JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Worst2First:  My Top Ten Romantic Christmas Films Tis the season for love and romance, and Hollywood has no shortage of films to enjoy with that special someone. Be it straight up drama, romantic comedy, or even the offbeat love story, there's something for every couple this holiday season. Here are my personal top ten favorite romantic Christmas films. There will be no spoilers. #10   Surviving Christmas Proving you can find love no matter how big of a jerk you are, "Surviving Christmas" features Ben Affleck playing a wealthy, lonely advertising executive with no one to spend Christmas with, so he pays the family of his former childhood home to spend the holidays with them and do whatever he wants. When their daughter (played by Christina Applegate) arrives, she refuses to go along with the arrangement and finds Drew obnoxious, but as the holidays progress they find common ground and possibly even love. Streaming on Paramount+ #9 The Holiday In a little spin of  The Prin...

Keeper Starring Tatiana Maslany, Rossif Sutherland, Birkett Turton, Eden Weiss Directed by Osgood Perkins Osgood Perkins is a master director of horror, giving delights like "Longlegs," "I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House," "The Monkey" and "The Blackcoat's Daughter," so getting two horror movies from him in one year seemed like a treat. In February he directed the Stephen King classic "The Monkey" which forced him to step out of his more well-established slow-burn horrors and give a "Final Destination" type goofy horror comedy, but got to return to his roots in November with "Keeper." While he maintains his slow burn style, ultimately the movie runs a bit longer clouded by repetitive scenes that dragged the movie along before it's rushed, seemingly unfinished conclusion.  Liz (Tatiana Maslaney) and Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland) have been dating for a month before he invites her to his secluded cabin...

Sisu: Road to Revenge Starring Jorma Tommila, Stephen Lang, Richard Brake Directed by Jalmari Helander "Sisu" is one of those little miracle movies, something hardly anyone heard of, featuring a cast no one knew, about a simple premise - John Wick set in World War II, a silent assassin who murders Nazis with gusto and gore. The modest film became a huge hit, and it seemed like a simple one-and-done, but now we're gifted with a sequel. While many movies don't necessarily need one, "Road to Revenge" serves as a great addition to the now-franchise, reminding viewers of "Mad Max: Fury Road" as our voiceless hero makes a trek to transfer his home to his new home country while being chased by a relentless madman who killed his family. World War II has ended, and Finland ceded Karelia to the Soviet Union. Finnish ex-commando Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) crosses the border into Karelia to dismantle the home he built with his family, who were murdered by Ig...

Wicked: For Good Starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum Directed by John M. Chu Without a doubt, the biggest movie of 2024 was "Wicked," the film based on the hit Broadway play and novel that told a different story from the classic L. Frank Baum novel  The Wizard of Oz . Until that point, we all believed the Wicked Witch was evil, and Glinda was good, and there was no middle ground - then  Wicked  turned it all on its head and showed two flawed characters who were both good and bad, allowing their situations to dictate their futures. With the first film, we got a visual masterpiece featuring two Oscar-worthy (hopefully this year will rectify that error) performances and songs that resonated with audiences in ways never seen before. It was a phenomenon and anticipation was through the roof for its finale. While the songs aren't as memorable, and honestly there's parts of the movie that felt rushed, it was a magical end for the duology. Fi...

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere Starring Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Odessa Young, Paul Walter Hauser Directed by Scott Cooper Around this time in 2024, "A Complete Unknown" shattered the musical biopic subgenre and elevated it to greater heights. Timothee Chalamet's performance of Bob Dylan was prolific, and earned the movie numerous Oscar nominations and grossed over $140 million worldwide. Up to that point, the musical biopic subgenre was lackluster to say the least, with only a few notable exceptions. Now, it seems that they want lightning to strike twice with "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere," but sadly sometimes lightning just doesn't do that, and while the film is fine, it's muddied by the tropes of the subgenre before it course corrects to form a powerful study in depression, but by then it's entirely too late. In 1981, Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White) is a star in his own right, having produced a top ten song in "...

