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 Aug. 4, 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
“Funny People” (2009; Hulu)
Told he has only a short time to live, a successful but isolated Hollywood comedian (a pitch-perfect Adam Sandler) hires a struggling comedy novice (Seth Rogen) as his assistant and sidekick. But their budding friendship is threatened by the protege’s disapproval of his mentor’s potentially destructive reunion with a now-married ex-girlfriend (Leslie Mann). Under a thick crust of raunchy humor and ostensibly misguided sexual attitudes, mature viewers willing to endure a barrage of vulgarity may discern a moving affirmation of moral courage, marital fidelity and the pursuit, however halting, of a meaningful, committed life in writer-director Judd Apatow’s overlong but generally effective seriocomic tale. Brief graphic nonmarital sexual activity, adultery, upper female nudity, pervasive rough and crude language, a half-dozen uses of profanity. The OSV News classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
“Midnight Sun” (2018; Netflix)
This remake of the 2006 Japanese film “Song to the Sun” is a sweet, heartfelt movie, directed by Scott Speer, that presents a refreshing view (for Hollywood, that is) of young people who are not behaving badly. A teenager (Bella Thorne) suffers from an incurable disease due to which any exposure to sunlight could prove fatal. Housebound during the day, she is cared for by her overprotective father (Rob Riggle) and best friend (Quinn Shephard). Venturing out one evening, she meets her long-time crush (Patrick Schwarzenegger), whom she has secretly watched from her bedroom window for years. They fall for each other, but he is unaware of her condition. Mature teens will benefit from this old-fashioned romance with its positive role models and good lessons in love and compassion, the elements listed below notwithstanding. Scenes of underage drinking, some mild sensuality, one crude term. The OSV News classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939; Amazon Prime)
Classic piece of Americana in which an idealistic junior senator (James Stewart) stages a one-man filibuster to stop the corrupt machinations of his political mentor (Claude Rains). Director Frank Capra’s paean to American democracy has a solid plot, fine acting from a memorable cast, including Jean Arthur and Thomas Mitchell, as well as a lot of heartfelt patriotic sentiment that few will find dated. The OSV News classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.
Looking Ahead
Sunday, Aug. 4, 5:15-8 p.m. EDT (TCM) “Thoroughly Modern Millie” (1967). In a musical spoof of the Roaring Twenties, Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore seek careers and romance in New York City with the help of handsome John Gavin and debonair James Fox. Director George Roy Hill’s irreverent lark gets some good support from Bea Lillie and Carol Channing, some songs that characterize the period and a fast-moving script that has something for everybody. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-I — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association rating was G — general audiences. All ages admitted.
Monday, Aug. 5, 10-11:30 p.m. EDT (PBS) “Fauna.” Filmmaker Pau Faus’ documentary profiles a shepherd who lives in a forest on the outskirts of Barcelona alongside a high-tech laboratory for animal experimentation. Part of the series “POV.”
Tuesday, Aug. 6, 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m. EDT (EWTN) “Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.” This eucharistic liturgy is broadcast from the traditional site of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor in the Holy Land (TV-G — general audience).
Saturday, Aug. 10, 8-10 a.m. EDT (TCM) “Dancing at Lughnasa” (1998). Wistful tale set in 1936 rural Ireland where five impoverished, unmarried sisters (led by schoolmarm Meryl Streep) are visited by their sickly priest brother (Michael Gambon), back from 25 years in Africa, and the youngest sister’s wandering lover whose 8-year-old son the sisters are jointly raising. Director Pat O’Connor’s beautifully bittersweet movie captures the sisters’ indelible bond of love despite crushing emotional and financial hardships. An unmarried relationship and a rude expression. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating was PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. (Part of a marathon of eight Streep films, beginning with “Julia” (1977) 6-8 a.m. EDT and ending with “Silkwood” (1983) 1-3:15 a.m. EDT Sunday, Aug. 11.)
Saturday, Aug. 10, noon-2:30 p.m. EDT (AMC) “A Bronx Tale” (1993). Growing up in the 1960s, an Italian-American youth (Lillo Brancato) is torn between the decent values of his bus-driver father (Robert De Niro) and the easy-money life of the neighborhood crime boss (Chazz Palminteri) who treats him like his own son. Also directed by De Niro, the well-realized drama makes a convincing moral statement in its picture of a youth who comes to recognize the emptiness of dirty money and the deadly mayhem it spawns. Some violence, racial slurs, sexual references and much rough language. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating was R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Saturday, Aug. 10, 8-9:35 p.m. EDT (HBO) “Taken” (2009). Formulaic and contrived but effectively tense thriller about an ex-government operative (Liam Neeson) hunting for his missing teenage daughter (Maggie Grace) who has been kidnapped by Albanian sex traffickers in Paris. Director Pierre Morel keeps things moving with a flashy visual style, and Neeson plays his role with a genuine intensity that almost, but not quite, makes you overlook the improbable setup and ludicrous plot developments. Intense but nongraphic action violence including torture, multiple killings, vigilante justice, some crude language and expressions, and a single profanity. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association rating was PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
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