JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Wicked Starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh Directed by John M. Chu "The Wizard of Oz" is one of the most iconic films in cinematic history, who's legacy is unmatched. Even the rare few who has never seen the film know of Dorothy, Oz, and the Wicked Witch. "Wicked" is the prequel to the film which was a novel, and then a highly successful Broadway play, and now a major theatrical production (well, part one anyway). I've always heard of "Wicked" and its main premise - focusing on the friendship of Elphaba and Galinda, but I didn't know anything else about it, storywise or songwise. The marketing for the film was astronomical - over 400 brands joined with the film, a feat that's utterly insane to think about, because a film of this caliber doesn't need it: knowing little to nothing about it, I was incredibly moved by the film's end, where I shed tears as well as stood and pumped my fists in excitement ...

Gladiator II Starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington Directed by Ridley Scott Ridley Scott's epic film "Gladiator" debuted in 2000, making a household name out of its star, Russell Crowe, and earning Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor to name a few, and seemed like a one-and-done movie, even though rumors flew in the decades past about a sequel being made. Anyone who saw the film was rightfully skeptical, wondering how a film of this caliber could do a sequel, but eventually Ridley Scott returned with "Gladiator II." While it's nowhere near the legend that the original was, I was surprised in how well it was crafted, performed, and told - a movie that had to prove to me its existence and, unlike "Joker: Folie a Deux," it managed to do just that. After losing his wife and land to Roman General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), Hanno (Paul Mescal) is sent to Rome as a slave to participate in the gladiator battle...

Heretic Starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East, Topher Grace Directed by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods As a person who has a firm belief in my Christian faith, I'm also someone who can listen to and respect other peoples' religions as well, knowing you can't force your own religion on another. Also, as such, there's a lot that I don't know and have to rely on my faith to figure out, as well as understand the difference between truth and the "truth" I'm being told by people who claim to know more than I do. I question my faith, I research it, and I don't take things for face value. Organized religion is something I do not adhere to, as the core concept is concocted by people who want to control others through fear, intimidation, and manipulation to lead us to believe what they believe in. That being said, true religion is a test of faith, and one that has to be worked out in your own mind. "Heretic" is a film that tackles this top...

Time Cut Starring Madison Bailey, Antonia Gentry, Michael Shanks, Griffin Gluck Directed by Hannah MacPherson There's been a few times in cinema history where two films centering around the same topic were released within the same year. "Olympus Has Fallen" and "White House Down" and "Antz" and "A Bug's Life" are two examples. Another example is 2023's "Totally Killer" and 2024's "Time Cut," released on Amazon Prime and Netflix respectively, that both center on the same concept. Both involve a young girl traveling back in time to save a loved one. Yet only one was decent, while the other was filled with cliches, lacking emotional depth, character development, or elevated stakes. "Time Cut" is the latter. Twenty years after her sister Summer Field (Antonia Gentry) was murdered, high school student Lucy (Madison Bailey) is applying for a NASA internship while her parents don't want her to go, being ...

  We Live in Time Starring Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield, Adam James, Marama Corlett Directed by John Crowley Many times when we see a bad movie, we say that the actors did a decent job with the limited script they were given. They gave it their all but in the end the movie just wasn't that good. I'm not saying "We Live in Time" isn't good, but the script could've devolved into sappy Hallmark style romance with manipulative tugs at your heartstrings when the other shoe drops. However, when you get two of this generation's most acclaimed and naturally talented actors - and the script that doesn't follow the generic linear narrative - you've got a movie that doesn't deserve to be so good, but it is. One night, Tobias Durand (Andrew Garfield) is hit by a car on the road, and while in the hospital he meets the driver, Almut Bruhl (Florence Pugh). The two strike up a friendship which eventually leads to romance, and the two fall deeply in love with...

Here Starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly Directed by Robert Zemeckis There's many times where I think about a place and wonder about its history. What existed there before? What will be in the future? I think about this a lot thinking about the place I grew up, and all the memories I had there - the good, the bad, and the mundane. What existed in this space before we built our home here? What will be here once we go? What are the memories we'll carry on? In a way, "Here" is a film that we see on screen about made-up characters living in one space in time in the past, present, and future - but in another way, it's a reflective look inside ourselves and the memories we have in the places we've lived in. After the meteorite destroys the dinosaurs, and the Native Americans lived on the land, the home of Benjamin Franklin's illegitimate son William is constructed. Later, a house is built across from it, and it becomes inhabited by numer...

