Archie Madekwe stars in a scene from the movie “Gran Turismo.” 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. (OSV News photo/Gordon Timpen, Columbia)
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NEW YORK (OSV News) – 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 Jan. 21, 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:
"Gran Turismo" (2023; Netflix)
Lively fact-based recounting of the unlikely career of a working-class Welsh lad (Archie Madekwe) who, having mastered the car racing simulation game of the title, competes for the opportunity to prove his skills in real life. Though the Nissan marketing executive (Orlando Bloom) who conceived the contest as a publicity ploy initially offers him support, he struggles to win over both the hard-bitten coach (David Harbour) hired to train the entrants and his ex-soccer player dad (Djimon Hounsou) who regards the youth's many hours spent at the console as so much wasted time. Director Neill Blomkamp's against-the-odds tale follows a familiar course but is bolstered by positive values and some touching moments. Vulgar dialogue makes his drama doubtful material for teens while lengthy sequences demonstrating the protagonist's resourcefulness and resilience behind the wheel, although suspenseful, may ultimately try the patience of all but enthusiasts. Graphic auto accidents, about a half-dozen instances each of profanity and milder swearing, at least one rough term, numerous crude expressions, occasional crass talk. 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.
"Hero" (1992; Hulu)
After rescuing 54 passengers from a crashed, burning jetliner, a small-time crook (Dustin Hoffman) is cheated out of a million-dollar reward when a homeless man (Andy Garcia) takes credit and is lionized by a TV reporter (Geena Davis) and the national media. Director Stephen Frears' stylish comedy about heroism and media manipulation blends its flawed characters into an intricate plot that is both thoughtful and entertaining. Some morally ambiguous situations and minimal rough language. The OSV News classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
"Sound of Freedom" (2023; Amazon Prime)
Fact-based drama about a U.S. Homeland Security agent (Jim Caviezel) who becomes involved in the case of two young Honduran siblings abducted into sexual slavery by human traffickers and sets out to bring down the ring that kidnapped them. What begins as a heartrending descent into an underworld of utterly vicious cruelty and exploitation lightens eventually into the tale of a clever sting operation in which the operative is aided by a reformed gang member (Bill Camp) and a wealthy businessman (Eduardo Verástegui). The indefatigable determination of the protagonist, which not only imperils his career but subsequently drives him on to undertake a perilous rescue mission, is admirably heroic and uplifting. But it's inextricably linked to the horrifying depravity against which he battles, making director and co-writer Alejandro Monteverde's moving and valuable film challenging fare. Stylized violence, mature themes, a couple of mild oaths, a smattering of 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:
Sunday, Jan. 21, 3:30-5 a.m. EST (EWTN) "Papal Mass on Sunday of the Word of God." The Eucharistic liturgy for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, dedicated by Pope Francis to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God, broadcast live from Rome's St. Peter's Basilica. The Mass will re-air 7-8:30 p.m. EST (TV-G -- general audience).
Sunday, Jan. 21, 4:45-8 p.m. EST (Showtime) "Titanic" (1997). Lavish re-creation of the 1912 sea disaster begins with an exploration of the sunken luxury liner today, then follows its fateful voyage keyed to the improbable shipboard romance between a first-class passenger (Kate Winslet) and one in steerage (Leonardo DiCaprio) until an iceberg sends the ship and more than 1,500 people to the bottom. Writer-producer James Cameron reduces the human dimension of the tragedy to a paltry soap opera about two lovestruck youths, though the special effects re-creating the human drama aboard the sinking vessel are truly spectacular. Agonizing death scenes on a massive scale, sexual situations, brief nudity, sporadic rough language and profanity. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating was PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Sunday, Jan. 21, 9-11 p.m. EST (ABC) "Soul" (2020). A middle school music teacher (voice of Jamie Foxx) who yearns to be a jazz pianist gets his big break when he's invited to join a highly regarded quartet (its leader voiced by Angela Bassett). But just before his first performance with them, an accident leaves his body in a coma and sends his spirit into the afterlife. His efforts to avoid going to heaven and return to his earthly existence bring him instead to the realm where the personalities of future babies are formed. There, he's assigned to mentor a soul (voice of Tina Fey) who has stubbornly refused to be born for centuries. Director and co-writer Pete Docter's animated blend of drama and comedy is mostly free of objectionable material and sends the positive messages that life is well worth living and that its significance transcends an individual's professional accomplishments. Yet his film's depiction of the other world, made up of both a Great Beyond and a Great Before, is sterile and potentially confusing for impressionable viewers. Acceptable for well-catechized older teens. Mature themes, a couple of mild oaths, a single crass term. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association rating was PG -- parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
Monday, Jan. 22, 10-11:30 p.m. EST (PBS) "Racist Trees." Filmmakers Sara Newens and Mina T. Son's documentary chronicles the fight to remove a divisive wall of trees in Palm Springs, California. An "Independent Lens" presentation (TV-PG – parental guidance suggested).
Tuesday, Jan. 23, 9-10 p.m. EST (PBS) "Nazi Town, USA." This episode of the series "American Experience" explores the rise, in the 1930s, of the German American Bund, an organization of American Nazis (TV-14 – parents strongly cautioned).
Saturday, July 27, 8-9:43 p.m. EST (Cinemax) "Election" (1999). Biting satire in which an idealistic but flawed teacher (Matthew Broderick) goes overboard in trying to prevent a scheming senior (Reese Witherspoon) from being elected president of the student council. Director Alexander Payne's sharply observed comedy examines, with ironic and sometimes nasty wit, such human foibles as sexual obsession and hypocrisy as well as the rationalizing of such behavior. Several sexual situations, fleeting nudity, crude sex references, recurring rough language, an instance of profanity. 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.
Saturday, July 27, 9:40-11:50 p.m. EST (HBO) "Blue Beetle" (2023). The resilience of the indestructible loving family, in this case, a Mexican American clan, forms the heart and soul of this DC Comics-derived adventure which, under the direction of Ángel Manuel Soto, mixes its fantasy elements with social realism and introduces the screen's first Latino superhero (Xolo Maridueña). As the titular character's youthful and ambitious alter ego and his equally hard-working relatives face a series of travails, he accidentally acquires the ability to fly, imperviousness to bullets and other powers (not to mention a nifty azure-highlighted outfit) after getting mixed up in the struggle between the scheming CEO of a powerful conglomerate (Susan Sarandon), who's out to build a world-conquering army by the use of a magical amulet, and her morally upright niece (Bruna Marquezine). A comedy-lightened struggle against the forces of evil ensues, though some of the cliche-ridden humorous detours seem disappointingly out of place in a work that aspires to be viewed as pioneering. Still, screenwriter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer keeps both the mayhem and the smattering of vulgarity in the dialogue restrained while commendable basic values and a positive, if flawed, portrayal of Hispanic life make this an acceptable and attractive option for a fairly broad audience. Stylized but intense action, fleeting crude and crass language, a couple of scatological references. The OSV News classification of the theatrical version was A-II – adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating was PG-13 – parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.- - - John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @JohnMulderig1.