What to Stream: Dragons, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Roddy Ricch and 'The Summer I Turned Pretty'
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time, as selected by The Associated Press' entertainment journalists: The long-delayed third album from rapper Roddy Ricch, 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' returns for its third and final season and two arcade favorites — Donkey Kong and Pac-Man — get reinvented for gamers.
— Movie theaters are crowded enough this summer that one recent box-office hit is already coming to homes. Universal Pictures' 'How to Train Your Dragon' hits premium video on demand on Tuesday, just 31 days after it debuted in cinemas. The live-action remake of the DreamWorks Animation dragon tale has surpassed $500 million in global ticket sales. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr raved: 'Unlike so many live-action remakes of animated films, it also doesn't feel superfluous, or, worse, like a poor imitation of its predecessor.'
— Billy Joel recently canceled his summer tour after being diagnosed with a brain disorder. But 'Piano Man' fans can still get their Joel fix in 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes,' a two-part, five-hour documentary. The first part will arrive on HBO and HBO Max on Friday, July 18, with the second part following on July 25. Directors Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin cover Joel's life and career, with interviews with Joel, his family, his ex-wives and musicians including Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney.
— Petra Costa's 'Apocalypse in the Tropics' (Netflix, Monday) documents the rise of the far right in Brazil. Costa's follow-up to her Oscar-nominated 'The Edge of Democracy' digs into the role of the evangelical movement in bringing former president Jair Bolsonaro to power. Bolsonaro is currently standing trial for an alleged coup attempt in 2023, a trial that U.S. President Donald Trump has called a 'witch hunt.'
— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle
— Delayed from February, rapper Roddy Ricch returns with his third album on Friday, July 18, 'The Navy Album.' The Compton rapper, who appeared on Kendrick Lamar's 'GNX,' has put out a few singles from the new collection, including 'Survivor's Remorse' and 'Lonely Road.' The latter features Terrace Martin and was released with a video of him cruising through the city seeing angels and the lyrics: 'Roddy rap like the rent due/Roddy tell 'em the whole truth.'
— Alex Warren's 'Ordinary' has been everywhere in 2025; it's a big, inoffensive ballad with loosely religious themes, meticulously designed to the pull at heartstrings. And it succeeds, due in part to the fact that Warren sings in a faux-British accent. On Friday, July 18, he'll release his debut full-length on Atlantic Records, 'You'll Be Alright, Kid.' Expect a lot more soul and get the tissues ready.
— Fresh off a hot new track for the summer blockbuster 'F1' soundtrack, Puerto Rican rapper and singer Myke Towers will release a new album, 'ISLAND BOYZ,' on Friday, July 18. It's just what the heart wants during these hot months — feel good reggaeton, urban pop and Latin trap.
— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman
— Are you Team Jellyfish or Team Bonrad? If you have no idea what that means, you probably don't watch 'The Summer I Turned Pretty.' The show returns for its third and final season on Wednesday on Prime Video. It's about a young woman named Belly (Lola Tung) who is torn between two brothers, Jeremiah and Conrad, played by Gavin Casalegno and Christopher Briney. The series is based on a trilogy of books by Jenny Han.
— In the second season of Prime Video's 'Surf Girls' series, cameras follow five up-and-coming female surfers who travel the globe to compete in the Challenger Series. "Surf Girls: International" focuses on both new and returning surfers that were featured in Season 1. A goal is to spotlight women in a sport that has often been skewed by sexism. All five episodes drop Thursday. Reese Witherspoon is an executive producer.
— In the films 'The Dry' and 'Force of Nature: The Dry 2,' Eric Bana played a federal agent investigating murders in his native Australia. In the new Netflix series 'Untamed,' Bana plays a U.S. law enforcement officer investigating the mysterious death of a woman at Yosemite National Park. Sam Neill, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Wilson Bethel also star. It premieres Thursday.
