NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Jonas’ sophomore solo album Work It Out” and John Krasinski and Natalie Portman searching for immortality in Guy Ritchie’s adventure movie “Fountain of Youth” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Paul Reubens shines in the documentary “Pee-wee as Himself,” Nicole Kidman returns as a shady wellness guru in “Nine Perfect Strangers” and Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping offers gamers a chance to test their de-duck-tive skills.
New movies to stream from May 19-25
— Matt Wolf’s two-part documentary “Pee-wee as Himself” (out Friday, May 23 on Max and HBO) is one of the most intimate portraits of Paul Reubens, the man many know as Pee-wee Herman. Wolf crafted his film from some 40 hours of interviews conducted with Reubens before he died of cancer in 2023. In “Pee-wee as Himself,” Reubens discusses the ups and downs of his career, how he crafted the Pee-wee persona and how it came to dwarf his own self.
— Guy Ritchie’s adventure movie “Fountain of Youth” (Friday, May 23 on Apple TV+) stars John Krasinski and Natalie Portman as a pair of siblings hunting for the fabled Fountain of Youth. The film, which also stars Eiza González, Domhnall Gleeson and Stanley Tucci, is the latest from the fast-working Ritchie, whose recent films include 2024’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” and 2023’s “The Covenant.”
– Last fall, “The Last Showgirl” (out Friday, May 23 on Hulu) proved a poignant showcase for Pamela Anderson, long after her “Baywatch” heyday. In Gia Coppola’s indie drama, she plays a Las Vegas performer in the twilight of her career. Dave Bautista co-stars.
— Film Writer Jake Coyle
New music to stream from May 19-25
— In the first single released from Joe Jonas’ forthcoming sophomore solo album, “Work It Out,” the boy band brother breaks the fourth wall in the third person. “Come on, Joe, you got so much more to be grateful for,” he sings in a rare moment of pop candor. His characteristic cheekiness soon follows. “Even baddies get saddies and that’s the hardest truth,” he sings atop cheery pop-synth. The album, titled “Music For People Who Believe In Love” promises more alt-pop – with country and rock flair thrown in for good measure.
— Good news for cool people with interesting taste: the Anglo-French avant-pop band Stereolab returns with their first new album in 15 years, since 2010’s “Not Music” arrived after the group announced an indefinite hiatus. That came to an end in 2019, when Stereolab announced remastered reissues, tour dates and a set at Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona. The latest news arrives in the form of this new album, titled “Instant Holograms on Metal Film,” and it sounds as if no time has passed.
— Pachyman, the Puerto Rican-born, Los Angeles-based musician Pachy Garcia, has charmed audiences with his vintage gear and deep appreciation for dub reggae. That continues on his fifth album, “Another Place,” out Friday, with its dreamy, psychedelic indie. It’s the kind of stuff that would be at least partially labeled “vaporwave” or “chillwave” a few years ago. Now, it’s a kaleidoscope of influences only Pachyman could put together in such a fluid package.
— Music Writer Maria Sherman
New television to stream from May 19-15
— With hits like “Maxton Hall” and “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” Prime Video is investing in its YA content. In the new series “Motorheads,” a mother (Nathalie Kelley) returns to her blue-collar hometown with her teenage twins (played by Michael Cimino of “Love, Victor” and Melissa Collazo.) They move in with their uncle (Ryan Phillippe) who is haunted by the disappearance of his younger brother. Fun fact: Phillippe’s son, Deacon, with Reese Witherspoon, plays that younger brother in flashback scenes. Besides the expected coming-of-age storyline about first love and fitting in at school, there’s also a greater mystery at play, plus street racing! It premieres Tuesday.
— At the end of season one of Hulu’s “Nine Perfect Strangers,” we saw Nicole Kidman’s Russian wellness guru, Masha, high tailing it out of town after her unorthodox practices included sneaking psychedelics into her patients’ smoothies. In season 2, debuting Wednesday, Masha has relocated to the Austrian Alps with two new business partners and they’re welcoming a new group of people to a retreat. “I invited you all here because sometimes you shouldn’t deal with pain gently,” Masha says in the trailer. The cast includes Annie Murphy, Christine Baranski, Murray Bartlett, Henry Golding, Dolly de Leon and musician King Princess in her first acting role.
— Alicia Rancilio
New video games to play week of May 19-25
— Winston Green, a high-strung courier in small-town America in the late 1950s, has one motto: Deliver At All Costs. If that means wrecking other cars or plowing through buildings, so be it. And as the cargo gets weirder — judging from the screenshots, UFOs may be involved — Winston “spirals downward into the depths of insanity.” The result, from Swedish studio Far Out Games by way of Konami, looks somewhat like the original Grand Theft Auto with a retro “Happy Days” glow. Hit the gas Thursday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.
— Duck Detective: The Secret Salami was once of last year’s cleverest surprises, introducing us to down-on-his-luck gumshoe Eugene McQuacklin in an animal-world parody of film noir. My only complaint was that it was just a few hours long — but the good news is that Germany’s Happy Broccoli Games is already back on the case with Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping. This time, McQuacklin investigates a mystery at a luxury campsite. If you enjoy brain-teasers, another chance to test your de-duck-tive skills arrives Thursday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch and PC.
— Lou Kesten
