JoeMama's Movie Reviews

I.S.S. Starring Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, John Gallagher Jr., Masha Mashkova Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite The famous slogan from Covergirl is "Easy, breezy, beautiful," and that slogan can also apply to "I.S.S.," a simple, quick, wonderfully shot film that's filled with tension and excitement, but unlike Covergirl it's not something you'll want to re-apply once you did it once. NASA astronaut Kira Foster (Ariana DeBose) boards the International Space Station with fellow astronaut Christian Campbell (John Gallagher Jr.) where they meet fellow American Gordon Barrett (Chris Messina) and Russian cosmonauts Weonika Vetrov (Masha Mashkova), Nicolai Pulov (Costa Ronin) and his brother Alexey (Pilou Asbaek). At first they all get along and work together to accomplish their goals as they stare out at the beautiful planet Earth where it seems from where they're at there's no borders or barriers. Then one day Kira looks out and sees explosions on...

The Beekeeper Starring Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Jeremy Irons Directed by David Ayer There's something about revenge movies that really speak to the heart of its audience. Maybe it's due to the fact that pretty much everyone we know (including ourselves) have been wronged somehow by society, and we feel that justice isn't truly served with the overtly corrupt judicial system. We don't want to let the government take care of what happened to us, because more likely than not they'll get away with it if they have enough money or influence. The most notable group of people who get taken advantage of is the elderly, who find themselves under constant attack by phishing and data mining corporations who utilize their naivete when it comes to technology to swindle them out of their hard-earned life savings. It happens all the time, and more often than not those who are responsible are never caught - because, as "The Beekeeper" says so per...

Good Grief Starring Daniel Levy, Ruth Negga, Himesh Patel, Luke Evans Directed by Daniel Levy Grief is an interesting thing. It's a deep sorrow one feels after the death of someone close to them, but grief has no concept of time, perception, or manner. It can last a few days, a few years, or a lifetime. It can be as deep as the soul or as superficial as a solitary tear. It can be expressed in fits of rage, anger, shouting and crying, or quiet internal reflection and silence. There's no way to really measure grief and thus it's impossible to really understand its process. "Good Grief" doesn't try to reason with it, but instead tells a deeply personal story of a man's year-long struggle with his own grief as well as his close friends who also struggle with their own issues while trying to be there for their friend. Marc (Dan Levy) is married to successful writer Oliver (Luke Evans), and during a Christmas party Oliver leaves to travel for a book signing when...

Origin Starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, Niecy Nash-Betts, Emily Yancy Directed by Ava DuVernay Racism is something that's prevalent in the world today as it has been throughout history, yet sometimes events occur that people deem as "racist" but are actually something far worse. Writer Isabel Wilkerson discovered this while investigating the shooting death of Tayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in 2012, when she asked a simple question: "why would a Hispanic man kill a Black teen in a misguided attempt to protect a white neighborhood?" This is something that's not normally addressed and the event can be glossed over as simple racism, but there's something more to it than that - it sheds light on a caste system that has existed for decades that take different forms in different countries, but all ends up the same: crating a "us versus them" mentality that marginalizes one group of people in favor of another, even though both sides kno...

The Book of Clarence Starring LaKeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Omar Sy, Anna Diop Directed by Jeymes Samuel There's nothing more touchy then when you mess with something millions of people consider sacred: the story of Jesus Christ. From the iconic Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" to the horribly acted "Color of the Cross," it seems that Jesus is ripe for cinematic parody, or at least having His story told in different ways. In either event, there's bound to be backlash when a film like "The Book of Clarence" comes out, where Jesus is depicted as a Black man - something that most American Christians can't adhere to. After all, everyone knows Jesus was a beautiful white man with long flowing hair (#sarcasm). So while they're looking at Jesus's color, they're missing out on a movie that, sadly, goes in every direction without landing a cohesive finish but instead leaves so many open-ended moments scattered on the grou...

After Everything Starring Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Josephine Langford, Mimi Keene, Louise Lombard Directed by Castille Landon 2019 was a different time. Before a never-ending string of movies that slowly chipped away at my very soul year after year. Before a series of films so awful and unwatchable they end up on my "worst of" lists every year. Before there was a slight break due to one being in limited release not nearby before being put on Netflix in 2024, thereby using my metric making it a 2024 film that'll of course land on the "worst of" list at the end of the year. Before I thankfully watched these soul-crushing movies with trusted friends who also made fun of it as much as I. But in 2019 came "After," and now everything in life occurs after. After "After" there's a deadly worldwide disease. After "After" there was the biggest strike in Hollywood history. After "After" we endured the hottest year on record. I'm ...

Mean Girls Starring Angourie Rice, Renee Rapp, Auli'i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey Directed by Samantha Jayne & Arturo Perez Jr. Confession time: I've never seen the original "Mean Girls." It came out during the time where I wasn't excessively trying to see every movie in theaters, and ever since it just fell under my radar of movies I wanted to watch. So when I heard there was a remake coming out I figured I'd might as well watch this one first for an unbiased view. Then I found out it's not necessarily a remake as it is a musical based off the Broadway play more than the original film, and as a fan of musicals I was a bit more excited to see it. The songs were catchy, the choreography was on point, and the performances - by essentially a group of newcomers - kept my attention and I didn't find myself hating it at the end. Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is a home-schooled girl living with her mother (Jenna Fischer) in Kenya when they move back to the State...

Some Other Woman Starring Amanda Crew, Tom Felton, Ashley Greene, Rick Fox Directed by Joel David Moore It's rare I go into a movie totally blind as to what it is. At the very least I would know the basic synopsis of it, or since I go to the movies often I would have the trailer memorized. Yet when I saw "Some Other Woman" playing at my local Regal, I had no idea what it was. All I had going into it was a thumbnail picture that made it look like a romantic comedy, so that was what I was gearing for. Right away I knew that I was wrong about the genre, and instead of a romcom it was a psychological thriller, and I was hopeful it'd be something interesting. Halfway through the film I found myself yelling (I was the only one in the theater) "I'm so bored!" While director Joel David Moore tried to craft a story akin to David Lynch, it goes to show that sometimes imitation isn't the most sincere form of flattery. Eve Carter (Amanda Crew) and her husband Pe...

Worst2First: Ranking the 134 Films I Saw in 2023 I was able to see 134 movies that were released in 2023, and I have to say that this year was a banner year for cinema. There was a lot of fantastic films that I saw, and only a few that I deemed terrible, and those that fell in-between. While I wasn’t able to watch every movie, I ranked all the movies I saw this year in order from #1 to #134. Before I go into detail on my ten worst and ten best of the year, I’ll give a brief mention to all the movies in-between and a sentence or two as to what I thought about them. So without further adieu, here is my ranking of all 134 movies that I saw in 2023… First I’ll start with #124 and go to #11… #124 Retribution Liam Neeson does what he does best, but he’s done it so often he just exists to garner a paycheck anymore, leaving all his movies feeling similar and watered down. #123 Ghosted Is it possible to take two modern day action heroes and make a film that’s undeniably bland and lifeless, devo...