JoeMama's Movie Reviews

The Phoenician Scheme Starring Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed Directed by Wes Anderson Wes Anderson is one of the greatest auteurs of our time, a visionary director and writer who infuses satirical deadpan humor with dazzling set designs, unique filming style and ensemble casts that seem to be created by the cinematic gods above. Each film feels unique but also fits together like a giant puzzle, where you'd believe that each film is in the same cinematic universe if not for seeing many of the same actors playing vastly different roles. In a world where comedy seems to be a dying art in cinema, he is the last vestige of humor that gives hope there's still a world where this medium can work. There's no cheap sexual humor, no flatulence jokes, nothing for shock value or cheap giggles: all the jokes are hard-earned, and incredibly intelligent even in its outlandishness (such as offering hand grenades like most people offer gum). Throughout his illust...

Dangerous Animals Starring Hassie Harrison, Jai Courtney, Josh Heuston, Ella Newton Directed by Sean Byrne Australia has many hidden dangers: The Eastern Brown Snake, Inland Taipan, Death Adder, the Sydney Funnel-web spider, and the great white shark among others. It's also the cinematic home of Mick Taylor, the deranged serial killer from the "Wolf Creek" films and television series - a man who lives a solo life in the Outback and abducts and kills tourists. The two films were critically acclaimed and made a household name out of its villain's star, John Jarratt (at least in the horror community anyway) due to its violent nature and hopeless outlook. So when you combine a serial killer like Taylor and mix in some terrifying sharks in another desolate hopeless location, you got the ingredients for another terrifying film - but the only terrifying thing about "Dangerous Animals" is the chum it expects you to guzzle down in its formulaic, predictable, and down...

Ballerina: From the World of John Wick Starring Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Keanu Reeves Directed by Len Wiseman Back in 2014, Keanu Reeves was still a respected actor, but his roles were very few and far between. Then there was a little action movie called "John Wick," and Reeves was thrust once again into the good graces of the world, and has enjoyed his "Keanussance" since then. The small-budget movie has gone on to spawn three sequels, each one more successful than the last, and has given birth to the best modern-day action franchise. Each movie is stylistic, filled with intense action sequences, and some of the most talked-about moments in film (who can forget the dragon's breath scene from "John Wick 4?") - so it's almost impossible to keep the momentum going, but they do so with the franchise's first spin-off, "Ballerina." While not as intense or well-put-together as the flagship series, "Ballerina" ...

Juliet & Romeo Starring Clara Rugaard, Jamie Ward, Jason Isaacs, Rebel Wilson Directed by Timothy Scott Bogart Musicals are fantastic when they're done right. "Wicked," "The Greatest Showman," "La La Land," "The Sound of Music," "Fiddler on the Roof" and many more fall into this category - musicals that will and have withstood the test of time and provide some of the best songs set to film ever. Then there are the muddling musicals that come out every year - "Mean Girls," "Journey to Bethlehem," "Spirited" and "Dear Evan Hanson" exist in the zeitgeist but are either maligned for great reason or so bland they're forgettable. 2025 has delivered its first such musical with "Juliet & Romeo," a re-telling of the classic Shakespeare story set to pop music that tries to remake the wheel but ends up spinning in place. In Verona, a war has waged between the Montagues and the Capul...

Bring Her Back Starring Sally Hawkins, Billy Barratt, Sora Wong, Jonah Wren Phillips Directed by Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou Twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou have made a name for themselves on YouTube as the duo RackaRacka, producing horror comedy content that've garnered them numerous awards. They expanded their reach to the big screen in 2023's "Talk to Me," and their talent for horror showed brightly, producing one of the most unnerving, scary, and even darkly comedic at times, movies of the year. Everyone was excited to see what they'd come up with next, and whether or not they'd be one-trick ponies. With "Bring Her Back," the twins prove once again that they're not a one-and-done, producing yet another knockout horror movie that will crawl under your skin due to four impeccable performances, practical effects that will freeze your blood, and a slow-burn story that escalates to unfathomable levels by the film's denoue...

