JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Special Review:  My Thoughts On MoviePass About a year ago, I received a message on my Facebook wall by a friend who knew I am a diehard cinephile ("a person who is fond of motion pictures"), introducing me to the idea of MoviePass.  At first I thought it was a scam - $9.95 a month to see one movie a day in theaters?  How the heck can a company like that even think of making any money at all?  Still, the idea intrigued me, and I figured if all I would lose is $9.95, why not try it out? A month and a half later I finally received my MoviePass card (they said it took so long because there was a large volume of new members), and I immediately went to the movies to see "The Mountain Between Us."  To my pleasant surprise, the MoviePass card worked, and I was able to enjoy a film without technically paying for it. That was on October 11, 2017, so my recent renewal was up on August 11, 2018 - that means it's been ten months since I've had the program, and...

Worst2First:  My Top Ten Serious Films That Were Unintentionally Hilarious There are some films out there that are considered classics, ones that should be seen by everyone to better enrich their lives.  Yet, for every "The Shawshank Redemption," there's a slew of films made by serious directors and actors who wanted to be the next "Shawshank," but instead shanked themselves in the back with their own shiv.  Films that wanted to be taken seriously, but instead resulted in guffaws and groans. Here are my personal top ten serious films that were unintentionally hilarious, worst2first (the "first" here actually being the "worst")... **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS** #10  Truth Or Dare Be it the insanely stupid script, the unlikable cast, or pure and simply the "Willem Dafoe" smiles, "Truth or Dare" is a hodgepodge of horror generalities that resulted in unintentional humor throughout.  The true dare he...

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation Starring Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Kathryn Hahn, Jim Gaffigan Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky The Story: Count Dracula (Adam Sandler) is lonely since the death of his wife, and his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) mistakes this depression for working too hard, so she secretly books her dad and several patrons of the hotel a cruise to the Bermuda Triangle.  On board, he meets Captain Ericka (Kathryn Hahn), and immediately "zings" with her - even though he believed you could only "zing" with one other person. However, Ericka is keeping a deadly secret - she's the latest descendant of the Van Helsing family, whose great grandfather Abraham (Jim Gaffigan) kept trying to kill Dracula and his friends centuries earlier to no avail.  She decides to go undercover and fake wanting to date Dracula so she can get close enough to kill him, but soon realizes she might actually be developing feelings for the Lord of Darkness. ...

Unfriended: Dark Web Starring Colin Woodell, Stephanie Nogueras, Betty Gabriel, Rebecca Rittenhouse Directed by Stephen Susco The Story: Matias (Colin Woodell) took a laptop from a library lost-and-found in hopes of better communicating with his deaf girlfriend Amaya (Stephanie Nogueras).  One night he gets online with friends Nari (Betty Gabriel), Serena (Rebecca Rittenhouse), Damon (Andrew Lees), AJ (Connor del Rio), and Lexx (Savira Windyani) to play some games, when he begins getting suspicious messages from a man named Norah C, who claims he knows Matias took his laptop. Soon the friends discover the laptop belonged to a mysterious man who delved into the dark web, participating in events where they kidnap girls and use bitcoin currency to torture them.  They find their lives at risk at the hands of the shadowy group, and as they begin to die one-by-one, it may be too late to just give the laptop back - now they demand lives. The Synopsis: In 2014, "Unfri...

Worst2First:  My Top Ten Films When I Graduated High School I graduated high school back in 1999, the year Prince sang about, a time that seems so long ago considering the year we live in now.  Still, despite graduating all those centuries ago, there were some rather epic films that were released in that year. So here are my personal top ten films that were released the year I graduated high school, worst2first... **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS** #10 10 Things I Hate About You Loosely based on the classic William Shakespeare play "The Taming of the Shrew," "10 Things I Hate About You" focuses on two sisters - one who's popular, and the other who isn't.  In order to get her own date, the popular sister must find a date for her loner, more independent sister.  The results are hilarious and heartfelt, led by a strong young cast including Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Andrew Keegan. #9  The Mummy...

Christopher Robin Starring Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael, Jim Cummings Directed by Marc Forster The Story: After leaving the Hundred Acre Wood, Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) grew up, married Evelyn (Hayley Atwell), had a daughter Madeline (Bronte Carmichael), and found a job at a luggage company.  While the company faces financial hardships, the boss relies on Christopher to come up with a solution, causing him to stay at home while his family go on vacation to his old home. Meanwhile, Pooh (Jim Cummings) has lost all his friends, and travels outside the Hundred Acre Wood to London to find Christopher in hopes of finding his friends.  Christopher is bogged down with work, and sees Pooh as just another distraction, learning that he did indeed give up his childhood to focus on work - as well as giving up on his old friends and even his family in order to achieve success. The Synopsis: Growing up, I remember watching the adventures of Winnie...

Mission: Impossible - Fallout Starring Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson Directed by Christopher McQuarrie The Story: After three plutonium cores fall into the hands of The Apostles - a spider-sect of their former leader Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) who's in prison, IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is tasked with finding them and bringing them back home safe.  He's given a partner in CIA assassin August Walker (Henry Cavill), and relies on his old teammates Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg) to assist.  The job gets more dicey when MI6 agent Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) re-emerges and is also seemingly on the hunt for the cores, as well as searching for a man named John Lark who's set to buy the cores.  As the double-crosses and espionage levels rise, the threat becomes all too real for Hunt and the world at large. The Synopsis: "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is somehow find a way to make a franchise that began in ...

Worst2First:  My Top Ten Cameos in Film There's nothing more enjoyable than sitting in the cinema, enjoying a great film, and all of a sudden you see someone that shouldn't be there, but you're grateful they are.  They don't have a lot of lines (or any at all in some cases), but their presence leaves a lasting impression on the viewer.  This is the cameo, and it's been done brilliantly in cinema. Here are my personal top ten cameos in film, worst2first... **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED BY THE CAMEO WHEN YOU WATCH THE FILM FOR THE FIRST TIME** #10 Janet Leigh Halloween H20 The original Scream Queen, the mother of Jamie Lee Curtis, the one who made people afraid to take a shower.  Janet Leigh was a cinema icon, and she made a special appearance in "Halloween H20" as Laurie's secretary.  Her screentime was short, but lasting - she even drove off in the same car from "Psycho....

Major Theatrical Releases August 2018 As summer winds to a close, it's usually the time movie studios release some of their less-than-exciting films because they expect people to be out enjoying the last sun shiny days before fall begins.  While there's a few films coming out this August that seem to fit that mold, there's others that I am cautiously optimistic about, and others I can't wait to see. Here are the major theatrical releases for August 2018. **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS,  Also, dates are subject to change** Christopher Robin August 3 Growing up with "Winnie the Pooh," it's no surprise I'm extremely excited for this film.  Christopher Robin has grown up and lost all sense of wonder and imagination, so it's up to his childhood friends to remind him of the important things in life.  Pooh looks amazing (and also closer to his original iteration), and the effects look practical and believable. ...