JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Stowaway Starring Anna Kendrick, Toni Collette, Daniel Dae Kim, Shamier Anderson Directed by Joe Penna Serving as an analysis or portrayal of the traits of the character of an individual, the character study is a deeply profound, thoughtful issue, and several films have accomplished this brilliantly. Movies like "Locke," "There Will Be Blood," "Nightcrawler," "Raging Bull," and "The Machinist" shed light on the character of the character in the film, and gives them a layered, multi-faceted feel that hits the audience square in the heart. However, when a character study film is done poorly, it can result in a totally vapid, wasted movie that essentially exists to take up space and offer nothing more than an afterthought for the few who watched it. "Stowaway" is one such film. Ship commander Marina Barnett (Toni Collette), medical researcher Zoe Levinson (Anna Kendrick), and biologist David Kim (Daniel Dae Kim) are embarking on ...

Drive My Car Starring Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, Masaki Okada, Reika Kirishima Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi Who knew you would be able to tell such a poignant, powerful, and deeply introspective story told through average people driving around in a Talladega Red 1990 Saab 900 Aero coupe? Apparently director Ryusuke Hamaguchi could, as he put to film a short story written by Haruki Murakami called Men Without Women and turned it into a visual masterpiece, a three-hour epic that's well worth it's elongated runtime, as not a moment is spared in the storytelling, and unlike many other films out there, this one had several "moments" that lingered with this viewer long after the credits rolled. Put simply, it's a story of the ability to know others through the mastery of knowing oneself, while also dealing with deep personal loss, regret, and a quiet search for atonement. Theater director Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) and his screenwriting wife Oto (Reika ...

 Thunder Force Starring Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Bobby Cannavale, Pom Klementieff Directed by Ben Falcone The superhero subgenre of film has been all the rage for a few decades now, and it seems that every idea for a unique superhero film has already been done - but that doesn't stop some from trying their hand at crafting something different. Enter Ben Falcone, who not just directed but wrote "Thunder Force," as he tries to create something new - but ultimately fails to bring anything new to the table that's worthwhile, resulting in a film that's easily forgettable due to its by-the-books story. The married couple of Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy have dominated the comedic cinematic landscape for some time, but with very little success. Some of McCarthy's weakest outings were ones that her husband directed - "Tammy," "The Boss," "Life of the Party," "Superintelligence," and now "Thunder Force,...

  The Tragedy of Macbeth Starring Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins Directed by Joel Coen The work of William Shakespeare needs no introduction, and practically everyone in the world has heard of at least some of his greatest work like Romeo & Juliet , Hamlet , and Macbeth , so suffice it to say that, after having been written over four hundred years ago, "The Tragedy of Macbeth" really doesn't need a spoiler warning, if only to freshen up your memory from when you had to read the story in high school. While the Bard's work has been told and re-told in countless film productions, Joel Coen's take on the fabled story of Macbeth is easily one of the best set to screen, a film that's as harrowing in its production designs as it is in its dialogue and acting, culminating in a nearly pitch-perfect production that feels like you're about to go into a high school production of the play, but instead of Tommy and Tammy playing th...

  Worst2First: Ranking the 138 Films I Saw in 2021 Part 3: The Top Ten of 2021 2021 was a spectacular year for film in both the big and small screen, and there was a number of stellar movies that were released that year, and it was almost impossible to narrow down my top ten favorites. While some of these films were technically released in 2020, they were in limited release and didn't receive a wide release until 2021, so I'm including them in this list. So here are my top ten films I saw in 2021... **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS** #10 Minari Loosely based on director Lee Isaac Chung's upbringing, "Minari" centers on a Korean family who immigrated to America to make a better life for themselves in the rural United States. Focusing on the topics of family, heritage, hard work and wealth, "Minari" is a sweeping, soaring, powerful story told by former "The Walking Dead" star Steven Yeun, who went on to earn an Academy Award nomination for his perform...

  Worst2First: Ranking the 138 Films I Saw in 2021 Part 2: The Worst Ten of 2021 While 2021 was a big year for films in both the theater and streaming, there was your share of stinkers as well. Films that were highly anticipated but fell short of expectations, those that were lacking that special something, and those that literally just stunk. So here are my top ten worst films of 2021... **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS** #10 6:45 The idea of a time loop has been done to much better effect and covering a wide range of genres, from comedy ("Groundhog Day") to horror ("Happy Death Day"), and while "6:45" tried to be the best of both worlds, it failed severely on every angle. The film follows a couple on vacation who finds themselves living out the same day over and over with the same effect - the boyfriend witnesses his girlfriend dying, and he seems to be the only one who remembers it. The performances were subpar, the characters were wholly unlikable, and the ...

Worst2First: Ranking the 138 Films I Saw in 2021 Part 1: The Middle (#128-11) 2021 was a welcome return to the cinema, but also to streaming as well. There was a slew of films that were put off due to the pandemic that hit both the big and small screen in 2021, and I tried to watch as many as possible, rounding out at 138 films that were released in 2021 (this is a wide release list, so films like "The Father," "Nomadland," "Minari," and others that had a limited release in 2020 will be included in this year's list). Before I get into the top ten worst and best films of 2021, I compiled all the middle-range films in order. This isn't to say that these films aren't good (or bad), but they failed to either meet or fail my expectations to land in the top or bottom of my list of films I saw in 2021. For this middle list I'll just be providing the titles, and you can find my reviews for each film at my Archives page. So here are my rankings of ...

Worst2First: The Breakout Film Stars of 2021 2021 was the return of the movies, after a year of theater shutdowns due to the Coronavirus. With that came a slew of big-budget action flicks with smaller independent dramas and everything in between, and included in these movies were actors who made their big-screen debuts, and who left an indelible imprint in cinema, paving the way for these fresh faces to take the big screen by storm in the coming years. They might already be famous musicians, theater performers or television stars, but this year marked their big break on the big screen. Here are my personal top ten breakout film stars of 2021... **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS**  #10 Lauren Ridloff For the last two seasons, Lauren Ridloff has been a more-than-welcome addition to the hit zombie series "The Walking Dead" as Connie, a deaf survivor who uses her disability to her advantage. In real life, Ridloff is deaf as well and celebrates it in everything she does. She made her bi...