The Fantastic Four: First Steps to Chief of War: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

The Guardian

3 days ago

The Fantastic Four: First StepsOut now
Marvel returns with a retro-pastiche version of The Fantastic Four. The family of superheroes: Reed Richards AKA Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm AKA Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm AKA Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm AKA the Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) battle space god Galactus (Ralph Ineson, AKA Finchy from The Office), in a 1960s-themed adventure.
We Crip film festivalBFI Southbank, London, 26 & 27 July
With a title chosen by a disability advisory board aiming to positively reclaim the slur 'crip', this festival at the BFI Southbank (previously known as Busting the Bias) offers films, panels and more to celebrate Disability Pride Month, across both days this weekend, including a short film programme It's Not You, It's Ableism and a closing-night event, An Audience With Kyla Harris: Cripping the Screen Industries.
GazerOut now
Film-making couple Ryan J Sloan and Ariella Mastroianni co-wrote and self-funded this low-budget 16mm film noir together, for him to direct and its stylish slow burn is the real deal. Mastroianni receives an offer that seems too good to be true, and – whoops! – by the time she realises, she's in too deep to get out.
The Bad Guys 2Out now
Sam Rockwell returns as the voice of Mr Wolf, head honcho of the notorious reformed crime outfit the Bad Guys, together with his right-hand snake, Mr Snake (Marc Maron), master of disguise Mr Shark (Craig Robinson) and the rest of the gang,, in this sequel to the 2022 family animation. This time around, they're being pulled back in for one last job by an all-female criminal squad featuring the voices of Danielle Brooks, Maria Bakalova and Natasha Lyonne. Catherine Bray
JIN
Tue & Weds, The O2, London
With BTS returning next year after each member completed their time in the South Korean military, the band's vocalist JIN is heading to London for two solo shows. Expect songs from his two mini-albums – including the buoyant, Gary Barlow-penned Running Wild – plus some BTS bangers.
Boardmasters
Wed to 10 August, Newquay, Cornwall
Cornwall's beach-based singing and surfing extravaganza returns with a lineup headlined by Raye, Central Cee and the Prodigy. Other artists serenading the sea include Leigh-Ann, Flo, Wet leg, and, as seems obligatory for every festival this year, Natasha Bedingfield is also involved. Michael Cragg
Claire Martin with Ian ShawSt Mary's Church, Petworth, 29 July
The partnership of world-class UK jazz vocalists Claire Martin and Ian Shaw has kept its hip vivacity for more than 25 years, their performances unfailingly entertaining, witty and often moving gems of the jazz singer's subtle art. This gig, with Shaw also on piano, reinvents a century of classic hits, from wartime anthems through to Bowie, Joni Mitchell and beyond. Andrew Clements
The AtonementHereford Cathedral, 31 July
Among the more regulation choral fare in this year's Three Choirs festival, a revival of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's festival commission from 1903 stands out. Depicting the events leading up to Christ's crucifixion as described in the gospels, The Atonement is a five-movement sacred cantata; Samuel Hudson conducts the Hereford performance, which marks the 150th anniversary of Coleridge-Taylor's birth. John Fordham
Arctic ExpressionsKirkleatham Museum, Redcar, to 28 September
This touring exhibition from the British Museum delights in the resilience and ingenuity of Arctic peoples. The Inuit and other cultures of the world's most northerly inhabited regions use the natural world around them to make everything they need – and create symbolic art that sees nature as powerful and sentient.
Andy GoldsworthyRoyal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, to 2 November
A retrospective for this artist who was making sustainable art long before the full facts of the climate crisis were known. Goldsworthy sculpts in the landscape instead of depicting it. He creates poetry from dry stone walling or fallen leaves. Here are 50 years' worth of artworks that stand with nature.
Jane and Louise WilsonBloomberg Space, London, to 1 January
The twin artists who became famous for their film art in the 1990s and were shortlisted for the Turner prize turn to more introspective, ancient themes as they investigate the archaeology of the City of London, in this gallery adjoining the Roman temple to Mithras. See all that lies beneath.
Secrets of the ThamesLondon Museum Docklands, to 1 March
This exhibition takes you on a filthy, muddy quest for wonder and history. It celebrates mudlarking, the popular hobby that has some Londoners spending weekends in wellies on the Thames shoreline. You can find anything in and by this great river, from Roman bricks to clay pipes and Victorian bottles. Jonathan Jones
Patti HarrisonSoho Theatre Walthamstow, London, ; Soho theatre, London, to 7 August
The wildly irreverent US comic (Poker Face, I Think You Should Leave) pitches up in London for a bumper Soho Theatre run: first a two-hour standup extravaganza in Walthamstow, then a variety show residency in Soho called Don't Ask – a title that offers some clue to Harrison's trademark blend of chaotic, envelope-pushing humour. Rachel Aroesti