Friendship Starring Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara, Jack Dylan Grazer Directed by Andrew DeYoung There's an epidemic hitting America, and that's called the "male loneliness epidemic." It refers to the observation that men are disproportionately impacted by loneliness, as generally it's harder for men to find good friends as opposed to women. Men, typically, are focused on career, family, and economy and delve so much into their hobbies that they don't really take the time to make friends of the same gender. "Friendship" is a movie that focuses on that, but also shows what happens when you go completely overboard and find yourself unhealthily obsessed with a friend. Craig Waterman (Tim Robinson) is a man living in solitude - he works his typical 9-5, doesn't really interact with people, and has a strained marriage to his cancer-surviving wife Tami (Kate Mara) and an uneven relationship with his son Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Tami talks about ...

Lilo & Stitch Starring Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Zach Galifianakis Directed by Dean Fleisher Camp Back in the early 2000s Disney took some serious risks with its movies, and some didn't pay off as much as they wanted ("Atlantis: The Lost Empire," "Treasure Planet"), while others re-vitalized the company. One was "The Emperor's New Groove" which - to me - is still criminally underrated and one of my favorite Disney movies of the recent decades, and the other was "Lilo & Stitch" - a story taking place in Hawaii about two sisters who encounter an alien being that disguises itself as a dog and lives among them, and learning the meaning of "ohana." Even now, twenty-three years later, we all know what "ohana" means - ohana means family, and family means nobody is left behind or forgotten." The film earned over $270 million worldwide and Stitch became a Disney icon that still sells ma...

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning Starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Angela Bassett Directed by Christopher McQuarrie The "Mission: Impossible" film franchise managed to do something impossible: turn an iconic television series that ran from 1966-1973 into an almost thirty-year film franchise that's earned over $4.3 billion dollars between eight films. The movies center on Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt, an Impossible Missions Force agent who often goes rogue in search of powerful villains and even more powerful MacGuffins, but he always gets results - even though his own country has disavowed him. The movies are best known for showcasing Tom Cruise's insane stunt performances, as he's well-known for doing his own stunts. From motorcycling off a huge mountain cliff to attaching himself to a flying plane to scaling the Burj Khalifa, there's no dangerous stunt he won't partake in. Perhaps that's why "The Final Reckoning" is th...

Another Simple Favor Starring Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Allison Janney Directed by Paul Feig A "frienemy" is someone who is friendly in appearance but harbors a fundamental dislike, rivalry, or negative feelings. It's basically being fake to maintain appearances, but deep down (and sometimes not-so-subtly) you truly resent the person everyone else thinks is your friend. Honestly I have no idea why you'd want to be a frienemy, because it just wastes time you could use doing something more non-defeating, but I digress. The true frienemies occur when one wrongs another, and none are more wrong than sending your friend to prison for murder - to which, being fair, she did commit - after she also tried to kill you. So five years after said person is rotting in prison, what does it feel like for the one on the outside to suddenly see her walking down the aisle to ask you for another simple favor? Five years after surviving a murder attempt by someone she th...

Final Destination: Bloodlines Starring Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Tony Todd Directed by Zach Lipovsky & Adam Stein The "Final Destination" franchise has been one of the most unique, interesting, and thought-provoking horror franchises ever made. There's no supernatural spirit slaying from beyond the grave, no zombie-like unstoppable killer wielding a machete, or nightmarish monster lurking in your dreams. The killer in the franchise is Death itself, a force that cannot be reasoned with, cannot be prevented, and cannot be stopped. Death comes for all, and the joy in the franchise is seeing the Rube Goldberg-ways Death has set up for its victims. While the franchise had a few missteps (personally I didn't care much for the fourth, and the third was alright), the majority of them are highly enjoyable and very re-watchable, and I still get wary on the highway behind a logging truck. The last film came out in 2011 and wonderfully wove its way aro...

Hurry Up Tomorrow Starring Abel Tesfaye, Jenna Ortega, Barry Keoghan, Riley Keough Directed by Trey Edward Shults Trailers sometimes tell the whole story of the movie and leaves little to the imagination. Others, however, are smart enough to provide just enough titillating tidbits to make you intrigued to see the movie. "Hurry Up Tomorrow" is one such movie with a trailer that is so distorted, disjointed and discombobulating you have no real idea what the movie is about - and to me, it was a major selling point. I like going into a movie not knowing the whole plot, and the trailer for "Hurry Up Tomorrow" seemed to be an A24-esque psychological thriller filled with dizzying camerawork and a highly cerebral plot. Sadly, none of that was true, and the actual movie is a boring snoozefest set to highlight The Weeknd's music at the expense of anything worth of substance. After enduring a breakup, Abel Tesfaye (Abel Tesfaye) has problems performing for his millions of...

