix. The streaming giant announced in 2018 that it was remaking the action-packed space Western that takes place in 2071 and is about three space bounty hunters named Spike Spiegel (John Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) who team up to take down the solar system’s most dangerous criminals.
The show is based on the original Japanese series, which debuted on April 3, 1998, and was directed by Shinichirō Watanabe and featured music from composer Yoko Kanno, and they were both brought on as consultants on the new series. The original is still considered to be one of the best anime series of all time and was the first to air on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, introducing many Western viewers into the genre. In preparation for the release, the streaming giant also acquired the rights to the original anime series and all episodes are currently available on Netflix.
Once you’re all caught up, check out the space cowboys’ adventures in the live-action series, available Friday, Nov. 19. —KR
'Saturday Night Live'
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When: Saturday, Nov. 20 at 11:30 p.m. ET
Where: NBC or the Peacock app
Season 47 of Saturday Night Live is in full swing, with appearances so far from Kim Kardashian, Jason Sudeikis, Jonathan Majors, and more. SNL’s 916th episode and seventh episode this season will be hosted by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ star Simu Liu, and Saweetie will serve as this week’s musical guest. This will be the actor’s first time hosting, as well as Saweetie’s debut as a musical guest on the show. The rapper will be performing a few of her hits but we do hope they include her in at least one or two skits. We already know she’s got the acting chops and the comedic skills necessary to pull off any role she’s given. —KR
