Nearly a quarter-century after its predecessor premiered, “Gladiator II” (Paramount) takes moviegoers back into the ancient arena. The result is a spectacular but sterile historical epic whose unsparing depiction of life-or-death combat greatly circumscribes its appropriate audience.

In crafting the biopic “Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin.” (Angel), writer-director Todd Komarnicki can be credited with being scrupulous about historical truth. Yet, despite the film’s provocative full title — which suggests that he had a lot of interesting material to mine from his subject’s life — there’s a ponderous tone to his profile.

Capsule reviews of theatrical movies available now for streaming or scheduled for broadcast on network or cable television as well as notes on TV programming for the same week.

Lady of letters Gertrude Stein once famously observed of Oakland, Calif., the city in which she was raised, “There is no there there.” As it turns out, there’s not much there to the drama “Here” (TriStar), either.

Considered purely from an artistic viewpoint, the lavish musical “Wicked” (Universal) represents a confluence of the best both Broadway and Hollywood have to offer. On a moral level, however, the film’s content, while largely free of overtly problematic material, nonetheless demands careful assessment.

Award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese is debuting his latest work on Fox Nation: A new docudrama exploring the lives of the saints.

The attempt to put Santa Claus in the middle of a lot of frenetic brawling and then wrap the whole thing up with a climactic sleigh chase leads to a hopelessly unbalanced tone in this ill-conceived holiday offering.

Capsule reviews of theatrical movies available now for streaming or scheduled for broadcast on network or cable television as well as notes on TV programming for the same week.

Co-writers and directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ chiller “Heretic” (A24) probes the nature of faith.

Gentle and family-oriented, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” (Lionsgate) offers top-flight holiday entertainment for a wide range of age groups. In adapting author Barbara Robinson’s 1972 children’s novel, helmer Dallas Jenkins blends wry humor and touching drama while also successfully conveying some valuable insights.