THE CONJURING: LAST RITES is a Victory Lap

THE CONJURING: LAST RITES (Blu-ray)

2025 / 135 min

Warner Bros

#InPartnershipwithWB

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

I never believed for a second that Ed and Lorraine Warren would know a real demon if it walked up, introduced itself and showed them some I.D. Even if their hearts were in the right place - but most likely their wallets - this couple put the ‘con’ in conjuring. 

Still, it’s fun to believe, which the Conjuring franchise has always exploited very effectively, especially with the first two films. Whether or not we buy into the Warrens’ paranormal exploits, what separates these movies from others of their ilk is the great care taken in portraying the couple as likable, sympathetic, sincere and dedicated, to each other and their job. Even as the series began to suffer from the inevitable Law of Diminishing Returns, one thing that remained constant was our affection for the Warrens. 

That affection is more important than ever regarding The Conjuring: Last Rites, which is supposedly the final film in the franchise. It certainly plays like one, assembling a massive collection of tropes, jump-scares, visual effects and ominous signs we’ve long since grown familiar with. These elements may have lost their ability to be truly scary a couple of movies ago, but wouldn’t we miss them if they were absent? Instead of Last Rites, the film could’ve been subtitled Greatest Hits, especially with all the fan service alluding to previous films.

"I dunno, Ed...I can't shake the feeling we're being followed."

But it’s the Warrens (earnestly played once again by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) who keep Last Rites afloat. Director Michael Chaves and his team of screenwriters must have realized that as well, adding now-adult daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) as a primary character (and a pretty good one). Not only is her engagement to boyfriend Tony (Ben Hardy) a charming subplot, both of them end up being part of Mom & Dad’s efforts to save the Smurl family from demons unleashed from an old mirror. The movie needs them, too, since there’s almost no effort to make the Smurls much more than a plot device. You could say the same thing about the demons themselves, whose history and intentions are pretty murky.

As a capper to the phenomenally successful Conjuring franchise (yeah, we’ll see), Last Rites is sort of a victory lap. Save for a chilling sequence involving the fate of a kindly priest, the film doesn’t really serve-up anything new and the ultimate outcome is a given. But as a fond cinematic farewell to the beloved Warrens, it works quite nicely. Who cares if their actual legacy is dubious at best?

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Last Rites: An Era Ends looks back at the whole franchise; The Conjuring: Crafting Scenes focuses on the film’s visuals; Michael Chaves: Believer features the film’s director.

DIGITAL COPY

THE DAY OF THE JACKAL - SEASON ONE: Keep An Open Mind

THE DAY OF THE JACKAL - SEASON ONE (Blu-ray)

2024 / 533 min

Universal

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Carl, the Couch Potato😺

For this writer, 1973’s The Day of the Jackal ranks among the greatest thrillers ever made, one of those rare films that’s structurally perfect and leaves zero room for improvement. But I like to remain open minded, and conceptually, the basic premise of the film is certainly conducive to other interpretations without necessarily drawing unfair comparisons. I enjoyed 1998’s The Jackal, the one with Bruce Willis and Richard Gere, on its own terms. While some scenes alluded to the original, there were enough narrative and character changes that it was more of a reimagining than a remake.

But a television series? While trying once again to remain open minded, I couldn’t imagine any episodic adaptation of the original movie or Frederick Forsyth’s novel without significantly padding things out or completely rethinking the basic narrative structure. And sure enough, the ten episodes of Season One (with a second one on the way), stretch themselves pretty thin at times. However, certain aspects of the show are excellent.

In this one, the notorious assassin known as The Jackal (Eddie Redmayne) is hired by an organization to kill hotshot tech billionaire Ulle Dag Charles (Khalid Abdalla) before he launches River, a powerful program that’ll render finances worldwide transparent. The series, however, opens with Jackal’s first kill, the assassination of a German politician. This gets British MI6 agent Bianca Pullman (Lashana Lynch) involved in hunting for the guy capable of such a seemingly impossible shot before he can do it again. 

