Movie & Television Reviews

The outstanding characteristic of the “Bad Boys” buddy cop movies has always been the sheer delight with which they depict violence. So when, after a two-film rampage over the turn of the millennium, the franchise fell quiescent for almost as long as Rip Van Winkle snoozed, it was a case of letting a sleeping cinematic dog lie.

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 world’s most famous lasagne-loving, Mondays-averse feline gets a third big-screen outing with “The Garfield Movie” (Columbia). Director Mark Dindal’s animated adaptation of cartoonist Jim Davis’ long-running comic strip is generally amiable and family-friendly. Yet it’s only fitfully amusing and feels disposable.

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.

Some games are no fun, like playing cat and mouse with homicidal maniacs. Such is the desperate fate that befalls the main characters in the penny dreadful “The Strangers: Chapter 1” (Lionsgate). Why moviegoers would want to bear witness to their meaningless ordeal, however, remains a mystery.

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.

John Krasinski wrote, directed and plays a prominent role in the generally wholesome fantasy “IF” (Paramount). Yet, while the good intentions behind his film are evident, it ends up registering as a sweet but flawed piece of entertainment, one that gets in its own way by trying too hard to be liked.

Hulu’s “Under the Bridge,” based on a true story, premiered in April and will continue to release new episodes weekly through May 29. The drama, rated TV-MA largely for its violence and language, stars Keough (of Prime Video’s “Daisy Jones and the Six”) and Golden Globe winner Lily Gladstone.