Home viewing roundup: What’s available to stream and what’s on the 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 Nov. 15, 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 Best Christmas Pageant Ever” (2024; Netflix)

Author Barbara Robinson’s 1972 children’s novel comes to the big screen in this gentle, family-oriented adaptation, helmed by Dallas Jenkins. As a small-town church prepares for the annual production of its tradition-bound yuletide pageant, the show’s novice volunteer director (Judy Greer) is daunted to find that a brood of notoriously misbehaving siblings (led by Beatrice Schneider) have bullied their way into the principal roles. Torn between wanting to give the kids a chance to prove themselves and fearing that they will wreak disaster, she’s cheered on by her daughter (Molly Belle Wright), who narrates the story as an adult (Lauren Graham), but opposed by a band of close-minded fellow parishioners. A mutual conversion story in which characters on both sides of the little controversy end up getting a better grip on the reason for the season, this blend of comedy and drama treats with a delicate touch such themes as pigeonholing prejudice and the positive influence of religious role models. Though small fry are unlikely to find the film of interest, it’s welcome entertainment for all others. A few mild oaths, a single rude expression. 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.

“Secretariat” (2010; Hulu)

The true story of the 1973 Triple Crown winner, arguably the greatest racehorse of all time, comes to the big screen in a film that is both thrilling sports adventure and moving family drama. Secretariat’s owner (Diane Lane) is a housewife who returns to her horse farm roots and gambles everything on the big red equine. As she makes her mark in an all-male world, she battles prejudice and the skepticism of her family, but she never loses hope in her dream. At her side are a bossy assistant (Margo Martindale), an even more domineering trainer (John Malkovich) and a gentle-hearted groom (Nelsan Ellis) whose spiritual nature provides a moving undercurrent. Unencumbered by any really objectionable elements, this exuberant and inspirational cinematic champ can be cheered on by a wide audience. Some tense emotional moments and heated arguments. 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.

“Tolkien” (2019; Amazon Prime)

Sophisticated profile of the future novelist’s youth traces his passage from impoverished schoolboy (Harry Gilby) to Oxford University scholarship student and beleaguered officer in the trenches of World War I (Nicholas Hoult). Along the way, he bonds with a trio of precociously gifted peers (Anthony Boyle, Patrick Gibson and Tom Glynn-Carney) and falls for his future wife (Lily Collins). Though the Catholic faith that would help to shape the grown writer’s vision is only represented by the caring but stern priest (Colm Meaney) who served as his guardian after the death of both his parents, director Dome Karukoski and screenwriters David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford successfully convey first the buoyant camaraderie that led the band of friends to regard themselves as brothers and, in the poignant latter part of the film, the horrors of the global conflict in which they were eventually caught up and the toll it exacted on them. Some harsh combat violence, a few gruesome images, a bit of slightly bawdy humor. 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.

Looking Ahead:

Sunday, Nov. 15, 8:33-11 p.m. EST (ABC) “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” (1993). Fair comedy sequel in which the Las Vegas singer (Whoopi Goldberg) is back in a nun’s habit, hoping to save a Catholic high school from closing by transforming a bunch of unruly students into a vibrant choir in time to win the all-state competition. Though lacking the novel premise of the original and off-kilter in its goofy depiction of several priests, director Bill Duke’s moderately amusing comedy stresses positive values for youngsters. Mild sexual innuendo, comic treatment of religious characters and an instance of profanity. 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.

Monday, Nov. 16, 7-10 p.m. EST (AMC) “Forrest Gump” (1994). Inspired by the faith his mother (Sally Field) has in him, a slow-witted Southerner (Tom Hanks) becomes a football All-American, Vietnam hero and millionaire entrepreneur, despite intermittent rejection by his troubled, lifelong friend and sweetheart (Robin Wright). Director Robert Zemeckis’ big-hearted love story cleverly incorporates gimmicks into the narrative without ever losing focus on the emotional and spiritual development of the title character. A few discreet bedroom scenes, some intense battlefield violence, fleeting drug use and an instance of rough 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.

Monday, Nov. 16, 8-9 p.m. EST (EWTN) “The Journey Home.” On this edition of the weekly conversion-themed program, series host JonMarc Grodi interviews former Presbyterian Eric Anderson (TV-G — general audience).

Monday, Nov. 16, 8-10 p.m. EST (PBS) “Crime and Punishment In America.” First episode of a four-part look at the history of criminal justice in America, from the colonial era to the present. This installment, titled “A House of Repentance,” carries the story up to 1880. Directed by Lynn Novick and executive produced by Ken Burns, the series continues in the same timeslot through Thursday, Nov. 19.

Tuesday, Nov. 17, 8-10:45 p.m. EST (TCM) “Birdman of Alcatraz” (1962). Fact-based prison saga of Robert Stroud (Burt Lancaster), whose death sentence for killing a guard in Leavenworth Prison in Kansas was commuted in 1916 to life in solitary confinement. He spent his days becoming an eminent authority on birds before being transferred in 1942 to Alcatraz, where he was deprived of anything to do with birds until transferred out in 1959 to a Missouri hospital for prisoners. In showing Stroud’s transformation from a vicious criminal to a dedicated ornithologist over 43 years in solitary, director John Frankenheimer probes the man’s rehabilitation in relation to his mother (Thelma Ritter), wife (Betty Field), a sympathetic guard (Neville Brand) and a punitive prison warden (Karl Malden). Stylized violence and justice questions. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

Thursday, Nov. 19, 8-11 p.m. EST (TCM) “The Diary of Anne Frank” (1959). Somber dramatization of the long ordeal facing an adolescent girl (Millie Perkins), her parents (Joseph Schildkraut and Gusti Huber) and another Jewish family (including Shelley Winters, Lou Jacobi and Ed Wynn) hiding from the Nazis in a secret room above a warehouse in World War II Amsterdam. Directed by George Stevens, the fact-based account painstakingly conveys the group’s determination to survive their desperate plight. But the effort is flawed by a strangely limp performance in the title role. Much tension and menacing atmosphere. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-I — general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

Saturday, Nov. 21, 9:50-11:36 p.m. EST (Cinemax) “The Adjustment Bureau” (2011). Curious adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s 1954 short story “Adjustment Team” in which the agents of a supernatural bureaucracy (principally Anthony Mackie, John Slattery and Terence Stamp) intervene to break up the budding relationship between a New York politician (Matt Damon) and a gifted dancer (Emily Blunt) because it runs contrary to the predetermined plan of an unnamed higher power. Writer-director George Nolfi’s feature debut pitting love against fate — or perhaps against divine providence — will intrigue some and strike others as an uneasy attempt to blend science fiction, romance and philosophical speculation. Though this is not a film for young people, the metaphysical elements of the plot can be interpreted by mature viewers in a way that squares with Judeo-Christian faith. Complex themes, brief nongraphic premarital sexual activity, a couple of uses of profanity and rough terms, considerable crude and 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.

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

Streaming Now:

Looking Ahead:

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