JoeMama's Movie Reviews

One Life Starring Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn, Helena Bonham Carter, Lena Olin Directed by James Hawes In the words of the great American poet Marshall Mathews: "If you had one shot, or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted...one moment...would you capture it, or just let it slip?" While it might be a stretch going from Eminem to an Anthony Hopkins film about World War II, the theme is the same: if you had one opportunity to accomplish something great, knowing the risks that come with it, would you do it, or would you let fear hold you back? In the case of Nicholas Winton, he chose to take the shot and organized one of the greatest mass migrations of Jewish children from Prague to London that resulted in the saving of 699 lives. One ordinary life literally saved thousands of generations of children that would've succumbed to the horrors of Hitler's Nazi regime, and shows the perseverance and nature of the human spirit. At his wife Grete's (Lena Ol

Inside Out 2 Starring Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale Directed by Kelsey Mann The first "Inside Out" was a deep dive into the mind of a child and her conflicting emotions and how they learned to work together to make the girl the best she could be. It was a huge hit and allowed parents to talk to and relate to their children about the importance of all their emotions, how we need both joy and sadness, how to embrace all our feelings and find happiness in the coherence. A decade later, "Inside Out 2" serves as another talking point for families, but this time parents to their now-teenage children about the new emotions and feelings that they develop once puberty hits, and the highs and lows that come with it. Now 13 years old, Riley Andersen (Kensington Tallman) is living her best life - she's got two best friends, a loving family, and is the standout in her ice hockey team. She draws the attention of the high school coach who invites her and her

Coherence Starring Emily Foxler, Maury Sterling, Nicholas Brendon, Lorene Scafaria Directed by James Ward Byrkit This is going to be a much different type of review, because "Coherence" is one of those unique films that demands you see it to believe it, and to go in with knowing as little as possible. It's a cerebral mind game of the highest caliber, filled with tremendous performances, a tight set design and close-up camera angles that gives you both the sense of claustrophobia and also makes you feel like you're an omniscient third party member of the movie. In essence the film is about a group of friends coming together for a dinner party during a comet passing, but in reality there's so much more to it. It deals with heavy-hitting themes that'll have you talking about it long after it ends, and honestly that's all I can say about this film - go see it! The Score: A+

Stopmotion Starring Aisling Franciosi, Stella Gonet, Tom York, Caoilinn Springall Directed by Robert Morgan Stop-motion animation is the most painstaking, meticulous form of art one can employ when it comes to cinema. Using hand-crafted figures, the artist must make the smallest, minute movements frame-by-frame to make them come alive, and one wrong move could end in total disaster. "Kubo and the Two Strings," "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" and "Coraline" are just some of the few fantastical stop-motion films, and "Stopmotion" is now one of them - albeit not an entirely stop-motion film, it's main premise follows a starving stop-motion artist who becomes obsessed with her new work - so much so it seems the stop-motion creatures have a life of their own. Ella Blake (Aisling Franciosi) is a stop-motion animator who lives under the oppressive thumb of her famous stop-motion animator mother Suzanne (Stella

In a Violent Nature Starring Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Cameron Love, Reece Presley Directed by Chris Nash When you think of something ambient, you probably think of something calm and soothing, like ambient noise to help you sleep, or an ambient orange glow of the setting sun - one thing you'd never associate ambient for is in a horror film. Yet through the unique mind of first-time director Chris Nash, that's exactly what you get with "In a Violent Nature" - an ambient horror that owns its unrated nature by implementing some of the most unique kills I've seen in awhile, set through the killer's perspective, with no annoying musical accompaniments. In a small rural town, the legend of Johnny (Ry Barrett) permeates the atmosphere: a mentally challenged young man who accidentally dies after a prank goes wrong, he returns one year later to get his revenge, and the only way to keep him in the ground is burying him with his mother's locket dangling above his

