The life of the Blessed Mother, from before her birth to the flight into Egypt, is recounted with varying levels of artistic adeptness in the uneven biography “Mary” (Netflix). Though the result is not always satisfying, the production overall is both reverent and engaging.

“Mary,” an earnest drama, will be available for streaming on Netflix Dec. 6.

Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty talks with Jason Cherubini, an executive-in-residence at Loyola University Maryland about the business behind holiday movies and why there are so many of them. It’s good business, he says, because people are searching for connection and comfort at this time of year. But the ones that become classics are those that resonate with people year after year.

Expected to top $30 million in ticket sales by the time it transitions from movie theaters to streaming services, secular reviews are exuberant and Academy Award buzz abounds for Conclave.

The high-spirited Oceanaian princess who gave her name to a 2016 animated feature returns for further adventures in “Moana 2” (Disney).

Beginning March 27, the fifth season of the hit series “The Chosen,” which focuses on the life of Jesus and his closest disciples, will hit theaters in the weeks leading up to Easter, which is April 20. The latest installment, “The Chosen: Last Supper” portrays the events of Holy Week.

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.

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.