— Alicia Rancilio
— For a guy who started off as a villain, Donkey Kong has proven to be one of Nintendo's most versatile heroes, doing everything from driving to playing drums to (seriously) teaching math. Donkey Kong Bananza focuses on what he does best: punching things. Someone has stolen his bananas, so it's up to DK to smash his way through the Underground World in pursuit of the culprits. It's the first 3D adventure for the big lug in a long time, and Nintendo has said it comes from the same team that developed the bestselling Super Mario Odyssey. Start swinging Thursday on Switch 2.
— Another arcade favorite — Pac-Man — returns in Shadow Labyrinth, although publisher Bandai Namco has radically altered the pellet-chomper. Here, you play as Swordsman No. 8, an explorer who is accompanied by a mysterious yellow orb named Puck. As you traverse the 2D alien world, you may be reminded of a different classic: 1986's Metroid. There are some levels that look more like Pac-Man mazes, though, and you will still hunt and be hunted by ghosts — which are now called 'G-Hosts.' It's a weird and edgy approach to the legend, and it arrives Thursday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch and PC.
— Lou Kesten
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
20 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
‘Lord of the Rings' Director Backs Long Shot Plan, to Revive Extinct New Zealand Giant Bird
WASHINGTON (AP) — Filmmaker Peter Jackson owns one of the largest private collections of bones of an extinct New Zealand bird called the moa. His fascination with the flightless ostrich-like bird has led to an unusual partnership with a biotech company known for its grand and controversial plans to bring back lost species. On July 8, Colossal Biosciences announced an effort to genetically engineer living birds to resemble the extinct South Island giant moa — which once stood 3.6 meters tall — with $15 million in funding from Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh. The collaboration also includes the New Zealand-based Ngai Tahu Research Centre. 'The movies are my day job, and the moa are my fun thing I do,' said Jackson. 'Every New Zealand schoolchild has a fascination with the moa.'Outside scientists say the idea of bringing back extinct species onto the modern landscape is likely impossible, although it may be feasible to tweak the genes of living animals to have similar physical traits. Scientists have mixed feelings on whether that will be helpful, and some worry that focusing on lost creatures could distract from protecting species that still exist. The moa roamed New Zealand for 4,000 years until they became extinct around 600 years ago, mainly because of overhunting. A large skeleton brought to England in the 19th century, now on display at the Yorkshire Museum, prompted international interest in the long-necked bird. Unlike Colossal's work with dire wolves, the moa project is in the very early stages. It started with a phone call about two years ago after Jackson heard about the company's efforts to 'deextinct' — or create genetically similar animals to — species like the woolly mammoth and the dire wolf. Then Jackson put Colossal in touch with experts he'd met through his own moa bone-collecting. At that point, he'd amassed between 300 and 400 bones, he said. In New Zealand, it's legal to buy and sell moa bones found on private lands, but not in public conservation areas — nor to export them. The first stage of the moa project will be to identify well-preserved bones from which it may be possible to extract DNA, said Colossal's chief scientist Beth Shapiro. Those DNA sequences will be compared to genomes of living bird species, including the ground-dwelling tinamou and emu, 'to figure out what it is that made the moa unique compared to other birds,' she said. Colossal used a similar process of comparing ancient DNA of extinct dire wolves to determine the genetic differences with gray wolves. Then scientists took blood cells from a living gray wolf and used CRISPR to genetically modify them in 20 different sites. Pups with long white hair and muscular jaws were born late last year. Working with birds presents different challenges, said Shapiro. Unlike mammals, bird embryos develop inside eggs, so the process of transferring an embryo to a surrogate will not look like mammalian IVF. 'There's lots of different scientific hurdles that need to be overcome with any species that we pick as a candidate for deextinction,' said Shapiro. 'We are in the very early stages.' If the Colossal team succeeds in creating a tall bird with huge feet and thick pointed claws resembling the moa, there's also the pressing question of where to put it, said Duke University ecologist Stuart Pimm, who is not involved in the project. 'Can you put a species back into the wild once you've exterminated it there?' he said. 'I think it's exceedingly unlikely that they could do this in any meaningful way.' 'This will be an extremely dangerous animal,' Pimm added. The direction of the project will be shaped by Maori scholars at the University of Canterbury's Ngai Tahu Research Centre. Ngai Tahu archaeologist Kyle Davis, an expert in moa bones, said the work has 'really reinvigorated the interest in examining our own traditions and mythology.' At one of the archaeological sites that Jackson and Davis visited to study moa remains, called Pyramid Valley, there are also antique rock art done by Maori people — some depicting moa before their extinction. Paul Scofield, a project adviser and senior curator of natural history at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand, said he first met the 'Lord of the Rings' director when he went to his house to help him identity which of the nine known species of moa the various bones represented. 'He doesn't just collect some moa bones — he has a comprehensive collection,' said Scofield.
