Movie & Television Reviews

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.

Practically everyone is quirky and philosophical, and nearly everyone dies violently in the rapid-fire thriller “Caught Stealing” (Sony).

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.

Moral squalor is the order of the day in the dark comedy “Honey Don’t!”. While clearly intended as an homage to film noir by director and co-writer (with Tricia Cooke) Ethan Coen, the rancid proceedings also borrow all too heavily from the sleazy world of 1960s and 1970s grindhouse fare.

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.