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.

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.

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.