JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Major Theatrical Releases May 2016 May is the start of summer, which means warmer weather, no school, more sunshine, and of course, MAJOR BLOCKBUSTER MOVIES! The beginning of summer opens with some extremely strong outings which will shape the remaining months to come, and if these movies are any indication, it's going to be a great summer at the movies! That being said, here is the list of films being released nationally for the month of May, 2016. MAY 6 Captain America: Civil War Starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie Directed by Anthony Russo & Joe Russo Synopsis (imdb.com): Political interference in the Avengers' activities causes a rift between former allies Captain America and Iron Man. Thoughts: Forget "Batman v. Superman," THIS is the match-up we've all been dying to see!  Based off the highly popular comic series, "Civil War" pits Earth's Mightiest Heroes against one anot...

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Starring Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton Directed by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa The Story: Kim Barker (Tina Fey) is a 40-something television journalist who's offered a job being a war correspondent in Afghanistan.  Upon arriving she meets fellow journalist Tanya Vanderpoel (Margot Robbie) who tells her that she's not the shrinking violet she thought she was, and in Afghanistan she can be a fully empowered woman.  She then meets Iain MacKelpie (Martin Freeman), a Scottish freelance photographer, who becomes close friends with her.  As her short stint turns into years, Kim finds herself again, and vows to never be satisfied with the status quo.  She goes out in the danger zone to find the story, but it seems that Tanya is having better luck than she is.  She gets overly anxious and does more dangerous things to get the story, resulting in a kidnapping and a re-evaluation of what really is "home" to...

Victor Frankenstein Starring James McAvoy, Daniel Radcliffe, Jessica Brown Findlay, Andrew Scott Directed by Paul McGuigan The Story: In a circus in London, a lonely hunchback (Daniel Radcliffe) is the clown of the show, picked on by others, and pines for the beautiful acrobat Lorelei (Jessica Brown Findlay).  He's also studied medicine and is prolific in the human anatomy.  One day, during a show, Lorelei suffers a fall and with the aid of visiting doctor Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy), the two save her life.  Victor frees the hunchback from the circus to join him in his exploits, fixes his hump, and gives him a name - Igor Strausman. Victor tells Igor he's planning on bringing life to that which is dead, and Igor assists him in his endeavors.  As he gets to know Victor, he learns that there's a deeper meaning to his desire, and begins to understand the man behind the monster.  All the while, Roderick Turpin (Andrew Scott), a Scotland Yard off...

Worst2First: Worst Video Game Films Video games have been a staple of the American household for decades.  From Commodore 64 and Atari to Xbox One and Playstation 4, millions of children and adults have spent countless billion of hours in front of the screen holding a controller and escaping into a fascinating world of tomb raiding, street fighting, and plumbers who travel to different worlds. These concepts should correlate to the big screen, yet there's very few movies that came from video games that have actually been good.  However, some are just so bad that you can't help but watch them.  For this list, I will rank the ten worst video game films, some which are just boring, while others are simply silly and pointless. Here are ten worst video game films, Worst2First. **There will be no spoilers.** #10 Hitman: Agent 47 The first film wasn't too bad, but it's the unwanted and unwarranted sequel that makes the list.  The film is a story t...

Daddy's Home Starring Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini, Thomas Haden Church Directed by Sean Anders The Story: Brad Whitaker (Will Ferrell) is a doting step-dad to his wife Sara's (Linda Cardellini) children.  He's extremely straight-laced, by-the-book, and positively bland.  His stepchildren don't much care for him, and when they receive a call from their father Dusty (Mark Wahlberg), they're over the moon.  Brad decides to allow Dusty to stay with them, and when he arrives Brad finds that he's the total opposite - he drives a motorcycle, works out vigorously, doesn't live by the rules, and is exciting and fun.  The two men embark on a battle of dads to gain the love of the children, doing everything from lavish gifts, skate parks, pets, and NBA playoff tickets in order to gain supremacy.  The Synopsis: Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg teamed up in 2010's "The Other Guys" with modest success, and showed that the two c...

