ENTERTAINMENT

Kurt Vile's small role in the Philadelphian rock band The War On Drugs unexpectedly turned into a successful solo career with his 2010s albums. By the time B'lieve I'm Goin Down came out in 2015, he cemented his music as the perfect balance between indie rock weirdness and stringed instrument mastery. On his ninth album, (Watch My Moves), he hits the balance once again, and while the record can be excessive at 73 minutes in length, it has some really good material on it.

Depending on your viewpoint, directorial debuts can come across as arty statements from filmmakers who have yet to hone their craft. For most film lovers, however, it's usually a chance to see a fresh talent in the making with a unique encapsulation of fresh viewpoints and youthful reinvigoration of the art form. Here are some feature directorial debuts you can watch right now on streaming services!

Edgar Wright's dual-timeline horror film finally came to HBO Max after bombing at the box office at the end of 2021. If you need to catch up Wright's impressive filmography, here's where to stream all of his feature films! Presented in release order...

Kae Tempest (formerly Kate) first transferred their skills in poetry and spoken word into music with 2014's Everything Down, and a Mercury Prize nomination later shaped the course of an exciting career. Their second album, Let Them Eat Chaos, was also nominated, already cementing a legacy of literate observations on the state of the world. With album #4, Tempest turns the focus inward, and the results are as phenomenal as ever. Here's what to expect from Tempest's new album, The Line Is a Curve.

Jack White fans are really getting a treat in 2022. After a four-year gap since his previous solo record, White returned bombastically in 2022, starting with the rocking first single and opening track 'Taking Me Back.' While this seemed like a return to form for White, heading back to his roots with The White Stripes, the rest of the album Fear of the Dawn continued the pathway to weirdness that began heavily with 2018's Boarding House Reach. With Dizzy Gillespie jazz on one track and arty hip-hop legend Q-Tip on another, this proved to be yet another set of bizarre choices from White. Luckily, another album is right around the corner.

After an exciting marketing campaign that used black-and-white classy still and cinematic images to promote the album with little other details, Chloë and the Next 20th Century came and went without a big splash. Josh Tillman (a.k.a. Father John Misty) did not get nearly the streams of his past albums, and the sales and charting were down as well in most countries. The look of the rollout was certainly eye-grabbing, but sadly, the music does not quite hold up to his past records.

The great Irish singer/poet Van Morrison, known for his transcendent records Astral Weeks and Moondance, as well as the iconic single 'Brown Eyed Girl,' has shocked audiences around the world with a sudden shift into unbridled old-man complaining bluntness. 2021's Latest Record Project, Vol. 1 and 2022's What's It Gonna Take? both sound very out of place among Morrison's over forty other albums, with song titles like 'Where Have All the Rebels Gone,' 'No Good Deed Goes Unpunished,' and 'Stop Bitching, Do Something,' which all pretty much speak for themselves.

Former The Smiths guitarist and co-songwriter Johnny Marr has been quite active since that famous band dissolved in 1987. With a new late-80s influenced record Fever Dreams, Marr spread 16 tracks across four 'parts,' which work better collected together than as separate chunks. Here are the highlight moments to get you into Fever Dreams.

Put the bad reviews in context here: for fans of Avril Lavigne's prime era that has been forsaken for so long now, her 2022 release Love Sux is an absolute delight. While not every song is a winner, about two-thirds of the album is spot-on Avril, with driving guitars and hooky, righteous anthems about love and heartbreak. Here are the songs to check out, and the ones to avoid.

It's understandable if you've never heard of the Australian rock band Gang of Youths, who have slowly been transitioning from local fame to worldwide success. If you need something to listen to, there's no better album to get into Gang of Youths than their 2022 release Angel In Realtime, a well-crafted album that marks their second #1 on the Australian charts and first to chart outside of their home country. Lead vocalist of the quintet David Le'aupepe has a striking connection to the record, which will linger in one's ear for long after the album is finished.

Watcher slipped under the radar a bit earlier this summer, and while it's definitely not the best horror film of the year, it ranks above the other recent indie horror releases like The Twin and Men. The streaming options for Watcher are not the most convenient yet, but since the film premiered in early June, more availability should be coming very soon. Here's what you need to know about Watcher.

Cha Cha Real Smooth went to streaming for the first time in June 2022, a few months after building hype following its memorable Sundance showing. This feature is from lesser-known indie star Cooper Raiff, who caught attentions at the film festival South By Southwest by writing, directing, and starring in his debut feature-length film, Shithouse (also known as Freshman Year). With Cha Cha Real Smooth, Raiff returns to those same positions again, and the reviews are positive once more. Here's what's going on with Raiff's sophomore feature.

Fans of Tisha Campbell remember her first appearance at the age of six in an episode of the PBS show “The Big Blue Marble” back in 1974. A gifted child, she won numerous talent shows and made it to classic children’s programs such as Kids Are People Too, Unicorn Tales, and even Captain Kangaroo. She performed in the film adaptation of the musical Little Shop of Horrors at the age of 17, playing the character Chiffon, who is part of a “hip” Greek Chorus.The actress eventually moved to Hollywood (after graduating from the Arts High School in Newark) where she starred in the musical comedy-drama series, Rags to Riches. The show only lasted two seasons but she was able to make her portrayal of her character, Marva, memorable. She would continue with the musical-comedy direction and soon be cast as Jane Toussaint in the Spike Lee film School Daze.

The number one streamer, Netflix, has just brought us two new reasons to get excited. They’ve given the green light on yet another season of Squid Game and a real game show based on it.

In a Hollywood Reporter exclusive report, they revealed that 'Wonder Man' is in the works for Marvel Cinematic Universe + Disney. The movie will be filmed in 2023, which means it could hit the silver screen by 2024- and fans are living it already. The film's director, Destin Daniel Cretton, has teamed up with Andrew Guest to produce a live-action series featuring the long-running Marvel character.Guest will head write the series, while Cretton exec produces and possibly even directs an episode or more. The two are working together through their overall deal with Marvel Studios signed late last year.'Wonder Man' is one of the first superheroes to emerge in American comics. He's also a founding member and beloved character at Marvel, appearing regularly ever since his debut appearance alongside 'The Avengers' in comic book number 9. Also known as Mr. Muscles and Hal Canutt, Simon Williams (Wonder Man's alter ego) gained his superhuman powers due to chemical and radiation treatments with 'ionic' energy by Baron Zemo. In 'Avengers: The Children's Crusade' comic book number 3, Captain America describes Wonder Man as having 'Sentry-level' strength that is beyond the likes of Thor or Steve Rogers, thanks to these potent cocktails administered during an early age when he had no natural defense against empowerment - something which would change everything for him.