TV film fare -- week of Nov. 4

NEW YORK (CNS) -- The following are capsule reviews of theatrical movies on network and cable television the week of Nov. 4. Please note that televised versions may or may not be edited for language, nudity, violence and sexual situations.

Monday, Nov. 5, 9-11 p.m. EST (Lifetime) "Heights" (2005). Reasonably absorbing if not quite believable story of New York creative types -- including an actress (Glenn Close), her photographer-daughter (Elizabeth Banks) and fiance (James Marsden), an aspiring actor (Jesse Bradford) and a journalist (John Light) -- whose lives intersect during a 24-hour period. Director Chris Terrio's adaptation of a play by Amy Fox is well acted, but the setup is contrived. Profanity, rough language, some sexual banter and foreplay, gay themes, premarital relationships, a same-sex kiss, a violent episode and some voyeuristic activity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 8-10:15 p.m. EST (TCM) "The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming" (1966). Inspired farce built around the accidental grounding of a Russian submarine off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Producer-director Norman Jewison ably handles a fine cast including Alan Arkin, Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Jonathan Winters and Paul Ford. The movie's satire can be appreciated on several levels and will be enjoyed by the whole family. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was A-I -- general patronage. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Friday, Nov. 9, 8-11 p.m. EST (USA) "The Bourne Identity" (2002). Well-crafted thriller in which a highly trained CIA agent (Matt Damon) suffering from amnesia after a botched secret operation must figure out who he is and why fierce assassins are after him as he is aided by a German woman (Franka Potente) whom he has taken into his confidence. Based on the novel by Robert Ludlum, director Doug Liman's film is both an engaging character study and a fast-paced espionage yarn as the ongoing chase scenes and chilling close calls provide suspense and deflect attention from the story's predictable spots. Recurring harsh violence and some profanity with an instance of rough language. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Friday, Nov. 9, 8 p.m.-midnight EST (A&E) "The Godfather, Part 3" (1990). Having shed all ties with the underworld, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) seeks respectability and profits by investing in a Vatican holding company run by corrupt financiers whose business tactics include murder. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the narrative strives for tragedy but settles for melodrama after losing its way in the vague, shadowy world of international finance and the intrigues of certain church officials. Some scenes of intense violence, the twisted morality of criminal retribution, rough language, and an unedifying fictional depiction of some religious figures. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Saturday, Nov. 10, 8-10:45 p.m. EST (HBO) "The Departed" (2006). Hard-hitting if overlong tale of two rookie cops in South Boston -- one (Matt Damon) an informant for the mob, the other (Leonardo DiCaprio) secretly assigned by senior officers (Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg) to infiltrate the crime ring run by a notorious mob boss (an over-the-top Jack Nicholson) -- with both young cops pushed to the mental breaking point in their double-dealing roles and frantic to uncover the other's identity. Director Martin Scorsese has lost none of his flair for the genre, and DiCaprio and Damon are extremely good, but the setup seems far-fetched, and there's predictably a high quotient of violence, with the nonstop barrage of expletives excessive even for the underworld environment. Pervasive rough language, racial epithets, profanity, extremely crude expressions, heavy violence, grisly images, nongraphic sexual situations and encounters, and irreverent remarks about the church. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Saturday, Nov. 10, 9-11 p.m. EST (Lifetime) "Miss Congeniality" (2000). Dull-witted comedy in which a tomboy FBI agent (Sandra Bullock) is transformed into a glamour puss to go undercover at a beauty pageant and stop a terrorist threatening to bomb the show. Pedestrian writing and strained humor define director Donald Petrie's vapid film that trudges along in a most predictable manner. Brief violence, fleeting sexual references, minimal profanity and crass language. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting 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.

Saturday, Nov. 10, 10 p.m.-12:15 a.m. EST (Cinemax) "The Last King of Scotland" (2006). Morality tale set in the 1970s based on the novel by Giles Foden, about a young Scottish doctor (James McAvoy) who, in search of adventure, travels to Africa, where he becomes the personal physician and eventually the confidant of the charismatic but ruthless Ugandan dictator Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker). Initially blinded to the despot's atrocities by the seductions of power, he later opens his eyes to the heinous truth and his own complicity. Director Kevin MacDonald blends fact and fiction to mostly riveting effect, with Whitaker delivering a towering performance. Though dramatically justified, the brutality is quite gruesome at times. Intense scenes of violence including a graphic depiction of torture, brief grisly images of massacre and dismemberment, several sexual encounters with nudity, an abortion subplot, recurring rough and crude language and profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification of the theatrical version was L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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