"Chaos Walking" (2021)  

Dull dystopian science fiction drama, set in the distant future on a planet colonized by humans, pairs a teen inhabitant (Tom Holland) of its all-male community with a recently arrived astronaut (Daisy Ridley), the first woman he has ever seen. As they journey in search of a communications device that will enable her to warn her still-airborne comrades that a trap has been laid for them by the local authorities (led by Mads Mikkelsen), revelations emerge about the fate of the original female settlers while the lad's awkward adolescent reactions to his companion's presence are laid bare by the fact that men's thoughts (though not women's) take audible and sometimes visible form in this world, and thus can only be concealed with great difficulty. Director Doug Liman's screen version of Patrick Ness' 2008 young adult novel "The Knife of Never Letting Go" features a chaste central relationship but has little else to recommend it. The figure of a loony preacher (David Oyelowo) incoherently spouting biblical-sounding rhetoric will prove an added irritant to viewers of faith. Considerable stylized violence with brief gore, a glimpse of rear male nudity in a nonsexual context, about a half-dozen mild oaths, a single rough term, pervasive crude and some crass language. The Catholic News Service 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. (Lionsgate Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray)

"Million Dollar Mystery" (1987)

Fluffy comedy adventure filled with car chases and demolition features an ensemble cast of new faces on a greedy search for four million dollars in hidden payoff money. Director Richard Fleischer makes the most of the stark Southwest landscape shot exquisitely by Jack Cardiff as backdrop for the slapstick antics and dangerous stunts which form the substance of the movie. Some coarse language and sexual sight gags are brief and restrained. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II – adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG – parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. (KL Studio Classics; also available on Blu-ray)

"The Night of the Following Day" (Blu-ray Edition; 1969)

Failed crime melodrama in which four Americans (Marlon Brando, Richard Boone, Jess Hahn and Rita Moreno) concoct a scheme to kidnap a wealthy youth (Pamela Franklin) on her arrival in France. Directed by Hubert Cornfield, the plot is implausible, and the characterizations are wildly unconvincing. Some violence, sex and graphic drug use. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R – restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. (KL Studio Classics)

"Ponette" (Blu-ray Edition; 1997)

French production in which a 4-year-old French girl (Victoire Thivisol) whose mother has been killed in a car crash is confused by adult attempts to comfort her with platitudes about heaven because she adamantly expects her mother will return to her. Writer-director Jacques Doillon convincingly captures a toddler's innocent perspective but the film's preoccupation with the tearful child's abject misery becomes tiresome. Subtitles. Conflicting ideas about God and the afterlife. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II – adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association. (KL Studio Classics) 

Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service.