JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Worst2First:  The Breakout Film Stars of 2019 2019 has given us loads of fresh, new talent - and people that we've come to know who've excelled in different fields make their mark on the big screen.  Once again, there's been several outstanding performances by first-time film actors (they might already be known for their roles in television and theater, or music), and here are my personal favorites - those to look out for in the future. Here are my personal top ten Breakout Film Stars of 2019, worst2first (not based off their overall talent, but on their performances this year). #10 Louis Ashbourne Serkis  The son of acclaimed actor Andy Serkis, Louis appeared in small parts in previous films, but he headlined the 2019 surprise hit "The Kid Who Would Be King" as a modern-day King Arthur tale.  While the film itself was lacking in some respects, Serkis' acting was beyond his years, and look for great things for this young actor in the fut...

The Two Popes Starring Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce, Juan Minujin, Sidney Cole Directed by Fernando Meirelles Almost like a holy version of "The Odd Couple," director Fernando Meirelles tells the story of two vastly different popes - Pope Benedict, who holds firm to traditions, stoic rules, and the old order;  Pope Francis, who is more forward-thinking, doesn't elevate himself in wealth, and is open to change.  These two men couldn't be more opposite, but they're drawn together due to their foundation of ideology and belief in the common good, resulting in the behind-the-scenes look at one of Catholicism's biggest shakeups in modern history. The film starts off with the death of Pope John Paul II, and the ritual that the Cardinals undergo in order to choose a new pope.  Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Anthony Hopkins) wants the title, while Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) doesn't, and the eventual count results in Ratzinger earning t...

Little Women Starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen Directed by Greta Gerwig Back in 1869, author Louisa May Alcott wrote one of the most shockingly influential pieces of fiction in history, Little Women .  The book - centering on the ordinary lives of four sisters living in a lower-middle-class Massachusetts town during the Civil War - was beyond its time in its exploration of female empowerment as well as the importance of getting married and finding love when it's real and not because women had to get married due to the social norms.  Since the novel's release, it's been adapted countless times on the stage and small screen, and six times on the big screen - first in 1917 (and now considered lost), 1918 (a silent film shot near Alcott's real-life home), 1933 (featuring Katherine Hepburn as Jo, and Joan Bennet who was 23 and pregnant at the time when she played 12-year-old Amy), 1949 (featuring a 31-year-old pregnant June Allyson ...

Uncut Gems Starring Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett, Lakeith Stanfield Directed by Benny & Josh Safdie When you think of the name Adam Sandler, you think of a man who had a stellar comedic career early on with hits like "The Waterboy," "Big Daddy," "Happy Gilmore," and "The Wedding Singer."  You also probably think of the word "has-been," since he's pretty much hasn't had a decent hit in years, resorting to making almost weekly films for Netflix that often fall flat on any basis of decency, resorting to typical slapstick jokes and Sandler's classic nervous humor that garners more basic chuckles than full-on guffaws. He did garner some modest dramatic success with films like "Punch Drunk Love," "Reign Over Me," and "The Meyerowitz Stories," but you hardly think of him as a dramatic actor.  This all has changed now with "Uncut Gems," a film that has now height...

Richard Jewell Starring Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm Directed by Clint Eastwood Clint Eastwood has begun a tradition of directing films centering on heroes in today's generation, to varying results.  Films like "American Sniper" (detailing the life of Chris Kyle) and "Sully" (centering on the Hero of the Hudson, Sully Sullenberger) were met with critical and audience acclaim, while his other film, "The 15:17 to Paris," was in every way a bomb, due to the fact that Eastwood cast the actual heroes in their roles, and in doing so showed by non-actors shouldn't lead a film.  Now he's telling the real-life story of Richard Jewell - an overweight wannabe cop who became a hero when he found a bomb at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and who later became the scorn of the nation after he was falsely accused of planting it in the first place - and the result is similar to Eastwood's earlier work - a critical hit that d...

Men in Black: International Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Kumail Nanjiani, Liam Neeson Directed by F. Gary Gray When it comes to sequels, there's always an inherent problem in that it'll undoubtedly be compared to the original, and very rarely does the sequel far exceed the original.  When you add into the fact that the two main actors from the first three films refuse to do the fourth, you've opened a whole new can of worms - and that's what happened with "Men in Black: International" - a film that was released seven years after the third in the successful franchise, and also featured two different stars in the leading roles.  While their chemistry is obviously there (as both worked well together in previous films), here it just doesn't work - and neither does the whole story, basically.  Essentially, this is a sequel that no one asked for, and while it's not as bad as some people say it is, ultimately ends up completely unmemor...

Cats Starring Francesca Hayward, Jennifer Hudson, Judi Dench, Idris Elba Directed by Tom Hooper "Cats" has always been an anomaly to me.  The famous play was based off a book written by T.S. Elliot in 1939 called Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats that he wrote for his godchildren, which Andrew Lloyd Webber turned into a musical extravaganza that debuted in London before making its way to Broadway and to the history books, becoming the fourth longest running show in Broadway history.  A play about people dressed up as cats singing songs about being cats and basically performing to get into cat heaven or something like that really shouldn't have become the success it has, because it really doesn't make a lot of sense, but somehow it has.  "Les Miserables" and "The King's Speech" director Tom Hooper decided to bring the long-running Broadway play to the big screen, and once again proved that it's nearly impossible to bri...

