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 Aug. 16, 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:

“Interstellar” (2014; Amazon Prime)

Ambitious but flawed drama in which a crew of astronauts (led by Matthew McConaughey) uses a wormhole to speed their travel to a selection of distant planets they hope might offer refuge to the whole human race, which is facing worldwide starvation back on a dystopian, dustbowl-plagued version of Earth. The bond between McConaughey’s character and his daughter (Mackenzie Foy in youth, Jessica Chastain as an adult) is tested by his long absence, while that uniting the professor (Michael Caine) supervising the program to his daughter (Anne Hathaway), the mission’s science officer, is subject to other strains. Director and co-writer Christopher Nolan’s sprawling space epic is visually dazzling. His film also has most of its values in good order as it weighs familial ties against the sacrifices necessary to advance the common welfare and ponders the place of love within a worldview shaped by quantum mechanics and Darwinian evolution. But unnatural situations involving the relativity of time and other environmental factors create a distance from ordinary reality that blunts the impact of the movie’s human element. Additionally, a subplot involving frozen embryos calls for moral discernment. Ethical issues, some bloodless violence, a handful of profanities, occasional crude and crass language. 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.

“Life” (2017; Hulu)

Director Daniel Espinosa and screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick adopt a serious tone in this ensemble sci-fi thriller set on board an international space station. Tasked with retrieving an unmanned capsule carrying samples back from Mars, the craft’s crew — Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Olga Dihovichnaya, Hiroyuki Sanada and Ariyon Bakare — are thrilled to discover that they are in possession of the first living organism ever discovered beyond Earth. But the initially tiny creature they’ve taken on board turns out to have an incredibly rapid growth rate and a murderously aggressive approach to interacting with humans. Loss of life is treated with an unusual degree of sober reflection in the suspenseful clash of wits and survival skills that follows, while deft performances and some creative camera work serve to offset the familiarity of the premise. But the bloody details of the alien’s rampage are suitable neither for kids nor for the squeamish among their elders. Some gory deaths and gruesome images, a few uses of profanity, numerous rough and several crude terms. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

“Minions” (2015; Netflix)

Bright animated comedy co-directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda in which background characters from the “Despicable Me” franchise come to the fore for an ever upbeat, though not always tightly crafted, adventure set primarily in 1960s London. A trio of the yellow, capsule-shaped creatures (all voiced by Coffin), whose natural inclination is to serve a villainous master, gets mixed up with a famed criminal (voice of Sandra Bullock), her mad scientist husband (voice of Jon Hamm) and their wild scheme to steal the British crown from Queen Elizabeth II (voice of Jennifer Saunders). Narrated by Geoffrey Rush, and interspersed with familiar hippie-era musical standards, the freewheeling plot follows its own logic down curious courses, some of which feel like detours. But the consequences of selfishness and disloyalty are clearly portrayed while genuinely objectionable material is absent. Even so, loud scenes of mayhem may be too much for small fry, and some parents may not appreciate the brief comic hay that’s made of a mustachioed bystander whose enthusiasm for Bullock’s character leads him to dress exactly like her. Occasional cartoonish violence, fleeting anatomical sight gags, a touch of scatological humor. The OSV News classification is A-I — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. (The sequel “Minions: The Rise of Gru” (2022) is also streaming.)

Looking Ahead:

Sunday, Aug. 16, 8:33-11 p.m. EDT (ABC) “The Princess Diaries” (2001). Conventional comedy about a gawky 15-year-old girl (Anne Hathaway) who suddenly discovers she is the sole heir to the throne of a tiny European country and with the help of her newfound grandmother (Julie Andrews) must learn to act like a princess. Although mildly pleasant, director Garry Marshall’s film has a prefab quality that even the classy Andrews cannot overcome. 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, Aug. 17, 6:15-8 p.m. EDT (TCM) “The Velvet Touch” (1948). Psychological drama in which a Broadway actress (Rosalind Russell) kills her manipulative producer (Leon Ames), then matches wits with the policeman (Sydney Greenstreet) investigating the murder. Director John Gage does well with a fine cast and dandy backstage settings but stumbles in dragging out a less-than-perfect crime story. An act of deadly violence, much tension and some romantic complications. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association. (Part of a 24-hour marathon of films featuring the devoutly Catholic Russell, beginning with “The Casino Murder Case” (1935), 6-7:30 a.m. EDT and ending with “A Majority of One” (1961), 3-6 a.m. EDT, Tuesday, Aug. 18.)

Monday, Aug. 17, 8-9 p.m. EDT (EWTN) “The Journey Home.” On this edition of the weekly conversion-themed program, series host JonMarc Grodi talks with former Evangelical T.J. Nielson (TV-G — general audience).

Tuesday, Aug. 18, 5:30-8 p.m. EDT (AMC) “My Cousin Vinny” (1992). Tough-talking comedy has New York college students Ralph Macchio and Mitchell Whitfield improbably charged with murder in the Deep South, then defended by rookie Brooklyn, New York, lawyer Joe Pesci with a little help from girlfriend Marisa Tomei. Relying on blue-collar and Southern stereotypes, director Jonathan Lynn fashions a fitfully funny, fish-out-of-water courtroom comedy. Much rough language, a few double entendres and an implied premarital relationship. 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.

Friday, Aug. 21, 8-9:30 p.m. EDT (TCM) “The Narrow Margin” (1952). Tightly wound thriller takes place aboard a Chicago-to-Los Angeles train carrying a hard-boiled cop (Charles McGraw), the reluctant witness (Marie Windsor) he’s escorting back to testify against the mob and some gunmen sent to silence her. Director Richard Fleischer makes the trip a suspenseful one, with plenty of edgy menace, a bit of comic relief and topped off by an edge-of-the-seat surprise finish. Threatening situations and stylized violence. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

Saturday, Aug. 22, 7:19-8:58 p.m. EDT (Cinemax) “Christmas With the Kranks” (2004). Delightful yuletide comedy about a Chicago couple (Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis) who boycott Christmas after their daughter leaves home to join the Peace Corps, sparking unforeseen reactions from their militantly merry neighbors (led by Dan Aykroyd). The film is based on the novella “Skipping Christmas” by John Grisham. Director Joe Roth delivers a dose of holly-jolly fun that is, by turns, extremely funny and poignantly tender, and its warmhearted message of selflessness, family and coming together as a community clearly embodies the truest spirit of the season. Some suggestive humor, comic violence and mildly crude language. 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.

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

Streaming Now:

Looking Ahead:

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