Films to See Before  Captain America: Civil War One of the most anticipated films of the year is Captain America: Civil War.  It's a mini-Avengers movie where Captain America and Iron Man come to blows, and other superheroes choose sides.  It's due to be released May 6th, and to get the full appreciation for the film, there's ten movies you should see before Civil War.  Here are the ten films you should see, in order. First: The Amazing Spider-Man Even though Spider-Man has been owned by Fox, they made a deal with Disney/Marvel to bring him to the Civil War story.  Since it's a different company, there's no previous ties between the web-slinger and Avengers, so there's no correlating tales here, no special appearances, nothing but the newest origin story of Spider-Man. Second: The Incredible Hulk Hulk isn't going to be in Civil War, but General Thunderbolt Ross will be, and it looks like he's the one who instigate...

Barbershop: The Next Cut Starring Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Common, Eve Directed by Malcolm D. Lee The Story: In the south side of Chicago, crime is rampant, kids are killing kids, and gangs rule the streets.  Times have changed drastically for Calvin Palmer (Ice Cube) and his barbershop crew, especially now that he has to deal with his fourteen year old son Jalen (Michael Rainey Jr.), as he begins to dabble with gang affiliations and fighting.  With the city in chaos, Calvin and his friends come together in hopes of bringing rival gangs together by hosting a cease-fire weekend with free haircuts, but even that might not be enough to bring the community together, forcing Calvin to think of a more drastic and permanent solution. Meanwhile, the marriage between Rashad (Common) and Terri (Eve) come into conflict with the new beauty shop employee Draya (Nicki Minaj), whose flirting threatens their relationship.  Plus the barbershop employees have to deal...

The Den Starring Melanie Papalia, David Schlachtenhaufen, Adam Shapiro, Anna Hollyman Directed by Zachary Donohue The Story: Elizabeth (Melanie Papalia) has received a grant to study the habits of people all over the world through how they interact with their web cams in a public web cam chat site known as The Den.  At first she sees the usual silly and perverse people, but then she witnesses what appears to be a murder.  The police won't do anything, and soon she finds her life spiraling out of control as those who performed the murder now target her and those she loves by hacking into her electronics, and showing that even when you think you're safe at home, you're really not. The Synopsis: In 2014, the film "Unfriended" hit theaters, and it was deemed as a revolutionary piece of cinema as it takes place entirely from someone's computer screen.  It was a way to get to the Millennial generation who live on their computers, chronicle their entir...

The Forest Starring Natalie Dormer, Taylor Kinney, Eoin Macken, Yukiyoshi Ozawa Directed by Jason Zada The Story: Twins Sara and Jess Price (Natalie Dormer) have always been close, and yet they couldn't be more opposite.  Jess is more a free spirit, who also suffers from depression.  Sara is the more level-headed of the two, married, and grounded in reality.  After Jess takes a teaching job in Tokyo, she goes missing, and Sara travels to Japan to find her. When she arrives, she finds Jess wandered into the Aokigahara forest, a place known to the Japanese as a location where people go to commit suicide.  Not believing her sister to be dead, she ventures into the woods with Michi (Yukiyoski Ozawa) - a man who goes into the wood frequently to find dead bodies - and Aiden (Taylor Kinney) - an Australian reporter.  As they venture into the forbidden woods, reality and fantasy become blurred, and Sara learns that she can't trust everything she sees. Th...

Worst2First: Best Nicolas Cage Films Nicolas Cage is an interesting actor to say the least.  He's been around for a long time, and has hit some highs, and crash landed terribly.  Before I get to his movies, here's some fascinating facts about the man from his imdb.com profile: -He was ranked #40 in Empire's "Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list in 1997 -He is a nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola ("The Godfather") -He got Johnny Depp his first acting job -Was cast in Tim Burton's "Superman" movie that never was made -Was married to Patricia Arquette and Lisa Marie Presley Interesting tidbits, right?  Anyway, throughout his career he's had some amazing performances, but lately he's been slipping into the Cuba Gooding Jr. method of direct-to-DVD releases, most of which feature the same cover - him standing around looking dumbfounded, constipated or confused: (Yes, I know "Left Behind" was a major theatric...