Welcome to Culture Hound, InsideHook’s deep dive into the month’s most important cultural happenings, pop and otherwise.
WATCH: Men
Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) is behind this A24 film, a creepy and mysterious folk horror tale that also touches on the ideas of masculinity and aggression. (5/20, theaters)
More new films coming to the small screen and big: Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (5/6, theaters); The Takedown (5/6, Netflix); Operation Mincemeat (5/6 theaters, 5/11 Netflix); Firestarter (5/13 theaters, Peacock); Pleasure (5/13, theaters); The Valet (5/20, Hulu); The Bob’s Burgers Movie (5/27, theaters); Top Gun: Maverick (5/27); Emergency (5/27, Prime Video)
WELCOME BACK: The Kids in the Hall
It only took 27 years for this groundbreaking Canadian sketch show to get a sixth season. If Cabbage Head and Headcrusher return, all is good.
More returning TV series: The Challenge: All-Stars (5/11, Paramount+); Hacks (5/12, HBO Max); Love, Death & Robots (5/20, Netflix); MasterChef (5/25, Fox); Stranger Things (5/27, Netflix)
STUDY: Black Gold
Darren Aronofsky produces this climate change documentary that sounds more like a political thriller, involving a scientific discovery, a black ops cover-up and even a U.S. vice president. (5/11 theaters, 5/17 Paramount+)
More new documentaries and specials: Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known (5/3, HBO); Wild Babies (5/5, Netflix); The G Word With Adam Conover (5/19, Netflix); Jackass 4.5 (5/20, Netflix)
BINGE: Pistol
I’d normally steer clear of a biographical take on a band that’s already been blasted by one of its core members, but John Lydon’s complaints aside, a Danny Boyle-directed miniseries on the Sex Pistols sounds like a perfect mix of auteur and subject. (5/31, Hulu)
More new series: The Pentaverate (5/5, Netflix); The Staircase (5/5, HBO Max); Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (5/5, Paramount+); Candy (5/9, Hulu); The Essex Serpent (5/13, Apple TV+); The Lincoln Lawyer (5/13, Netflix); Conversations with Friends (5/15, Hulu); The Time Traveler’s Wife (5/15, HBO); Angelyne (5/19, Peacock); Night Sky (5/20, Prime Video); Now & Then (5/20, Apple TV+); Obi-Wan Kenobi (5/27, Disney+); Shoresy – a Letterkenny spinoff (5/27, Hulu)
READ: The Last Days of Roger Federer
What happens when the great ones — whether in sports or the arts — begin to age? That’s the path author Geoff Dyer takes in his examination of the last days and last works of writers, painters, footballers, musicians and tennis stars. (5/3)
More new books: (5/3) Keanu Reeves: Most Triumphant by Alex Pappademas; The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Journal by Mark Manson; The Power of Conflict by Jon Taffer; Trust by Herman Diaz (5/17); Razzmatazz by Christopher Moore (5/31) Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris
LISTEN: The Smile
On A Light for Attracting Attention, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood utilize orchestra and a brass section to create epically moody soundscapes with elements of prog-rock, Afrobeat and post-punk, with some comparisons to Radiohead’s pre-OK Computer work. (5/13)
More new music: (5/6) Arcade Fire; Belle and Sebastian; The Black Crowes; Warpaint; Sharon Van Etten (5/13) The Black Keys; Florence & The Machine; Kendrick Lamar; (5/20) Craig Finn; Flume; Harry Styles; The Clash (reissue) (5/27) Def Leppard; Liam Gallagher; Wilco
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