Movie & Television Reviews

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 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).

The movie is based on the real-life experiences of Catholic nurse Irene Gut Opdyke (1918-2003). Famed for her rescue of Jews, Opdyke was named Righteous Among the Nations by the Israeli Holocaust Commission.

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.

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.

Well-crafted but intense and unsparing, the survival horror game “Alan Wake 2” (Epic) presents a narrative that delves into the human psyche in a sophisticated way. Only those grown-ups willing to encounter graphic content, however, should grapple with it.