Anora Starring Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian Directed by Sean Baker Every year there's "that" movie, the film that everyone praises and hypes up beyond conception, a film that is said to earn all the awards and will make a household name out of its lead. More often than not they're right, but there's other films that garner this much praise but falls short of the high expectations placed upon it. "Anora" is no such film. It's more than deserving of the accolades it's been receiving, and while Mikey Madison was already a somewhat established name, this film takes her talent to the stratosphere and easily creates a new leading lady rivaling the likes of Florence Pugh and Saoirse Ronan. Anora "Ani" Mikheeva (Mikey Madison) is a high-priced stripper working at a well-established club in New York City, when she's told by her boss to cater to a young Russian man because of her knowledge of the language. ...

Your Monster Starring Melissa Barrera, Tommy Dewey, Edmund Donovan, Kayla Foster Directed by Caroline Lindy Everyone knows "Beauty and the Beast," the classic fairy tale-turned Disney animated movie-turned Disney live action movie about a young girl who falls in love with the titular beast and her love brings him back to humanity. It's sweet, emotional, and heartfelt, and of course that concept has been remade for the modern area again and again, and "Your Monster" is one such film, a movie that follows in the iconic film's footsteps but provides modern wit and humor while maintaining the heart. Laura Franco (Melissa Barrera) is a girl struggling to live. She's been diagnosed with cancer, and her longtime boyfriend Jacob (Edmund Donovan) - who's a playwright and whom she helped pen his latest play - dumps her in the middle of it. Her only friend Mazie (Kayla Foster) is oftentimes absent, and she's resorted to moving into her mother's old home...

Don't Move Starring Kelsey Asbille, Finn Wittrock, Moray Treadwell, Daniel Francis Directed by Adam Schindler & Brian Netto If a woman is paralyzed in the woods and chased by a killer falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a sound? While in real life this sort of scenario is terrifying and haunting, "Don't Move" takes away any tension, dread, suspense or excitement and replaces it with mundane, generic moments that you've seen in numerous films like this, where all of a sudden everyone and their mother makes the stupidest mistakes possible (and other people will use the excuse that this would happen in real life too, and I call BS on that). It's surprising that this by-the-books film wasn't just directed by two people, but written by two people as well - it's like the running gag with Beyonce's "Run the World (Girls)" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," where Beyonce's song involving repetitious words was ...

Saturday Night Starring Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cooper Hoffman, Willem Dafoe Directed by Jason Reitman "Saturday Night Live" has been a television staple for nearly fifty years, and it's hard to imagine the television landscape without it - but it almost never came to fruition. It took a lot of luck and skill to make it happen, and only through the revolutionary lens of Lorne Michaels was it able to be achieved, even by the skin of his teeth. On October 11, 1975, Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) arrives at the NBC building to prepare for his show, "Saturday Night," which would air in ninety minutes. A live sketch comedy act, the show seemed a mess from the start - the actors run amok, there's no script, the sets appear unsafe, and everyone is running around like crazy. Michaels tries to maintain control with his boss Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman) who tells him that NBC wants them to fail because they make more money airing reruns of Johnny Carson, b...

Conclave Starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto Directed by Edward Berger To say the Catholic Church has had a rough go for awhile would be an understatement, as accusations have abounded about child abuse at the hands of clergy and, equally as alarming, the Church's attempt to cover them up. Pope Francis has been able to resolve some of those issues and has bridged a gap between the more conventional, stoic Church of the past and incorporating modern views for a new generation, but there's still a lot of work to do. The Catholic Church is still steeped in old traditions, and the overall concept itself seems against religious teachings. The Pope is supposed to be protected from error when he speaks of matters of faith and morals, the human connection to God, which is something Jesus Himself is supposed to be, the bridge between God and man. "Conclave" takes a fictionalized look inside the mysterious practice of electing a new Pope, and...