The It List: 'Bachelor in Paradise' returns with new hosts, ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ gather on Hulu, Hugh Jackman has a ‘Reminiscence’ machine and the best in pop culture the week of Aug. 16, 2021
The It List is Yahoo's weekly look at the best in pop culture, including movies, music, TV, streaming, games, books, podcasts and more. Here are our picks for Aug. 16-22, including the best deals we could find for each. (Yahoo Entertainment may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page.)
WATCH IT: Bachelor in Paradise returns with some familiar faces — and new hosts
It's been two years since our favorite castoffs looked for love in Mexico, but after a pandemic-filled hiatus, BIP is back. ABC is flipping the Bachelor in Paradise format on its head after the departure of the franchise’s longtime host, Chris Harrison, with the introduction of a rotating schedule of hosts including Lance Bass, Tituss Burgess, Lil Jon and David Spade for the upcoming season. The Aug. 16 premiere will also mark the show’s postpandemic debut and feature castmates from various seasons past who continue to look for love. Season 7 features a lot of men from Katie Thurston and Clare Crawley-Tayshia Adams's seasons of The Bachelorette, while many of the women previously competed for Matt James's and Peter Weber's hearts. There are some old fan-favorites (Becca Kufrin! Grocery Store Joe!) returning, too. And similar to seasons past, the show will have no shortage of drama, including a disruption from producers who are seen announcing, “It’s no longer safe for you guys to stay in Paradise,” in the show’s trailer. — Kerry Justich and Taryn Ryder
Bachelor in Paradise premieres Monday, Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
WATCH IT: The Smartest Kids in the World puts the U.S. school system under the microscope
Even before the coronavirus pandemic changed the face of American education, students were already facing immense challenges within the current system. Journalist Amanda Ripley addressed some of those challenges in her 2014 book, The Smartest Kids in the World, which serves as the launching point for Tracy Droz Tragos’s absorbing new documentary of the same name. Filmed before the pandemic and premiering Aug. 19 on the Discovery+ streaming service, the film profiles four high school students who travel overseas to countries like Finland and South Korea to find the kind of educational opportunities that are missing at home. This exclusive clip from the film profiles 16-year-old Sadie, who finds herself adrift and alone in her public high school in Maine. During the course of the film, she spends a year abroad in Switzerland, and discovers there’s a better way for her to go to school. — Ethan Alter
The Smartest Kids in the World premieres Aug. 19 on Discovery+.
WATCH IT: Nick Broomfield revisits Biggie and Tupac murders with Last Man Standing
In 2002, British provocateur Nick Broomfield released Biggie and Tupac, an unsettling, eye-opening deep dive into the murders of the revered hip-hop icons. Nearly 20 years later, Broomfield is back with what equates to a documentary sequel, Last Man Standing. The impetus? With Death Row Records chief Suge Knight — who’s long been whispered to be connected to Biggie’s death but never implicated — now behind bars for a long time, a lot more people are willing to talk about Knight’s alleged role in it all. Broomfield shifts the focus to Knight for Part 2, and it’s another whopper of a doc. Check out an exclusive clip from the film above. — Kevin Polowy
Last Man Standing opens in theaters and on-demand Aug. 20.
WATCH IT: You’ll feel the heat of the California wildfires in Lucy Walker’s documentary, Bring Your Own Brigade
Released in the midst of California’s wildfire season, Bring Your Own Brigade chronicles how the nation’s most populous state got to this increasingly perilous present moment — and what can be done to address it. Director Lucy Walker speaks with the survivors of the deadly 2018 fires that devastated multiple California communities, as well as the men and women who are combating the flames on the ground or in the lab. The film also features searing on-the-ground footage of the wildfires swallowing up homes and forests, forcing residents to flee for their lives. In this exclusive clip, some of Walker’s subjects explain why climate change alone isn’t responsible for why California’s fires have gotten more destructive in recent years, and why that doesn’t make them “climate change deniers.” — E.A.
Bring Your Own Brigade premieres Aug. 20 on Paramount+ and CBSN.
STREAM IT: Henry Golding draws crazy rich praise as Snake Eyes hits digital
G.I. Joe fans have been waiting for a Snake Eyes spin-off for years, and they finally got their wish with the July actioner released in theaters. While reviews for the film were mixed, there was one element almost everyone agreed was golden: Crazy Rich Asians breakout Henry Golding as the eponymous lone fighter recruited into the secretive Arashikage Clan. Check out an exclusive clip above of Golding breaking down his costume as Snake Eyes hits digital this week. — K.P.
