JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Rocky V Starring Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Sage Stallone, Tommy Morrison Directed by John Alvidsen The Story: After defeating Ivan Drago in Russia, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) returns home with shaking hands, and a fear for his health, especially from his wife Adrian (Talia Shire).  At a press conference after returning he's goaded by boxing promoter George Washington Duke (Richard Gant) to fight his boxer Union Cane (Michael Williams), but Rocky refuses.  He learns that he has suffered some severe brain damage, and will be unable to fight again, and also discovers that his friend Paulie (Burt Young) has lost all Rocky's money to a shady accountant, and they loose their mansion. Moving back to a seedy apartment in Philadelphia, Adrian returns to work at the pet store while Rocky tries to find something he's good at, and his son Rocky Jr. (Sage Stallone) gets bullied in his new school.  Rocky meets wannabe fighter Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison), a...

Weathering With You Starring Kotaro Daigo, Nana Mori, Shun Oguri, Tsubasa Honda Directed by Makoto Shinkai When it comes to Japanese animation, there's no bigger name than the great Hayao Miyazaki, who's gifted audiences with the likes of "Spirited Away," "Princess Mononoke," "Howl's Moving Castle," and many more.  He continually blends different themes involving preserving nature, the consequences of human innovation, love, and family.  His films are incredibly thought-provoking and provides intellectual conversations that you don't normally find in animated films.  While he's the gold standard, there's several up-and-coming directors and writers of fantastical Japanese animation, and Makoto Shinkai is one of them.  He's delivered a film that's every part Miyazaki's equal in "Your Name," and returns with his follow-up "Weathering With You," and the only negative aspect about the film is ...

The Turning Starring Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklyn Prince, Barbara Marten Directed by Floria Sigismondi This is basically the meme to describe this trainwreck of a film - a movie that starts off with a strong premise and a classic slow-burn Gothic thriller that suddenly spirals to a misconstrued concatenate of a mess before abruptly ending in the most non-satisfying conclusion I've ever seen in a film. After a previous governess abandons her job in the middle of the night, schoolteacher Kate Mandell (Mackenzie Davis) takes the job due to the fact that she'll be teaching a little girl who's lost her parents - something Kate can relate to since her father left and her mother was sent to a mental institution.  Upon arriving at the stately manor, she meets the elderly caretaker Mrs. Grose (Barbara Marten), and then the child she'll be teaching - young, seemingly vibrant Flora (Brooklyn Prince).  She's all smiles and cheerful, willingly showin...

Pain and Glory Starring Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Asier Etxeandia Directed by Pedro Almodovar There's a lot of deep meaning in Pedro Almodovar's written and directed film "Pain and Glory," and most of it appears to come from the famed director's own tumultuous life.  Many people in the world wish for all glory and no pain, but ultimately there can be no glory without pain, and both are seen in full measure here as a director reaches the twilight of his career and reflects on the mistakes and events of the past that have shaped him into the man he's become. That director is Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas), a man with numerous pains both in his body and his mind, puts himself into isolation in his apartment as his most famous work is getting re-released for moviegoing audiences.  He doesn't want to be a part of it, but is drawn to reuniting with the film's lead star Alberto Crespo (Asier Etxeandia), with whom h...

Dolittle Starring Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Harry Collett Directed by Stephan Gaghan I guess if you left one of the highest grossing movies of all time with $75 million dollars, you too would be able to do something completely out of left field and not give a care about it.  Such is the case with Robert Downey Jr., whose own company produced the latest in the long-running franchise that is Dr. Dolittle, based off Hugh Lofting's children's books from the 1920s - a character that's been seen on screen, stage, and every other form of media for the last few decades.  The story of an eccentric doctor who can communicate with animals should be something of whimsy and wonder, but the only wonder here is bewilderment as to how this film ever saw the light of day - a film so confusing, so lackluster, and so downright nutty, you'd be forgiven to think this was some sort of spoof, or maybe some college student's senior project.  But inste...

Bad Boys for Life Starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Paola Nunez, Joe Pantoliano Directed by Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah As I've said in reviews before, sequels that come out decades after the original are often lackluster at best and "why bother" at worst, franchises thought long-dead but decides to rise from their graves like zombies to shuffle in another go-around in the hopes of financial gain, but only resulting in evidence of how the cinematic landscape has changed for the better.  Films like "Zoolander 2," "Bad Santa 2," and the like were met with understandable ire and lukewarm receptions, as they tried to maintain the same comedic style that made them successes decades earlier.  So when announcement that "Bad Boys for Life" - the third in the franchise, although I think it would've been a better title for the eventual fourth - was finally leaving development gestation and coming to the big screen twenty-five ...

