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 June 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:

“Alien: Romulus” (2024; Hulu)

Cailee Spaeny battles a fresh wave of the small skittering and large slavering creatures who once plagued Sigourney Weaver in director and co-writer Fede Alvarez’s extension of a franchise that reaches back to 1979. Her character is assisted by a human-looking robot (David Jonsson) who is programmed to protect her as, with a group of other downtrodden workers, she seeks to escape from the virtual slavery in which a mining conglomerate has held them on a distant planet. They discover too late that the abandoned craft they mean to use as part of their breakout is infested with deadly predators. As penned in collaboration with Rodo Sayagues, the script touches on themes of loyalty, betrayal, misguided attempts to perfect human nature and the tension between cold reason and heartfelt sympathy. But all that is incidental to showcasing the monsters and the bloody toll they exact. Brief but extreme gore, hideous images, an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, a couple of instances each of profanity and milder swearing, frequent rough language, numerous crude expressions. 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.

“Meet the Parents” (2000; Netflix)

Amusing romantic comedy in which a male nurse (Ben Stiller) meets his teacher-girlfriend’s (Teri Polo) tony parents (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner) for the first time and everything that can go wrong does. With a scenario ripe for comical misunderstandings, director Jay Roach’s sprightly paced film scores with laughs despite some predictability. Comically intended minor violence, reference to a live-in relationship, brief drug references and some crass language with much profanity. 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. (The sequels “Meet the Fockers” (2004) and “Little Fockers” (2010) are also streaming.)

“Missing” (2023; Amazon Prime)

Co-writers and directors Will Merrick and Nick Johnson keep viewers guessing with the ever-shifting plot developments of this internet-focused thriller, a stand-alone sequel to 2018’s “Searching.” A Los Angeles-based high school senior (Storm Reid) who takes the devotion of her widowed mother (Nia Long) for granted and is none too impressed with mom’s new boyfriend (Ken Leung) treats the couple’s departure for a vacation in Colombia as a cue to party. But when the duo fails to return from the trip as planned, she becomes alarmed and marshals the resources of the web as well as a local contact (Joaquim de Almeida) she hires online to locate them. Along with mystifying its audience in an enjoyable way, this puzzle piece also tugs at the heart with surprisingly resonant themes about familial trust and caregiving as well as the need to show appreciation for loved ones. As a result, some parents may consider the film acceptable for mature teens. Brief but intense violence with some gore, underage drinking, at least one use of profanity, about a half-dozen milder oaths, several crude terms, a 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, June 7, 5:30-9 p.m. EDT (AMC) “Captain America: Civil War” (2016). This turbulent comics-based adventure is more an ensemble piece featuring the whole Avengers crew of superheroes than an outing primarily focused on the titular good guy (Chris Evans). Yet, as the group splits over whether to submit to United Nations supervision — public concerns have been raised over the collateral damage their crusades tend to exact — he does become the leader of one rival faction, the other being headed by Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). Co-directors (and brothers) Anthony and Joe Russo highlight the cost of even well-intentioned mayhem as well as the downside of pursuing vengeance. But the real point of the proceedings is to watch diversely “enhanced” beings pit their outsized gifts against each other. Newcomers to the Marvel universe may find themselves bewildered since the script does little to bring the uninitiated up to speed, while parents will have to consider carefully before allowing even older teens to view material best suited, in terms of combat scenes and vocabulary, to grown-ups. Possibly acceptable for mature adolescents. Constant strong violence, including torture, but with minimal gore, a few uses of profanity and of crude language, several crass terms. 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.

Sunday, June 7, 9-11 p.m. EDT (ABC) “Toy Story 4” (2019). Delightful addition to the animated franchise in which the cowboy leader (voice of Tom Hanks) of the familiar gang of toys who come to life when humans aren’t looking becomes the mentor of a home-made doll (voice of Tony Hale) his kid owner (voice of Madeleine McGraw) fashioned primarily out of a plastic spork. As he and the group — including the astronaut (voice of Tim Allen) with whom he once carried on a rivalry — are brought along on a family vacation, the cattleman also finds traces of a long-lost buddy, a shepherdess figurine (voice of Annie Potts) from whom he has been separated for nearly a decade. Director Josh Cooley and screenwriters Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom deftly juggle humor, sentiment and even clever gothic material by way of the creepy ventriloquist dummies who populate an antiques store. They also introduce a memorable new character, a 1970s Canadian stuntman toy (voice of Keanu Reeves). Characters in peril, some potentially frightening scenes. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-I — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association rating was G — general audiences. All Ages admitted.

Monday, June 8, 8-10 p.m. EDT (TCM) “Clash by Night” (1952). Dark dramatization of the Clifford Odets play about a sullen, unhappy woman (Barbara Stanwyck) who marries a good-hearted fishing-boat captain (Paul Douglas), then falls for his cynical movie projectionist pal (Robert Ryan). Director Fritz Lang portrays the human tragedy caused by disordered passions in convincing fashion, with contrasting figures of hope and despair among the citizens of a California fishing town and adjacent cannery. Theme of infidelity and its moral consequences. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

Tuesday, June 9, 6-8 p.m. EDT (TCM) “Grand Hotel” (1932). Grandiose MGM star vehicle from Vicki Baum’s novel about life-and-death events in a posh Berlin hotel whose guests include a depressed Russian ballerina (Greta Garbo), an aristocratic jewel thief (John Barrymore), a nasty Prussian industrialist (Wallace Beery), a pragmatic stenographer (Joan Crawford) and a dying bookkeeper (Lionel Barrymore). Directed by Edmund Goulding, the melodramatic proceedings are of less interest today than the cast’s memorable performances in roles tailored to their screen personae, including Garbo’s statement, “I want to be alone.” Stylized violence including an off-camera murder, sexual situations and several attempts at larceny. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-III — adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

Thursday, June 11, 4-6 p.m. EDT (EWTN) “Holy Mass of Consecration.” Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services is scheduled to serve as the celebrant and homilist at this Eucharistic liturgy for the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at which he will mark the upcoming semiquincentennial of U.S. independence by consecrating the nation to the Sacred Heart. Live broadcast from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington (TV-G — general audience).

Friday, June 12, 8-9 p.m. EDT (PBS) “The Next 250 – Washington Week Considers America’s Future.” On this episode of the series “Washington Week With the Atlantic,” journalists explore what may lie ahead for the United States.

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

Streaming Now:

Looking Ahead:

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