The Best Movies, TV, Books and Music for November

Welcome to Culture Hound, InsideHook’s deep dive into the month’s most important cultural happenings, pop and otherwise. 

WATCH: Ford v Ferrari 

A true story: American car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles once built a race car for Ford (the GT40) and challenged the then-infallible Ferrari racing team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For this historical adaptation, Matt Damon and Christian Bale (going back to his native British accent) take the leads. Directed by James Mangold (Logan, Walk the Line).

For more movie picks, check out The 20 Films to See Between Now and December.

STREAM: Disney+

Apple TV+ debuted Friday, but first impressions of the streaming service are meh. Disney+, however, kicks off with one badass show about bounty hunters in the Star Wars universe (The Mandalorian), new Pixar shorts and  a Christmas movie with Anna Kendrick, Bill Hader and Billy Eichner. (Nov. 12)

Read more about the Disney+ show ‘The World According to Jeff Goldbum’ here

LISTEN: Watchmen Soundtrack

The score to the new HBO deconstructed superhero series is a pulsating, synth-driven bit of brilliance from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Three different vinyl records will be released over the next month and a half, each one featuring “artwork and packaging that … provides revealing insights into the saga’s mythology and mysteries.” (Nov. 4, Nov. 25, Dec. 16)

PLAY: Stadia

The new on-demand, cloud-based game-streaming service via Google allows you to play high-end titles on your phone, browser or Chromecast with an Xbox-like controller and a $10 monthly subscription without a console, though you will need a robust Internet connection. ($129, available Nov. 19)

BUY: Classic band reissues 

November is the best time of year for re-releases, box sets and expanded versions of classic albums. This month alone finds The Beatles The Singles Collection (23 vinyl 7” records), an 18-disc Depeche Mode box set, a live Grateful Dead record featuring songs for the never-recorded final studio album, a five-disc set of Jimi Hendrix live recordings, an unreleased Harry Nilsson album, the final Leonard Cohen studio release, an 18-disc set highlighting Pink Floyd’s post-Roger Waters years and a deluxe edition of Prince’s 1999 with 18 rare and unreleased tracks. (Nov. 22, 29)

WATCH: The Irishman

Martin Scorsese’s crime drama digitally “de-ages” Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, but otherwise sticks to familiar but welcome ground (though it’d be nice if the actresses were given lines). The real deal here is how you watch this gangster epic — it’s out now in theaters, but starts streaming on Netflix on November 27th.

PERUSE: Acid for the Children: A Memoir

The colorful life of Flea, the bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. There’s sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll, but it’s more of a coming-of-age story than your typical rock autobiography. (Nov. 5)

More books! Read our interview with “Nothing to See Here” author Kevin Wilson here.

LISTEN: Songs of the Week

Every week we collect the best 6-8 new songs, genre be damned — which is how we can recommend everything from Rufus Wainwright to Kesha to Frank Ocean.

If you’re more about full albums, this month alone we have new releases from Cold War Kids, Hootie and the Blowfish and Jeff Lynne’s ELO (Nov. 1); Nick Cave and FKA Twigs (Nov. 8); DJ Shadow (Nov. 15); and Beck, Danny Brown, David Byrne and Coldplay (Nov. 22). 

And don’t forget …

The book was bad, but apparently Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Doctor Sleep is a really nice sequel/homage to both Stephen King’s (and Stanley Kubrick’s) The Shining (Nov. 8) … Inspired by Agatha Christie, Rian Johnson’s all-star murder mystery Knives Out could be the most fun movie this season (Nov. 27) … A senior Trump administration official is anonymously issuing A Warning, which will undoubtedly confirm whatever beliefs you already have (Nov. 19) … Reconnect isolated cities in the open world, multiplayer, philosophically unique PS4 game Death Stranding (Nov. 8) … If you have a few days and an extra $550, you can watch all 23 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films in this limited-edition Infinity Saga box set (Nov. 15) … And, last but not least, Rick and Morty returns (Nov. 10).