Fight or Flight Starring Josh Hartnett, Charithra Chandran, Julian Kostov, Katee Sackhoff Directed by James Madigan They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. They also say "we have ____ at home." "Fight or Flight" is a film that imitates a much better movie, and when someone asks if they can stop on the way home to see said movie, the parent will say "we have 'Fight or Flight' at home.'" That's saying this is nowhere near as good of a movie as what it blatantly rips off, but thanks to Josh Hartnett's wonder-why committed performance, it makes it at least a little bit enjoyable. Maybe he was drunk during filming. That'd explain it. Lucas Reyes (Josh Hartnett) is a mercenary for hire on the run from the government when he's discovered by his former boss Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackhoff) with a lucrative offer: find a mysterious hacker known as Ghost who's going to be on an airplane bound for San Diego, and he'll...

Clown in a Cornfield Starring Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Vincent Muller Directed by Eli Craig Slasher films are some of my favorites, because there doesn't need to be any thought-provoking scripts or highly cerebral storylines - all it needs is a bunch of kids getting killed in gruesome ways. To that end, "Clown in a Cornfield" fulfills what it promises to: giving a group of kids getting killed by a masked killer. The issue lies with how generic the film is for the first half of the movie - the melodrama is almost a bit too boring - but once it hits its stride in the final half, the movie escalates to sheer bloody joy with immense laughter and a skewering look at the young versus old issue. After the death of her mother, Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas) and her father Glenn (Aaron Abrams) move from Philadelphia to the small town of Kettle Springs, Missouri, where Glenn got a job as the town's doctor. Quinn meets the quirky neighbor kid Rust (Vincent ...

The Ugly Stepsister Starring Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Naess, Ane Dahl Torp, Flo Fagerli Directed by Emilie Blichfeldt The original fairy tales are dark - very dark. The concept of "grim" might not have stemmed from the Grimm Brothers, but their legacy is associated with that term. Disney took these classic fairy tales and made them more family friendly, but anyone who investigates these tales will find horrors beyond their imagination. "Cinderella" is no different, whereas Disney makes it a happily-ever-after tale, the original story is extremely demented, dark, and deadly. "The Ugly Stepsister" is a movie closer associated with the original's premise, but also mixes in modern feels to make the movie more akin to a David Cronenberg movie that could be a sister sequel to the likes of "Black Swan" and "The Substance." Elvira (Lea Myren) is the older sister of widower Rebekka (Ane Dahl Torp), who just re-married thinking her new husb...

Thunderbolts* Starring Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Lewis Pullman, David Harbour Directed by Jake Schreier Superhero films - and most notably the MCU - have undergone a change in popularity lately, as many films have been lauded as being the same thing - epic action, glorified cameos, one final epic all-out battle between good and evil. None of those are bad necessarily especially when they're done right (the train fight in "Shang-Chi," the cameos in "Deadpool & Wolverine," and the final fight at the Statue of Liberty in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" are all epics). The problem is that there's so many movies that do them wrong, especially in the sense of CGI or forced humor ("Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania" was basically filmed entirely on a stage with CGI backgrounds everywhere; "Thor: Love & Thunder's" humor was more groan-inducing than guffaw-inducing), and it's been a rarity where you find all the elements...

Worst2First: My Most Anticipated Films of Summer 2025 Summertime brings the big budget blockbusters to the big screen, and is the time of the year where cinemas see their highest profits. These ten films look to have audiences' butts in theater seats from May through August, and these are the ones I'm most excited to see. **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS** **DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE** #10 Jurassic Word: Rebirth July 2 The "Jurassic Park" and "Jurassic World" franchise has earned over a billion dollars worldwide, even though the last two "Jurassic World" films have a lot to be desired. Thinking the dinosaurs were indeed extinct on the big screen, they once again find new life in a standalone sequel to "Dominion" that came out in 2022. This time around we meet a new group of people who go to the old Jurassic Park to find DNA of dinosaurs from land, sea, and air that could be used to cure human ailments, but of course it's not that ea...