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 Sept. 22, 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
“Stand By Me” (1986; Netflix)
The power of this drama lies in the simple, profound truths four boys learn about themselves while on a journey through the backwoods of their rural hometown in the late 1950s. Director Rob Reiner’s pre-teen coming-of-age picture carefully avoids excess while focusing upon simple tests of patience, courage, caring and the joys of male camaraderie. Some harsh language, uncharacteristic of the times, and brief violence but it is an experience some parents might wish to share with their youngsters. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
“Super 8” (2011; Hulu)
Writer-director J.J. Abrams ably blends nostalgia, drama and sci-fi thrills as he travels back to 1979 Ohio where a half-dozen youthful film enthusiasts (most prominently Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney and Riley Griffiths) use the local railroad station as a set for the endearingly amateur zombie flick they hope to enter in a local festival. But things take an unexpected turn when they witness — and their camera captures — a mysterious train accident. Though the military arrives in force, trying to conceal the truth about the incident, the wreck sets in motion a series of odd and ominous events that one of the moviemaker’s dads, the town’s deputy sheriff (Kyle Chandler), is determined to investigate. Gently handled themes of loss, first love and family reconciliation add depth to this wry horror homage. But, while the romantic elements are kept enjoyably innocent, the onscreen teens’ vocabulary makes this unsuitable viewing for their real-world contemporaries. Much action violence with some gore, drug use and references, several instances of profanity, at least one rough and many crude terms. 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.
“21 Grams” (2004; Amazon Prime)
Gripping drama about three strangers — a math professor awaiting a heart transplant (Sean Penn), a recovering drug addict (Naomi Watts) whose husband and two young daughters die in a hit-and-run accident, and the struggling ex-con-turned-born-again-Christian (Benicio Del Toro) responsible for the tragedy — whose lives converge in a nexus of rage, revenge and repentance. Buttressed by tour-de-force performances, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu interweaves disparate narrative strands, crafting a grim and gritty morality tale which ruminates on the interconnectivity of people’s lives while exploring with unflinching emotional honesty themes of fate and faith, life and death, despair and hope, sin and redemption. Several sexual encounters with partial nudity, recurring rough and crude language as well as profanity, some violence and drug abuse, a suicide attempt and a fleeting erotic image. 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.
Looking Ahead
Monday, Sept. 23, 4:15-6 p.m. EDT (TCM) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” (1939). Still one of the best screen adaptations of the Twain classic with Mickey Rooney properly scrappy in the title role and Rex Ingram strong and dignified as his companion, the freedom-seeking Jim, with Walter Connolly and William Frawley as the confidence men they meet along the river. Director Richard Thorpe captures much of the youthful wonderment and the spirit of adventure that makes the original such enjoyable reading. Fine family fare. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-I — general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.
Tuesday, Sept. 24, 11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m. EDT (EWTN) “Mass on the Solemnity of Our Lady of Walsingham.” This Eucharistic liturgy, broadcast from the Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham in England, commemorates the Virgin Mary’s apparitions to Lady Richeldis in the 11th century (TV-G — general audience).
Wednesday, Sept. 25, 8-10:45 p.m. EDT (TCM) “Oklahoma!” (1955). Director Fred Zinnemann’s stunning, delightful yet surprisingly serious adaptation of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is set in the relatively innocent days when Oklahoma was getting ready to join the Union and everything was up-to-date in Kansas City. Shirley Jones is absolutely winsome as the fresh-as-milk farm girl, Gordon MacRae almost outsmarts himself as her cowpoke-beau and Rod Steiger is downright malevolent as would-be suitor Jud Fry. The plot is corny as all get-out, the music and dance numbers charming and memorable but the melodrama tends to be a tad too heavy. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.
Friday, Sept. 27, 5-7:30 p.m. EDT (AMC) “Misery” (1990). Injured in a car crash, a romance novelist (James Caan) is rescued by his number one fan (Kathy Bates) who keeps him in her remote farmhouse and becomes his deadly tormentor. Stephen King’s horror story becomes a tautly edited, gripping psychological thriller in the hands of director Rob Reiner who coaxes top-notch performances from the chilling Bates, the terrorized Caan and a crafty sheriff (Richard Farnsworth). Climactic graphic violence and minimal 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, Sept. 28, 8-10:25 p.m. EDT (HBO) “The Martian” (2015). Compelling sci-fi epic in which the crew of a NASA mission to Mars (led by Jessica Chastain) is forced to evacuate the planet on short notice due to the sudden arrival of a windstorm that threatens to destroy their rocket. As they scramble to depart, their botanist (Matt Damon) is struck by debris and swept away in the tempest, leaving his colleagues with no time to mount a rescue attempt. Though officially declared dead by the agency’s chief (Jeff Daniels), the astronaut is in fact still alive. Yet, with limited supplies of food and water and no means of communicating with Earth, his chances for long-term survival are bleak. Director Ridley Scott’s screen version of Andy Weir’s novel uses its protagonist’s plight to examine fundamental aspects of the human spirit: courage and ingenuity, the fear of isolation and the yearning for solidarity. Though screenwriter Drew Goddard’s script touches on religion only in passing, its references to faith are all the more eloquent for being apparently casual and all the more pointed because of a science-celebrating context in which such affirmations might mistakenly be thought to be out of place. Possibly acceptable for older teens. Some medical gore, a flash of rear nudity, scatological and other mature references, a couple of uses of profanity, at least one rough term, occasional crude and crass 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.
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