Freeze Frame: "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues" (R), "The Conjuring: Last Rites" (R), "Seen and Heard: The History of Black Television" (TV-MA)

Freeze Frame

It's taken 41 years, but the sequel to the classic rock mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap" has finally arrived. In “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer return as the clueless British hard rock band attempts a perilous comeback. Rob Reiner is back as director -on and off screen- and Paul McCartney and Elton John join in the fun along with a number of others from the original movie. The sequel never quite hits the hilarious heights of the original, so it doesn’t go quite to 11. Still, “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” is an enjoyably goofy dip into satiric nostalgia. "The Conjuring: Last Rites" is the ninth and supposedly final chapter in "The Conjuring" franchise. We'll see. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are back as famed paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren in what is touted as a true story of demonic possession. Right. Fans of the franchise may want to indulge once again, but it's overlong, poorly paced and plays like a hodgepodge of scenes from the previous movies. The cast is right, but "The Last Rites" is wrong. The HBO Max documentary "Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television" is an enlightening overview of the ups and downs experienced by African American artists over the last 75 years. It’s produced by Issa Rae. The first episode of the two-part series is excellent, an involving and entertaining history lesson. The second part, dealing with more recent history, tends to meander and goes a bit off-subject. Overall, “Seen & Heard” is still a timely and provocative examination of ongoing inequality.