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. 23, 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:

“Midwinter Break” (2026; Netflix)

The validity of faith is a major theme in this sensitive marital drama, adapted from co-writer Bernard MacLaverty’s 2017 novel by director Polly Findlay. Having long ago fled Northern Ireland after being inadvertently caught up in the violent conflict that raged there for decades, a formerly happy Glasgow couple (Lesley Manville and Ciaran Hinds) find themselves divided from each other in a way neither is prepared to acknowledge openly. To rouse them from their pretence of contentment and from the unfulfilling rut into which they’ve fallen, the wife arranges for a brief holiday in Amsterdam. There, she investigates a historic religious community for women, the spiritually grounded lifestyle of which she admires, while he struggles unsuccessfully against his increasing dependence on alcohol. As the complementarity that once gave strength to their relationship now threatens to drive them apart permanently, the script, on which Nick Payne collaborated, weighs a supernaturally oriented outlook against one that sees religion as a hoax and seeks comfort only in the mysterious blessings of the present life. Both leads give expertly gauged performances, with their feelings often conveyed through facial expressions and reactions rather than dialogue and viewers will come away from the film with much to ponder. Probably acceptable for mature teens. A glimpse of rear male nudity in a nonsexual context, fleeting gory sights, at least one instance each of profanity, rough language and crude dialogue, a couple of milder oaths. 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.

“Quigley Down Under” (1990; Amazon Prime)

An American cowboy (Tom Selleck), hired as a sharpshooter in the 1860s Australian Outback, turns against his villainous boss (Alan Rickman) in defense of the native aborigines and a slightly mad young woman (Laura San Giacomo). Director Simon Wincer gives a fresh spin to the traditional Western and backs it with interesting plot developments, credible performances and breathtaking Australian locales. Intermittent violent shootouts, occasional menace and shots with tribal nudity. 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.

“Sparkle” (2012; Hulu)

This remake of the 1976 melodrama about a girl trio, set in 1968 Detroit, manages to be both as predictably familiar as your grandmother’s living room and as subtle as a runaway freight train. But the charisma of the performers and the consistently expressed desire of all the principal characters to lead moral lives hold the enterprise together. Director Salim Akil, together with his wife, screenwriter Mara Brock Akil, creates a grittily authentic period club scene with Jordin Sparks in the title role, Carmen Ejogo and Tika Sumpter as her also-singing siblings and Whitney Houston, in her last role, as their embittered mother. Marital violence culminating in a homicide, cocaine use, sexual banter, several racial epithets, a fleeting scatological reference. 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, Aug. 23, 8:33-11 p.m. EDT (ABC) “Father of the Bride, Part II” (1995). Warm-hearted sequel (and remake of 1951’s “Father’s Little Dividend”) in which good-natured dad (Steve Martin) copes with the pregnancies of both his daughter (Kimberly Williams) and wife (Diane Keaton) while feeling too young to be called gramps but too old to be pushing a baby buggy. Director Charles Shyer’s sentimental domestic comedy is frequently funny in its wholesome depiction of family life. Mild sexual innuendo. 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, Aug. 24, 7-10:30 p.m. EDT (AMC) “The Departed” (2006). Hard-hitting if overlong tale of two rookie cops in South Boston — one (Matt Damon) an informant for the mob, the other (Leonardo DiCaprio) secretly assigned by senior officers (Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg) to infiltrate the crime ring run by a notorious mob boss (an over-the-top Jack Nicholson) — with both young cops pushed to the mental breaking point in their double-dealing roles and frantic to uncover the other’s identity. Director Martin Scorsese has lost none of his flair for the genre, and DiCaprio and Damon are extremely good. But the setup seems far-fetched, and there’s predictably a high quotient of violence, with the nonstop barrage of expletives excessive even for the underworld environment. Pervasive rough language, racial epithets, profanity, extremely crude expressions, heavy violence, grisly images, nongraphic sexual situations and encounters, irreverent remarks about the church. 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.

Monday, Aug. 24, 10-11:30 p.m. EDT (PBS) “How to Build A Library.” Filmmakers Maia Lekow and Christopher King’s documentary profiles two Kenyan women as they embark on a project to restore their nation’s public libraries. A “POV” presentation.

Wednesday, Aug. 26, 8-9 p.m. EDT (EWTN) “EWTN Live.” In this episode of the weekly program, series host Jesuit Father Mitch Pacwa talks with poet James Matthew Wilson (TV-G — general audience).

Thursday, Aug. 27, 8-10:30 p.m. EDT (TCM) “All About Eve” (1950). Classic Broadway story in which a veteran star (Bette Davis) helps a seemingly innocent novice (Anne Baxter), then learns too late of the younger woman’s duplicity in landing a role intended for the star by charming the play’s author (Hugh Marlowe), its director (Gary Merrill) and the town’s leading theater critic (George Sanders). Writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz keeps the proceedings churning with a steady stream of witty dialogue and pungent put-downs, but it is Davis’ caustic performance as the flinty veteran actress that carries the picture to its wryly satisfying conclusion. Devious characters, sexual innuendo and marital discord. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-III — adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

Friday, Aug. 28, 8-10:15 p.m. EDT (TCM) “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962). When a Southern lawyer (Gregory Peck) undertakes the defense of a black man (Brock Peters) accused of rape, he has to help his young children cope with the town’s racial hostilities and their own fears of a mentally disabled neighbor (Robert Duvall). In this fine adaptation of the Harper Lee novel, director Robert Mulligan evokes a nostalgic picture of small-town life as seen mostly through the eyes of a youngster whose father is a reassuring figure of integrity in the confusing world of adults. Excellent for discussions of racial prejudice. 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 Peters, beginning with “Carmen Jones” (1954), 6-7:45 a.m. EDT and ending with “Alligator II: The Mutation” (1991), 4:15-6 a.m. EDT, Saturday, Aug. 29.)

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

Streaming Now:

Looking Ahead:

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