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
What to Stream: Dragons, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Roddy Ricch and 'The Summer I Turned Pretty'
The live-action remake of the animated film 'How to Train Your Dragon' and a two-part, five-hour documentary on Billy Joel 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: The long-delayed third album from rapper Roddy Ricch, 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' returns for its third and final season and two arcade favorites — Donkey Kong and Pac-Man — get reinvented for gamers. — Movie theaters are crowded enough this summer that one recent box-office hit is already coming to homes. Universal Pictures' 'How to Train Your Dragon' hits premium video on demand on Tuesday, just 31 days after it debuted in cinemas. The live-action remake of the DreamWorks Animation dragon tale has surpassed $500 million in global ticket sales. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr raved: 'Unlike so many live-action remakes of animated films, it also doesn't feel superfluous, or, worse, like a poor imitation of its predecessor.' — Billy Joel recently canceled his summer tour after being diagnosed with a brain disorder. But 'Piano Man' fans can still get their Joel fix in 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes,' a two-part, five-hour documentary. The first part will arrive on HBO and HBO Max on Friday, July 18, with the second part following on July 25. Directors Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin cover Joel's life and career, with interviews with Joel, his family, his ex-wives and musicians including Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney. — Petra Costa's 'Apocalypse in the Tropics' (Netflix, Monday) documents the rise of the far right in Brazil. Costa's follow-up to her Oscar-nominated 'The Edge of Democracy' digs into the role of the evangelical movement in bringing former president Jair Bolsonaro to power. Bolsonaro is currently standing trial for an alleged coup attempt in 2023, a trial that U.S. President Donald Trump has called a 'witch hunt.' — AP Film Writer Jake Coyle — Delayed from February, rapper Roddy Ricch returns with his third album on Friday, July 18, 'The Navy Album.' The Compton rapper, who appeared on Kendrick Lamar's 'GNX,' has put out a few singles from the new collection, including 'Survivor's Remorse' and 'Lonely Road.' The latter features Terrace Martin and was released with a video of him cruising through the city seeing angels and the lyrics: 'Roddy rap like the rent due/Roddy tell 'em the whole truth.' — Alex Warren's 'Ordinary' has been everywhere in 2025; it's a big, inoffensive ballad with loosely religious themes, meticulously designed to the pull at heartstrings. And it succeeds, due in part to the fact that Warren sings in a faux-British accent. On Friday, July 18, he'll release his debut full-length on Atlantic Records, 'You'll Be Alright, Kid.' Expect a lot more soul and get the tissues ready. — Fresh off a hot new track for the summer blockbuster 'F1' soundtrack, Puerto Rican rapper and singer Myke Towers will release a new album, 'ISLAND BOYZ,' on Friday, July 18. It's just what the heart wants during these hot months — feel good reggaeton, urban pop and Latin trap. — AP Music Writer Maria Sherman — Are you Team Jellyfish or Team Bonrad? If you have no idea what that means, you probably don't watch 'The Summer I Turned Pretty.' The show returns for its third and final season on Wednesday on Prime Video. It's about a young woman named Belly (Lola Tung) who is torn between two brothers, Jeremiah and Conrad, played by Gavin Casalegno and Christopher Briney. The series is based on a trilogy of books by Jenny Han. — In the second season of Prime Video's 'Surf Girls' series, cameras follow five up-and-coming female surfers who travel the globe to compete in the Challenger Series. "Surf Girls: International" focuses on both new and returning surfers that were featured in Season 1. A goal is to spotlight women in a sport that has often been skewed by sexism. All five episodes drop Thursday. Reese Witherspoon is an executive producer. — In the films 'The Dry' and 'Force of Nature: The Dry 2,' Eric Bana played a federal agent investigating murders in his native Australia. In the new Netflix series 'Untamed,' Bana plays a U.S. law enforcement officer investigating the mysterious death of a woman at