Going out: Cinema

Captain America: Brave New World
Out now
In the latest instalment of Marvel mayhem, Anthony Mackie stars as Sam Wilson-slash-Captain America, with Chris Evans having bowed out. And replacing William Hurt following the veteran actor’s death is Harrison Ford, hulking out as antagonist Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, president of the USA and occasional Red Hulk. Oh brave new world indeed.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
Out now
We’ve seen singleton Bridget, pregnant Bridget, now here comes widowed solo-parenting Bridget for the presumably final instalment in the Ms Jones chronicles, at least until Helen Fielding writes another bestseller. While raising her six- and 10-year-old children by the late Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), Bridget (Renée Zellweger) finds herself embroiled in another love triangle.

Memoir of a Snail
Out now
After Grace’s mother dies during pregnancy, she is raised alongside her twin brother by an alcoholic father. But hold up: this isn’t some gritty social-realist drama. No, this is a gritty social-realist stop-motion animation, with voicework from Sarah Snook and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

BFI Future film festival
20 February to 6 March, Nationwide
Now in its 18th year, this celebration of young film-making talent is back at the BFI showcasing the work of the new generation, aged 16-25. The festival takes place at BFI Southbank, online and in UK cinemas. Catherine Bray

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Going out: Gigs

Klangforum Wien
Wigmore Hall, London, 16 & 17 February
One of Europe’s leading new-music ensembles makes a rare visit to London, with conductor Vimbayi Kaziboni and mezzo soprano Barbara Kozelj, for concerts devoted to music composed in Vienna in the first decades of the 20th century. The first features Schoenberg, Mahler and Zemlinsky, while in the second Schoenberg’s revolutionary Pierrot Lunaire is prefaced with music by Schreker, Eisler and Busoni. Andrew Clements

Pitbull
3Arena, Dublin, Wednesday; The O2, London, 21 February
The self-proclaimed Mr Worldwide touches down in the UK and Ireland for just two shows as part of his Party After Dark tour. Expect a litany of 2010s bangers such as Give Me Everything and Timber. Support comes from Lil Jon. Michael Cragg

Strictly Smokin’ Big Band ft Emma Rawicz
Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Gateshead, 21 February
The young UK saxophonist-composer started getting noticed when she was still a student, and her 2022 debut album Incantation clinched her growing reputation for seamlessly merging classic-sax soulfulness and post-Coltrane edge. She fronts north-east bandleader Michael Lamb’s genre-bending orchestra for this one-off show. John Fordham

Carly Pearce
19 to 28 February; tour starts London
While her four albums haven’t troubled charts in the UK, as with a lot of American country stars the Grammy-winning Pearce has built up a loyal following. This tour of mid-sized venues is in support of last year’s Hummingbird, which features the excellent revenge anthem, Truck on Fire. MC

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Going out: Art

Flowers
Saatchi Gallery, London, to 5 May
The first modern artists were fascinated by flowers, from the bouquet being delivered to Manet’s Olympia to Van Gogh’s intense arrangements. This exhibition follows that floral cult into today’s art with a huge and colourful gathering of artists, from Caroline Larsen to Damien Hirst.

Emii Alrai
Compton Verney, Warwickshire, to 15 June
Volcanoes have inspired and exhilirated artists for centuries: in the 18th century, painters flocked to see Vesuvius, the volcano that had buried ancient Pompeii, erupt once again. Emii Alrai responds to Compton Verney’s collection of their paintings with rugged, lava-like sculptures. Her installations bring the sublime up to date.

Vanessa da Silva
Mostyn, Llandudno, to 31 May
Brazilian modern art is increasingly renowned, with the Royal Academy currently celebrating its early history. Vanessa da Silva brings the abstract and spatial energy of Brazil’s Concrete and Neo-Concrete schools up to date. Her colourful sculptures evoke traditional folk dances, and the power of Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian rituals.

Citra Sasmita
Barbican: The Curve, London, to 21 April
Women fly like birds, or open their heads, out of which living trees sprout. The folklore and mythology of Indonesia gets a feminist rebirth in the paintings of self-taught artist Citra Sasmita, who works with the Kamasan technique, invented in the 1400s. She reverses its traditional dominance by male artisans. Jonathan Jones

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Going out: Stage

Lynn Faces
New Diorama theatre, London, 18 February to 1 March
What do you do when you’re escaping a coercive relationship at 40? Form a punk band, of course. First performed at the Edinburgh fringe, playwright Laura Horton’s gig-theatre show is a musical tale of emotional resilience, rebuilt confidence, and Alan Partridge’s PA. Kate Wyver

Figures in Extinction
Aviva Studios, Manchester, 19 to 22 February
The world premiere of the complete Figures in Extinction trilogy by choreographer Crystal Pite and Complicité director Simon McBurney – only the first section has been previously seen in the UK. It’s a haunting, searing (and perhaps hopeful) meditation on humanity’s impact on nature. Lyndsey Winship

