Tag: Ben Hardy

The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) | REVIEW

Mia Tomlinson and Patrick Wilson in THE CONJURING: LAST RITES — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures / New Line Cinema (still image from trailers).

Directed by Michael Chaves — Screenplay by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick.

We’ve come a long way since the first film about the demonologist duo and married couple Ed and Lorraine Warren, The Conjuring, from director James Wan. Depending on whether you count The Curse of La Llorona, there are now nine or ten films in the film series, with its reported conclusion, 2025’s The Conjuring: Last Rites, serving as the dot at the end of the sentence. Like with The Curse of La Llorona, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and The Nun 2, this latest film is directed by Michael Chaves, who, despite receiving mixed reviews for his films, has long been positioned as the heir apparent to James Wan (The Conjuring; Insidious; Saw). Chaves has failed in his attempts to reach the height of his mentor’s films, and, in the process of trying to continue Wan’s work in this connected universe of films, has turned in, at best, merely lukewarm films. Does the purported conclusion to the story of the Warrens improve things for Chaves? Well, his latest film still cannot hold a candle to Wan’s Conjuring films, but, to Chaves’ credit, I think this is his most entertaining film yet. 

Continue reading “The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) | REVIEW” →

REVIEW: 6 Underground (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of 6 Underground — Directed by Michael Bay.

If you think the Netflix film-catalog merely consists of Oscar bait and shoddy romantic-comedies, then Michael Bay’s 6 Underground is here to disprove that notion. While Netflix is releasing this year’s batch of awards-worthy dramas — like Marriage Story and The Irishman — they also have their complete antithesis, 6 Underground, ready for quick consumption. Its star, Ryan Reynolds, has been seen in marketing describing the film as the ‘most Michael Bay movie in the history of Michael Bay,’ thus promising an explosion-heavy, no-holds-barred modern action movie from one of the most commercially successful filmmakers in history. Reynolds’ description is apt, however, 6 Underground just isn’t a very good movie. Continue reading “REVIEW: 6 Underground (2019)” →

REVIEW: Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster — 20th Century Fox

The following is a review of Bohemian Rhapsody — Directed by Bryan Singer.

The best word to describe the reported principal photography process for Bohemian Rhapsody is ‘problematic.’ Production of the film was temporarily stopped due to director Bryan Singer. Bryan Singer was eventually fired before the film was even finished. Hoping to save the film, the studio behind it hired director Dexter Fletcher to complete the film and take it across the finishing line in the best state possible. As it turns out, Bohemian Rhapsody — the film — is not as interesting as the notorious making of the film seems to have been. Continue reading “REVIEW: Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)” →