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 July 19, 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:
“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” (2019; Netflix)
Assigned, much against his will, to profile public television children’s show host Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks), a troubled, cynical reporter (Matthew Rhys) finds his life transformed by the friendship into which his gentle, wise and unflappable new acquaintance gradually draws him, a bond that affects both his fraught relationship with his estranged father (Chris Cooper) and his marriage (to Susan Kelechi Watson). In adapting a 1998 Esquire magazine article by Tom Junod, director Marielle Heller takes interesting artistic risks with powerful emotional results. Though her film is at its best when the mesmerizing Hanks is on screen, the treatment of topics like forgiveness, the need to prioritize family life over professional advancement and the power of prayer (Rogers was a Presbyterian minister) are consistently handled with skill. While the journalist’s struggles are too dark for little kids, teens and grown-ups will profit from this explicitly humane, implicitly religious movie. Mature themes, including adultery, a fistfight, one mild oath, a single crass term. 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.
“Bend It Like Beckham” (2003; Hulu)
Spirited cross-cultural comedy in which an Anglo-Indian girl (Parminder Nagra) plays on an amateur girls’ soccer team and finds herself drawn to its young Irish coach (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) despite the strong objections of her traditional Sikh parents. Director Gurinder Chadha’s winning coming-of-age tale treats its characters with appealing generosity while saluting themes of family, friendship, tolerance and teamwork. A discreet sexual situation and references, fleeting drunkenness, minimal profanity and a crass expression. 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.
“Lars and the Real Girl” (2007; Amazon Prime)
Poignant story of an emotionally fragile, delusional man (a brilliant Ryan Gosling) who — unable to make a human connection — buys a life-size female doll whom he presents as his girlfriend, and how his brother and sister-in-law (Paul Schneider and Emily Mortimer), his office mates, fellow churchgoers and townspeople accept “her” as human out of love and compassion for him. Though suspension of disbelief is essential, director Craig Gillespie, working from Nancy Oliver’s delicate script, makes this improbable tale utterly believable, while the themes of family, community, religion, forgiveness, redemption and a strong affirmation of human decency override those very few elements that might preclude younger teens. Two nonexplicit images of a porn site, mild innuendo, discreet sexual references and brief profanity. 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, July 19, 8:33-11 p.m. EDT (ABC) “Speed” (1994). Determined to save a busload of terrified passengers, a Los Angeles SWAT team cop (Keanu Reeves) leaps onboard a city bus that has been rigged by a psychotic explosives expert (Dennis Hopper) to blow up if it goes less than 50 mph. Despite the ludicrous escapist plot that ultimately goes over the top with impossible heroics, director Jan de Bont’s nonstop action movie concentrates more on the steel-willed cop’s efforts to prevent mass murder than on the mayhem committed by the crazed maniac. Intermittent violence, intense explosions, frequent 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.
Tuesday, July 21, 3:30-5 p.m. EDT (EWTN) “Martyrs Shrine Centennial Mass.” Archbishop Donald Bolen of Regina, Saskatchewan, is scheduled to celebrate this solemn Eucharistic liturgy marking the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Shrine of the Canadian Martyrs in Midland, Ontario (TV-G — general audience).
Wednesday, July 22, 6:15-8 p.m. EDT (TCM) “Forbidden Planet” (1956). Engaging sci-fi outing with a space expedition (led by Leslie Nielsen) fighting unseen monsters of the Id on a planet where the powers of a superior, long-extinct civilization are being harnessed by a maverick scientist (Walter Pidgeon) with the help of his daughter (Anne Francis) and a very personable robot named Robby. Directed by Fred M. Wilcox, the premise echoes Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” but the movie has its own suspenseful plot developments, intriguing gadgetry and colorful sets, flawed only by some clunky dialogue and desultory action. Occasional stylized violence and much menace. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.
Wednesday, July 22, 9-10 p.m. EDT (PBS) “Chasing Pluto.” This episode of the series “Nova” focuses on NASA’s New Horizons space probe and its 2015 flyby of Pluto.
Friday, July 24, 6:15-8 p.m. EDT (TCM) “Powwow Highway” (1989). Explores the philosophical conflicts between two Native Americans as they travel from their Cheyenne reservation in Montana to Santa Fe, New Mexico. One is a volatile activist (A Martinez) who sees Cheyenne tradition and culture as irrelevant in the fight to pull his tribe up from Third World poverty. The other is a sweet-natured loner (Gary Farmer) who cherishes Cheyenne legends and folklore and longs to become a spiritual warrior. Though director Jonathan Wacks injects little suspense into his low-key road picture, it highlights the personal and political struggles being waged within the Native American community to regain and sustain their fast-disappearing culture. Some profanity and violence and a flash of nudity. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Saturday, July 25, 5-8 p.m. EDT (AMC) “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994). Gritty prison drama begins in 1946 when a quiet banker (Tim Robbins) is wrongly convicted of murder, then spends the next two decades inside a brutal and corruptly run penitentiary where he has positive effects on the hapless inmates, especially another lifer (Morgan Freeman), before his unexpected departure. Director Frank Darabont does not spare viewers the dehumanizing ugliness of life behind bars in a story notable for its portrayal of a man who inspired hope in others while coping with the injustice done to him. Some graphic prison violence and suicides, crude sexual innuendo, brief nudity and much rough 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 R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
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