This week, Eddie Murphy and the gang return in “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” on Netflix, Emma Roberts gets accepted to NASA in “Space Cadet” on Prime, and The Criterion Channel delivers a series for neo-noir fans.
MOVIES TO STREAM
After nearly 30 years of fits and starts, the fourth Beverly Hills Cop movie is finally upon us. Eddie Murphy reprises his role as Axel Foley in “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” which debuts on Netflix on Wednesday. Judge Reinhold and John Ashton also return but get some fresh blood in a detective played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Captain (Kevin Bacon). Taylour Paige also joins the ensemble as Axel’s daughter. The original “Beverly Hills Cop,” which launched Murphy to stardom in 1984, is also streaming on Netflix now.
Emma Roberts is “living her best Florida life” when she remembers her dream of being an astronaut in “Space Cadet.” Unbeknownst to her, a friend (“Hacks” castmate Poppy Liu) embellishes her resume, and she’s accepted into a competitive NASA training program. It aspires to be a kind of “Legally Blonde” meets “Private Benjamin” (who wouldn’t dream of such heights) and will be available to stream on Prime Video starting Thursday.
The Criterion Channel continues to offer the best and most thoughtful movie libraries, thoughtfully curated and grouped into fun themes that refresh on the first of each month. Monday brings a neo-noir series (“Out of Sight,” “L.A. Confidential,” and two “Bad Lieutenants” among them), one on pop Shakespeare including Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet,” with Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio, and Michael Almereyda’s “Hamlet” with Ethan Hawke, and a selection of Nicolas Roeg films, including the Donald Sutherland classic “Don’t Look Now.” The channel will also host the animated “Chicken For Linda” streaming premiere.
MUSIC TO STREAM
Country music star Zach Bryan released a new studio album, “The Great American Bar Scene,” on the Fourth of July. The 18 tracks — 17 songs and a poem — were previewed at bars around the U.S. and Canada before streaming on Independence Day. The album features “Purple Gas,” a duet with Canadian up-and-comer Noeline Hofmann, and “Pink Skies,” a folksy tearjerker that AP recently named one of the summer songs. That song exemplifies Bryan’s specific skillset — little more than an acoustic guitar, harmonica and raspy, specific storytelling that reveals universal truths. “The kids are in town for a funeral,” he sings. “So pack the car and dry your eyes.” He’s an expert at writing a novel in a few words, so prepare to take notes.
SHOWS TO STREAM
The beloved animated children’s series “Bluey,” about a family of dogs, will roll out super-short episodes this summer, between one and three minutes long. The first seven minisodes begin airing Wednesday on Disney+, and a second batch will be released later this year.
Summer is for sharks. Discovery Channel’s annual “Shark Week” kicks off on Sunday with John Cena as host. The network has 21 hours of original programming hosted by Cena to sink your teeth into. “Shark Week” will also stream on Max.
Former reality star Hannah Berner, a cast member on Bravo’s “Summer House,” is ready to debut her first comedy special. “We Ride At Dawn” drops on Netflix on Sunday. Berner is also the co-host of the popular podcast “Giggly Squad” with former “Summer House” cast member Paige DeSorbo.
Season three of the Emmy-winning series “The Bear” dropped all ten episodes last Thursday. The show follows Jeremy Allen White as Carmy, a fine-dining chef who opens his restaurant in Chicago. Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach co-star. All three have won Emmy Awards for their performances. White says that if season two of the show was about what happens if you get what you want (like the restaurant of your dreams), season three asks, what do you want?
VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
While TikTok gets most of the headlines, Chinese video games have found more of a Western audience over the last few years. At the wave’s crest is Shanghai-based MiHoYo, developers of the fantasy role-playing game Genshin Impact and the sci-fi epic Honkai: Star Rail. The studio’s new adventure, Zenless Zone Zero, takes place in an urban wasteland under attack by creatures from alternate dimensions. Like MiHoYo’s previous hits, ZZZ is free to play — though you’re certainly encouraged to spend cash on collectibles around the city. The game was released Thursday on PlayStation 5, PC, iOS and Android.