What to watch: Yes, 'Mufasa,' we can still feel the love tonight
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That Circle of Life keeps on rolling. The holidays are here again, and so is another "Lion King."
But good news, fam. While Disney's 2019 redo of the 1994 classic was a mixed bag, director Barry Jenkins gives us something fresh with the prequel "Mufasa: The Lion King." (Good luck keeping it together after the in-movie tribute to James Earl Jones.) While there's plenty to see in theaters on Christmas Day (from "Wicked" and "Moana 2" to "Nosferatu" and "A Complete Unknown"), now is the time to tuck into some drama at home because Kerry Washington owns being a military hardcase in Netflix's Tyler Perry war movie "The Six Triple Eight."
And before I forget: Whatever holiday you celebrate this time of the year, we wish you and your loved ones peace, joy and happiness. Plus something cool to watch, of course.
Now on to the good stuff:
See 'The Lion King' back on the big screen in the prequel 'Mufasa'
The one thing I remember most about the 2019 "Lion King" was, sure, the photorealistic lions and animals were pretty nifty visually but I couldn't stop thinking how it was just the same story done better the first time. So it's nice to report that "Mufasa" is an improvement in every way telling the tale of how Mufasa (voiced by Aaron Pierre) and Taka (Kelvin Harrison. Jr.), aka Scar, went from besties to bitter rivals. Also fun to note: Blue Ivy Carter has a neat little role as Mufasa's granddaughter, adding to her mom Beyoncé's legacy with the franchise. (Peep my ★★★ review.)
Those of a certain age will remember the standout Elton John and Tim Rice songs from the OG "Lion King," and the new Lin-Manuel Miranda "Mufasa" jams are worthy of the Disney musical canon. In a chat with Jenkins and Miranda about creating an insightful "Lion King" story, the songwriter told me he was inspired both by conversations with Jenkins and also "great lines of dialogue" – most notably when young Taka says, “I have a secret, Mufasa. I always wanted a brother."
“I was like, ‘That's a banger song title! That's the sentiment I want to use to get to know these brothers,’” Miranda says.
Stream Tyler Perry's World War II movie 'The Six Triple Eight' with Kerry Washington
We're used to seeing movies with grizzled white guys playing leathery military men chewing out their platoons on the regular. Kerry Washington takes that trope to task in "The Six Triple Eight," a Netflix World War II drama based on a true story. She plays Maj. Charity Adams, the no-nonsense leader of an all-Black unit in the Women's Army Corps with a morale-boosting mission: to head overseas and sort through a three-year backlog of undelivered mail. They would ultimately route 17 million pieces to and from soldiers and their families.
The real Adams "was stern and strict and had very high expectations" but "did it with a level of love and compassion," Washington tells my colleague Anika Reed of the film. The actress also told Anika about how Perry screened the movie for Lena Derriecott King, one of the last surviving members of the battalion, before her death last January at age 100. "She laughed and she saluted the screen, and she said, 'Thank you for letting the world know that Black women contributed,' " Washington says.
Pour one out for the 'Yellowstone' season finale
After five seasons of the most soapy, bonkers cowboy stuff you'd ever want, "Yellowstone" wrapped up a lot of story lines last Sunday with an on-brand finale. Rip took someone to the "train station," two Dutton siblings always at each other's throats literally fought to the death, and naturally there was some country music and a ton of scenic views of mountains, barns and ranch houses.
But before we move on to a whole bunch of spinoffs, let's look back. Our resident "Yellowstone" reporter Bryan Alexander broke down the final season's five biggest moments, recapped the return of Grammy winner Lainey Wilson and talked with director Christina A. Voros about how the show's two pivotal couples ended the series with "their own little slice of heaven."
Even more goodness to check out!
- I dropped my top 10 list of 2024's best movies last week, and my review of "The Brutalist" explains why it's No. 1.
- The first trailer for James Gunn's "Superman" premiered Thursday. Happy to report that it's also a dog movie (and looks awesome).
- Keanu Reeves voices the antagonistic Shadow in "Sonic the Hedgehog 3." Which means it's time to update the official Keanu movie roles ranking.
- It was a big week for reality TV, with reveals of the winner of "Survivor" Season 47 as well as the identities of the Buffalos and Wasp on "The Masked Singer" Season 12.
- No one puts Baby in a corner. Library of Congress, though? Totally fine. "Dirty Dancing" was among the 25 films newly added to the National Film Registry, and it's nice to see "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Beverly Hills Cop" also make the cut.
Got thoughts, questions, ideas, concerns, compliments or maybe even some recs for me? Email btruitt@usatoday.com and follow me on the socials: I'm @briantruitt on Bluesky, Instagram and Threads.