That’s the basic overall story, the narrative shifting back and forth between The Jackal’s meticulous planning and Bianca’s relentless determination to identify and catch him. When focused on this, as well as an internal MI6 mole hunt, the show really crackles. While updating the basic premise with different characters and a more contemporarily relevant target, there are still plenty of elements and homages to the 1973 film that are pulled off quite nicely. In fact, Redmayne appears to use Edward Fox’s steely performance in the original as the foundation for his own. He succeeds quite well, exuding understated menace. There are moments when he even resembles Fox.

"I came here to feed the pigeons, and you're scaring them away."

However, a major part of what has always made The Jackal such an intriguing character (in all previous versions) was that little was ever revealed about him beyond his methods and ruthlessness. He remained a nameless enigma, which added to his mystique. But here, not only does the story give him a past (a former military sniper), this Jackal also has a wife, Nuria (Ursula Corbero), a kid and annoying in-laws, all of whom are part of a subplot where his domestic bliss is threatened when Nuria realizes he’s been leading a double life. 

This additional exposition and character development ultimately renders The Jackal more vulnerable, even fallible, and therefore less menacing. It also tends to stall the show’s momentum, as do superfluous scenes depicting how Bianca’s obsession with her job adversely affects her own family life. I understand why both main characters have been fleshed out for the sake of a series, and there are probably plenty of viewers out there who will appreciate the additional melodrama. But these elements are never as engaging as the primary story, which is compelling, increasingly complex and often surprising.

I’m still not sure I like how Season One ends, with a finale that seems more concerned with setting up a second season than satisfactorily wrapping things up. But despite some initial misgivings, The Day of the Jackal works better as a series than I initially thought it would. When staying on-point, the show’s a lot of fun, with good action sequences, some jarring violence and a solid portrayal of the title character by Redmayne. As for those who revere the original film, it helps to stay open minded.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Melon Scene Breakdown is a piece that showcases one of several homages to the original film; Becoming the Jackal is an interview with Eddie Redmayne; Becoming Bianca is an interview by Lashana Lynch.

THE X TRILOGY and My Cinephile Friend

THE X TRILOGY Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)

2022 & 2024 / 312 min (3 movies)

A24 Films

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

I have a cinephile friend who’s really into these movies. We aren’t so close that we regularly exchange gifts during the holidays. But if we were, I’d consider gifting him this nicely packaged Blu-ray boxed set of Ti West’s entire trilogy, even if he already has physical copies of them.

Ultimately, I think it’s releases like The X Trilogy that'll continue keeping physical media alive for those who still treasure it…such as yours truly and obviously you, since you’re reading this. For us, movies aren’t simply disposable entertainment to be consumed and discarded with the click of a remote. The ones we hold near and dear to our hearts are meant to be revisited and appreciated whenever we wish, now matter how much time passes. They’re meant to be proudly displayed on the shelves of our own personal libraries, even if nobody else we know actually cares about such things. 

Collector’s Editions are especially neat because nothing signifies one’s love for a particular movie or franchise like a big boxed set with great new artwork and physical supplements you simply can’t get digitally. That being said, The X Trilogy is obviously intended for people like my cinephile friend. The three films in this collection feature the exactly same Blu-ray transfers as earlier editions, and with the exception of new audio commentaries for each, there are no new bonus features.

Still, this is a really cool set. The outer box is as thick and sturdy as a hardcover book, with a transparent slipcover baring the titles and credits. The discs themselves are stored in a gatefold digipak, and along with it is a 64 page booklet loaded with great artwork inspired by the films (Maxxxine, in particular), as well as stills, concept art, storyboards, costume sketches, faux posters and an essay by Jon Dieringer. The overall package also set features interesting cover art.

Mia steps on a Lego.

As for the movies themselves…while I’m not quite as enamored with them as my cinephile friend, this is still a pretty great trio of horror films, each with their own unique aesthetic and tone (befitting the decades when they take place). The first film, X, is an obvious homage to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (at least visually), which has a group of young people renting a remote cabin to make a porno, but the old couple who own the place turn out to be murderous psychopaths. Loaded with sex and over-the-top violence, it’s well directed for a slasher film and features a star making performance from Mia Goth as Maxine (she also plays Pearl, the primary antagonist).

