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 8, 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
“The Iron Claw” (2023; Netflix)
This fact-based cautionary tale, written and directed by Sean Durkin, follows the rise and fall of an all-American family of professional wrestlers. Its patriarch (Holt McCallany), a one-time champion, builds an empire around his four strapping sons (Zac Efron, Harris Dickinson, Stanley Simons and Jeremy Allen White). Domineering and relentless, he pounds them into submission, while his God-fearing wife (Maura Tierney) refuses to intervene. But Efron’s character’s perceptive wife (Lily James) eventually shows him a way out. While the film showcases every one of the Seven Deadly Sins in excess, there are important lessons on offer for thick-skinned grown-ups, from the over-glorification of sports heroes to the consequences of greed, envy and pride. Mature themes, including suicide, implied premarital sex and masturbation, brief rear male nudity in a nonsexual context, drug use, at least one profanity, a few rough terms. 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.
“La Bamba (1987)
Pop biographical homage to teenage rock singer Ritchie Valens (Lou Diamond Phillips) sets his meteoric success and tragic death against the poverty and oppression of the barrios of Southern California and ethnic bias of middle-class suburbia. Director Luis Valdez makes an effective study of Valens’ struggle against cultural stereotyping and his relationship with his wayward brother (Esai Morales). Scenes of domestic violence, a brief instance of nudity and some profanity are overcome by the film’s overall inspirational tone and depiction of positive youthful aspirations. 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.
“Searching” (2018; Amazon Prime)
Gripping thriller in which a doting widowed father (John Cho) discovers he knows less about his teen daughter’s (Michelle La) life than he thought after she mysteriously disappears, and he has to aid the detective on the case (Debra Messing) by investigating the high schooler’s online social interaction for clues about her fate. The trail takes a number of surprising twists and turns, at least one of which places this off-limits for most younger moviegoers. Grown-ups will likely appreciate the clever way director and co-writer Aneesh Chaganty incorporates current technology into the plot of his feature debut as well as the script’s subtle but touching affirmation of family life in the face of death and grief. Possibly acceptable for older teens. Mature themes, including suspicions of incest, images of and references to drug use, a mild oath, at least one rough and a few crude terms, a single crass expression. 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, March 8, 1-4 p.m. EDT (AMC) “The Fifth Element” (1997). Uneven sci-fi action fantasy set 300 years in the future when a space-taxi driver (Bruce Willis) saves a mysterious superhuman woman (Milla Jovovich) who has the power to destroy an evil planet hurtling toward Earth. Director Luc Besson uses the silly mythological premise for some tongue-in-cheek humor as well as a sappy love story between human hero and otherworldly heroine which only gets in the way of the action plot. Fantasy violence, sexual innuendo, brief nudity, coarse language and 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.
Tuesday, March 10, 8-10 p.m. EDT (TCM) “Tender Mercies” (1983). Down-on-his-luck country-western singer (Robert Duvall), whose drinking broke up his first marriage, meets and weds a young widow (Tess Harper) who runs a ramshackle motel with her young son (Allan Hubbard). Director Bruce Beresford gets feeling performances from his cast, most especially Duvall in one of his best roles, and treats in a refreshingly uncynical, matter-of-fact manner the widow’s strong religious convictions and her quiet pride when she sees her son and husband baptized. A rare movie, tough and gentle, inspiring and immensely entertaining, but the serious nature of the story is more appropriate for adults and older adolescents. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating was PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. (First in a trio of films featuring Duvall, who died Feb. 15, aged 95, continuing with “The Great Santini” (1979), 10 p.m.-12:15 a.m. EDT, and concluding with “Apocalypse Now” (1979), 12:15-3:45 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, March 11.)
Wednesday, March 11, 8-9 p.m. EDT (EWTN) “EWTN Live.” On this episode of the weekly program, series host Jesuit Father Mitch Pacwa talks with actor David Henrie (TV-G — general audience).
Thursday, March 12, 8-10:15 p.m. EDT (TCM) “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951). Screen version of Tennessee Williams’ play about the tensions that develop when an emotionally unstable widow (Vivien Leigh) arrives in New Orleans and moves in with her younger sister (Kim Hunter) whose coarse husband (Marlon Brando) resents his sister-in-law’s aristocratic pretentions, learns of her shady past and destroys her chance to marry his friend (Karl Malden). Director Elia Kazan probes the loneliness as well as the volatile passions that nearly consume the drama’s all-too-human characters. Mature themes with much sexual innuendo. 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.
Saturday, March 14, 5:27-7:17 p.m. EDT (Cinemax) “Annabelle: Creation” (2017). Despite a pattern of irrational behavior from those confronting the figurine-haunting demon at the center of this horror prequel, there are some old-fashioned shivers awaiting those grown viewers willing to brave its fleeting scenes of graphic gore. In 1950s California, a group of displaced orphans (most prominently Talitha Bateman and Lulu Wilson) shepherded by a nun (Stephanie Sigman) are offered refuge in the spooky home of a dollmaker (Anthony LaPaglia) and his invalid wife (Miranda Otto) both of whom are still overcome by grief following the death of their young daughter (Samara Lee) in a tragic car accident a dozen years before. Along with the counter-scriptural concept that infernal fiends can steal human souls, director David F. Sandberg’s follow-up to the 2014 original — itself a spinoff of “The Conjuring” franchise — features an incidental portrayal of Catholicism so wildly inaccurate that it will annoy and distract the faithful. A distorted presentation of Catholic faith practices, mostly stylized but briefly very bloody violence, numerous gruesome images, at last one mild oath. 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. (The sequel “Annabelle Comes Home” (2019) follows, 7:17-9:04 p.m. EDT.)
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