Our monthly round-up of the hottest entertainment releases. This month: The new Captain America movie, Lady Gaga’s latest hit, and more.

Movies

Captain America: Brave New World

Say the name “Captain America”, and for most moviegoers, one character comes to mind: Steve Rogers. But while he might be the best-known bearer of the mantle, many others in Marvel’s comics have taken up the iconic circular shield, including Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). In the MCU, Rogers (Chris Evans) passed said shield to Wilson at the end of Avengers: Endgame.

The fourth Captain America movie, Brave New World, revisits earlier MCU entries, including The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, Eternals, and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, picking up some forgotten threads while showing audiences an MCU that is transforming and taking steps into the future.

Wilson is now comfortably inhabiting the Captain America identity with Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) by his side as the new Falcon. They face off against Seth Voelker/Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), leader of the terrorist group SERPENT.

Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross (Harrison Ford), formerly a US military general and then the Secretary of Defence, has been elected president. He attempts to ratify a treaty between the US, France, India, and Japan to share control of Celestial Island in the Indian Ocean, home to a precious new resource. (Remember the big baddie that was rising out of the ocean at the end of Eternals? Yup, that’s Celestial Island now.)

After Ross survives an assassination attempt, he becomes increasingly paranoid and anxious, leading him to make questionable political decisions. As an international crisis unfolds, Wilson must uncover a conspiracy masterminded by a shadowy ringleader hellbent on vengeance.

Legendary movie star Harrison Ford’s entrance into the MCU is arguably the movie’s biggest draw. He succeeds the late William Hurt, who played Thunderbolt Ross in The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Widow. As comic book readers know, his alter ego is the formidable Red Hulk, and Brave New World builds to a climactic confrontation between Cap and Red Hulk.

Maria

Angelina Jolie gives an acting masterclass in Maria, bringing to life the legendary opera singer Maria Callas. The film follows the last seven days of her life in 1977 Paris but is far from a sombre retelling. Instead, director Pablo Larraín infuses the biopic with warmth and humour, celebrating Callas’ artistry, passion, and relationships — including her close ties with her house staff (which is a historically accurate detail).

The film paints an intimate portrait of a woman torn between personal problems and professional triumphs. Through flashbacks, Maria captures her love for opera, as well as her struggles with fame and drugs, including Mandrax, a sedative she took.

Of course, a movie like this rises or falls on the calibre of its lead, and Jolie does not disappoint. Having taken months of opera and singing classes before production started, Jolie effortlessly inhabits the character, lending her grace and vulnerability.

In the end, you’ll leave the movie sure of this fact: Even in her final days, Maria Callas’ voice and spirit remain unforgettable.

Maria

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Movie Listing

Maria

The film follows the American Greek soprano as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous and tumultuous life in the public eye. Maria reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days.

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TV

When the Stars Gossip

When the Stars Gossip is a space opera — if space operas took place in present-day South Korea. Lee Min-ho (who also stars in the critically acclaimed series Pachinko) plays Gong Ryong, an obstetrician-gynaecologist and a space tourist with a secret mission: to inseminate an embryo while in space. His life collides with Eve Kim (Gong Hyo-jin), a no-nonsense space scientist on her first mission as space commander. While Gong Ryong tries to keep his mission under wraps, an unexpected romance blossoms between them — but this budding relationship is complicated by the life-and-death situations they encounter in orbit. But secrets don’t stay hidden forever. The duo must navigate their growing feelings while keeping their respective partners in the dark about what they’re up to.

Come to this suspenseful romantic drama for its high concept and stay for the sizzling chemistry between its leads.

Solo Leveling S2

Let’s not beat around the bush: Solo Leveling is all about the action. This shōnen anime series doesn’t put up any pretence of being profound. Instead, it proudly wears its adrenaline-spiked heart on its sleeves: it is most concerned about thrilling audiences with its fight sequences.

It is set in a world where hunters — humans who possess special or supernatural abilities — must battle deadly monsters to protect mankind from certain annihilation. The man at the centre of the story is Sung Jin-woo (Taito Ban), a notoriously weak hunter who finds himself in a seemingly endless struggle for survival. One day, after narrowly surviving an overwhelmingly difficult dungeon raid that nearly wipes out his entire party, a mysterious programme called the System gives him the unique ability to ‘level up’. He quickly grows powerful and, in the second season, continues accruing strength.

Based on the South Korean fantasy web novel of the same name, this anime adaptation has become a pop culture phenomenon — and it’s easy to see why. Its action sequences are kinetic, imaginative, and vividly animated, and Jin-woo’s zero-to-hero trajectory is the stuff of pure escapist power fantasies.

Who says shows need to be brainy to be great? In its second season, Solo Leveling proves that dumb fun can be as entertaining as smart fun.

Music

Lady Gaga — Abracadabra

Old testament Lady Gaga is back. Released on the day of the Grammy Awards, “Abracadabra” mixes electronic and house music, both of which were pivotal in defining Gaga’s music, as well as the sounds and influences of her 2020 album Chromatica.

Full of fiery, Gaga-esque lyrics (including her own name-drop, naturally) about love and evolution, the single is an empowering anthem for self-discovery. Featuring an earworm of a chorus, it has also inspired dance trends across the internet, with critics raving about Gaga’s return to her early-career sound as she develops further on her legendary style of blending the avant-garde with pop sensibilities. Her newest song also comes with an equally stylish music video in tow, with strange, unsettling — but absolutely mesmerising — visuals that continue to cement Gaga as one of the most prolific pop innovators in modern music.