Movie & Television Reviews

Viewers allergic to cats, whether physically or by temperament, should steer clear of the colorful but cutesy musical fantasy “Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie” (Universal). So, too, should cynics, curmudgeons and anyone given to even occasional grumpiness.

“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.

Robert Redford’s environmental activism, which included serving as a trustee for Natural Resources Defense Council for decades and lobbying for what became the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, became as famous as anything he’d ever done in Hollywood.

It’s a nonstop annual slog in which 50 teen boys, all at least 18 years old and chosen by lottery, walk more than 300 miles through a dystopian Midwest landscape, using their own food supplies with water provided, for as long as the walk lasts.

The knockabout mix of demonology and Catholic vaudeville that has characterized a popular franchise gets what’s billed as its final outing in “The Conjuring: Last Rites” (Warner Bros.). As though to bring things full circle, though, this adieu is linked to one of the two main characters’ very first encounter with the forces of darkness.

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.