John Mulderig

A surprisingly substantive film, “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” (20th Century) is more a psychological study than a musical biography. As such, it invites those older viewers for whom it’s appropriate to engage with its sometimes troubling story intellectually and emotionally rather than be passively entertained.

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.

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.

The sci-fi action movie “Tron: Ares” (Disney) represents the Mouse House’s second big-screen attempt to recapture the magic of what turned out to be a remarkably prophetic 1982 feature, now regarded as a cult classic. Unfortunately, the film is not an instance of the third time being lucky.

For better or worse, the sports biopic “The Smashing Machine” (A24) registers as a highly realistic film. With both a real-life figure as its focus and a documentary as its source material, that may be unsurprising. But the low-key, unsensational approach adopted by writer-director Benny Safdie ultimately produces varied results.

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.

“Light of the World” (Salvation Poem Project), an animated recounting of the Gospel story, provides an excellent vehicle for delivering its fundamental message in an easily absorbed manner. Although the film includes material that would be too frightening for tots, more mature youngsters are its appropriate target audience.

Both the upstairs and downstairs inhabitants of the titular stately home get a splendid send-off in “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” (Focus). A couple of subplots interwoven into this third big-screen iteration of the franchise, however, suggest the abundant elegance it offers is best reserved for grown-ups.