The following are capsule reviews of theatrical movies available now for streaming or scheduled for broadcast on network or cable television during the week of July 7, as well as notes on TV programming for the same week. Televised films may or may not be edited for language, nudity, violence and sexual situations while the programs listed have not been reviewed and therefore are not necessarily recommended by OSV News.
Streaming Now
“Death on the Nile” (2022; Hulu)
The tangled relationships linking an heiress (Gal Gadot), her newlywed husband (Armie Hammer) and the embittered woman (Emma Mackey) who was once both her best friend and his fiancee may or may not be the cause of fatal events during a cruise on the titular river. With an ensemble of suspects to choose from among his fellow passengers on the excursion (including Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Russell Brand and Ali Fazal) acclaimed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh, who also directed) will need all his skill to unravel the mystery. This visually elegant period piece, adapted from the 1937 novel by Agatha Christie, gets off to a skittish start but settles down into an intriguing whodunit that, as scripted by Michael Green, gains heft from its reflections on Poirot’s past. Probably acceptable for older teens. Brief but intense combat violence, fleeting images of gore, scenes of sensuality, references to homosexuality, at least one use of profanity, several milder oaths. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
“The Lego Movie” (2014; Netflix)
This lively animated adventure, populated by the toys of the title, centers on an ordinary construction worker (voice of Chris Pratt) who finds himself taken for a prophesied hero and propelled on a crusade to thwart an evil CEO’s (voice of Will Ferrell) scheme to control the world. He’s aided in the struggle by, among others, a tough but fetching underground activist (voice of Elizabeth Banks), her self-centered boyfriend, Batman (voice of Will Arnett), and the pixilated mystic who predicted the champion’s arrival in the first place (voice of Morgan Freeman). Opposing them is the would-be dictator’s principal minion (voice of Liam Neeson), a police officer torn between the good and bad sides of his own personality. Colorful, fast-paced and diverting for both young and old, directors and co-writers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s film is also surprisingly pointed in its satire of conformist consumerism. A format-shifting conclusion showing family bonds trumping selfishness is another asset. Cartoon mayhem, some peril, a bit of mild scatological humor. The OSV News classification is A-I — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. (The sequel “The Lego Batman Movie” (2017) is also streaming.)
“Oppenheimer” (2023; Amazon Prime)
Impressive but uneven portrait of the famed theoretical physicist of the title (Cillian Murphy in a complex portrayal) who died in 1967, aged 62. Writer-director Christopher Nolan compellingly depicts both the scientist’s collaboration with a hard-driving Army general (Matt Damon) in the race to develop the atomic bomb during World War II and his far more complicated relationship with a former patron-turned-critic (Robert Downey Jr.) whose eventual opposition contributed to the travails the left-leaning theorist faced once anti-Communist sentiment became prevalent during the early stages of the Cold War. Chapters of the three hour-long film devoted to his early career and murky personal life (Emily Blunt plays his feisty biologist wife, Florence Pugh his troubled psychiatrist girlfriend) are less intriguing. Offsetting its potential educational value as an absorbing retrospective, and the subtlety of its approach to the morality of war, is the inclusion of needlessly frank scenes of the protagonist’s womanizing that even mature viewers may wish to avoid. Strong sexual content, including graphic activity and recurring upper female nudity, an adultery theme, brief gruesome sights, about a half-dozen profanities, a couple of milder oaths, several rough terms, occasional crude and crass language. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Looking Ahead
Sunday, July 7, 10-11 p.m. EDT (EWTN) “Evangelizing Catechesis.” Bishop Frank J. Caggiano of Bridgeport, Conn., leads a panel discussion about evangelizing catechesis and its vital importance for the church today. Part of the series “Franciscan University Presents” (TV-G — general audience).
Monday, July 8, 9:45-11:45 p.m. EDT (TCM) “The Roaring Twenties” (1939). Classy gangster melodrama in which a jobless World War I vet (James Cagney) makes a fortune as a bootlegger during Prohibition but goes bust in the stock market crash, then tangles with his prosperous ex-partner (Humphrey Bogart) to save the husband (Jeffrey Lynn) of his old flame (Priscilla Lane). Directed by Raoul Walsh, a newsreel narration sets the plot developments in the context of the times, with Cagney in top form as the “good bad guy” who comes to a tragic end. Stylized violence, some of it quite nasty. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.
Tuesday, July 9, 10-11 p.m. EDT (PBS) “From Here/From There (De Aqui/De Alla).” Filmmaker Marlene “Mo” Morris’ documentary profiles Luis Cortes Romero, the first undocumented attorney to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Wednesday, July 10, 5:15-8 p.m. EDT (AMC) “Ocean’s Thirteen” (2007). After a convoluted European sojourn in “Ocean’s Twelve,” the third film in the stylish caper franchise returns to its entertaining if morally questionable Las Vegas roots as Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and company — motivated by loyalty to their cohort Reuben (Elliott Gould) — target an egotistical hotel mogul (Al Pacino). The buildup is more exciting than the payoff, but director Steven Soderbergh makes it easy to watch all the moving parts in this elaborate and of course improbable job. Some glorification of crime, crude language and profanity, sexual innuendo, one extended if nongraphic scene of sensuality. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating was PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Saturday, July 13, 5:35-8 p.m. EDT (HBO) “Wonder Woman” (2017). Enjoyable adventure for the DC Comics superhero (Gal Gadot) takes her from her home environment — an island of Amazons isolated from the rest of the world — into the thick of World War I. Her involvement in the conflict follows the accidental intrusion of an American (Chris Pine) who’s spying for the British into her native realm, an event she takes as a signal that her race is being called to bring peace to humanity. Since her mother (Connie Nielsen), who is also the queen of the warrior women, disagrees, she undertakes the mission on her own. Guided by the agent, and with the support of a high-ranking government official in London (David Thewlis), she uses her military training (under Robin Wright) to take on real-life German commander Gen. Ludendorff (Danny Huston) and the fictional, sinister scientist (Elena Anaya) who runs his chemical weapons program. Though director Patty Jenkins keeps the mayhem mostly free of gore, and the dialogue in Allan Heinberg’s script is unspotted by vulgarity, the sexuality that tinges the central romance, though restrained, makes the film best for grownups. Possibly acceptable for older teens. Frequent stylized violence with minimal blood, nonscriptural religious ideas, implied premarital sexual activity, a scene of immodest behavior, some sexual humor, at least one mild oath, a single crass term. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating was PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Saturday, July 13, 8-9:56 p.m. EDT (Cinemax) “Now You See Me” (2013). A quartet of professional magicians (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher) is caught in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse in this entertaining caper film directed by Louis Leterrier. Brought together by a mysterious capitalist (Michael Caine), the four become a world-famous act. But one outrageous stunt they manage to pull off — a long-distance and very public bank robbery — attracts the attention of an FBI agent (Mark Ruffalo), his Interpol counterpart (Melanie Laurent) and a reality show host (Morgan Freeman) whose mission is to expose the secrets of the trade. Though it contains a slightly disturbing pagan element, in the end, Leterrier’s film is a harmless and witty romp for grown-ups, yet one that lingers in the memory no longer than the time required to shout, “Abracadabra!” Mild action violence, a vulgar gesture, sexual innuendo, some crude and profane language. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating was PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. (Followed by the sequel “Now You See Me 2” (2016) 9:56 p.m.-12:06 a.m. EDT)
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