The Watchers Starring Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Olwen Fouere, Oliver Finnegan Directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan M. Night Shyamalan is one of the most unique horror directors out there, and easily one of the most disjointed. He goes from Academy Award-nominated films like "The Sixth Sense" to...well..."The Last Airbender." While his track record hasn't always been on the higher trajectory, there's no denying that the man has a vision and he sets himself out to achieve it, and that vision has been transferred to his nepo daughter Ishana, who makes her directorial debut with "The Watchers," which is based on a novel by A.M. Shine. It's due to the fact that this isn't her original work that I give her a pass for some moments of the film, but overall it's a disjointed, exposition-heavy film that is intriguing and mysterious for the majority of the runtime, but falls apart utterly at the end. Mina (Dakota Fanning) is a wayward Ameri

Bad Boys: Ride or Die Starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Eric Dane, Jacob Scipio Directed by Adil & Bilall Michael Bay's "Bad Boys" and "Bad Boys II" defined the 90s action comedy, putting Will Smith and Martin Lawrence together as lifelong friends and detectives in Miami who solve crimes with big explosions, frequent sarcasm, and exciting action sequences. Everyone thought the second film was the end, but 2020 gave us "Bad Boys for Life," and even though Michael Bay was no longer the director, everything else about the franchise continued to flourish. The comradere between Smith and Lawrence made you feel like only days have gone by since the second film due to their natural chemistry, and the action, excitement, and humor were all there once again. Now with "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" (they really should've switched the names, so the fourth film should've been the "Bad Boys 4 Life" title), we get a repeat performance of

Spy x Family Code: White Starring Takuya Eguchi, Atsumi Tanezaki, Saori Hayami, Kenichiro Matsuda Directed by Takashi Katagiri I haven't really watched a lot of anime shows, with the exception of "Attack on Titan" and the entire "Dragonball" series because my roommate in college made me watch them all and I wondered why they spent fifteen episodes for one fight, and while I can appreciate the artistry and animation of anime, I don't find myself compelled to watch them. Even in film, I tend not to gravitate toward them with one notable exception: anything made by Studio Ghibli, and the work of the great Hayao Miyazaki. The stories he weaves are compelling and poignant and the animation is awe-inspiring. So when the Regal Monday Mystery movie began and it was "Spy x Family Code: White," I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into - and in the end I found myself amused by the spectacle, even if I never saw the show the film is based off of. Loid

I Saw the TV Glow Starring Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Fred Durst, Danielle Deadwyler Directed by Jane Schoenbrun Growing up I loved "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in both the film and television iterations, along with a lot of other supernatural/horror themed programming. I wasn't scared by them, but captivated by them, as they served as an escape from my mundane youthful existence. Getting lost in the story of Buffy Summers and her ragtag group of friends who fought a villain of the week every week was invigorating and exciting, opening up my mind to different possibilities. This is the heart of "I Saw the TV Glow," a film that makes no secret it also is influenced by "Buffy" as the TV show within the movie is a close comparison to the hit series, and the film as a whole is a deep reflective look at life, our choices, and the pangs of regret and refusal to see how things really are. Owen (Ian Foreman) is a loner seventh grader who doesn't ha

The Garfield Movie Starring Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames Directed by Mark Dindal Growing up I loved "Garfield" and even still have his comic sketches. His Saturday morning cartoon was on weekly, and I could find myself associating with him: I too hate Mondays, love food, and am generally lazy - and that hasn't really changed all these decades later. After the monstrosities of the two live-action "Garfield" films (which Bill Murray hilariously shunned in "Zombieland"), it was inevitable that an animated movie would be made, and seemingly more inevitable that Chris Pratt (as opposed to Frank Welker who's been voicing him since 2007) would voice him. While the film itself has some laughable moments and throwbacks to classic slapstick comedy, overall the film is one that's too serious for children, and too long for adults to really enjoy. After being abandoned as a kitten, Garfield (Chris Pratt) is taken in by lone