Disney's 2016 animated hit Moana gets the live-action treatment this week, starring Dwayne Johnson and newcomer Catherine Laga'aia, with animated critters including Tamatoa the coconut crab voiced by Jemaine Clement. The film is out now.
Cinema Highlights
Evil Dead Burn is a new standalone Evil Dead movie from Sébastien Vaniček, set at a family reunion mourning a recent death. It closed Venice critics' week in 2023. Rosebush Pruning, directed by Karim Aïnouz, is a scandalous arthouse romp about a wealthy family with no boundaries, starring Callum Turner, Pamela Anderson, Elle Fanning, and Jamie Bell. Life Support, a documentary by Daniele Rugo, covers two years of Israel's genocide in Gaza from doctors' perspectives, executive produced by Susan Sarandon, Asif Kapadia, Paul Weller, and Melissa Barrera.
Gigs and Festivals
Beat-Herder festival near Clitheroe runs 16-19 July, headlined by Faithless, Sigma, and Wilkinson, with Roni Size, Mr Scruff, and Tiga. Black Country, New Road play Glasgow's Queen's Park Arena on 16 July, following last year's album Forever Howlong reaching No 3. Buxton International Festival offers Francesca Caccini's only surviving opera, La liberazione di Ruggiero, 15-21 July. Trumpeter Henry Lowther celebrates his 85th birthday and new album Primetime with the London Jazz Orchestra on 11 July at American International Church, London.
Art Exhibitions
Backyard Biennial: East at Whitechapel Gallery, London, runs 15 July to 6 September, featuring Denzil Forrester among others. Tate Modern presents Ana Mendieta from 15 July to 17 January, the Cuban-American conceptualist who died in 1985. Debjani Bannerjee's immersive sensory space at The Bluecoat, Liverpool, 11 July to 6 September, draws on Bengali childhood in 1980s England. Wysing Open at Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge, on 11 September offers public access to open studios.
Stage Productions
Ventnor fringe on the Isle of Wight, 17-26 July, features works-in-progress from Rosie Holt, Huge Davies, Molly McGuinness, and Lou Wall. Doorstep Duets by Matthew Bourne's New Adventures company tours to 8 August, with free performances in public spaces. Chichester Festival Theatre's My Fair Lady runs to 5 September, starring Hadley Fraser and Keziah Ibe in her stage debut. The Secret Garden at Theatre Royal: The Egg, Bath, to 26 July, is an immersive adaptation with puppets and song.
Streaming Picks
Ann Droid on BBC One and iPlayer from 17 July, 9.30pm, stars Sue Johnston and Diane Morgan in a poignant sitcom about AI companionship. The Five Star Weekend on Sky Atlantic and Now from 16 July, 9pm, features Jennifer Garner, Chloë Sevigny, Regina Hall, and Gemma Chan. Ride Or Die on Prime Video from 15 July, with Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham, subverts action movie tropes. Lucky on Apple TV from 15 July, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Annette Bening, and Timothy Olyphant, adapts Marissa Stapley's novel about a scammer.
Games and Albums
Denshattack! out 15 July on PC, XSX, PS5, Switch 2, is a stunt game where you play as a train. D-topia out 14 July on multiple platforms, is a puzzle game about AI governance. Suki Waterhouse releases third album Loveland, with songs like Tiny Raisin. Kelela's New Avatar fuses shoegaze, grunge, and lo-fi electronic, featuring PinkPantheress. Adam Lambert's Adam returns to electropop. Rolling Stones' 25th album Foreign Tongues, produced by Andrew Watt, includes opener Rough and Twisted.
Brain Food
PBS's Creative Spark interviews Leslie Jones and Greg Kinnear. YouTube channel People Make Games explores video game creation. BBC Radio 3's Essential History of Classical Music reaches the 18th century, with an episode on the violin's rise.
