Movie & Television Reviews

Despite its depiction of some of the world’s most pressing problems, filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi’s polished retrospective maintains a tranquil tone as it looks back over the 37 journeys to 53 different countries undertaken by the pontiff during the first nine years of his pontificate.

This sequel to the 2019 origin story for the titular DC Comics character serves up action, special effects and some humorous dialogue, it fails to make much of a lasting impression.

Fans of comic auteur Mel Brooks may be anxious to view the Hulu streaming series “History of the World: Part II,” the small-screen follow-up to his 1981 movie, subtitled — what else? — “Part I.”

The dreary horror flick “Scream VI” is the latest entry in a franchise that now looks desperate for ways to rejigger its formula of attractive young actors getting stabbed by its trademark masked killer, Ghostface.

The light-hearted tone of the stylish comic spy yarn “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre” (Lionsgate) suggests that it should be approached in an equally relaxed mood.

Although “Atomic Heart” is set in an alternate version of the Soviet Union, the release of a game primarily focused on Russian military activity of any kind within days of the first anniversary of that nation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine registers as inappropriate at best and sinister at worst.

All eight roughly half-hour episodes of showrunner Tony Basgallop’s adaptation of Bentley Little’s novel are currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Refreshingly free of the usual objectionable ingredients, this generally appealing Evangelically flavored look back at a somewhat surprising chapter in Baby Boomer history is doctrinally dodgy but ethically uplifting.