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Top Picks: 'Last Flag Flying,' 'David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef,' and more

PBS gives you a look behind the scenes with the new program 'Queen Elizabeth’s Secret Agents,' the AccuWeather app has all the up-to-date information you need, and more top picks.

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Reuters/File
  • By Staff

Volcano life

What is it like to live close to a volcano? According to National Geographic, more than 75 percent of Indonesia’s population could answer that question, as they’re living within about half a mile of one. Check out the thoughts of residents on the advantages and dangers of their intriguing living situation in National Geographic’s video, part of its Short Film Showcase, at http://bit.ly/volcanoindonesia.

Accurate forecast

Whether you need to know if the temperature is in the negatives again or wondering if it will finally get cold enough to snow, the AccuWeather app has all the up-to-date information you need, offering forecasts to the minute. Among other features, alerts for severe weather can keep you aware of when you need to stay inside. The app is free for iOS and Android.

The Art Fund/AP/File

Elizabethan behind the scenes

You may be familiar with Queen Elizabeth I, the legendary British monarch who presided over a famous and successful time period in her country. But PBS gives you a look behind the scenes of her reign with the new program Queen Elizabeth’s Secret Agents. The program focuses on such figures as William Cecil, who advised the queen and influenced foreign policy (in one episode, we see him dealing with the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Mary, Queen of Scots). It premières Jan. 28 at 10 p.m.

Flag story

Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, and Steve Carell star in Last Flag Flying. Carell portrays the father of a deceased US Marine who asks friends Sal (Cranston) and Richard (Fishburne) with help bringing back his son’s body. Monitor film critic Peter Rainer praises Fishburne’s performance in particular, writing that the actor “gives a highly nuanced performance, one of his best.” The movie is available on DVD and Blu-ray on Jan. 30.

AP/File

Attenborough in Australia

Legendary naturalist David Attenborough, equipped with state-of-the-art technology, turns his attention to one of the most astonishing places in the world in David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef. It airs on the Smithsonian Channel Jan. 31 at 8 p.m. 

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