The Conjuring Cinematic Universe Reviews

We do a massive 45 minute preview of Cannes 2021 before trailer reactions for Last Night In Soho, Dear Evan Hansen, Eternals etc. and movie reviews for Cruella, A Quiet Place Part II, and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.

What Is This Episode? - Top of Show
Mike1 REALLY LIKES Bo Burnham’s Inside - 1:27
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PREVIEWING CANNES:
Fast 9 Will Screen @ Cannes - 3:23
Anne Thompson Worries About Momentum - 4:50
What ISSS The French Dispatch? - 10:50
Cannes Opening Night’s Oscars’ History + Annette - 14:17
AlsoMike’s 3 Cannes Standouts + Un Certain Regard Players - 20:12
Buzzy New + Lesser Known Cannes Additions - 25:42
Big Name Documentaries Too - 34:23
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Diversity is Still an Issue - 36:00
Movies Cannes DID NOT Pick + No Netflix - 38:40
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OSCAR TRAILERS:
Last Night in SoHo - 45:04
The Eternals, Dear Evan Hansen, No Sudden Move - 48:00
Reminscence + Demonic - 52:27
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Can Jessica Chastain Get People to Care About Tammy Faye? - 55:30
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MAKE THE CASE:
Cruella - 59:07
A Quiet Place 2 - 1:02:21
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BOX OFFICE UPDATE/CONJURING 3 REVIEW - 1:06:16
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ACADEMY NEWS:
Oscars Moved to 3/27/22 - 1:13:33
Academy Rolling Back on Invitations - 1:18:16
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THANK YOU!!!!!/LEAVE US A 5* REVIEW! - 1:21:23
Film-Year-Ending Words of Wisdom - 1:22:21

Our year in preview series is technically over. But we cannot avoid another massive preview episode here as we speculate about everything heading to the south of france for the the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

Will there be another Parasite or Pulp? We profile all of the filmmakers and stars and buzzy titles headed to the 74th Cannes Film Fest, react to which films are in and out of competition, and we discuss how the festival is meeting standards of inclusion and diversity, or not.

Our previewing continues with an accelerated Oscar Trailers segment as we recap the highs and lows from trailers for Last Night In Soho, Dear Evan Hansen, No Sudden Move, Reminiscence, and Demonic. Then we enjoy a Make The Case movie review segment for Cruella, A Quiet Place Part II, and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Can Cruella compete in the artisan categories? Will A Quiet Place Part II be nominated in VFX? Where in Connecticut didn’t the Warrens visit in The Conjuring 3? It’s all here in this massive catch up ORC.

As always, we want to hear your thoughts. We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and we are at Mike, Mike, and Oscar on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail. You can subscribe / rate / review / like / share / & hear us on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify, and just about wherever you might listen. We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar, and we’re making awards season year round, without the stuffiness. Thank you! And do stay safe, everybody.

Cannes, Conjuring, Cruella, Cuiet Place, Catsup - ORC 6/9(nice)/21

What Is This Episode - Top of Show
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THE CONJURING LAST RITES REVIEW:
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Nonspoiler Review:
Background and Skeptic AlsoMike - 2:11
Review Scores/Record Setting Box Office Start - 6:02
Is This REALLY The Last One? - 8:44
Script Thoughts - 11:33
Performances/Production Values - 19:16
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SPOILER WARNING - 27:51
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Spoiler Review:
Spin Off, Sequel, or Retcon? - 29:04
Landing the Plane - 32:00
Who’s The Boss? - 45:02
More Highs and Lows - 47:52
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FINAL GRADES - 51:22
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What’s Next From MMO/Leave Us 5 Stars! - 53:04

The Conjuring Last Rites - When a Finale, Isn't - Ep 493

+ A Warrens Bio.

***This is a Non-Spoiler Episode for The Conjuring & Annabelle***
Look, we discuss some premise info & allude to some scenes, but for the most part, you shall remain unspoiled.  If you hate the slightest whiff of spoilers, maybe see the films first. If not, enjoy.

Intro / The Cinematic Universe Discussion - 2:23
Meet Ed & Lorraine Warren - 6:00
The real Annabelle doll Urban Legend - 9:41

The Conjuring Non-Spoiler Review
Cast & Crew - 11:02
Specs - 18:07
Plot / Premise / the Ghost Hunter Craze - 21:15
Production Values / Rest of the Best & Worst Scenes - 25:30
Where It Fits in the Franchise - 29:07
Oscar Lens / Why It’s a Hit - 33:05

Annabelle Some-Spoiler Review
Cast & Crew - 33:45
Specs - 38:05
Plot / Premise / Occult Murder Craze - 41:35
Rest of the Best / Worst Scenes - 44:47
Where It Fits in the Franchise / Why It’s a Hit - 51:56

Outro / Social Media - 56:26

This was fun.  As we’ve been known to do, we enjoy taking some diversions from the prototypical Oscar coverage and enjoy some other genres / more blockbuster entertainment.  We’ve reviewed the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Mission Impossible films, and now we’re reviewing the Conjuring / Warren Cinematic Universe.  

