JoeMama's Movie Reviews

The Matrix Resurrections Starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick Directed by Lana Wachowski There are times where a perfect trilogy is made, and there's absolutely no need for another film after that. "Toy Story," "The Dark Knight Trilogy," and the original "Star Wars" trilogy are three examples, and "The Matrix" trilogy...isn't. The first film was a revolutionary marvelous wonder utilizing never-before-seen technology to deliver a once-in-a-lifetime movie experience, but the subsequent sequels weren't as acclaimed as the original, dragging down the original with a subpar story, lazier effects, and a nonsensical plot that turned many people off to "The Matrix" concept. Everyone thought the film series was dead after 2003's "Revolutions," but much to the surprise of pretty much everyone, "The Matrix Resurrections" was announced years ago. Due to the pandemic, it ...

  West Side Story Starring Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, Rita Moreno Directed by Steven Spielberg Ever since Arthur Laurents wrote the musical theatre play "West Side Story" in 1957, there's been countless iterations of the classic story told through multiple mediums including Broadway, the big screen, and countless high school theater productions, and this modern-day telling of the famed William Shakespeare tale "Romeo & Juliet" will undoubtedly continue to remain a classic decades from now, despite the incredibly poor outing of the most recent big-screen adaptation. The story of forbidden love is nothing new, but here it's told through the eyes of two star-crossed lovers: one white, one Puerto Rican, who both live in a tumultuous time where both races were at war with one another on the grimy streets of San Juan Hill on Manhattan's West Side, and it's a love story that threatens to destroy everyone around them, and themselves if t...

  Sing 2 Starring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Bono Directed by Garth Jennings I'm going to sound like a broken record (funny pun considering this is a kid's movie purely for the sake of showcasing Top 40 songs), but animated sequels often feel more like a cash grab idea rather than offering something new, unique, or memorable. More often than not, these sequels could've been told in a made-for-streaming movie instead of a big budget spectacle, and "Sing 2" is just such a film: one that doesn't move the dial forward but provides much of the same as the original, although adding newer songs to the mix. Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), a koala who runs the small Moon theater, is enjoying putting on shows for the community and featuring his cast: pig Rosita (Reese Witherspoon), gorilla Johnny (Taron Egerton), dancing pig Gunter (Nick Kroll), and Indian elephant Meena (Tori Kelly), but he longs for something more. When a big city r...

Don't Look Up Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Meryl Streep Directed by Adam McKay Satire is defined as "the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues." Director Adam McKay has gone from directing mindless Will Ferrell-led comedies like "Anchorman" (which, to its credit, is really funny) and "Step Brothers" (again, really funny) and has meandered into the world of satirical film, earning himself several Academy Award nominations for his directing ("The Big Short" and "Vice"), as well as winning the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for "The Big Short." He returns to his satirical format with "Don't Look Up," a film that looks at the idiocy of the American public when it comes to what we focus and pay attention to, as opposed to what we really sho...

Nightmare Alley Starring Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Toni Collette Directed by Guillero del Toro A neo-noir thriller is any film of the subgenre that was released after 1959 (before then it was known simply as "noir"), with "neo" being a French word meaning "new" - so it's a new noir genre. It's generally hard to define, but typically a neo-noir thriller consists of unique tilted camera angles, the off-beat use of light and shadow, and unbalanced framing mixed with stories generally consisting of violence, crime, sex, moral ambiguity, revenge, paranoia, and alienation. "American Psycho," "Bad Times at the El Royale," "Brick," Cape Fear," "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," and "The Usual Suspects" are some prime examples of neo-noir filmmaking, along with Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro's recent outing, "Nightmare Alley," which showcases the effects of the neo-...

  A Royal Queens Christmas Starring Megan Park, Julian Morris, Michael Hanrahan, Nicola Correia-Damude Directed by Lee Friedlander While it's perfectly fine to broaden your horizons when it comes to Hallmark Christmas movies and watch a movie based around time travel, celebrating diversity, and the like, sometimes you just want to sit back with a generic, mediocre love story between a prince who wants to keep his prince-hood a secret and the nice, sweet, mild-mannered girl-next-door who just needs someone to play the piano at a children's Christmas concert. That's "A Royal Queens Christmas," a film that fits perfectly in the not-so-tempered mosaic of secret royalty Christmas love stories that Hallmark is best known for. While it checks off everything you'd expect, it also doesn't stand itself apart from the others, resulting in you possibly mixing up the stories of other movies like this in your head, but don't worry - they all end up the same. DeeDee ...

  Spider-Man: No Way Home Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon Directed by Jon Watts Ever since the advent of movie trailers, the Internet, word of mouth, smoke signals, and mental telepathy, the concept of "hype" for movies is extremely real. Producers want people to flock to the cinema and fill up every seat so their movie can be a huge blockbuster success, and will more often than not pull out all the stops to create hype, excitement, and anticipation for their final product. More often than not, the hype is not real, and audiences leave the theater feeling they were duped into watching something fantastic when it reality it was a fantastical dud ("Suicide Squad," "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," and ironically "Spider-Man 3" come to mind). Yet there were other films so incredibly hyped that not only was it real, but somehow managed to exceed even the loftiest, highest expectations and transce...

