As physical media continues its comeback, The National rounds up the best releases across film, music, art and more.
She Didn’t See It Coming by Shari Lapena
Shari Lapena is known for writing thrillers with more twists and turns than a Yas Waterworld ride – case in point: The Couple Next Door. So I am delighted that she has a new release this summer. She Didn’t See It Coming (out on July 15) promises to be a suspense-filled novel, about a wife and mother who goes missing, turning an entire inner-city condo building into a crime scene. Hopefully I'll have a quiet Sunday this month, when I can tuck in with the book and not emerge until I know exactly what happens.
Farah Andrews, head of features
The Adventures of Antoine Doinel, directed by Francois Truffaut
I'm a sucker for stories that chronicle the passage of time, and none have stayed with me more deeply than director Francois Truffaut's Antoine Doinel movies. The first, The 400 Blows (1959), is the greatest masterpiece of the French New Wave – a poignant character study of a rebellious 12-year-old boy, played by a then-unknown Jean-Pierre Leaud.
But if you stop there, you're doing yourself a disservice. For the next 20 years, Leaud and Truffaut checked in with Doinel at four other points in his life, allowing us to see the flawed man he grew into – a reflection of the parents he once hated.
As a film-loving teenager, I declared to everyone I met that these were my favourite films. Now that they've been remastered in 4K, perhaps it's time I start again.
William Mullally, arts & culture editor
Millennium 2.0 by Backstreet Boys
Backstreet’s back – sort of. The boy band is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Millennium with a re-release of the album as a 2CD Deluxe Edition. The new version includes remastered tracks from the original, along with bonus content such as previously unreleased demos, live recordings from their 1999-2000 Into the Millennium World Tour, and a new song called Hey.
The group have even recreated their all-white album cover look, adding a nostalgic visual touch to the commemorative release. Millennium held the record for most shipments in one year, with 11 million copies sold in the US in 1999. It was nominated for five Grammy Awards and became one of the best-selling albums, shifting 24 million copies worldwide.
Evelyn Lau, assistant features editor
Becoming Baba by Aymann Ismail
As an Arab father, it feels like this memoir was made in a lab just for me. As I learn to navigate how I shepherd my son through an often hostile world, it is comforting to see others facing the same dilemmas. Like much with fatherhood, it isn’t about answers, it is about asking the right questions.
Author Aymann Ismail is the son of Egyptian immigrants and a post-9/11 American teenager, who grew up balancing faith, fear and identity. When bomb threats hit his Islamic school in New Jersey, his parents transferred him to public school, where he became the first Muslim many of his classmates had met. At home, tradition held firm: gender roles, prayer, and caution ruled. But outside, Aymann navigated secularism and the chaos of American adolescence.
He eventually became a political journalist, determined to tell his own story. Then came love, marriage, and fatherhood and with it, fresh questions. What kind of Muslim man, what kind of father, does he want to be? In this memoir, Ismail explores the space between inherited values and personal evolution. It’s a portrait of a young family – and a young man – grappling with what to carry forward and what to leave behind, all in the hope of raising children with clarity and courage. Much like the TV series Ramy, while the setting can feel very American, there is a universality to the overall story.
Nasri Atallah, editor of The National's Luxury magazine
Small Soldiers, directed by Joe Dante
Nostalgia can often skew our perception of what was good media and what was just enjoyed by our young and impressionable minds. Returning to films and television we grew up with often doesn't hold up against our evolved and expanded tastes.
One film I've found myself loving and enjoying even more with age is Joe Dante's Small Soldiers. I must have worn out the VHS tape when I was young from the amount of times I watched it.
Years later, I revisited it and honestly, it's a spectacular adventure film. The premise follows a group of adversarial toys which gain sentience through artificial intelligence. What follows is a fun and thrilling experience.
The film will be available in a new 4K release which comes with a sleek steelbook case that should find a place in any film collection.
Faisal Salah, gaming and social media writer
Squid Game by Jung Jae-il
Timed with the release of the third and final season of Squid Game on June 27, acclaimed South Korean composer Jung Jae-il has compiled the best moments from the score he created for the global TV hit – now on vinyl.
Jung, known for his work on the Oscar-winning Parasite and Netflix hit Okja (both directed by Bong Joon-ho), blends classical and electronic sounds to create the intense atmosphere and emotional heft in Squid Game. Only 5,000 individually numbered copies of the vinyl release will be sold. It features two vinyls, one pink and one green – colours fans of the show will be familiar with – a pop-up sleeve and a four-page booklet with liner notes by Jung.
David Tusing, assistant features editor