Rocky IV Starring Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Dolph Lundgren Directed by Sylvester Stallone The Story: After Rocky's (Sylvester Stallone) success in the heavyweight world, a new challenger emerges from the Cold War Soviet Union, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), a towering man who uses technology to advance his strength and who hardly speaks.  Former heavyweight champion and Rocky's friend Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) plans to fight Drago to rekindle his popularity, to Rocky's disapproval due to Apollo's lack of training. After the fight, Rocky decides to take on Ivan himself, and heads to the USSR with his friend Paulie (Burt Young) and wife Adrian (Talia Shire) to take Ivan on in his home turf, and possibly unite the two feuding countries in the process. The Synopsis: The "Rocky" franchise has - to this point - been huge successes both critically and financially, and while "Rocky IV" continued the streak of making ...

Parasite Starring Song Kang-ho, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam, Chang Hyae-jin Directed by Bong Joon Ho Director Bong Joon Ho is no stranger to directing films that so perfectly separate the social classes of society, especially in his other groundbreaking work "Snowpiercer."  Here, he once again offers a unique view into the world of the haves and the have nots and provides yet another groundbreaking work that's unparalleled in its powerful, no-holds-barred storytelling that somehow manages to blend pretty much every genre you can think of into a perfect, cohesive whole - like the world's best chef throwing together everything he can find into a big pot and concocting the best tasting dish you've ever eaten in your whole life. "Parasite" centers around two different families and the struggles, advantages, and disadvantages they go through - and that's putting it mildly.  The Kim family - father Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), mother Ki-woo (Choi ...

Underwater Starring Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, T.J. Miller, Jessica Henwick Directed by William Eubank People have said that we know more about outer space than we do about our oceans, yet filmmakers seem unexcited to explore the vast mysteries of this unknown foreign world all around us.  Only a few films come to mind when you think of deep sea horror, most notably "The Abyss," and now you can add "Underwater" to that very minimal list.  Half disaster movie and half monster movie, "Underwater" makes full use of its slim 90 minute runtime to deliver a thrilling, pulse pounding adventure set seven miles below the ocean's surface, where something has been awakened by human's desire for drilling. After a mysterious quake shatters the underwater drilling facility, a small group of survivors consisting of Norah Price (Kristen Stewart), Captain Lucien (Vincent Cassel), Paul Abel (T.J. Miller), Emily Haversham (Jessica Henwick), Liam S...

Like a Boss Starring Tiffany Haddish, Rose Byrne, Salma Hayek, Billy Porter Directed by Miguel Arteta The term "like a boss" is often described as a phrase used to say that someone does something very well.  Lebron James plays basketball like a boss.  Meryl Streep performs like a boss.  Even though this is a term of appreciation, I'm sure it can be used for the latter.  For example: "Like a Boss" failed to be a comedy like a boss.  Not only did it flop for a comedy, but it did so in grand fashion - like a boss, if you will.  So how did this supposed comedy go down the toilet so terribly?  There's several reasons. The film itself tries to tell an important message about the value of friendship, which would've been admirable if it wasn't so convoluted.  Mia (Tiffany Haddish) and Mel (Rose Byrne) have been best friends since middle school, and even went on to start their own cosmetics company (as well as literally doing everything toge...

The Last Black Man in San Francisco Starring Jimmie Fails, Jonathan Majors, Danny Glover, Tichina Arnold Directed by Joe Talbot All throughout high school I participated in pretty much every school play we had, and I always had a passion for the theater, as well as film.  While watching "The Last Black Man in San Francisco," I couldn't help but feel like I was watching a play on screen, as first-time director Joe Talbot incorporates several theatrical motifs into this excellently-written story about a man seemingly out of time in his hometown of San Francisco - a town that's seemingly forgotten him. Jimmie Fails (Jimmie Fails) and his best friend Mont Allen (Jonathan Majors) are inseparable, as they do everything together every day - from just sitting near the road to skateboarding and just talking about life, you never see one without the other.  They even live together, with Mort's Grandpa Allen (Danny Glover), and are ridiculed by a group of me...