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins premieres on digital and on-demand Aug. 17.
WATCH IT: Get to know crusading Congresswoman Barbara Lee in the documentary Speaking Truth to Power
For 22 years and 12 terms, Congresswoman Barbara Lee has served California’s 13th district in the U.S. House of Representatives and is currently the highest-ranking Black woman in Congress. Abby Ginzberg’s new film, Speaking Truth to Power, puts Lee’s public service career in the spotlight, illustrating how she was inspired by leading Black political figures like Shirley Chisholm to enter the political realm. Lee made her mark early in her tenure when she gave an emotional speech explaining why she was voting against the authorization of military force following the 9/11 attacks — the only congressional representative to do so. As she recounts in the film, that choice earned her praise, as well as death threats. This exclusive clip features political commentator Van Jones and Sen. Cory Booker sharing their thoughts about why Lee’s voice in Congress matters more than ever. — E.A.
Barbara Lee: Speaking Truth to Power premieres Aug. 20 in theaters and on VOD services, including Prime Video.
WATCH IT: The surrealistic animated thriller, Cryptozoo, is like X-Men meets Jurassic Park
After its award-winning premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Dash Shaw’s wildly inventive, fantastically surreal and definitely R-rated carton feature, Cryptozoo, is finally available to the general public. Destined to be a future midnight movie favorite, the hand-drawn film combines X-Men, Jurassic Park and The Last Unicorn into a wild ride. Lake Bell heads up an all-star vocal cast as Lauren, a dedicated seeker of "cryptids" — mythical and magical creatures that society at large either ignores or exploits. Although she hopes to keep these beings safe at the titular refuge, the outside world has other, more violent plans. This exclusive clip from the film shows off Shaw’s beautifully stylized animation, and the “human vs. cryptid” action that could give Jurassic Park’s dinosaurs a run for their money. —E.A.
Cryptozoo premieres Aug. 20 in theaters and on most VOD services; visit Fandango for showtime and ticket information.
WATCH IT: The mother-daughter drama, Confetti, provides an emotional immigrant story
Following the critical and commercial success of last year’s Oscar-winning Minari, Hollywood's door is open for more films about the Asian American immigrant experience. Enter Confetti, which stars Cloud Atlas star Zhu Zhu as Chen Lan, a young mother who brings her dyslexic daughter Meimei (Harmonie He) to New York City in search of a school that can help her. Moving in with a wheelchair-using author named Helen (Amy Irving), the two find themselves caught between underfunded, overpopulated public schools and private institutions that come with a huge price tag. Meanwhile, Chen Lan fights to hide her own learning disabilities at the expense of her mental and emotional health. This exclusive clip finds Chen Lan and Helen escorting Meimei to the neighborhood school, where they immediately realize that getting the help she needs will be a bigger challenge than expected. — E.A.
Confetti premieres Aug. 20 in theaters; visit Fandango for showtime and ticket information
STREAM IT: Hulu’s star-studded Nine Perfect Strangers puts mystery into healing
Can’t get enough of HBO’s The White Lotus? Hulu’s got you covered. The similarly sharp and entertaining comedic drama Nine Perfect Strangers follows that many privileged if tortured or broken souls to a ritzy health and wellness retreat where they face off against Nicole Kidman’s enigmatic Russian guru. Melissa McCarthy, Regina Hall, Bobby Cannavale, Samara Weaving, Michael Shannon, Luke Evans and Tiffany Boone help round out a stellar cast. – K.P.
Nine Perfect Strangers premieres Aug. 18 on Hulu.
HEAR IT: Yo! The Smithsonian raps
America’s most popular musical genre finally gets the Smithsonian package treatment it deserves, as the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings team up for the nine-disc, 129-track, four-decade-spanning boxed set Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap. The ambitious project, part of the Smithsonian African American Legacy Series, ranges from the influential work of early innovators like the Sugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa to current superstar MCs like Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Drake, and it comes with a 300-page coffee table book. To quote Boogie Down Productions, you must learn and pick up this box. – Lyndsey Parker
Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap is available Friday, Aug. 20 to purchase on Amazon.
