JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Juror #2 Starring Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Chris Messina Directed by Clint Eastwood People complain that theaters only show superhero movies and sequels of long-running IP, and to that end they have a point. While they complain about them, they'll still fill the seats to see them, no matter how bad they are. This leaves little room for actual original movies to get their place on the big screen, relegating them to the streaming services where many people won't get a chance to watch them. Such is with "Juror #2," a movie that is directed by Clint Eastwood (and might very well be his last before he retires) - a movie that got a very limited big screen showing before being dumped on Max, and a movie that is purely for the cinematic moviegoer, a film that doesn't spoon-feed you anything but forces you to make your own conclusions about the events that take place. Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is a doting husband who's expecting to be a father so...

  Azrael Starring Samara Weaving, Vic Carmen Sonne, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Katariina Unt Directed by E.L. Katz "A Quiet Place" taught us that you can make a movie with very little dialogue something truly disturbing, intense, and powerful. Through actions, the characters were able to speak volumes, although it is aided greatly by the use of sign language. "Azrael" is another film of the same vein: a post-apocalyptic horror movie where no one speaks and are hunted by creatures in the night, but unlike "A Quiet Place" they're not gifted with any form of dialogue, leaving way too much open for interpretation with no answers as to why the film should even exist at all. After the Rapture, people still living have subjected themselves to having their larynx removed so they're unable to speak, considering it a sin. Azrael (Samara Weaving) and her lover Kenan (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) are on the run from her commune who hunt her through the woods, led by t...

Better Man Starring Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Kate Mulvany Directed by Michael Gracey To be honest, I've heard of Robbie Williams but never was into his music or honestly cared to know anything about him in any capacity, but of course he would get the musical biopic treatment which meant I had to see it to find out what the buzz was about. The main driving force behind this biopic that makes it different from the others is the gimmick that Williams would be played by a CGI monkey, while everyone else would be playing humans, and it's kind of like that game where you would replace everyone in a movie with Muppets but one, which one would you keep human? Only in this case its reversed. Essentially, that's the only thing that makes this different from every other generic musical biopic out there, and while it's got some decent musical numbers, in the end, it's as formulaic as you'd expect. When he was a child (or a young monkey?), Robert Willi...

A Different Man Starring Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Adam Pearson, C. Mason Wells Directed by Aaron Schimberg There's a saying: beauty is only skin deep. While that's true, it's also true that if you're good looking, you'll get more opportunities in life than if you are ugly, or have some sort of deformity. People look at you differently if you're not beautiful, especially if you have some sort of ailment that makes you look completely abnormal, and sadly it'll mean you'll have a worse life because of it. However, it's also how you see things that dictate your life, and some people who have these ailments have gone on to live productive, happy lives despite their outside appearance because of the confidence they have inside. So when a man faced with a facial deformity has the chance to shed that outer skin and appear as a normal, attractive man, the world seems to be his oyster - but the outward change doesn't change the insecurities he harbo...

Emilia Perez Starring Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascon, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz Directed by Jacques Audiard Oftentimes movies take the safe route, offering a simple beginning, middle and end that makes sense, that doesn't roam outside the norm, and more generally people dislike it because of that. Audiences clamor for uniqueness, for something different than the norm. In that respect, "Emilia Perez" fits the bill entirely - although it's based off a novel, it's still got an original story to tell in a way you wouldn't expect. Musicals have a defining subgenre all its own, but one that's a rock opera featuring a drug cartel kingpin wishing to transition to a woman? You don't get more unique than that, and the result is an often positive film that has some odd choices, but perhaps that's the point of it. Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldana) is a lawyer in Mexico City who defends the guilty and feels terrible when they get off, and wishes for a new line of...

Golden Globes 2024 Predictions The one thing I like about winter is awards season. BAFTA, Critics' Choice, SAG Awards, culminating to the biggest night in cinema, The Oscars. Each awards year begins though with the Golden Globes, and while I haven't had the chance to watch too many movies nominated since they weren't playing in my area, here are my predictions on who will win. WINNERS CHOSEN IN BOLD TELEVISION BEST TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA The Day of the Jackal The Diplomat Mr. & Mrs. Smith Shogun Slow Horses Squid Game BEST TELEVISION SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY Abbott Elementary The Bear The Gentlemen Hacks Nobody Wants This Only Murders in the Building BEST LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION Baby Reindeer Disclaimer Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story The Penguin Ripley True Detective: Night Country BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA Kathy Bates - Matlock Emma D'Arcy - House of the Dragon Maya E...

Mufasa: The Lion King Starring Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., John Kani, Tiffany Boone Directed by Barry Jenkins When you watched the classic 1994 "The Lion King" or the...live...action 2019 remake, did you ever wonder "how did Scar get his scar?" Or "how did Rafiki get his staff?" Or "How was Pride Rock formed?" No? Well, I'm sure there was a couple of you out there who wondered that, which is I guess why they decided to do "Mufasa: The Lion King" - a needless prequel that is filled with dazzling landscape visuals set against so-so CGI-animated "live" action characters with a story that is something you've heard before - and even once before in 2024 alone. As a cub, Mufasa (Braelyn/Brielle Rankins) lived with his parents in an idyllic situation until he gets washed away in a flood, ending up alone in a new land. He's found by fellow lion cub Taka (Theo Somolu) who begs his mother to let Mufasa join their pack,...

Nosferatu Starring Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgard, Willem Dafoe Directed by Robert Eggers Vampires in modern culture have been relegated to romanticized tragic antiheroes who sparkle in the daylight or are seen as brooding, attractive bad boys that make you wish you were one of them. "Twilight," "The Lost Boys," "Fright Night," "Let Me In," "Blade," "30 Days of Night" and more tell differing vampire stories with differing levels of sophistication, but none really showcase the truly terrifying nature of vampires, and in particular the iconic pre-Dracula vampire Count Orlok, a.k.a. Nosferatu. In fact, his first outing in cinema occurred one hundred years ago with director F.W. Murnau's "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror" - a movie that predated the now-iconic 1931 Bela Lugosi performed "Dracula." The 1924 film is a silent film that is a concert of horror, with Nosferatu looking like a creatu...

A Complete Unknown Starring Timothee Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Monica Barbaro Directed by James Mangold Musical biopics are literally a dime a dozen, as 2024 alone saw biopics based off Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, Pharrell Williams and Maria Callas, and the history of the musical biopic hasn't been a good one. Only a handful have been really well done, while most end up just being a Wikipedia-esque version of someone's story - the high (or mostly low) moments of singers as they rise to fame, deal with addictions, and either fall from grace or have a breakthrough. It's the most generic subgenre out there, so when I heard of a Bob Dylan biopic, I was hesitant to watch it, considering it's over two and a half hours, and since Todd Haynes put out a unique Dylan biopic in 2007 called "I'm Not There." Yet to my happy surprise, not only was the movie expertly done, but it maintained my attention from start to finish in the most amazing way. In 1961, a...