In this episode, we give you non-spoiler reviews of The Conjuring and Annabelle.  Next week, we’ll conclude our preview of The Nun, the fifth film in this franchise with another episode covering the The Conjuring 2 and Annabelle: Creation.  Of course, we’ll finish the series with a movie event pod reviewing The Nun.

So by way of introduction, we had lots of fun discussing the imperative movie studios gave themselves going into this new age of filmmaking: the Cinematic Universe.  Then we give you some basic information about paranormal investigator hall of famers, Ed & Lorraine Warren.  

Our non-spoiler reviews do get into some premise information, and we may give you the outlines or a few beats of later scenes.  But for the most part, we remain spoiler free.  We enjoy making fun of some of the genre conventions and worst scenes, and yet, even with the poorly reviewed Annabelle, we honestly had a ton of fun re-watching & reviewing these two films.

We’ve previewed the month of September featuring a profile of The Nun in episode 93, and we’ve also covered the horror movie trailers for Halloween in DatA 2 and Mandy in DatA 3. In episodes 75 & 77, we gave the full Oscar Sprint Profile treatment to Toni Collette & the terrific new horror film, Hereditary.  So if you love the genre as much as we do, check out our back catalog of episodes.

Let us know what you think of the Warren Cinematic Universe. We’re Mike, Mike, and Oscar on Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, and Gmail.  We’re @MMandOscar on Twitter, and you can find our podcast just about wherever you may listen on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, etc… So check out our massive back catalog of episodes and always remember our slogan.  When reality sucks, watch movies with us.  We’re Mike, Mike, and Oscar!

Conjuring Universe 1 : Previewing The Nun - The Conjuring, Annabelle, And The Warrens - Ep 96

+ A James Wan Bio.

*This episode reviewing The Conjuring 2 & Annabelle: Creation is MOSTLY SPOILER FREE*

We discuss and allude to several act II and even act III beats of these stories.  So if you’re deathly allergic to spoilers in any form, you should see these films first before listening.  If not, do enjoy.  We certainly had way too much fun here.

The Conjuring 2 review:

Cast & Crew / The Wan/Whannell friendship - 5:31
Movie Specs / Another Windfall of Cast - 14:00
Plot / Premise - 18:59
Best & Worst Scenes - 19:54
Oscar Lens / Warren’s Universe Fit - 25:59

Annabelle: Creation review:

Cast & Crew / Good Actors & Bad Wigs - 29:54
Movie Specs / Even More $$$ for WB - 34:40
Plot / Premise - 40:38
Worst & Best Scenes - 43:11
Oscar Lens/Warren’s Universe Fit - 49:43

Social Media and THANK YOU! YES, YOU! - 53:10


The Nun premieres later this week, and we’re continuing with our Conjuring Universe re-watch.  Do go back and check out our first episode in the mini-series (ep 96) where we covered the origins of this CU, some bio & background information on Ed & Lorraine Warren, and then we reviewed the first Conjuring and Annabelle films.  Now we discuss their follow-ups: The Conjuring 2 and Annabelle: Creation.

Both films were box office hits.  The Conjuring 2 furthers the paranormal investigator story template and introduces several more possibilities for spin off films (hint, the first of these rhymes with the schmun), and though C2 may be the scariest film in awhile, the next film - Annabelle: Creation brings us to an odd locale for a horror film, the desert and delivers some of the best scares of the series.  

Now we’ve often said, MMO delivers equal parts film appreciation, criticism, and nonsense.  In this case, the scary material rattles us to the breaking point, and we have perhaps one of our silliest episodes in awhile.  So perhaps there’s more nonsense in this one, and you’re welcome.

We always love to divert our attentions from the red of the carpets to that of the blood soaked horror genre.  We also love it when we can discuss both as we’ve devoted episodes 75 & 77 to the Oscar contender, Hereditary and Toni Collette’s all timer level performance.  DatA’s 2 & 3 covers previews & trailers for the upcoming Halloween film of this October, and the newly scheduled Mandy film coming to us soon in the second week of September.  We’ll be reviewing both of those as well as The Nun, which we plan for early next week.

If you’re a horror movie aficionado like us Mikes, then do chat with us on social media.  We are Mike, Mike, and Oscar on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Gmail.  We’re @MMandOscar on Twitter, where we’re most active.  Then do find us wherever you may enjoy listening to podcasts and please review / share / like / & comment to your heart’s content.  Whatever clicks & 5 stars you can spare do go a long way to organically growing our audience, which I’m proud to say gave us our best month yet this past August.  Let’s make September even stronger.

So thank you once again.  Here’s our slogan.  When reality sucks, watch movies with us.  We’re Mike, Mike, and Oscar!

Conjuring Universe 2: Hyping The Nun 2.0 - The Conjuring 2, Annabelle: Creation Reviews - Ep 98

A must for Horror Fans!

***This Review of The Nun Has a Spoiler Section***
We’re spoiler free for the first (33) minutes.  Then we break down the plot in all it’s gothic glory.

