What to stream: Reneé Rapp, ‘The Phoenician Scheme,’ Elvis rarities, Anthony Mackie and Jason Momoa
Benicio Del Toro starring in Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme” and Reneé Rapp's second studio album 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: Jason Momoa brings his passion project “Chief of War” to Apple TV+, there’s a coxy Hobbit video game in Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game and “Project Runway” tries out a new network home for its 21st season.
Movies
• Wes Anderson’s “The Phoenician Scheme” (streaming now on Peacock) stars Benicio Del Toro as Anatole “Zsa-zsa” Korda, a wealthy and unscrupulous European industrialist. After the latest assassination attempt on his life, he decides to leave his estate to one of his many children, Lisel (Mia Threapleton), a novitiate. Michael Cera co-stars as a Norwegian insect expect named Bjørn. In her review, the AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote that the film finds Anderson “becoming even more, well, Wes Anderson than before.”
• The Netflix romance “My Oxford Year,” streaming Friday, Aug. 1, follows a young American student named Anna (Sofia Carson) in her long-dreamt-of year at Oxford University. Corey Mylchreest co-stars as a local love interest in the film directed by Iain Morris.
• Movie soundtracks once played so much more of a role in popular culture. A new series on the Criterion Channel collects some of the films from the soundtrack’s heyday, the 1990s, when songs from movies like “Trainspotting” (1996) and “Singles” (1992) dominated the airwaves and MTV. Also running this month on Criterion are “Grosse Pointe Blank” (1997), “So I Married an Axe Murderer” (1993) and “Judgement Night” (1993).
Music
• The King of Rock ’n’ Roll has returned. On Friday, Aug. 1, to celebrate what would’ve been Elvis Presley’s 90th birthday year, a massive collection of 89 rarities will be released as a five-disc CD boxset — and on all digital platforms. Titled “Sunset Boulevard,” the series pulls from Presley’s 1970-1975 Los Angeles recording sessions and rehearsals at RCA’s studios. There is no greater gift for the Elvis aficionado.
• Reneé Rapp will release her second studio album on Friday, Aug. 1, the appropriately titled “Bite Me.” The 12-track release is imbued with Rapp’s edgy, lighthearted spirit — catchy R&B-pop songs about bad breakups and good hookups abound. It’ll put some pep in your step.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
Series
• “Project Runway” has had quite a life since it debuted in 2004 on Bravo. After its first six seasons, the competition show about fashion design moved to Lifetime for 11 seasons, then back to Bravo for a few years, and its new home for season 21 is Freeform. Christian Siriano — who won the show's fourth season — is an executive producer, mentor and judge. He joins “Project Runway” OG host Heidi Klum, celebrity stylist extraordinaire Law Roach and fashion editor Nina Garcia. It premieres Thursday, July 31, and streams on Disney+ and Hulu.
• Comedian Leanne Morgan stars in her own multicam sitcom for Netflix called “Leanne,” debuting Thursday, July 31. Inspired by her own stand-up, Morgan plays a woman whose husband leaves her for another woman after more than three decades of marriage. Morgan stars alongside sitcom vets Kristen Johnston and Tim Daly.
• Anthony Mackie’s “Twisted Metal” is back on Peacock for a second season, beginning Thursday, July 31. The show is adapted from a popular video game franchise and picks up about 7 months after the events of season one.
• Jason Momoa brings his passion project “Chief of War” to Apple TV+ on Friday, Aug. 1. Set in the late 18th century, Momoa plays Kauai, a nobleman and warrior, who plays a major part in the unification of the Hawaiian islands. The series is based on true events and is told from an Indigenous point-of-view.
Video games
• Games set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth usually want to drag us back to Mount Doom for another confrontation with the Dark Lord. But what if you’re a Hobbit who just wants to hang out with your friends in your peaceful village? That’s your mission in Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game. It’s a cozy sim from Weta Workshop, the company behind the special effects in Peter Jackson’s films. You can grow a garden, go fishing, trade with your neighbors and — most important for a Hobbit — cook and eat. It’s about as far from Mordor as it gets, and you can start decorating your own Hobbit Hole on Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch or PC.