Your weekly guide to staying entertained any day of the weekmovingGear
Your weekly guide to staying entertained any day of the week
July 10, 2026
Welcome back to The Big To-Do. Sail Boston launches tomorrow, bringing a flotilla of tall ships to the waters around Boston and extending the semiquincentennial fun through Wednesday. Expect phenomenal weekend weather before temperatures start creeping up again. The forecast also calls for lots of sports. Wimbledon wraps up this weekend, with the women’s final tomorrow and the men’s final Sunday. The weekend’s World Cup games will set up next week’s semifinals — France made the cut by dispatching Morocco yesterday in Foxborough — en route to the July 19 final. And three Red Sox will compete in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
This week’s streaming picks from the Globe’s Matt Juul range from “new adaptations of beloved classics to guilty pleasure reality TV.” The latest One Special Thing is a turn-of-the-21st-century comic strip. And the arts brief section The Rundown includes compelling shows at art galleries near (the South End) and far (Portland).
Movies
Catherine Lagaʻaia as Moana in Disney's live-action "Moana." DISNEY
The live-action remake of “Moana” earns 2½ stars from Globe film critic Odie Henderson. As in the 2016 animated feature, Dwayne Johnson plays the demigod Maui, opposite newcomer Catherine Lagaʻaia in the title role. But “I say the same thing every time I review one of these remakes,” writes Henderson. “Even serviceable ones like ‘Moana’ can’t hide that they’re cynical cash grabs powered by fan service.”
Greek mythology has inspired filmmakers since the days of silent movies.With big-screen adaptations of “The Odyssey” and “Hadestown” opening this month, Henderson looks back — way back — and forward. “Get ready for a lighthearted take on cinematic Greek myths featuring Schwarzenegger, skeletons, and singing men of constant sorrow.”
TV & Streaming
D’Arcy Carden as Brooke, Regina Hall as Dru-Ann, Chloë Sevigny as Tatum, Jennifer Garner as Hollis, and Gemma Chan as Gigi in "The Five-Star Weekend." SEACIA PAVAO/PEACOCK
The Elin Hilderbrand adaptation “The Five-Star Weekend” is “earnest without being too saccharine.”Jennifer Garner stars as Hollis, a recent widow who invites four friends — played by Regina Hall, Chloe Sevigny, D’Arcy Carden, and Gemma Chan — to Nantucket. The eight-episode series is “not challenging, exactly, but it is thoughtful, and the writing is elevated even further by the talented ensemble,” writes Globe correspondent Caroline Siede.
A worthy companion piece to “The Westies” is “Godfather of Harlem.” Forest Whitaker brings “gravitas and charm” to his portrayal of the title character, Bumpy Johnson, a “real-life Black gangster, torn between making a buck and doing right by his community,” Vognar writes. The series, which premiered in 2019, “played like prestige pulp — violent, a little melodramatic, but unafraid to at least try painting an epic picture."
Mature works by Mark Rothko in the chapel-like gallery of "Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea," at the Cape Ann Museum.STEVE ROSENTHAL/CAPE ANN MUSEUM
Work by 10 artists and “a little bit of a laugh” feature in the group show “Punchline II.”Stand-up comedian Atsuko Okatsuka and her partner, Ryan Harper Gray, curated with Praise Shadows Art Gallery owner Yng-Ru Chen. “I just know when something makes me laugh or makes me giggle, I’m drawn to it, or it makes me happy,” Okatsuka tells Globe correspondent Cate McQuaid. Says Harper Gray, “You don’t need to know about art. Come on in.”
Music
Featured artists: Khn of Angine de Poitrine (top), Kacey Musgraves (left), Don Toliver (center), and Robyn (right). PHOTOS AP PHOTO/JOHN LOCHER, AP PHOTO/CHRIS PIZZELLO, KATE GREEN/GETTY, JOHN THYS/GETTY, ADOBE. ILLUSTRATION ALLY RZESA/GLOBE STAFF
“Heated Rivalry” fever is breaking containment.“This weekend, record stores across the country are hosting listening parties for the show’s soundtrack,” Globe correspondent Victoria Wasylak writes for Sound Check. “The show ... creates wonderful representation for the LGBTQ+ community,” says Wanna Hear It Records owner Joey Cahill. “I hope folks feel welcome to express their excitement for what this show represents.”
Noah Kahan’s four-date homestand at Fenway Park wraps up tomorrow.Two-plus years ago, when the singer-songwriter “was just beginning his ascent to global fame,” Globe correspondent Jill Oestreicher Gross visited his Vermont hometown with her daughter. “A core memory was born,” she writes, but the experience taught them a valuable lesson about traveling during mud season.
Dance
Sasha Yevsikov (front) and friends line dance on The Lawn on D at The Grove on July 1.DANIEL SARCH FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
Gen Z is stomping, kicking, and clapping the night away — in other words, line dancing. All over town, “a hot, thriving community dance trend [is] drawing younger people who are putting their own spin on the grapevine,” Globe correspondent Sarah Knight reports. “In a way, it’s the perfect dance for 20-somethings; you can learn it on TikTok or YouTube on your phone, then go out and dance next to real people, already knowing the steps.”
Jacob’s Pillow dominates the summer dance performance season, with abundant options elsewhere. Beyond the Berkshires, events on Martha’s Vineyard and in Maine and Rhode Island “offer a wide range of domestic and international offerings,” writes Globe correspondent Karen Campbell. Bates Dance Festival in Maine is already underway, and Newport Dance Festival starts next week.
Theater
Cher Álvarez and Travis A. Knight in "Paranormal Activity." TERESA CASTRACANE PHOTOGRAPHY
What is it about “Gatsby”? Adaptations “have struggled to harness the book’s power or move beyond the superficial,” writes Globe critic Chris Vognar. “So much of what makes the slim novel sing is in the author’s voice. ... It’s one of the many rich ‘Gatsby’ ironies: All that irresistibly fizzy prose depicts a rather nightmarish take on the American Dream.”
Books
“Famous Men” by Julie Buntin. RANDOM HOUSE/SYLVIE ROSOKOFF
Julie Buntin’s second novel, “Famous Men,” “pleases and provokes from every vantage point.” Leaving the hometown where she had “a reputation for being ‘trampy and
aloof,’” Will enrolls at the college where her favorite poet teaches. That sets in motion “a bildungsroman that explores the dynamics of power, ambition, and sexuality with the pulse and complexity of an intricate thriller,” writes Globe reviewer Leigh Haber.
The satirical comic-strip collection “Get Your War On” originated after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Illustrated with clip art, it’s “the essential artifact of Gen X early adulthood,” Kate Tuttle, who edits the Globe’s books section, says of this week’s One Special Thing. “There was something bracing and direct about [David] Rees’s work that reassured the reader that no, you’re not crazy and yes, this is all extremely messed up.”
Today’s newsletter was written by Marie Morris and produced by the Globe Living/Arts staff. Marie Morris can be reached at marie.morris@globe.com. Thanks for reading.
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