Movies Update: Conjuring up one more movie
Plus, film festival season continues in Toronto
Movies Update
September 5, 2025

Hey, movie fans!

This is the weekend a long-running successful horror franchise hopes to conjure up a few more bucks at the box office.

That’s right: It’s the latest “Conjuring” movie, the final one for two of its stars, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. (They have more to say about that here.) But the critic Beatrice Loayza thinks that if you’re looking for big frights, you might come up short. In her review of “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” she writes that each film in this series “seems less scary than the last.”

Other new releases this week include a somber indie comedy (“Twinless,” featuring a magnetic performance from Dylan O’Brien) and what the critic Manohla Dargis calls a “coolly damning” documentary, “Riefenstahl,” which shines a light on the “Triumph of the Will” director Leni Riefenstahl.

We’re in the middle of the fall festival season, with the Toronto International Film Festival (in its 50th iteration) having just begun. I and a few of my colleagues are on the ground in Toronto, and last night I attended the festival’s opening-night film, the heartfelt documentary “John Candy: I Like Me” (which is coming to Amazon Prime Video Oct. 10), about the comedic actor who rose to superstardom in the 1980s, then died in 1994 at the age of 43. Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, helped to introduce the film by quoting a line from the Candy movie “Uncle Buck”: “I don’t think I want to know a 6-year-old who isn’t a dreamer.”

We’ll have more thoughts from Toronto soon. In the meantime, you can catch up with our reporter Kyle Buchanan’s coverage from the Venice Film Festival (focusing on Julia Roberts, Emma Stone and Dwayne Johnson). You can also find out how the Bruce Springsteen biopic played over Labor Day weekend at the Telluride Film Festival.

Enjoy the movies!

CRITICS’ PICKS

A woman smiles as a man hugs her from behind in the aisle in a store filled with various items and string lights.

Jaclyn Martinez/Amazon MGM Studios

Critic’s Pick

‘Preparation for the Next Life’ Review: Wait Training

A young immigrant woman falls for a troubled U.S. soldier in this sensitive and sweetly melancholic drama.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

MOVIE REVIEWS

A scene from “Tinā,’ in which Anapela Polataivao’s character directs a student choir.

Kirsty Griffin/Rialto

‘Tinā’ Review: Finding Their Voices

A private-school music instructor starts a choir in this New Zealand tear-jerker that hews to the tried and tested inspiring-teacher formula.

By Natalia Winkelman

Orlando Bloom, in boxing shorts and gloves, stands in the ring with his hands resting on the ropes. He is sweaty, with a bruised and bloodied right eye.

Republic Pictures

‘The Cut’ Review: A Boxer’s Grisly Comeback

In an unsparing ring drama, Orlando Bloom plays a fighter whose extreme efforts to make weight could cost him his mind.

By Glenn Kenny

A smiling woman and man silhouetted by Christmas lights in the dark, in a scene from “The Baltimorons.”

IFC Films, via Associated Press

‘The Baltimorons’ Review: The Night Before Christmas With the Dentist

In this bittersweet romance from Jay Duplass, the story starts with an actual stumble and loses its way before any sugarplums materialize.

By Ben Kenigsberg

NEWS & FEATURES

A darkly lit film scene shows a man and a woman looking down at the camera.

Warner Bros.

Exit Interview

Horror’s Mom and Dad Say Goodbye to the ‘Conjuring’ Movies

Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are leaving the franchise after “Last Rites.” For them, the films were about their demon-hunting characters’ relationship.

By Kellina Moore

An image of smoke and fire, with the Wizard of Oz in the center.

Sphere Entertainment

Critic’s Notebook

Is ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Sphere the Future of Cinema? Or the End of It?

Our critic went to Las Vegas to see the immersive presentation of the classic 1939 film. What she saw defied easy categorization.

By Alissa Wilkinson

A head shot shows a bald man with rimless glasses smiling. His face is partly in shadow.

Stefano Rellandini/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Dwayne Johnson’s Tearful Reinvention at the Venice Film Festival

The action superstar’s pivot to a dramatic role as a drug-addicted UFC fighter in “The Smashing Machine” brought a standing ovation and Oscar talk.

By Kyle Buchanan

A sweaty man with his arm upraised stands at a microphone. A guitar strap can be seen on his shoulder.

20th Century Studios

At Telluride, a Springsteen Biopic Means a Springsteen Appearance

The world premiere drew a starry audience to the annual film festival in Colorado.

By Nicole Sperling

Emma Stone, bald and wearing a brown floral dress with princess sleeves, sits in a chair in a wood-paneled house.

Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features

In Venice, Emma Stone and Jacob Elordi Make Bald Bids for Oscar

Since transformation is a crucial element of award-contending performances, the magnitude of their makeovers should not be underestimated.

By Kyle Buchanan

STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS

Outdoors near a wooded area, two women, one crouching with a gun and one aiming a gun, confront a person wearing a gray jumpsuit.

Well Go USA Entertainment

Five Action Movies to Stream Now

This month’s picks include girl assassins, a school under attack and more.

By Robert Daniels

A woman in uniform stands outside holding a musket while looking seriously at something out of frame. A man with a beard who is also in uniform stands in the background out of focus.

Glen Wilson/Focus Features, via Associated Press

The Best Movies and Shows on Hulu Right Now

We’ve handpicked the finest movies and television shows currently streaming on Hulu in the United States. Take a look.

By Jason Bailey

A girl with dark hair looks out at a body of water. She is seen from behind, resting her arms on a silver railing, as a man sitting to her right lays one arm over hers.

A24

The 50 Best Movies on HBO Max Right Now

In addition to new Warner and HBO films, the streamer has a treasure trove of Golden Age classics, indie flicks and foreign films. Start with these.

By Scott Tobias

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