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 Oct. 5, 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

“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” (2023; Netflix)

Writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig’s adaptation of Judy Blume’s 1970 novel for adolescents follows the sixth grader of the title (Abby Ryder Fortson) as, with the help of her caring parents (Rachel McAdams and Benny Safdie), she reluctantly adjusts to a new hometown, school and set of friends (most prominently Elle Graham) while also coping with the absence of her formerly nearby paternal grandmother (Kathy Bates). Despite being raised with no religion due to the family conflicts that resulted from mom and dad’s interfaith marriage, she nurtures a secret, informal prayer life through which she seeks divine assistance not only with the outward changes she is experiencing but with the challenges of puberty as well. There’s plenty of clever comedy in this wry coming-of-age tale. But its humorously frank treatment of anatomical and biological development, together with the narrative’s apparent favoring of do-it-yourself spirituality over either Judaism or Christianity as a formal affiliation make this dicey material for unguided youngsters, though possibly a good starting point for an intergenerational discussion. Mature themes, including teen sensuality and menstruation, occasional sexual references, a couple of profanities, numerous milder oaths. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 – parents strongly cautioned. Some material may not be suitable for children.

“Invincible” (2006; Hulu)

Inspirational sports drama based on the true-life story of unlikely football star Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), a bartender who, falling on hard luck, tries out for his hometown Philadelphia Eagles and makes the team, winning over the coach (Greg Kinnear) and eventually the entire city. Director Ericson Core follows a generic underdog formula, but you’ll find it hard not to cheer for this feel-good film about overcoming obstacles and having the courage to follow one’s dreams. Some mildly crude language, intense football violence and a presumed off-screen premarital situation limit its appropriateness to older adolescents and up. The OSV News classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

“Murder on the Orient Express” (2017; Amazon Prime)

Sleek ensemble whodunit, set in the 1930s, presents Agatha Christie’s famed Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh who also directed), with an array of plausible suspects after a gangster (Johnny Depp) meets a grisly end on the luxurious train of the title. As Poirot questions the victim’s secretary (Josh Gad), butler (Derek Jacobi) and fellow passengers — most prominently, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penelope Cruz and Willem Dafoe — religious undertones are interwoven into a narrative that raises significant moral issues. Like the crime itself, and an earlier tragedy to which it seems to be tied, these ethical questions are unsuitable for kids. But Branagh’s take on this classic tale, made into a 1974 film by Sidney Lumet, is sufficiently restrained in other respects as to be possibly acceptable for older adolescents. A vengeance theme, scenes of violence, some gory images, a couple of uses of profanity, a few milder oaths, occasional sexual references. 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, Oct. 5, noon-1:30 p.m. EDT (EWTN) “Holy Mass on the Feast of St. Faustina.” Broadcast from the Divine Mercy Shrine in Vilnius, Lithuania (TV-G — general audience).

Sunday, Oct. 5, 7:31-11 p.m. EDT (ABC) “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022). Follow-up to the 2018 original bids farewell to the protagonist of that adventure (played by the late Chadwick Boseman), the sovereign of the imaginary African nation of the title, and introduces an antagonist (Tenoch Huerta Mejía) with whom both the deceased king’s mother (Angela Bassett), who now reigns as queen, and his scientist sister (Letitia Wright) must contend. Their adversary is not so much an outright villain as a leader determined to save his race of deep sea-dwelling descendants of the Maya by any means necessary. Like the Wakandans, the people of his civilization have access to an element that gives its possessors prosperity, technological advancement and superior weaponry and both groups have clashed with ordinary humans desperate to get their hands on the stuff. As the two female leads try to decide whether to ally themselves with the powerful newcomer or oppose him, director and co-writer Ryan Coogler uses this Marvel Comics-derived epic to explore how a sense of solidarity can steer characters away from aggression and the desire for vengeance and point them toward peaceable cooperation. But the inclusion of a vague form of ancestor worship into the proceedings makes the film unfit for the impressionable. Frequent stylized violence, nonscriptural beliefs and practices, glimpses of partial nudity, a couple of mild oaths, at least one rough term, several uses of crude or 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.

Tuesday, Oct. 7, 10-11:30 p.m. EDT (PBS) “Born Poor.” This episode of the series “Frontline” looks at the realities of growing up poor in America.

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 8-9:45 p.m. EDT (TCM) “Laura” (1944). Sparse mystery embroidered with moody romance from Vera Caspary’s novel about a police detective (Dana Andrews) investigating the reported murder of the beautiful title character (Gene Tierney) whose rise in the New York social set was aided by an influential radio commentator (Clifton Webb at his WASPish best). Things, of course, are not what they seem as director Otto Preminger probes the dark side of high society life while focusing on the dour detective’s growing fascination with the glamorous Laura and the vitriolic journalist’s feelings for his former protege. More for romantics than mystery fans, there are some scenes of menace, stylized violence and implied sexual encounters. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

Saturday, Oct. 11, 8-10:15 p.m. EDT (TCM) “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962). Fine political spine-tingler with Laurence Harvey playing a Korean War POW transformed by Red Chinese hypnosis into a deadly instrument of assassination before his return to the United States during a presidential campaign. By the time an ex-POW buddy (Frank Sinatra in a solid performance) figures out the reason for his strange behavior toward wife and family, a major manhunt and race with time are on. Director John Frankenheimer has fashioned a superior suspense movie with a growing intensity that adults and older teenagers may appreciate. 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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