JoeMama's Movie Reviews

 Encanto Starring Stephanie Beatriz, Maria Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Diane Guerrero Directed by Jared Bush & Byron Howard Disney churns out animated tales in their sleep, offering unforgettable princess stories ever since the 1930s, and their 60th production - "Encanto" - manages to still entertain, enlighten and embolden us to be better versions of ourselves, told through the lens of a Colombian magical family and their no-so-magical family member who of course serves as the glue to bring together the entire story. Even though it follows a traditional story of the "non-magical" outcast saving the family, it's done with precision, care, and above all beautifully animated storytelling filled with lively song and dance numbers and impeccable voice acting. While fleeing their homeland, Abuela Alma Madrigal (Maria Cecilia Botero), her husband, and three infant children find themselves under attack by the rebel force, and her husband pays the ultimate pric...

Lamb Starring Noomi Rapace, Hilmir Snaer Guonason, Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson Directed by Vladimir Johannsson Mary had a little lamb, whose fleece was white as snow And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go It followed her to school one day which was against the rules It made the children laugh and play, to see a lamb at school And so the teacher turned it out, but still it lingered near And waited patiently about, till Mary did appear "Why does the lamb love Mary so?" the eager children cry "Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know," the teacher did reply The famous nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was written by American writer Sarah Josepha Hale in the 1830s, and is actually a true story of a fourteen year old girl named Mary Sawyer who took her lamb with her to school, and unable to keep it unnoticed drew the attention of everyone at the school. It's a nice, sweet, caring story about a girl and her lamb, and there's no hint of malice ...

Worst2First: My Top Ten Actors Who Almost Played Iconic Roles It's hard to imagine some performances being played by a different actor, but more times than not a specific role is up for grabs, and multiple people audition for that role before it's given to that particular actor or actress. Maybe in a parallel dimension you'll see Matthew McConaughey playing Leonardo DiCaprio's role in "Titanic," but not in this dimension. Here are my top ten actors who almost played iconic roles. **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS** #10   Sandra Bullock Million Dollar Baby Sandra Bullock actually pitched the idea for "Million Dollar Baby" as she spent a long time trying to get it made. "I couldn't get it made. We tried and tried and tried," she said in an interview. Ultimately the film was greenlit with Clint Eastwood directing, but when it came time for Bullock to star, she couldn't due to scheduling conflicts, as she was currently filming "Miss Cong...

Tick...Tick...Boom! Starring Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesus, Vanessa Hudgens Directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda It's often easy to disregard the arts as merely a form of entertainment, and not realize the cultural, spiritual, and revolutionary impact they have on the lives of those who not just get to enjoy it in the seats, but for those few beautiful minds that craft such unique tales that resonate deep within their souls that deliver more than just a good feeling, but ignites a movement. "Tick...Tick...Boom!" is a combination of the past and the present in the world of Broadway musicals, and the deeply personal stories they're able to tell for a new generation who never thought they'd see themselves on the big stage. While the movie is about "Rent" creator Jonathan Larson, it's directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who's given voice to the Latinx community and revolutionized Broadway himself with his acclaimed musical "Hamilton,...

The Addams Family 2 Starring Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz, Nick Kroll Directed by Greg Tiernan & Conrad Vernon In general, movie sequels fare worse than their original counterparts, but for animated films, it's even more difficult to make lightning strike twice. Maybe it's due to the medium, but more often than not an animated sequel feels like it could've been an elongated episode of a show on television and doesn't move the story forward, but rather makes it feel soulless and a cash grab. "Toy Story 3" and "Shrek 2" are the rare anomaly, and "The Addams Family 2" falls unfortunately under the latter - a film that's soulless (which, I guess for a family of ghouls, could be a good thing) and pointless, merely serving as a quick cash grab of the surprise success of the original. Wednesday Addams (Chloe Grace Moretz) enters a school science fair competition to showcase her invention - a procedure that transfers atr...

Ghostbusters: Afterlife Starring Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon Directed by Jason Reitman In the grand scheme of sequels set to original films, more often than not they're designed specifically as cash cows - soulless endeavors bent to bring in audiences due to name recognition to add more income to the coffers of the already wealthy. You can tell that when you're watching the film, and you feel like it's missing...something. That "something" is the essence of the film, something that's almost impossible to duplicate, and contains everything that makes a film memorable and significant. In 2016, they decided to exploit the "Ghostbusters" name by offering up a female-led Ghostbusters team, which is still considered a total train wreck - but if they had branded the movie as a female-led ghost hunting adventure team, it would've fared better, but people were expecting to feel that warm fuzzy nostalgia feeling - that essence - th...

Ron's Gone Wrong Starring Jack Dylan Grazer, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Olivia Colman Directed by Sarah Smith & Jean-Philippe Vine Everyone knows by now that technology is pretty much an evil necessity. We've abandoned our privacy in favor of simplicity as we don't mind anymore if our cell phones listen in on our conversations and offer deals akin to what we were talking about, or that cameras catch our every move wherever we go. As long as things are easier, it's all good. As this escalates to the point of Skynet, we keep getting films that point out these eventual evils, but they're more geared for children to serve as a cautionary tale so when they grow up they won't invent a real-life Terminator. Earlier this year "The Mitchells vs. the Machines" proved what happens when technology runs amok and feels that it's higher on the evolutionary chain than humanity, while "Ron's Gone Wrong" is a more intimate look at the dangers of ...

The French Dispatch Starring Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright Directed by Wes Anderson Through the insurmountable amount of films that have ever been filmed, there's very few of them can be truly considered pieces of art. These films - known as art-house pieces - exist not to tickle the fancy of millions of average moviegoing citizens, but rather serve to be serious artistic works that doesn't spoon-feed plot and honestly in a sense doesn't care whether or not you actually even understand what's happening. Much like how the most beautiful, memorable pieces of art can incite differing views, emotions, and debates, such is the world of art-house filming. Wes Anderson is one of the most prolific, eccentric, and absolutely awe-inspiring directors of our time, delivering unforgettable ensemble pieces that transcend modern thought and provides a lightning-quick pace that warrants multiple viewings to even begin to grasp the total concept of his wo...

Worst2First: My Top Ten Actors Who Hated Their Own Films Let's face it, not everything we do we end up liking. Sometimes we feel like our job performance was too poor, while other times we feel that the job we have is actually a terrible one, but more often than not we find ourselves enduring these moments and placing a face smile on our face, saying that it's not as bad as it thinks. Then there's times we just blow up and call out the crap for what it is, and Hollywood is no different. Out of the countless number of films out there, there's bound to be some stinkers (and sometimes really well-done ones but with darker behind-the-scenes stories) and while most actors keep up the facade of it not being as bad as people think, other actors join the chorus of dissenters and bash their own films. Here are my top ten actors who hated their own films. **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS** #10 Nicole Kidman Australia Nicole Kidman and director Baz Luhrmann made beautiful music togethe...

Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin Starring Emily Bader, Roland Buck III, Dan Lippert, Henry Avres-Brown Directed by William Eubank 2021 was the year that long-dead horror films seemed to find a resurgence, but not the good kind. There was a lot of hype over "Spiral: From the Book of Saw" due to Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson's work on it, but coming after 2017's "Jigsaw," it ended up as a bland addition to the "Saw" franchise and not an imaginative reboot like it seemingly wanted to be. "Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin" came out even longer since the "PA's" last installment, 2015's "The Ghost Dimension," and while it follows the tradition of the found footage format, it really has nothing else to do with the previous installments except having its name slapped to the front of it in order to draw in a bigger crowd. Margot (Emily Bader) just recently learned that her biological mother left her outside a hospita...