John Mulderig

Capsule reviews of theatrical movies available now for streaming or scheduled for broadcast on network or cable television as well as notes on TV programming for the same week.

Moviegoers tempted by a title like “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” (Warner Bros.) are presumably not in search of Shakespearian levels of dramatic insight. Even so, the disparity between the reasonably impressive special effects on offer in the film and its low-grade human interaction remains noticeable.

Although the proceedings are acceptable for most grown moviegoers, they’ll find that the freshness and buoyancy of “Afterlife” are noticeably lacking. Maybe it’s time for “Ghostbusters” to yield the dancefloor after all.

The psychological and ethical complexities of front-line journalism are explored in depth in the dystopian drama “Civil War” (A24). The result is an engrossing but distressingly realistic film that’s fit for only a relatively small audience of grown viewers.

An inspiring but once little-known chapter of history provides the basis for the Holocaust drama “Irena’s Vow” (Quiver).

Can an aristocratic lifestyle and a secret narcotics business mix? According to both his eponymous 2020 film and its current small-screen variation, “The Gentlemen,” showrunner Guy Ritchie thinks they can.

Rosemary’s baby gets some competition in “The First Omen” (20th Century), director and co-writer Arkasha Stevenson’s prequel to a horror franchise that dates all the way back to 1976. While, like its long-ago predecessor, the film makes exploitative use of religion, this is overshadowed by the hideous deaths it showcases.

Way back in 1989, Patrick Swayze found an action vehicle in the tale of a brawling bouncer hired to keep the loutish patrons of an Indiana bar in line. Switch venues from the Midwest to the Southeast and substitute Jake Gyllenhaal’s biceps for Swayze’s and you have the wholly unnecessary remake “Road House” (Amazon MGM).