A documentary on Apple TV+ that chronicles the atypical path Stephen Curry took to becoming a basketball legend plus new tunes from the rock band Greta Van Fleet are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.
Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press' entertainment journalists are Laura McGann's documentary "The Deepest Breath" which plunges into the world of free diving and Starz has given the workplace comedy "Minx" a new home and a berth for season two.
New movies to stream
Promotional art for the Apple TV+ documentary "Stephen Curry: Underrated", left, and the Paramount+ series "Special Ops: Lioness".Apple TV+/Paramount+ via AP Promotional art for the Apple TV+ documentary "Stephen Curry: Underrated", left, and the Paramount+ series "Special Ops: Lioness".Apple TV+/Paramount+ via AP - Laura McGann's documentary "The Deepest Breath" plunges into the world of free diving, a sometimes deadly sport in which divers descend into watery depths with only a nose plug to defend from fluctuations in air pressure. The film, which made a well-reviewed debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January, premieres Wednesday on Netflix. It's an immersive descent into a silent underwater realm and the risk-takers compelled to sink themselves to the ocean floor. McGann's film recounts the story, in particular, of two divers -- Alessia Zecchini and Stephen Keenan -- brought together in love and tragedy.
- Steph Curry is a four-time NBA champ, two-time MVP and nine-time all-star, so naming a documentary about the transformational shooting guard "Underrated" is, itself, a kind of provocation. But "Stephen Curry: Underrated," which debuts Friday, July 21, on Apple TV+, chronicles the atypical path Curry took to becoming a basketball legend, with many doubters along the way. The film, directed by the well-respected Bay Area filmmaker Peter Nicks, is further proof of a modern NBA truism: No matter how much he wins, Steph Curry is easy to root for.
- A cinematic highpoint of the first half of the year, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes' "Tori and Lokita," begins streaming Tuesday on the Criterion Channel. It's a heart-wrenching immigrant drama about 11-year-old Tori (Pablo Schils) and 16-year-old Lokita (Joely Mbundu), two African immigrants living in an unnamed Belgian city. Only Tori has the necessary papers to stay, and immigration authorities are pressing Lokita, dubious of her claims that Tori is her brother. In my review of "Tori and Lokita," I wrote that "their bond is something more profound than blood, a product of shared circumstance and mutual perseverance."
-- AP film writer Jake Coyle
New music to stream
- The Grammy-winning rock band Greta Van Fleet is back with a "Starcatcher," a strong album that shows the quartet's maturity and embraces a more prog rock and psychedelic flavor. The first single, the sprawling, Woodstock-y "Meeting the Master," made the top 40 of Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. Producer Dave Cobb took the guys back to their roots as a live band. A few days after the release, Greta Van Fleet kick off a new tour in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena and will make stops at Madison Square Garden in New York and The Forum in Los Angeles and London's OVO Arena Wembley. (Lava/Republic Records)
- Blur, who helped put the pop into Britpop, is releasing their first album in eight years, "The Ballad of Darren." Among the 10 new tracks is the wistful, joyfully building "The Narcissist," with the lyrics: "I'm going to shine a light in your eyes/You will probably shine it back on me. But I won't fall this time," and the sloppy rocker "St. Charles Square." The band wasn't planning on another album. "It really is most unexpected," bass player Alex James told Rolling Stone magazine. "We didn't know we were pregnant, and we gave birth in the supermarket car park. It's like, 'Oh, my God, it's a beautiful boy!'" (Parlophone)