Yosemite National Park. Sam Neill, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Wilson Bethel also star. It premieres Thursday. — Alicia Rancilio — For a guy who started off as a villain, Donkey Kong has proven to be one of Nintendo's most versatile heroes, doing everything from driving to playing drums to (seriously) teaching math. Donkey Kong Bananza focuses on what he does best: punching things. Someone has stolen his bananas, so it's up to DK to smash his way through the Underground World in pursuit of the culprits. It's the first 3D adventure for the big lug in a long time, and Nintendo has said it comes from the same team that developed the bestselling Super Mario Odyssey. Start swinging Thursday on Switch 2. — Another arcade favorite — Pac-Man — returns in Shadow Labyrinth, although publisher Bandai Namco has radically altered the pellet-chomper. Here, you play as Swordsman No. 8, an explorer who is accompanied by a mysterious yellow orb named Puck. As you traverse the 2D alien world, you may be reminded of a different classic: 1986's Metroid. There are some levels that look more like Pac-Man mazes, though, and you will still hunt and be hunted by ghosts — which are now called 'G-Hosts.' It's a weird and edgy approach to the legend, and it arrives Thursday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch and PC. — Lou Kesten © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Martin Cruz Smith, acclaimed author of 'Gorky Park,' dies at 82
Martin Cruz Smith, the best-selling mystery novelist who engaged readers for decades with 'Gorky Park' and other thrillers featuring Moscow investigator Arkady Renko, has died at age 82. Smith died Friday 'surrounded by those he loved,' according to his publisher, Simon & Schuster. Further details were not immediately available, but Smith revealed a decade ago that he had Parkinson's disease, and he gave the same condition to his protagonist. His 11th and final Renko book, 'Hotel Ukraine,' will be published this week. The Associated Press praised it as a 'gem' that 'upholds Smith's reputation as a great craftsman of modern detective fiction with his sharply drawn, complex characters and a compelling plot.' Among Smith's honors were being named a 'grand master' by the Mystery Writers of America, and winning the Hammett Prize for 'Havana Bay' and a Gold Dagger award for 'Gorky Park.' Born Martin William Smith in Reading, Pennsylvania, and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied creative writing, Smith started out as a journalist, including a brief stint at the AP. He had been a published novelist for more than a decade before he broke through in the early 1980s with 'Gorky Park." His book came out when the Soviet Union and the Cold War were still very much alive and centered on Renko's investigation into the murders of three people whose bodies were found in the Moscow park cited in the title. 'Gorky Park,' praised as a compelling and informative take on the inner workings of the Soviet Union, topped The New York Times' fiction bestseller list and was later made into a movie starring William Hurt and Lee Marvin. ″'Gorky Park' is a police procedural of uncommon excellence," Peter Andrews wrote in the Times in 1981. 'Martin Cruz Smith has managed to combine the gritty atmosphere of a Moscow police squad room with a story of detection as neatly done as any English manor-house puzzlement. I have no idea as to the accuracy of Mr. Smith's descriptions of Russian police operations. But they ring as true as crystal.' Smith's other books include science fiction ("The Indians Won"), the Westerns 'North to Dakota' and 'Ride to Revenge,' and the 'Romano Grey' mystery series. Besides 'Martin Cruz Smith' — Cruz was his maternal grandmother's name — he also wrote under the pen names 'Nick Carter' and 'Simon Quinn.' Smith's Renko books were inspired in part by his own travels in the Soviet Union and he would trace the region's history over the past 40 years, whether the Soviet Union's collapse ('Red Square'), war in Chechnya ("Tatiana"), or the rise of Russian oligarchs ("The Siberian Dilemma"). The AP noted in its review of 'Hotel Ukraine' that Smith had devised a backstory pulled straight from recent headlines, referencing such world leaders as Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine,Vladimir Putin of Russia and former President Joe Biden of the U.S. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
