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 June 14, 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:

“Bee Movie” (2007; Netflix)

Generally delightful animated feature about a scrappy bee (voice of Jerry Seinfeld) who decides to sue the human race for stealing the honey manufactured by his hardworking bee brethren and brings the case to court, with the help of a sympathetic florist (Renee Zellweger). An often very funny script (by Seinfeld and others), terrific voice work from a cast including John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates and many more, and ultimately a valuable ecological lesson make this film — directed by Simon J. Smith and Steve Hickner — above-average family fare. Mild innuendo. 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.

“Hellfighters” (1968; Amazon Prime)

John Wayne heads an oil-well firefighting team whose highly dangerous profession takes them worldwide at a moment’s notice but his worries are about his daughter (Katherine Ross) whose marriage is in danger of winding up like that of his estranged wife (Vera Miles). Directed by Andrew McLaglen, the marital comparisons are strained and of less interest than the grand pyrotechnics of flaming oil wells and vintage Wayne action, including the expected but totally irrelevant barroom brawl. The OSV News classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is G — general audiences. All ages admitted.

“Lincoln” (2012; Hulu)

Daniel Day-Lewis’ bravura performance in the title role is the highlight — but by no means the only asset — of director Steven Spielberg’s splendid historical drama. The plot focuses on the Civil War president’s passionate yet wily struggle, during the closing days of that conflict, to steer a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery through Congress. Aided by his secretary of state, William Seward (David Strathairn), but distracted by his troubled personal life — Sally Field plays his famously high-strung wife Mary — Lincoln uses rhetoric to win over his hesitant Cabinet and patronage to woo his opponents. The trajectory of the tale is, by its nature, uplifting, while Lincoln’s multifaceted personality — which encompassed idealism, political shrewdness, melancholy, humor and even a few endearing foibles — is vividly illuminated in Tony Kushner’s screenplay. The educational value and moral import of the film may make it acceptable for older adolescents. Intense but mostly bloodless battlefield violence, a scene involving severed limbs, cohabitation, about a dozen uses of profanity, racial slurs, a couple of rough terms, 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.

Looking Ahead:

Tuesday, June 16, 9-11 p.m. EDT (PBS) “Becoming Katharine Graham.” Documentary profiling the longtime publisher of The Washington Post who died in 2001, aged 84.

Wednesday, June 17, 5:30-8 p.m. EDT (TCM) “Sunrise at Campobello” (1960). Engaging historical dramatization begins with Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Ralph Bellamy) being struck by polio in 1921, his unsuccessful struggle to regain the use of his legs and his decision to return to active politics by nominating Alfred E. Smith at the 1924 Democratic convention. Scripted by producer Dore Schary from his own play and directed by Vincent J. Donehue, politics take second place to the resilient character of the paralyzed Roosevelt and the variety of support he receives from the family’s inner circle of wife Eleanor (Greer Garson), Franklin’s mother (Ann Shoemaker) and political adviser Louis Howe (Hume Cronyn). Fine portrait of a family coping with illness and party politics. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

Thursday, June 18, 2-4 p.m. EDT (EWTN) “Holy Mass and Divine Mercy Chaplet.” As part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, Mass will be celebrated and the Divine Mercy chaplet recited at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament (TV-G — general audience).

Thursday, June 18, 9:30-11:15 p.m. EDT (TCM) “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925). Silent horror classic in which a mad composer with a hideously deformed face (Lon Chaney) lives in the vast cellars beneath the Paris Opera House where he helps a young singer (Mary Philbin) become a star, then abducts her because she loves another (Norman Kerry). Director Rupert Julian wraps the Opera House in a sinister atmosphere of shadowy visuals, secret passages and subterranean chambers, but the real fright doesn’t come until late in the proceedings when the grotesque visage behind the Phantom’s mask is finally unveiled. Stylized violence, much menace and muted sexual innuendo. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II — adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association.

Saturday, June 20, 9:10-11:39 p.m. EDT (Cinemax) “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (2024).
In this dystopian epic, Anya Taylor-Joy plays a warrior whose kidnapping as a child (Alyla Browne) left her in the clutches of a ruthless warlord (Chris Hemsworth) who exposed her to his brutalizing methods of gaining and maintaining power. Thus hardened and armed with formidable fighting skills, as a grown-up she has a series of adventures among other, equally savage barbarian leaders battling for scarce natural and military resources before allying herself with, and falling for, a more civilized figure (Tom Burke). Director and co-writer George Miller’s prequel to his 2015 film “Mad Max: Fury Road” continues to limn an imagined future full of dust and rust and mostly devoid of morals. While sweeping and cinematically accomplished in some ways, it makes for a grueling journey across a stark landscape. Mature themes, including cannibalism, pedophilia and vengeance, much gory violence, torture, gruesome sights, nonscriptural religious beliefs, occasional crass 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.

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

Streaming Now:

Looking Ahead:

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