While X is a better than average slab of exploitation, Pearl is the trilogy’s highpoint. Trading in cheap & nasty thrills for disturbing psychological horror, this one is actually a prequel with Goth returning to play a younger version of the title character. Once again, director Ti West wears his influences proudly, this time drawing visual inspiration from the likes of The Wizard of Oz and other colorful classics of Hollywood's so-called golden era. With gorgeous production design & cinematography to offset an increasingly malevolent tone - and some extreme gore - this one is damn near a masterpiece. Goth is magnificent and probably should've gotten an Oscar nomination.

A direct sequel to the first film, Maxxxine isn’t quite as compelling, but is certainly a lot of gonzo, gory fun. With 1980s LA as the setting, Maxine (Goth) is a porn star trying to break into mainstream films. However, she’s also being stalked by someone who knows of her past. Concurrently, the notorious serial killer, the Night Stalker, is loose in the city, who may or may not be the same person terrorizing Maxine. There ain’t much subtly here, but the cast and performances are good, as are the spectacularly violent death scenes.

Is this version of The X Trilogy essential? Not really, but since when has that ever dissuaded a collector from sticking a set like this on their shelf? Consider it more of a great looking souvenir for people like my cinephile friend, who will certainly find this to be a worthy addition to his collection.

EXTRA KIBBLES

SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKLET

X

FEATURETTES - That X Factor is a making-of featurette; “The Farmer’s Daughters” is the amusing faux-movie of the porno the group was shooting in the film (minus the porn, of course); Pearl Make-Up Timelapse is a visual of the process turning Mia Goth into the monstrous antagonist.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director of photography Eliot Rockett & production designer Tom Hammock.

TRAILER

PEARL

FEATURETTES - Coming Out of Her Shell: The Making of Pearl; Time After Time focuses on the film’s production design.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director of photography Eliot Rockett & production designer Tom Hammock.

TRAILER

MAXXXINE

FEATURETTES - The Belly of the Beast is a making-of featurette with interviews with most of the main cast; XXX Marks the Spot; Hollywood is a Killer focuses on the nasty special effects; Q&A with Director Ti West; Deep Dive with Composer Tyler Bates.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By production designer Jason Kisvarday & set decorator Kelsi Ephraim.

2 TRAILERS

ÆON FLUX (4K): The Anniversary You Probably Forgot

ÆON FLUX 20th Anniversary Edition (4K UHD SteelBook)

2005 / 92 min

Paramount

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😾

A 20th Anniversary edition of Æon Flux? I could be wrong, but isn’t that like celebrating the anniversary of a single date you had with someone whose name and face you barely remember?

For the sake of clarity, Æon Flux was an animated sci-fi series that aired on MTV back in the 1990s. This live-action film starring Charlize Theron followed about a decade later, which was a critical and box office dud. Then it sort of became forgotten, never developing anything resembling a cult following (though it has been repeatedly released on Blu-ray and DVD over the years). Now it’s getting the 4K SteelBook treatment, so surely someone out there must fondly recall this one. Right?

This is the first time I’ve ever actually watched it. Having never seen the original show either, I have no idea how it measures up or if it’s faithful to the source material, but it does a fairly decent job establishing the dystopian setting, where a virus has wiped out most of the world’s population. The remaining five million people survive within the walls of a single city called Bregna. However, not everything is hunky dory. Bregna is under authoritarian rule by the Goodchilds, the family whose ancestors created the city in the first place.

The world's greatest lawn ornament.

Theron plays the title character, a kick-ass supersoldier who fights with a telepathic resistance group called the Monicans. After her sister is mistakenly identified as a Monican and murdered, Æon accepts a mission to kill Bregna’s leader, Trevor (Marton Csokas). But not only is it revealed the two have a past together, Trevor’s being undermined by his own counsel, led by hot-headed brother, Oren (Jonny Lee Miller). 