  House of Gucci Starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Al Pacino Directed by Ridley Scott If you think visiting your family during the holidays is hectic, try doing it when your family is insanely rich, popular, and influential. Sometimes blood isn't thicker than water, and you'll have families that literally claw over one another in order to achieve the power and prestige they feel they deserve, and no family in history carries this stigma more than Gucci, a once-powerful family who harnessed their ability to craft timeless fashions, but when it came to their own family dynamics, they could never make it work. Power, betrayal, loyalty, scandal, ambition and murder are words synonymous with the Gucci name, and despite their outward beauty they were plagued by inner ugliness that ultimately resulted in Gucci as we know it today not being run by anyone in the Gucci family. In 1978, trucking firm office manager Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) attends a party and meets Maurizi...

Home Sweet Home Alone Starring Archie Yates, Rob Delaney, Ellie Kemper, Aisling Bea Directed by Dan Mazer On November 16, 1990 (one day before my tenth birthday), "Home Alone" hit theaters and instantly became a Christmas classic. The film centered on young Kevin McAllister - played by Macaluay Culkin in his young career-defining role - who is accidentally left home alone while the rest of his large family went on Christmas vacation. He soon finds being left home alone has its drawbacks, most notably when two bumbling burglars try to break in, resulting in numerous hilarious slapstick hijinks as Kevin booby-traps the house that the burglars fall into time and again. It's maintained its status as one of the best family films for Christmas, along with it's sequel, but not so much the three direct-to-DVD sequels that came after, none of which featured Kevin McCallister (but the third did introduce the world to Scarlett Johansson, so there's that). For some insane rea...

Dear Evan Hansen Starring Ben Platt, Kaitlyn Dever, Amy Adams, Julianne Moore Directed by Steven Chbosky "Dear Evan Hansen" was one of the few movies I was more than excited to see this year, and became one of the biggest disappointments, at least to me. The film seemed like it would be a celebration of life, the importance of knowing that we're never alone despite feeling that way, and shedding light on mental illness. Instead, it's an overly-bloated film about a sociopath who exploited a suicide for his own selfish gain, blaming his social anxiety, and resulting in shattered lives in his wake. Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) suffers from social anxiety, and his therapist recommends that he writes letters to himself everyday in order to boost his confidence. It doesn't particularly help, especially when it comes to talking to his crush, Zoe Murphy (Kaitlyn Dever), and when her brother Connor (Colton Ryan) finds Evan's self-written note to himself (after signing his c...

Boyfriends of Christmas Past Starring Catherine Haena Kim, Raymond Ablack, Jordan Kronis, Jon McLaren Directed by Don McBrearty Remember the time you wanted to watch a movie that was a mix of a gender-swapped "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" and Charles Dickens' beloved tale A Christmas Carol ? The thought never crossed your mind? Well, tough, because that's exactly what "Boyfriends of Christmas Past" is - another classic Hallmark Christmas movie centering around a clueless attractive woman whose equally attractive male best friend harbors not-so-secret feelings toward her, but she's totally oblivious to it due to the fact that otherwise there wouldn't be a story to be told. Yet this time, the lovelorn woman is visited by four ghosts of boyfriends past to show her how to really open her heart and get with the man of her dreams - the one who was there the whole time - and free him from the eternal bondage of the "friendzone." Lauren Kim (Catheri...

CODA Starring Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin, Daniel Durant Directed by Sian Heder The coming-of-age subgenre is filled with generic tropes that either elevate the movie or sink it to the depths of mediocrity. Small town teen wants to spread their wings and fly, follow their dreams and aspirations but come into conflict with overbearing parents who don't want her to be free because they worry that she might fail. Then there's the supportive authority figure, shy boyfriend material, and the rousing moment where everything comes together. "CODA" follows all these tropes to a T, but still offers a fresh, unique spin on things - the girl here is a CODA: Child Of Deaf Adult. Her desire is to sing, which is something you wouldn't expect from someone coming from a family that can't hear, but "CODA" shatters any preconceived notions as to what it's really like being Deaf, and provides a deep, intimate look into their lives and proves to the res...

The Alpinist Starring Marc-Andre Leclerc Directed by Peter Mortimer & Nick Rosen There's a reason we watch documentaries featuring people like Alex Honnold, Philippe Petit and others - they're a unique breed of people, those who were cut from a different cloth from the mass populous of society. They see a challenge and, instead of shying away from it or finding an easier path, choose to face it head-on and embark on a thrilling adventure that lies within. Most of us worry about typical mundane things and allow them to fester within our soul, rendering us as mere members of the generic population that will never follow their true dreams or have any real adventures because we're content with the status quo. Then there's others. These "others" are people, just like us, who've chosen to forego the normal and direct their own path, and while many of us would consider them insane or mad, they're actually the ones really, truly living life. The rest of us...