Star Wars Episode IX:  The Rise of Skywalker Starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac Directed by J.J. Abrams The great storyteller Aesop once told a tale about a miller, his son, and the ass (donkey for the uninitiated) they planned to sell at market.  As they walked down the street they didn't get on the donkey so as to keep his value high, but they run across some travelers who mock them for not riding the donkey.  The miller then let his son ride, until they run into merchants who mock the boy for riding while the older man walked, so they switched.  Upon arriving on some women, they mocked them again for allowing an old fool to ride while the child was forced to walk.  They both decide to ride the donkey, until they're again ridiculed for both riding the poor donkey, so they decide to carry the donkey together.  Finally the donkey, fed up with people mocking him for being carried, kicked and brayed until the ropes gav...

6 Underground Starring Ryan Reynolds, Melanie Laurent, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Ben Hardy Directed by Michael Bay A film about six people who come together to take on a tyrannical dictator, who aren't related by blood but refer to one another as family, and who drive through the streets of Italy in fashionable sports cars at high speeds while defying all laws of physics and also centers on beautiful women and lots of gunfights.  However, you notice early on that there's no Vin Diesel or Dwayne Johnson, and think to yourself...this is an odd "Fast and Furious" movie!  Then you realize it's not - it's an entirely different entity, featuring different actors, a different story, and a different director, although you can obviously guess who is behind the chair during the opening moments as many things go "boom." After Netflix put out Oscar-worthy films like "Marriage Story" and "The Irishman," I suppose it was time for the to...

Black Christmas Starring Imogen Poots, Aleyse Shannon, Lily Donoghue, Brittany O'Grady Directed by Sophia Takal When people think of epic slashers in film history, some notable names come to mind: Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Chucky, Jason Voorhees...but hardly anyone thinks about Billy.  Who is Billy, you might ask?  He's the unknown stalker who's slowly killing sorority girls one-by-one in Bob Clark's classic "Black Christmas," a film that inspired John Carpenter to make another holiday-themed film: "Halloween," which then inspired the likes of Voorhees and Krueger...so essentially, without "Black Christmas," the slasher film landscape would be totally different. The original film was one of the first female empowerment horror films that focused on a group of strong women who are ambushed by the deranged killer, and ultimately one managed to stand against him and fight back.  To this day it's one of the best slasher fil...

Mingle All the Way Starring Jen Lilley, Brant Daugherty, Lindsay Wagner, Casey Manderson Directed by Allan Harmon The third - and final - Hallmark Christmas Original I was challenged to watch was "Mingle All the Way," and my friend not only suggested it but also watched it with me with her husband at her house with some delicious pasta and bread, so I had a nice full belly going in, and maybe it was the food but I found this one to be the most enjoyable of the three. This review is brought to you by Jergens...with Jergens, you're more than just a pretty face. So the premise of the movie is this:  Molly (Jen Lilley) is a successful app developer who's just made a new app called "Mingle All the Way" (hence the movie's title) that pairs successful singles together to be each other's platonic partner at networking events so you don't have to go alone because the worst thing possible is being alone - but it's not a dating site (w...

Jumanji: The Next Level Starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black Directed by Jake Kasdan Back in 2017, I heard that they were re-making the classic Robin Williams-led "Jumanji," and I for one wasn't excited at all, thinking it was going to be hackneyed and unnecessary, a film that again tries to cash in on its history.  I didn't end up seeing it in theaters, and was relatively surprised to find that it amassed almost a billion dollars worldwide, and thought maybe I had judged it too harshly.  I finally saw it on Redbox, and I'm the first to admit when I'm wrong:  I was wrong, as I found it to be an exciting, fun, funny, and even heartfelt adventure film with four amazing lead actors. Then, as it tends to happen, a sequel was greenlit, and again my skepticism rose.  After seeing the first trailer, my skepticism only continued to rise as it turns out that they were adding Danny DeVito and Danny Glover, and that they would be s...

Playmobil: The Movie Starring Anya Taylor-Joe, Gabriel Bateman, Jim Gaffigan, Daniel Radcliffe Directed by Lino DiSalvo It's important to want to make history with a film you've created, and that's the ultimate dream of every director.  To be remembered as something remarkable means that you'll be immortalized forever.  "Playmobil: The Movie" will now be included in that prestigious world of cinematic history - for being the worst movie weekend opening playing in over 2,300 theaters. The film centers around Marla (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her ten-year-old brother Charlie (Gabriel Bateman), who are left as orphans after their parents' tragic deaths (such a bright, cheery way to open a kid's film).  Marla at one point wanted to explore the world, but four years after her parents' deaths and now she's just struggling to make ends meet, and has lost all desire for doing anything magical, while Charlie is still desiring to do something fun....