Home viewing roundup: What's available to stream and what's on horizon

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. 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

“Battle of Britain” (1969; Amazon Prime)

With the fall of France in 1940, Great Britain stood alone against the might of the German air force. The movie pays tribute to the smaller number of British fighter pilots who, in the months that followed, downed so many planes that the Luftwaffe was unable to mount its massive raids. Laurence Olivier, Michael Redgrave and Trevor Howard star in this huge and impressive British production directed by Guy Hamilton. Wartime violence. The OSV News classification is A-I — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association rating is G — general audiences. All ages admitted.

“Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” (2019; Netflix)

Two longtime antagonists, a retired American law-enforcement official (Dwayne Johnson) and a British military veteran (Jason Statham), are forced to work together after the latter’s estranged sister (Vanessa Kirby), an intelligence operative, is wrongly accused of stealing a bioweapon with the potential to wipe out a whole swath of the world’s population. The virus was developed by a secretive organization intent on killing off the weak and enhancing survivors — as they have already done with the seemingly unstoppable cyber-soldier (Idris Elba) they dispatch to retrieve the toxin. Barbs are traded, vehicles are raced and both fists and bullets fly in director David Leitch’s stand-alone addition to the popular action franchise. But the absence of gore, together with an implicitly pro-life message and themes of family unity and forgiveness, make this rowdy globetrotting chase acceptable for most grown viewers. Constant harsh but bloodless violence, including gunplay, explosions and torture, some sexual humor, a few uses of profanity, at least one rough term, much crude and crass language. 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. (Six other films from the franchise are also streaming.)

“The Lost City” (2022; Hulu)

Crowd-pleasing blend of action, comedy and love story in which a widowed romance novelist (Sandra Bullock) is kidnapped by a crazed billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe) who believes her latest book, based in part on research she did years earlier with her archaeologist husband, holds the key to finding a fabulous treasure buried on a tiny tropical island. Despite having none of the skills needed to do so, her cover model (Channing Tatum), who has long carried a secret torch for her, promptly sets off to rescue the scribe. As directed and co-written by brothers Aaron and Adam Nee, the travails of the central pair as they run through the jungle trying to evade the abductor’s minions certainly provide some amusing moments, and a cameo appearance by Brad Pitt in the role of a seemingly invincible Navy SEAL is nothing short of hilarious. But a couple of sequences, one of shocking mayhem and another in which a character strips down in a nonsexual context, make this doubtful fare even for mature teens. Brief harsh violence with graphic gore, shots of rear male nudity played for laughs, other sexual and scatological jokes, a couple of uses of profanity, several milder oaths, occasional crude and crass language. 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.

Looking Ahead

Sunday, Sept. 7, 3-6:30 a.m. EDT (EWTN) “Holy Mass With Canonizations.” Live broadcast from Rome’s St. Peter’s Square as Pope Leo XIV canonizes Blesseds Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlos Acutis. The liturgy will re-air 6-9:30 p.m. EDT (TV-G — general audience).

Sunday, Sept. 7, 6-8 p.m. EDT (TCM) “The Corn Is Green” (1945). Fine adaptation of the Emlyn Williams play set in 1895 when a dedicated teacher (Bette Davis) wins over a Welsh mining town and the local lord (Nigel Bruce) through her perseverance in starting a school and preparing her prize student (John Dall) to take the entrance exam for Oxford. Directed by Irving Rapper, the performances and period setting convincingly demonstrate the value of universal education, though an unwed pregnancy seriously complicates matters. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-III — adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

Sunday, Sept. 7, 8-11 p.m. EDT (ABC) “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (2023). Fifth and presumably final outing for the adventurous archeologist of the title (Harrison Ford). Mostly set in 1969, a dozen years after the events of its 2008 predecessor, the plot finds the digger-turned-professor drawn out of recent retirement by the resurfacing of a magical gadget with which he had been mixed up during his World War II heyday. Possession of the device soon becomes the goal in a three-way scramble pitting him against his Nazi adversary (Mads Mikkelsen) from the earlier period, now a NASA scientist, and the daughter (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) of one of his best friends (Toby Jones), a colleague who had become obsessed with the gizmo. Breezy and at times rich in creative spectacle, director and co-writer James Mangold’s actioner may lack the staying power of some of the earlier chapters in the franchise (all helmed by Steven Spielberg) which succeeded in making the protagonist an iconic figure in contemporary culture. But this drop of the curtain is an amiable diversion whose mayhem is bloodless and whose vocabulary rarely goes astray. Stylized gunplay and physical violence, at least one profanity, about a half-dozen milder oaths, a few crass terms. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II – adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating was PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Monday, Sept. 8, 8 p.m.-midnight EDT (AMC) “Saving Private Ryan” (1998). Riveting war drama set during and immediately after D-Day, 1944 when seven soldiers, led by their captain (Tom Hanks), are ordered to go behind German enemy lines to rescue a GI (Matt Damon) whose three brothers had been killed in action the previous week. Director Steven Spielberg brilliantly re-creates the horror and chaos of warfare, never losing sight of the soldiers’ humanity, savagery and patriotism even as they question the justification of their mission. Graphic battlefield violence with gore, some profanity and recurring 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.

Tuesday, Sept.. 9, 9:45-11:30 p.m. EDT (TCM) “Marty” (1955). Low-key tale of a 34-year-old butcher (Ernest Borgnine) who falls for a shy science teacher (Betsy Blair) despite the disapproval of his mother (Esther Minciotti) and his Bronx buddies. Written by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by Delbert Mann, the story of two lonely people who’ve come to think of themselves as losers only to discover they’re not is told with sincerity and warmth, gaining much credibility from the realistic treatment of its urban ethnic setting. Excellent fare for teens. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

Thursday, Sept. 11, 10-11 p.m. EDT (PBS) “Sky So Blue.” Filmmakers Michael Finnegan and David Trapasso Jr.’s documentary examines the lives of five families who lost loved ones on 9/11.

Saturday, Sept. 13, 9:40-11:31 p.m. EDT (HBO) “Civil War” (2024). Engrossing but hard-edged dystopian drama follows a celebrated photojournalist (Kirsten Dunst) as, in the company of two veteran colleagues (Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson) and a youthful professional neophyte (Cailee Spaeny), she sets out to chronicle the last stages of a highly destructive second American civil war. Writer-director Alex Garland uses the mentoring relationship that develops between Dunst’s character and Spaeny’s to explore the psychological and ethical complexities of frontline journalism. His depiction of the mayhem the quartet encounters on its journey toward a besieged Washington, however, is distressingly realistic. Much graphic, gory violence, including torture, gruesome images, a couple of profanities, a few milder oaths, pervasive rough language, numerous crude terms. 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 R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Home viewing roundup: What’s available to stream and what’s on horizon

Streaming Now

Looking Ahead

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