Just Mercy Starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, Rob Morgan Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton The town of Monroeville, Alabama is famous for two things: the birthplace of "To Kill a Mockingbird" author Harper Lee, and the sensational case of the murder of Ronda Morrison, an 18-year-old white woman who was shot to death.  The police wrongfully accused black man Walter McMillian of the crime after his public affair with a white woman, and was sentenced to death after a railroaded trial.  It wasn't until Delaware attorney Bryan Stevenson arrived in town did he take up the case and brought it to the public's eye thanks to an expose on "60 Minutes," resulting in the Alabama Supreme Court overturning the conviction.  "Just Mercy" is the film based on the events, and much like the fact that this takes place in Lee's hometown, there's a lot of parallels that can be drawn between this and her Atticus Finch character. In...

Rocky III Starring Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Mr. T Directed by Sylvester Stallone The Story: Three years after winning the heavyweight championship after besting Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), former underdog Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is living the high life - he's got a beautiful wife Adrian (Talia Shire), a young son, a huge mansion, and countless television appearances.  He's defended the title thanks to his trainer Mickey (Burgess Meredith), and life couldn't be better for him. Meanwhile, young upstart Clubber Lang (Mr. T) has been itching to take on the heavyweight champ, and finally manages to convince Rocky to fight him for the title.  As he faces devastating losses, Rocky finds himself in another slump and is picked up by the most unlikely person - Apollo himself. The Synopsis: The "Rocky" franchise has, up until this point, been a huge success.  With the third film, Sylvester Stallone manages to up the ante a...

1917 Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch Directed by Sam Mendes The first film to win the Oscar for Best Picture was "Wings" in 1927 - a film about World War I, also known as the Great War, or the War to End All Wars.  Since then very few films have been made about this war: "All Quiet on the Western Front," "Lawrence of Arabia," and most recently "Wonder Woman" and "They Shall Not Grow Old" are some of the most well-known, but compared to World War II, there's hardly a whimper of mention of the first World War in film.  "Skyfall" director Sam Mendes decided to change things with "1917," a film about two Corporals who must cross enemy lines to deliver an important message to another British battalion calling off a planned attack before they stumble into an ambush.  This story stems from Sam Mendes' grandfather's experiences during the War and the stor...

The Aeronauts Starring Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, Himesh Patel, Tom Courtenay Directed by Tom Harper I do not enjoy heights, not even close.  I see people riding in balloons (one even landed in the backyard of the home I grew up in) and I wonder how the heck they could even handle that, being suspended miles in the air with nothing but a basket to keep them from plummeting to their death, relying on a big balloon to keep them afloat.  "The Aeronauts" manages to complete my fear of heights as it provides several pulse pounding moments that freaked me out, even knowing that they're literally not miles in the air, but feeling like they are due to the stellar effects portrayed. The film focuses on meteorologist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne), who wants to prove to the Royal Society in 19th century London that weather can be predicted, and to do that he suggests going up in a balloon to unknown heights to prove it.  He's laughed out of the society, but s...

The Angry Birds Movie 2 Starring Jason Sudeikis, Rachel Bloom, Bill Hader, Leslie Jones Directed by Thurop van Orman When the idea arose of making an animated film based on a mobile gaming app that pretty much no one has played in years arose, pretty much no one thought it was a good idea.  The result was "The Angry Birds Movie," which went on to surprisingly amass a worldwide total of over $352 million dollars on a budget of $73,000,000, so of course a sequel was inevitable.  While the sequel made less than the original ($147 million worldwide), it still made more than the production cost at $65,000,000, and surprisingly it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. As with most sequels, you get a story about former enemies banding together to take on an even bigger threat, and that's the basic premise of this film (along with a hilarious side story involving three young hatchlings trying to rescue their sisters - who are just eggs - and those are th...

Rocky II Starring Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith Directed by Sylvester Stallone The Story: After battling Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), the heavyweight champion of the world, in the ring, young underdog Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) was met with fame and fortune.  He engrosses himself in the luxuries, marries his love Adrian (Talia Shire), and buys them a new home and car.  He lives the high life as he comes across lucrative commercial deals and earned the adoration of the people of Philadelphia, while Apollo wallows in the fact that he didn't beat Rocky in typical fashion early on in the bout, as he receives letters from angry fans that say he threw the match. Apollo goads Rocky for a rematch, but Rocky retires from boxing to focus on his new family and career - until the fame suddenly dies down and he finds himself without a job, with mounting bills to pay, and a baby on the way.  Not wanting to return to the ring, Ro...