JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Nightcrawler Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, Bill Paxton Directed by Dan Gilroy Synopsis: Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a small-time thief suffering from some form of antisocial behavior.  He wants a job, but his offbeat and downright offputting personality prevents him from doing so, as he also longs to create his own company.  One night he comes upon a crash, and realizes he wants to be a stringer, or a freelance videographer who contributes to local news outlets by selling his videos to them.  He finds an eager buyer in Nina Romina (Rene Russo), a morning news director who's working on the lowest watched news program in Los Angeles.  Louis' shots are incredible, as he often even interferes in the crime scenes and is often the first one there, even before the cops.  As he keeps bringing in the shots, he gets more money, and demands more from Nina, even extorting and threatening her to go to her competitor if he didn't get wh...

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb Starring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Rebel Wilson Directed by Shawn Levy Synopsis: Larry (Ben Stiller) and his living museum buddies have created quite a name for themselves, as they're the new attraction of a "special effects" extravaganza, bringing in the wealthy and powerful to witness a once-in-a-lifetime show. One night, all the exhibits start acting irrationally during the show, and it comes down to the mystical tablet of Ahkmenrah, the mystical source that brings the exhibits to life every night.  It's beginning to corrode, and as it does, the exhibits begin returning to their non-living state. Larry tracks down the original owners of the tablet, who are exhibits at the British Museum.  So Larry, Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Sacajawea (Mizuo Peck), Jedidiah (Owen Wilson), Octavius (Steve Coogan) and others travel to the British Museum to find out how to fix the tablet, before the exhibits...

The War of the Worlds Starring Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Les Tremayne, Robert Cornthwaite Directed by Byron Haskin Synopsis: Martians are looking for a new planet to live on, and they set their eyes on Earth.  As they begin decimating the world, it's up to Dr. Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry), Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson) and the U.S. Army to find a way to stop them before they take over the world, but it seems that all their efforts have been in vain. Review: There are times when you really want to go back and enjoy the golden ages of cinema, where CGI wasn't the main star, and where story trumps effects.  The 1953 classic "The War of the Worlds" has that, but also showcases some stellar effects for its time, even earning an Oscar for Best Effects in 1953.  Watching it now, it looks extremely primitive and you wonder how it could've been seen as an actually scary film, but the same could be said for the mass panic Orson Welles gave the world whe...

Foxcatcher Starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Sienna Miller Directed by Bennett Miller Synopsis: Mark (Channing Tatum) and his older brother David (Mark Ruffalo) Schultz are wrestlers who've competed in several matches, even winning gold at the 1984 Olympics.  The brothers have had a terrible life, not having a father, and being forced to move around often, and Mark especially suffers from depression and feelings of inadequacy and always living under his brothers' shadow. Then comes wealthy eccentric John du Pont (Steve Carell), who is known for his fortune based on gunpowder, as well as his Foxcatcher farm centering around breeding racing horses, who has taken a liking to wrestling, and Mark in particular.  He hires Mark to live with him on the ranch and develop a group of men to win gold at the 1988 Olympics, and Mark readily agrees, seeing this as his first chance to step into the limelight himself, and find a father figure in du Pont. Thin...

Insurgent Starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts Directed by Robert Schwentke Synopsis: Since attempting to overthrow the evil Jeanine (Kate Winslet), Divergent Tris (Shailene Woodley), Four (Theo James), Tris's brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) and Peter (Miles Teller) are on the run and trying to find more Divergents to wage a war against her, while being tracked by her in an effort to open a mysterious box. As Tris and Four's relationship blossoms, secrets are uncovered, Tris has to come to terms with who she is, and surprising dangers await at every turn.  Tris finally decides that it's ultimately up to her to stop the bloodshed - by any means necessary. Review: First of all, I've never read the books, and probably never will, so I'm basing the merit on the movie by the movie itself, not from how far (and, from what I've heard, VERY far) it deviated from the source material. That being said, I found it to be an extrava...

Selma Starring David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Wilkinson Directed by Ava DuVernay Synopsis: "Selma" tales the story of Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) as he embarks to Selma, Alabama, to protect the African American right to vote, something that was granted to them earlier but made virtually impossible by Alabama Governor George Wallace (Tim Roth).  After pleading with President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) to include federal legislation for African Americans to vote freely, he decides to hold a rally and march through Selma, culminating on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where a violent confrontation with officers ignite a nationwide outrage. Review: 50 years after the march on the bridge, director Ava DuVernay releases "Selma," and it's a very compelling tale on how African Americans had to fight for every right given to them, including the right to vote.  It shows that we have indeed come a long way, but there's still a way to g...

Predestination Starring Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor Directed by the Spierig Brothers Synopsis: There is a terrorist known as the Fizzle Bomber, and it's up to Temporal Agent (Ethan Hawke) to stop him by traveling through time and attempting to stop the attacks before they begin, but he's always somehow too late.  On one jump he meets The Unmarried Mother (Sarah Snook), who tells him her tragic life, and he enlists her help to become an agent herself, which leads to very unexpected consequences. Review: To try and explain this film would be futile because a) it would give too much away and b) I still have to wrap my brain around what I had just witnessed.  It definitely wasn't what I was expecting, and that's a good thing.  I expected something along the lines of a fairly simplified time travel tale like "Looper" (which isn't bad in its own right), but instead I was treated with a highly cerebral story delivered by two incredible ac...

V/H/S Viral Starring Emmy Argo, Justin Welborn, Emilia Ares Zoryan, Nick Blanco Directed by Marcel Sarmiento, Gregg Bishop, Nacho Vigalondo, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Todd Lincoln Synopsis: Much like the previous two installments, "V/H/S Viral" centers around short films using the first-person POV using older cameras, but unlike the previous two installments, they don't really follow a cohesive narrative nor does it provide the scares and shocks of the previous two. "Vicious Circles" is the film that is supposed to be the anchor that tethers all the tales together, but instead could just be a stand-alone film about a man wanting to be a "YouTube" sensation by following the police chasing a mysterious ice cream truck around town, as it oddly circles around the block repeatedly, causing some people to behave strangely.  Had some good moments, but overall it fell short. "Dante the Great" was the first short film, which cen...

Unbroken Starring Jack O'Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund, Takamasa Ishihara Directed by Angelina Jolie Synopsis: Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) was a troubled kid who kept getting into trouble, until his brother found an outlet for his activity - track.  Louis became the fastest runner in the country, and went to the Olympics. After the Olympics he enlisted in the army to fight in World War II, and on a rescue mission his plane goes down in the ocean, and only he, his friend Phil (Domhnall Gleeson) and another soldier survived.  They were adrift in the water for an astonishing 47 days facing sharks, heat and lack of food and water until they were discovered by the Japanese and put into a prisoner camp. Under the sadistic direction of Watanabe (Takamusa Ishihara), Louis was particularly singled out for ritual beatings due to his popular stature, and as Watanabe wanted to break him, Louis took each trial and grew stronger, and instead of seeking veng...