The Nun: Non-Spoiler Review

Cast & Crew - 4:40
Production Notes - 11:32
Movie Specs - 13:21
Premise / Expectations / Theater Going Experience - 17:32
Review of Production Values - 20:20
Performances - 25:33
Ranking The Conjuring Series Protagonists - 27:41
Oscar Lens - 30:58

Spoiler Music - 33:06

Immediate Carryovers / THE worst scene - 34:14
Plot Discussion / Lots of bests & worsts - Sprinkled Throughout This Segment
Final Thoughts & Grades - 50:26
The Warrens’ Cinematic Universe Re-Rank - 51:48

Social Media Us! - 55:30


The newest film in the James Wan / Ed & Lorrain Warren / WB Conjuring Universe is setting new opening weekend box office high for the franchise.  During our re-watch pods, we’ve already highlighted some huge profits.  So this is high praise considering the budgets of tens of millions have resulted in well over a billion dollars in total earnings.  

As for the quality of the film and the horror movie goods, that’s where we can have the in-depth discussion.  Audience scores have been mixed, and critical numbers have been down.  So let us weigh in with a final word on when and how and why you should see movie.  For this reason, we give you your money’s worth with a non-spoiler review.  Then for the fans who’ve already gone and seen it, we have a full breakdown of the plot in spoilers.

Reviewing all these horror movies the last two weeks must have done a number on our nerves. Because we may have been weirder than usual in this episode.  Banter happens, songs get sung, and we’re doing bizarro voices.  This genre must allow us to let our hair down or something (yes, that’s a metaphor).  In any case, you’re welcome.

Chat with us on social media.  We’re Mike, Mike, and Oscar on Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit.  We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, where we’re most active.  Do get us your SixDegreesOfMMO responses this week.  Either have fun coming up with your own IMDB brain-buster for us to talk about on air, or enjoy yourselves some clicks around the Internation Movie DataBase to come up with an answer to our proposition of Debra Messing to Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Do check out our massive catalog of episodes.  We have fourteen 2018 films reviewed in our Oscar Sprint Profile series plus movie events like this & The Cloverfield Paradox back in January.  We’ve also kept you up to date on the Best Popular Film news from the Academy and all the buzz coming out of the festivals with our monthly Hollywood Hot Takes & breaking news halfisodes.  We did a mid-year Oscar Race Update and three Oscar Contender Trailer round up shows as well.

When reality sucks, keep watching movies with us.  We’re Mike, Mike, and Oscar!

The Nun Review Officially Kicks Off MMO's Spooky Season - The Nun Movie Event Review - Ep #99

Is the 6th Conjuring Universe film worth your time? Is it truly a movie event? Or just for hard core horror nerds like us? In any case, we have a lot of fun with this review of Annabelle Comes Home. What’s good is good, and what’s bad is still kind of awesomely bad.

Making and Keeping Promises - Top of Show

NONSPOILER REVIEW
Cast and Crew - 2:45
Specs - 6:55
Plot Premise/Expectations - 10:24
Production Values:
Sight - 13:22
Sound - 17:48
Performances - 20:54
Script Thoughts - 24:12

Spoiler Warning - 29:03

SPOILER REVIEW
Nonspoiler Carryovers - 30:11
Worsts: Motivation Such An Aggravation - 36:16
Bests: Setups, Payoffs, BIG Scares - 39:22
Bests: Foreshadowing/Mouth Barfing - 42:45
Worsts: …in London - 45:32
Bests/Worsts: Ancillary Demons - 48:15
Finale Analysis - 50:18

Final Grades - 53:32

Your Homework/Our Social Medias - 54:49
Words of Wisdom/Coming Next From Us - 55:12


Yes, we promise things, like a shiny new movie event format. But life gets in the way, and Mikes can’t always agree on things after the first few production meetings. Should we probably make our programming announcements AFTER we settle on something new? Yes. Did we? No. So we’re doing our old Movie Event format for one more encore in this review of Annabelle Comes Home. The good news? We’re making a ton of progress on a new format. So stay tuned.

As usual, there’s a non-spoiler section followed by a full spoiler review. We were pleasantly surprised by one of the core performances, and we were happy to report that even when there’s a sinkhole in the plot, or in the logic of that plot, we still have a fun time yelling at the screen. There’s a lot of bests & worsts to include as highlights and lowlights. But as movie event pods tend to do, we generate all kinds of fire in equal direction.

In any case, we do come out on the positive side for this review. You can definitely chalk some of that up to us being big fans of horror and of The Conjuring Universe. So if you enjoyed this episode, make sure you go back to our other conjuring film reviews. We did cover all 5 previous James Wan productions in a mini-series re-watch last fall, and we did summon demons in the process.

As always, we want to know what you think. Did this movie suck and we’re just too blinded by our fandom to see it? Or did you enjoy the film like we did, or in other ways than we did? Let us know. We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and we are on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail. You can subscribe / rate / review / like / share / & listen to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify, and just about wherever you listen to podcasts. When reality sucks, keep watching movies with us. We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar!

Annabelle Comes Home Review - Course Correcting The Conjuring Universe - Ep 215

MMO is talk radio for movie fans with weekly news shows, reviews, previews, and special guests. We celebrate the Oscars by making awards season year round, without the stuffiness. If you love cinema, if you love showbiz, welcome home.