Brixton CallingSouthwark Playhouse, London, to 16 August
The origin story of the O2 Academy Brixton, transformed from a derelict cinema into a famed music venue by Simon Parkes. Starring actor-musician Max Runham and featuring a live 80s soundtrack of reggae, punk, rock and rave. Miriam Gillinson
Make it HappenFestival theatre, Edinburgh, 30 July to 9 August
A new play about the rise and fall of the Royal Bank of Scotland from the ever-insightful James Graham. How did the world's biggest bank grow unchecked at such a rate and what role did it play in the financial crash of 2008? Starring Succession's Brian Cox. MG
Ensemble festivalRoyal Victoria Docks, London,
A free festival of dance, circus, physical theatre and street art, curated by arts organisation Certain Blacks. Things to see include a splashy sustainability-themed 'water installation', an aerial dance show about the simple act of wanting a hug, and a tribute to 1950s dancehalls by Miss High Leg Kick. Lyndsey Winship
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Chief of WarApple TV+, 1 August
Hawaiian-born action hero Jason Momoa co-creates and stars in this historical drama about his spectacularly scenic birthplace. Alongside a largely Polynesian cast, Momoa plays the titular Ka'iana, a warrior determined to unify Hawaii's four islands at the turn of the 18th century as the threat of colonisation creeps ever closer.
Destination XiPlayer & BBC One, 30 July, 9pm
Attention Race Across the World stans: globetrotting gets (another) reality-gameshow twist in this series helmed by the great Rob Brydon. A group of contestants board a blacked-out bus; when they arrive at their destination they must battle to identify their European location – but a slew of twists make their task surprisingly tricky.
Inside the Cult of the Jesus ArmyiPlayer & BBC Two, 27 July, 9pm
Few real-life cult stories are as chilling as that of the Jesus Army, whose mission to build a Christian idyll in 1970s Northamptonshire descended into community mired in child sexual abuse. This two-part documentary traces the project's trajectory and the ongoing trauma it caused its members.
LeanneNetflix, 31 July
Sitcom maestro Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory) teams up with Tennessee comedian Leanne Morgan to bring broad, network-style comedy to the streaming age with this warm, joke-laden show about a middle-aged woman adjusting to singledom after her husband unexpectedly leaves her. RA
Grounded 2PC, Xbox; out 29 JulyThe sequel to Honey I Shrunk the Kids-style multiplayer game, in which you work in a team to fight off giant insects in an overgrown playground. Definitely not one for entomophobes.
Tales of the ShirePC, PS5, Xbox, Switch; out 29 July
Live that hobbit life in a refreshingly cosy take on the Lord of the Rings universe. No harrowing adventures here, just cooking, eating second breakfast and doing wee favours for your hairy-toed neighbours. Keza MacDonald
Reneé Rapp
Bite Me (out now)
The 25-year-old actor, singer and non-stop quote machine (see her recent interview with comedian Ziwe for more details), returns with her second album of bolshy pop bops. Singles Mad and Leave Me Alone are pepped up vessels for brattish anger, while Why Is She Still Here? showcases Rapp's full-bodied voice.
Wisp
If Not Winter (out now)
On Natalie R. Lu's debut album the San Francisco combines shoegaze, the Cocteau Twins and heavy rock, her featherlight voice often tossed about on waves of crashing guitars. That's showcased best on the heaving Breathes Onto Me, while electronic textures sparkle around the edge of Sword.
The Armed
The Future is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed (out now)
After going fully meta on 2023's Perfect Saviors by critiquing the concept of rock stardom via an album full of arena rock, the mysterious – the official lineup has never been confirmed – collective return with an all-guns-blazing hardcore album. Well Made Play might start like the Killers but soon sound like an aneurysm.
Laura Groves
Yes (out now)
This four-track follow-up to 2023's Radio Red album, finds Bradford-born singer, songwriter and producer Groves offering up more heartfelt, 80s-indebted soft-pop. Featuring collaborations with the likes of Joviale and Fabiana Palladino, it's a perfect showcase for Groves' sonic world-building and melodic prowess. Michael Cragg
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against TimeMonday, Disney+
Two decades on from the devastating Hurricane Katrina, this moving five-part series features testimony from survivors on how the storm engulfed New Orleans and ushered in a new era of American emergency responses.
Democracy:DifferentlyPodcast
Academics Keith Hyams and Jessica Sutherland host this engaging and detailed podcast discussing the state of modern democracy. Alongside experts, they analyse the practical ways developments such as fake news and AI are affecting our politics today.
DubnoteOnline
A nifty new app for musicians and creatives, Dubnote turns phone voice notes into categorised and combinable records of the creative process. Sift through sketches and organise thoughts from your mobile rather than doom-scrolling. Ammar Kalia