WATCH IT: Kevin Bacon is the cherry on top of Ben & Jerry's: Clash of the Cones
Ice cream lovers will want to indulge in their favorite pint of Ben and Jerry's — or at least their current fave — during the four episodes of this new Food Network show, which features six ice cream makers from all over the country competing to create an original flavor for the delightfully hippie brand. (You know, your future favorite!) On each installment, the contestants will work at the brand's ice cream lab in Waterbury, Vt., to "capture the essence of a celebrity or pop culture icon in a new and innovative ice cream flavor," with the directions coming from the celebrity themselves. First up is ubiquitous actor Kevin Bacon, who challenges the chefs to craft a flavor with, yes, "6 degrees of ingredients." Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and two of Food Network's own stars, pastry chef Duff Goldman and baker Buddy Valastro, will serve as celeb inspirations on later episodes. — Raechal Shewfelt
Ben & Jerry's: Clash of the Cones premieres Monday, Aug. 16 at 9 p.m. on Food Network; it's available to stream on Discovery the same day.
HEAR IT: Lorde shines brighter than ever
After a more than four-year hiatus, Ella Yelich-O'Connor is finally back with her third album, Solar Power. Although the album does reunite her with frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff, the New Zealand singer-songwriter seems to have abandoned the goth-pop moodiness of her previous efforts — Pure Heroine and the Antonoff-produced Album of the Year Grammy nominee Melodrama— for feel-good beachy vibes, judging by the winsome “Stoned at the Nail Salon,” the sunshine-soaked title track and that famously internet-breaking album art. — L.P.
Solar Powerby Lorde is available Friday, Aug. 20 to download/stream on Apple Music.
BUY IT: Jim Henson’s Labyrinth celebrates 35th anniversary with 4K release
If you were a '70s or '80s baby, chances are your childhood included being enchanted by Labyrinth, the Jim Henson-directed, George Lucas-produced fantasy classic starring a young Jennifer Connelly, rock god David Bowie, and a colorful ensemble of puppet creations. The film now gets a 4K UHD upgrade in honor of its 35th anniversary, with an exciting cache of new special features including over 25 minutes of never-before-seen deleted scenes and screen tests for teen heroine Sarah that include Molly Ringwald and Growing Pains star Tracey Gold. — K.P.
Labyrinth releases on 4K UHD Aug. 17. Buy it on Amazon.
HEAR IT: You just can’t shake Debbie Gibson’s love
Before Taylor Swift or Billie Eilish, there was Debbie Gibson — who still holds the Guinness World Record as the youngest female artist to ever write produce and perform a Billboard No. 1 single (a feat she accomplished in 1987, at age 17). Now she’s back with her 10th album, The Body Remembers, her first studio release with original songs since 2001. But there’s one flashback track, a duet remake of her 1989 hit ballad “Lost in Your Eyes,” which features her peer Joey McIntyre of New Kids on the Block. Electric youth springs eternal! — L.P.
The Body Remembers by Debbie Gibson is available Friday, Aug. 20 to download/stream on Apple Music.
WATCH IT: Hugh Jackman has a memory machine in sci-fi thriller Reminiscence
Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy makes her feature film directorial debut with this clever blend of throwback film noir and futuristic sci-fi set in a post-apocalyptic Miami submerged in water. Hugh Jackman stars as a veteran of a seismic global war who now oversees a machine allowing weary residents to escape the darkness of their modern-day life by reliving happy memories — that is until his world is turned upside down by the arrival of Rebecca Ferguson’s femme fatale. Come for Jackman getting his Philip Marlowe on, stay for Joy’s striking visuals. — K.P.
Reminiscence opens Aug. 20 in theaters and on HBO Max. Get tickets on Fandango.
HEAR IT: Wanda Jackson throws one last party
The 83-years-young original queen of rockabilly announced her retirement in 2019, but she’s not quite done yet. Her final (and 32nd!) studio album, Encore, features fellow badasses like Elle King, Angaleena Presley, Candi Carpenter, Lori McKenna, and — as both a duet partner and producer — even the almighty Joan Jett. Jett’s imprint label, Blackheart Records, is also co-releasing Encore with Big Machine Records. The album is a fitting last hurrah for a legend like Jackson, whose trailblazing career began in 1954 when she was only 16 years old. — L.P.
Encore by Wanda Jackson is available Friday, Aug. 20 to download/stream on Apple Music.
—Video produced by Anne Lilburn and edited by Jimmie Rhee
