The psychological thriller “I.S.S.” (Bleecker Street) highlights positive values and teaches a civilizing lesson. But, as penned by screenwriter Nick Shafir, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s drama of shifting allegiance and unpredictable behavior never gains traction and ultimately registers as a slack, by-the-numbers exercise.

The year is young. Still, it seems unlikely that 2024 will produce any piece of supposed entertainment more repellent than the animated TV series “Hazbin Hotel.”

In his feature debut, “American Fiction” (Amazon MGM), writer-director Cord Jefferson pulls off an impressive balancing act. In adapting Percival Everett’s 2001 novel “Erasure,” Jefferson successfully blends wry social satire with the serious tale of an emotionally isolated central character.

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.

Cultivating bees may be regarded as a rather peaceful and meditative pursuit. But that doesn’t stop the title character of the preposterous action flick “The Beekeeper” (Amazon MGM) from going berserk when provoked.

In his classic 1945 novel “Brideshead Revisited,” Catholic author Evelyn Waugh charted the intense, quasi-romantic and possibly sexual bond between two male students at Oxford University. The premise of Waugh’s work is echoed in the black comedy “Saltburn.”

Tina Fey infuses her script — ultimately derived from Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 nonfiction book “Queen Bees and Wannabes” — with some sharply observed humor.

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.

The tangled personal life of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) provides the subject matter for the fact-based drama “Maestro” (Netflix).

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.