TV film fare -- week of Sept. 8, 2019

NEW YORK (CNS) -- The following are capsule reviews of theatrical movies on network and cable television the week of Sept. 8. Please note that televised versions may or may not be edited for language, nudity, violence and sexual situations.

Sunday, Sept. 8, 10:15 a.m.-noon EDT (Showtime) "Invincible" (2006). Inspirational sports drama based on the true-life story of unlikely football star Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), a bartender who, falling on hard luck, tries out for his hometown Philadelphia Eagles and makes the team, winning over the coach (Greg Kinnear) and eventually the entire city. Director Ericson Core follows a generic underdog formula, but you'll find it hard not to cheer for this feel-good film about overcoming obstacles and having the courage to follow one's dreams. Some mildly crude language, intense football violence, and a presumed off-screen premarital situation limit its appropriateness to older adolescents and up. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG -- parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

Sunday, Sept. 8, 5:30-8 p.m. EDT (AMC) "X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006). In this third film based on the popular Marvel comic-book series, the U.S. government develops a "cure" for the mutants' condition, sparking a revolution as the misanthropic Magneto (Ian McKellen) declares war on mankind, amassing an army of maddened mutants, while others like Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Storm (Halle Berry) and a furry blue new ally (Kelsey Grammer) side with Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) who advocates peaceful coexistence. Fans of the series won't be disappointed as director Brett Ratner, taking over the reins from Bryan Singer, injects a fair amount of human emotion into what is essentially one big special-effects X-travaganza, resulting in entertaining escapist fare. Much stylized action violence, a sexually suggestive encounter, brief suggested nudity, a few instances of crude language. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Wednesday, Sept. 11, 8-9:45 p.m. EDT (TCM) "12 Angry Men" (1957). When a jury begins its deliberations on the guilt or innocence of a youth accused of murdering his father, one man (Henry Fonda) insists they reexamine the evidence before rendering their verdict. Directed by Sidney Lumet, the result is an absorbing character study of the jurors (a brilliant ensemble of character actors, including E.G. Marshall, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Klugman, Martin Balsam and Jack Warden), the preconceptions they bring to the case and the human dynamics of the jury system. Some intense moments. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-I -- general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Saturday, Sept. 14, noon-2 p.m. EDT (TCM) "The Long Voyage Home" (1940). Compelling dramatization of four one-act plays by Eugene O'Neill about merchant seamen (Thomas Mitchell, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond and John Wayne, among them) sailing on a British tramp freighter from a Caribbean port of call to the U.S. where they take on a cargo of munitions and head through the war zone for London. Director John Ford fashions an emotionally involving picture of life at sea, focusing on the camaraderie of the crew as they face the voyage's dangers from nature and human folly as well as the temptations ashore at journey's end. Some menace and sexual references. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Saturday, Sept. 14, 8-10 p.m. EDT (HBO) "Welcome to Marwen" (2018). A dedicated effort from Steve Carell fails to redeem this painfully unengaging fact-based tale in which he plays an illustrator left unable to draw after a near-fatal assault by a group of thugs who takes up photography instead, playing out his own psycho-drama in a miniature Belgian village he constructs in his yard and populates with dolls. His figurine alter ego, a World War II fighter pilot, is surrounded, supported and protected by an ensemble of gun toting tough girls, each based on a real lady in his life. The most prominent of these are a clerk (Merritt Wever) at the hobby store he patronizes and a new neighbor (Leslie Mann) for whom he swiftly falls. While the main character's plight is one that ought to elicit sympathy, and there are vague undertones of Catholicism in his life, his eccentricities, including a fondness for wearing women's shoes, are off-putting and his panic attacks are sometimes so over-the-top as to be unintentionally funny. Director and co-writer Robert Zemeckis ill-advisedly devotes whole sequences to life among the Barbies and Kens whose interactions may work in stills but fall flat in this motion picture. Glimpses of a violent, gory beating, brief rear and images of upper female nudity, a benign view of pornography, a couple of profanities, a few milder oaths, about a dozen crude or crass terms. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service.