Our monthly round-up of the buzziest entertainment releases. This month: Alien: Romulus, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, and more.

Movies

Alien: Romulus

The sci-fi horror franchise Alien has had a grip on popular culture for 45 years. And there’s a good reason: the titular alien (or xenomorph) is a singularly terrifying and unforgettable movie monster. Audiences will encounter the insectoid, acid-blooded beasts again in Alien: Romulus.

Set in 2142 (in between the events of Alien and Aliens), Alien: Romulus centres on a group of young people from the mining colony Jackson’s Star. They discover the derelict space station Renaissance, owned by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, floating in space above them. It comprises two modules: the newer Romulus and the older Remus. The colonists board the ship, hoping to salvage valuable equipment, only to find it infested with the deadly xenomorphs.

Directed by Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe), Alien: Romulus sees the franchise return to its tense, claustrophobic roots. The Alien universe has a labyrinthian mythology spanning multiple films, but Alien: Romulus is pitched as a standalone entry that strangers to the franchise can enjoy on its own merits. Still, there’s plenty for hardcore Alien fans to enjoy here, not least of all Álvarez’s emphasis on practical creature effects, a gesture that harks back to the first two Alien movies. Besides the nostalgia factor, the star factor is also on display; the movie’s cast is led by up-and-comer Cailee Spaeny (Civil War, Priscilla) alongside David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, and Isabela Merced, among others.

Trap

Suspend your disbelief and strap in for an entertaining — albeit absurd — ride. M Night Shyamalan has written and directed this thriller-within-a-concert film primarily to drive attention to his daughter’s fledgling career as a pop star, but just because it’s meant as a vehicle to boost her popularity doesn’t mean Trap doesn’t work on its own merits. True to Shyamalan’s reputation, this is another mad caper: it follows serial killer Cooper Adams (Josh Hartnett, gleefully hamming it up here) as he tries to evade a trap set by the FBI while chaperoning his pre-teen daughter at a pop star’s concert. You will be mostly treated to Lady Raven’s (Saleka Night Shyamalan) energetic songs while Cooper, or ‘The Butcher’ as his serial killer moniker goes, figures out his escape plan. Just roll with Shyamalan’s idiosyncratic dialogue, and you’ll find it a suitably suspenseful — if also unexpectedly funny — experience.

TV

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

Based on the highly popular young adult novel of the same name, this Gen-Z-friendly murder-mystery series stars Wednesday cast member Emma Myers as the precociously intelligent and inquisitive 17-year-old Pip. Think of her character as a modern-day British Nancy Drew with a penchant for true crime, investigating the mysterious disappearance of a teen girl for a school project. Dark secrets threaten to be exposed, so Pip must contend with uncomfortable truths as she presses on with her crusade for justice. Pip is charmingly acted, as are her motley group of friends.

The Umbrella Academy S4

In 2019, audiences met the Hargreeves siblings: seven superpowered characters who were adopted by the eccentric billionaire Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore). They are Viktor/No. 7 (Elliot Page), Luther/No. 1 (Tom Hopper), Diego/No. 2 (David Castañeda), Allison/No. 3 (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Klaus/No. 4 (Robert Sheehan), Five/No. 5 (Aidan Gallagher), and the deceased Ben/No. 6 (Justin Min).

In the years since, the superhero show, based on the comic by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, has gained a cult following for its eccentricity, wild visuals, mind-bending story, and loveable characters.

In Season 3, the siblings faced off against the Hargreeves from an altered timeline, dubbed ‘the Sparrows’. Season 4 picks up from the aftermath of the climactic battle at the Hotel Oblivion at the end of the previous season. With the universe’s reset button activated, the Hargreeves siblings are now split apart and adrift. Their timeline has been completely altered, and they no longer have their powers but have to try to find their way in an unfamiliar world. Meanwhile, Reginald and his wife Abigail (Liisa Repo-Martell) run a powerful and sinister corporate empire. An organisation called The Keepers begins to suspect that their reality is fabricated and that a cosmic event is looming on the horizon. The Hargreeves must regain their powers and reconvene to save the world once more.

Pachinko S2

If you’ve never watched Pachinko, it’s time to catch up on this deeply emotional period drama that captivated audiences in its first season. Based on the New York Times Best Seller of the same name, it tells a story that unfolds over four generations. That story revolves around the life of Sunja (played by Youn Yuh-jung, Kim Min-ha, and Yu-na at different stages of the character’s life), a Korean woman who endures through Japanese-occupied Korea. Told in a non-linear fashion, the story takes us back and forth in Sunja’s life, from the hardships she experiences in her youth to her geriatric years as she navigates her relationship with her grandson, Solomon (Jin Ha), in 1989 Tokyo. Season 2 picks up where Season 1 left its viewers, with adult Sunja still in a Japan on the cusp of World War II and Solomon navigating his identity as a Western-educated Korean-Japanese. Season 2 brings you deeper into their lives, past and present, and reignites old relationships — namely the romance between Koh Hansu (Lee Min-ho) and Sunja.

The Tyrant

US intelligence discovers a covert programme started by South Korea to develop a bioweapon that enhances humans’ abilities, causing the initiative to be dismantled. Yet one of the programme’s samples was lost to an unknown assailant. As chaos unfolds, Director Choe (Kim Seon-ho), the youngest director at the intelligence agency who was secretly overseeing the project, sends his top operatives, Ja-kyung (Jo Yoon-su) and Mo-yong (Mu Jin-sung), to secure the bioweapon before it falls into the wrong hands. At the same time, Paul (Kim Kang-woo), a determined US intelligence agent, takes matters into his own hands, while Lim Sang (Cha Seung-won), a former agent with a dark past, joins the pursuit. It’s a race to see which of the three parties recovers the sample first.

Music

Childish Gambino — Bando Stone & the New World

Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino, has dropped his latest album, Bando Stone & the New World. This is the final album under Glover’s artist moniker (we’ll miss Childish Gambino — the name has a nice ring to it!) and also acts as an accompaniment to an upcoming film of the same name by the multi-hyphenate wunderkind. On the latest project, Glover explores a wide range of different emotions and genres, seamlessly switching from rapping to alt-rock tunes in a heartbeat. The record also features many other prominent artists, such as Yeat and Flo Milli, and boasts the technical prowess of legendary producers like Max Martin, Steve Lacy, and long-time collaborator Ludwig Göransson, who worked with Glover on 2016’s Awaken, My Love!