What to Watch on TV and at the Movies This Week

Your Netflix Watch of the Week is here!

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret , PG-13

Oh, joy! Judy Blume’s lifesaving 1970 YA novel Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret springs to life in a big-hearted, faithful adaptation that fetched a near-perfect 99 percent Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score. When tween Margaret (a sweet and spunky Abby Ryder Fortson) moves to suburban New Jersey with her mixed-faith parents (Rachel McAdams and Bennie Safdie), she leaves her darling Jewish grandma (Kathy Bates, 77) in Manhattan. The timing couldn’t be worse, as this city kid is entering junior high and the danger zone: puberty. She makes new friends quickly, but can she survive mean-girl antics, interfaith confusion, playing spin the bottle — and the mystery that is menstruation? The beloved book that got so many grandmothers, mothers and their daughters through the fraught narrows of the preteen years with love, laughter and easily digestible life lessons has finally arrived on Netflix with a terrific cast, a light touch and genuine affection.

Watch it: Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, Sept. 11 on Netflix

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Your Prime Video Watch of the Week is here!

Thursday Night Football

Prime Video will kick off a new season of NFL games at Wisconsin’s Lambeau Field, where the Green Bay Packers take on the Washington Commanders. Veteran broadcasters Al Michaels, 80; Kirk Herbstreit, 56; and Kaylee Hartung lead the streamer’s coverage — which continues through a Black Friday game between the Philadelphia Eagles (reigning Super Bowl champs) and the Chicago Bears. There’s also a Broncos–Chiefs matchup on Christmas Day for gridiron fans who want to escape from family gatherings for a few quarters.

Watch it: Thursday Night Football, Sept. 11 on Prime Video 

Don’t miss this: The Best Things Coming to Prime Video this Month

New at the movies this week

⭐⭐⭐⭐ ☆ Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, R

It’s hard to believe 40 years have passed since Rob Reiner’s beloved mockumentary about a ridiculous British metal band that ran through drummers more quickly than groupies. Now Reiner, 78, has returned for a genially diffuse sequel in which David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean, 77), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest, 77) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer, 81) prep for a reunion concert — at a venue where “An Evening With Stormy Daniels” canceled at the last minute. There are plenty of chuckles throughout: David now composes hold music for customer-service calls while the management team suggests new merch like a Stonehenge-shaped bottle of Tap Water. But it’s harder for the gang to crank up the laughs to 11 as the gang once did, and prolonged cameos by stars like Paul McCartney, 83, and Elton John, 78, tend to peter out like instrumental B-sides. —Thom Geier

Watch it: Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, Sept. 12 in theaters

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⭐⭐⭐⭐ ☆ Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale , PG

Set in the summer of 1930, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is a great, big, comfy upholstered couch of a finale. The band is back together after the long-running British series (and film franchise) about the aristocratic Crawley clan and their servants. Scandal-plagued divorcée Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) makes one last ridiculously bad romantic decision before ascending to take over the Downton estate. Lord and Lady Grantham (Hugh Bonneville, 61, and Elizabeth McGovern, 64) prepare to fade into the landscape while spunky servant Daisy (Sophie McShera) readies to take over the kitchen and loyal ladies’ maid Anna (Joanne Froggatt) aims for motherhood as all the plot threads are double-knotted. New addition Noël Coward (Artie Froushan) cheekily leads the group, upstairs and down, in a final apt rendition of Poor Little Rich Girl. The Grand Finale should ideally be seen in a theater surrounded by a costumed audience of fans cosplaying their favorite characters — as long as one Downton diehard isn’t wearing a top hat. —Thelma M. Adams

Watch it: Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, in theaters Sept. 12

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⭐⭐⭐⭐ ☆ A Little Prayer , R

David Strathairn, 76, hits his sweet spot as Bill, a deeply empathetic father, veteran and small-factory owner. His quiet performance is a master class in acting with one’s eyes, as Bill sees his golden years overwhelmed by family chaos that he strives to, but cannot, control. When he realizes his son, David (Will Pullen), is cheating on his wary, uncomplaining daughter-in-law, Tammy (a graceful, restrained Jane Levy), his allegiance is to her. Bill and his wife, (the ever-acute Celia Weston, 73), also cope with the sudden return of their rootless scavenger daughter, Patti (Anna Camp), who’s on the lam from her abusive husband. The movie is a labor of love about the never-ending emotional gut punch of parenthood and the individual’s need to find some beauty, clarity and connection in the wreckage of a well-intentioned family. —Thelma M. Adams

Watch it: A Little Prayer, in theaters

⭐⭐⭐⭐ ☆ Caught Stealing , R

Elvis’ Austin Butler has mad star power in this propulsive ’90s-set crime caper. As if baseball prodigy-turned-bartender Hank (Butler) hasn’t fallen far enough, his punky downtown Manhattan neighbor Russ (a zany Matt Smith) abruptly drops off his pet cat with him for safekeeping. Then Russ vanishes, leaving Hank and his girlfriend, Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz), beset by the violent fiends whose drug money Russ has embezzled. Hank is hardly equipped for the criminal onslaught. He’s stuck; he was a contender for the majors and fatally screwed it up. He’s been beating himself up ever since — until the fiends arrive to do that for him. The supporting cast offers nonstop delights with Vincent D’Onofrio, 66, and Liev Schreiber, 57, mugging as Hasidic hitmen; the charming Carol Kane, 73, as their bubbe; and Regina King, 54, as a cop. Caught Stealing is the best movie from Darren Aronofsky, 56, in years, a crazy After Hours-style yarn with a high body count and a buoyant, breathless pace. —Thelma M. Adams

Watch it: Caught Stealing, in theaters

⭐⭐⭐⭐ ☆ The Toxic Avenger , Unrated

The Toxic Avenger returns! He’s the low-rent, low-budget, anything-for-a-laugh hero transformed by toxic waste into Toxie, a nuclear monster with a heart of gold. Peter Dinklage, 56, has a blast in the title role, as he defends his bullied stepson (Jacob Tremblay) from a pack of sleazy villains. Equally entertaining are Kevin Bacon, 67, as the unrepentant villain Bob Garbinger, with Elijah Wood resembling Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show as Bob’s put-upon henchman and brother Fritz. This enthusiastic revival of the 1984 original ups the tech values and adds a recognizable cast without sacrificing the original’s ick factor: arms ripped off, viscera flying, heads exploding. No learning, no hugs, just schlock and awe. —Thelma M. Adams

Watch it: The Toxic Avenger, in theaters