Champion
Live theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne, to 8 March
Live theatre specialises in stories rooted in the north-east, here taking us back to 1977, when Muhammad Ali came to town. This new play by Ishy Din, associate playwright at the Royal Court, explores the impact of the venerable boxer’s visit on one family in South Shields. KW

Atsuko Okatsuka
Glasgow, Thursday; Manchester, 21 February; London, 22 February
Many comics riff on their upbringing; few have a backstory as disturbing as this Taiwan-born standup, who grew up in Japan with a schizophrenic mother before being “kidnapped” by her grandmother and taken to the US. But don’t expect an earnest account of childhood trauma; instead Okatsuka’s work brims with quirky wit and childlike vim. Rachel Aroesti

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Staying in: Streaming

The White Lotus
Now & Sky Atlantic, 17 February
It’s check-in time! Mike White’s darkly amusing (and often extremely sinister) luxury resort-set anthology series ups sticks to Thailand for a third trip of a lifetime. The hotel guest list includes a troubled businessman (Jason Issacs) and his brood, plus a peppy young woman (Aimee Lou Wood) and her cynical partner (Walton Goggins).

A Thousand Blows
Disney+, 21 February
Since finding success with Peaky Blinders, Steven Knight has become an astonishingly prolific screenwriter; A Thousand Blows – his sixth TV series since 2023 – sees him return to England’s historic criminal underbelly with a tale anchored in the illegal boxing scene of 1880s London. Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty star.

Zero Day
Netflix, 20 February
Robert De Niro plays a former president tasked with investigating a deadly cyber-attack in this starry new series, which also features Jesse Plemons, Dan Stevens and Lizzy Caplan. The vibe may be schlocky, but the creators – Narcos showrunner Eric Newman, ex-NBC News president Noah Oppenheim and Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Michael Schmidt – know their stuff.

EastEnders: 40 Years on the Square
iPlayer & BBC One, 17 February, 8pm
Only 40 years?! From Pat and Peggy to Barry and Beppe, the London-set soap’s hold on the nation’s imagination has been strong and steady since the moment it debuted in February 1985. Now the show is taking stock with this Ross Kemp-helmed anniversary documentary revisiting iconic moments and trailblazing storylines. RA

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Staying in: Games

Avowed
Out 18 February; Xbox, PC
First-person, colourful, well-written fantasy for appreciators of Oblivion and Skyrim who don’t want to ossify waiting for the next Elder Scrolls. Come for the interesting magic-infused combat against fungus-infected beasts, stay for creative social commentary. Keza MacDonald

Afterlove EP
Out now; PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC
The creators of cult hit Coffee Talk return with another sensitive gem, this time following budding musician Rama as he grapples with grief amid the trials and joys of everyday life in modern Jakarta. Expect a slice-of-life adventure with plenty of heart. Keith Stuart

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Staying in: Albums

Mallrat – Light Hit My Face Like a Straight Right
Out now
Australian-born, LA-based pop practitioner Mallrat, AKA Grace Shaw, returns with the follow-up to her 2022 debut, Butterfly Blue. Continuing that album’s blend of dreamy ambience and airy cloud rap, it also mixes in thrilling, big pop moments sich as Ray of Light.

Alessia Cara – Love & Hyperbole
Out now
After emerging in 2015 with sleeper hit Here, Canadian Cara has won a earn a Grammy and collaborated with the likes of Zedd and Troye Sivan. On this fourth album she teams up with producer Mike Elizondo for 14 tracks that showcase her emotionally frayed vocals.

Horsegirl – Phonetics On and On
Out now
For their second album, alt-rock trio Horsegirl – AKA Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein and Gigi Reece – relocated to New York from their native Chicago, recording in a freezing cold studio with producer Cate Le Bon. The result is an intimate, hyper-focused collection of off-kilter songs anchored by the excellent Switch Over.

Bartees Strange – Horror
Out now
The English-American singer-songwriter leans into that surname on his third album. Raised in Oklahoma on a diet of scary stories to teach him about life, and horror films to make him strong, here he alchemises that fear into power via songs like the genre-hopping Too Much. MC

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Staying in: Brain food

System Crash
Podcast
With tech oligarchs exerting increasing influence on global governments, this series from writers Paris Marx and Brian Merchant offers crucial insights into the latest developments, from celebrity crypto scams to battles over free speech.

Adavya: An Ecology of Love
Online
The digital learning platform offers intriguing courses that touch on topics such as death, gender and environmentalism with often unusual perspectives. Mark Valentine’s weekend with their course on biology and romantic connection.

Intrigue: Word of God
Radio 4, 19 February, 9.30am
Ben Lewis hosts this seven-part series about billionaire Steve Green, whose obsession with acquiring biblical artefacts produced an antiquities scandal. Episode two sees papyrologist Roberta Mazza investigate a suspicious artefact at the Vatican. Ammar Kalia