Æon Flux is competently made and features the expected quota of CGI-enhanced action and special effects. However, there’s absolutely nothing memorable about it, visually or narratively. Theron looks good and gives a dedicated physical performance, but her character is purely defined by action (hell, she barely reacts to her own sister’s death). Everyone else is even less defined. It all moves along at an urgent pace, but at no point are we instilled with the same urgency. We’re simply watching everything unfold with the enthusiasm of watching someone else play a video game.

Aside from Theron’s costume and its combat-functional boob window, I can’t think of a single noteworthy scene or moment that raises Æon Flux above anything but empty eye candy. Still, if that single date you had with someone left a lasting impression, the film has been given a pretty decent 4K facelift and comes with bonus features carried over from previous releases. I suppose the biggest selling point would be the new SteelBook packaging, which features a variation of the original promotional artwork, but is at least an improvement over the crappy looking Blu-ray SteelBook from a few years ago.

EXTRA KIBBLES

4K, BLU-RAY & DIGITAL COPIES

FEATURETTES - Creating a World: Aeon Flux; The Locations of Aeon Flux; The Stunts of Aeon Flux; The Costume Design Workshop of Aeon Flux; The Craft of the Set Photographer on Aeon Flux.

2 AUDIO COMMENTARIES - 1) By Charlize Theron & producer Gale Anne Hurd; 2) By screenwriters Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi.

Catnip Reviews: BUSTER KEATON, SMURFS & ULTRAMAN ARC

Snack-sized opinions from the frisky felines at Free Kittens…

THE BUSTER KEATON SHOW (Blu-ray) - Until this 2-disc set arrived, I wasn’t aware Buster Keaton even had a TV show. Perhaps some of you were unaware, too, since it wasn’t particularly successful and many episodes have since been lost. However, this set has dug up and restored nine of them, which is kind of a bittersweet viewing experience. On one hand, here’s a silent movie legend decades removed from his glory days, and it shows. He never took to talkies too well, and some of these episodes see him sadly trying to erase the passage of time. On the other hand, some of his greatness still shines through on occasion…a reminder that, at one time, nobody was funnier. Also included are a couple of episodes not previously available, as well as Buster’s appearances in other shows, but the best bonus kibbles are two of his silent shorts from the early twenties. Far from Buster’s greatest work, but from a historical perspective, it’s well worth checking out. (1949-50/332 min/Liberation Hall). 

KITTY CONSENSUS: 😼😼😼

SMURFS (Blu-ray) - “Isn’t Rihanna in that?” asked my 21-year-old daughter, Lucy, as she passed through the room while I was watching this. “Yeah,” I ruefully replied before tapping the blurb on the box, “Rihanna is Smurfette.” That was the extent of Lucy’s interest, but she used to watch this stuff as a kid. A reboot I didn’t know anyone was asking for, Smurfs is yet-another cynically assembled, pop song-laden product with Rihanna and a huge cast of well-known actors lending their voices (and marquee value). Since the average five-year-old probably doesn’t give a damn who these people are, I’m not sure why they went to all the trouble. While there are a few interesting animated bits, this is one of those movies that you pop into your machine to keep the wee ones amused while you do something else.  (2025/90 min/Paramount). 

KITTY CONSENSUS: 😺

ULTRAMAN ARC (Blu-ray) - And you thought Disney knew how to milk a franchise…Ultraman has been kicking around since 1966, when the first series aired in Japan. Since then, there have been dozens and dozens of TV shows, miniseries, movies, games, comics, manga and trading cards. And yours truly has never seen a single frame until now, with this 2024 series, Ultraman Arc. Since this type of science-fiction is not my bag, I’m kinda going-by-feel here when it comes to any recommendation. From the characters to the lore to the action itself, most of this was lost on me, like attending a party where you know none of the guests. But since it appears to be aesthetically identical to other recent series, I suspect it’ll please fans of the franchise. If you count yourself among them, dig in. This 4-disc set features 25 episodes, as well as a full length Ultraman Arc movie, The Clash of Light and Evil. Additionally, it comes with a card that can apparently be played with an Ultraman card game. (2024/700 min/Mill Creek). 

KITTY CONSENSUS: 😼😼