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 March 1, 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

“Blended” (2014; Hulu)

That rarity of rarities, a sincere film about two families becoming one, and since it stars Adam Sandler, whose trademark tends to be scatological gags, it’s more than a bit of a surprise. Director Frank Coraci and screenwriters Ivan Menchell and Clare Sera hew to a rigid formula now common for the genre: The problems of each of five children are dealt with individually and completely, without condescension. Frank references to bodily functions, light sexual banter, fleeting crude language. 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.

“How to Train Your Dragon” (2025; Netflix)

Live-action remake of the popular 2010 animated adaptation of Cressida Cowell’s children’s novel. As before, its youthful, socially isolated protagonist (Mason Thames) initially yearns to gain renown and impress the lass of his dreams (Nico Parker) by slaying one of the dragons his Viking community has been battling for generations. But after he first spares a wounded fire-breather and then befriends it, he discovers that the creatures are mostly hated because they have been misunderstood. While writer-director Dean DeBlois, who co-helmed the original with Chris Sanders, continues to offer exciting visuals, this time out the drama centering on the clash between the lad and his he-man warrior dad (Gerard Butler) feels forced. So, although the script is largely free of objectionable content, its peaceable basic theme and lessons about finding your own identity and demonstrating loyalty to friends aren’t driven home with much conviction. Stylized violence with characters in peril, nonscriptural religious practices, brief anatomical humor, several mild oaths. The OSV News classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may be inappropriate for children.

“Sleepless in Seattle” (1993; Amazon Prime)

After hearing a Seattle widower (Tom Hanks) and his boy (Ross Malinger) on a syndicated radio talk show on Christmas Eve, a young reporter (Meg Ryan) feels irresistibly drawn to the man even though she is engaged and lives in Baltimore. Director Nora Ephron turns in a highly appealing if unabashedly romantic love story about singles and families, liberally sprinkled with comic moments. Some mild sexual references and a live-in relationship. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

Looking Ahead

Sunday, March 1, 4-6 p.m. EST (TCM) “The Band Wagon” (1953). Classy backstage musical in which a veteran Hollywood hoofer (Fred Astaire) tries to revive his flagging career by starring in a Broadway musical comedy written by old pals (Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant). But the production lays an egg after its pretentious director (Jack Buchanan) adds a serious Faustian theme and a temperamental ballet dancer (Cyd Charisse). Director Vincente Minnelli’s loving spoof of show business serves up a delightful mix of Howard Dietz-Arthur Schwartz songs, including “That’s Entertainment,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “I Love Louisa,” grand production ensembles ranging from ballet to tap and the show-stopping “Triplets” number with Astaire, Fabray and Buchanan as manic toddlers. Mild romantic complications. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

Wednesday, March 4, 9:30-10:30 p.m. EST (PBS) “Cleopatra’s Last Temple.” This episode of the series “Secrets of the Dead” examines a discovery in the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt, that could reveal new information about Cleopatra’s reign and her connection with the goddess Isis.

Friday, March 6, 8-9:30 p.m. EST (TCM) “For All Mankind” (1990). Original footage and audio from NASA’s nine manned lunar flights (1968-72) are edited together to create a composite lunar mission from liftoff to landing. Filmmaker Al Reinert provides glorious visuals and new astronaut interviews but viewers will be confounded by his unidentified mix and melding of Apollo astronauts and launches into one mission. With clarifying introductory remarks, it may benefit young students of space exploration as well as interest veteran space buffs. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-I — general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

Saturday, March 7, 8:30-11:30 a.m. EST (AMC) “Donnie Brasco” (1997). Fact-based story of an undercover FBI agent (Johnny Depp) who infiltrates a New York mob family in the late 1970s by befriending an aging, low-level hood (Al Pacino), despite the agent’s moral dilemmas over neglecting his own family while betraying a man who has treated him like a son. Director Mike Newell delivers an absorbing character study of a good guy nearly destroyed by his dedication to the job while never glamorizing the vicious brutality of the gangsters. Brief graphic violence, a flash of nudity, intermittent profanity 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, March 7, 3-4 p.m. EST (EWTN) “Marian Procession From the Holy Land.” This monthly rosary procession takes place at the site of the Annunciation and Incarnation in Nazareth (TV-G — general audience).

Saturday, March 7, 6:26-8:21 p.m. EST (Cinemax) “Life As We Know It” (2010). A womanizing television director (Josh Duhamel) and a successful cafe owner (Katherine Heigl) must overcome their long-standing mutual dislike when the happily married couple who once set them up for a disastrous blind date, and with whom they were each best friends, dies suddenly and they become joint guardians over the deceased pair’s infant daughter. Though somewhat sharper-witted than the average romantic comedy, director Greg Berlanti’s thoroughly predictable yarn of animosity gradually yielding to a very different emotion showcases a variety of lifestyle choices — and of more impromptu decisions — at variance with traditional morality. Brief nongraphic premarital sexual activity, implied casual encounters and cohabitation, an incidental gay relationship, drug use, much sexual and some scatological humor, at least one use of profanity, a couple of rough terms and frequent crude or crass language. 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.

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

Streaming Now

Looking Ahead

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