  The Running Man Starring Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Lee Pace Directed by Edgar Wright Reality television has infiltrated the landscape since "The Real World" in the late nineties and hasn't really let up. We love to see peoples' lives played for drama on television, and serves as a more dramatic medium than game shows which dominated the screens beforehand. Yet what happens when you mix them together? Give a reality show with a game show feel, but raise the stakes to insurmountable odds? What about a movie that focuses on this theme, but also sheds light on the manipulation we receive from what we consider faultless mediums? We get Edgar Wright's fantastic remake of the 1987 film "The Running Man" which is grittier, bloodier, and closer to Stephen King's original novel, with one of this generation's biggest action stars at the helm. In the future, America is a wasteland. People live in squalor, especially Ben Richards (Glen Powel...

Now You See Me: Now You Don't Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher Directed by Ruben Fleischer Magic is a fun thing to witness live. Watching the seemingly impossible happen right before your eyes has delighted audiences for centuries, and left us wondering how the tricks were done (as we all know a true magician never tells). When magic is put on the big screen, however, some of that "magic" is lost because it's not live - it's something that can be highly edited to make us see what we want to see. While this could be seen as a detriment, the "Now You See Me" franchise has made an art form out of it: while it relies heavily on editing, we're still awestruck at what we see, and thankfully we get an explanation as to why it worked instead of just blindly believing the editing worked itself. It doesn't hurt having four highly capable A-list celebrities at the helm, and now with the long-gestating "Now You See Me:...

Nuremberg Starring Rami Malek, Russell Crowe, Leo Woodall, John Slattery Directed by James Vanderbilt There's been a lot of World War II movies, and not too many that focuses on the aftermath of it. Everyone knows the atrocities that the Nazis committed under Hitler's regime, yet somehow it doesn't hold as much weight as it should, because since then more villainous rulers have emerged and people have fallen under their tyrannical spell, turning neighbor against neighbor - but so far thankfully not to the extreme as the Nazis. What makes people follow such detestable rulers? Is it easier to seek retribution or justice? After the War, the world was more than prepared to line up the Nazi leaders and put bullets in their heads, but instead they decide to hold a trial - the first of its kind - that could either end with justice, or another worldwide war. The War is over, and Hitler is dead. The Allies have won, and are preparing the long road to normalcy again - but the questio...

Die My Love Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, LaKeith Stanfield, Sissy Spacek Directed by Lynne Ramsay What happens when fandoms combine? When the twinkling "Twilight" vampire and the "Hunger Games" girl on fire come together for their first film together? If you're expecting fireworks, compelling performances, continual dread and unease, and a powerful tale of how post-partum depression and post-partum psychosis can completely destroy a person, then you're in for a treat as that's exactly what "Die My Love" delivers. A deep, rich character study on a woman's spiral into depression without knowing how to get out of it, and how this affects those around her, is the main thrust of the movie - and with fearless actors Robert Pattinson and Jennifer Lawrence at the helm, it's undeniable cinema that squeezes every ounce of trepidation out of the viewers as they eagerly anticipate and worry about what'll happen next. Moving fro...

Regretting You Starring Mckenna Grace, Allison Williams, Dave Franco, Mason Thames Directed by Josh Boone Colleen Hoover is turning into this generation's Nicholas Sparks, writing sappy drivel love stories and selling them as art, with a surprising amount of people falling for the ruse. She already had one of her novels adapted to a movie with 2024's "It Ends With Us," and unlike the title suggests, it definitely didn't end with it. Apart from the movie seemingly making light of domestic abuse, the behind-the-scenes drama involving Blake Lively and the director has left an even darker imprint on the movie than the horrible story put to screen. Fortunately, "Regretting You" has no such drama, but the story is nonetheless impotent: a cyclical film that recycles arguments ad-nausea which is frustrating considering the stellar cast trying their hardest to make it at least passable. Life is good for young Clara Grant (Mckenna Grace): she's about to embark...

Christy Starring Sydney Sweeney, Ben Foster, Merritt Wever, Katy O'Brian Directed by David Michod The real life Christy Salters Martin is a firecracker, a woman of small stature but big dreams, who has a desire to fight and box like her life depends on it. She overcame being a lesbian in a time where it was frowned upon, forcing herself into a marriage to conceal her inner "demon," and allowed herself to be controlled by her new husband and everyone around her. The only place she found she could be herself was in the ring, but outside she was controlled by everyone around her to the point where it almost cost her her life. Sadly, the movie "Christy" doesn't take any risks in its storytelling, instead relegating itself to the traditional biopic tropes that - at 135 minutes - makes you feel like you're in the ring for a ten-round bout of boredom. In 1989, Christy Salters (Sydney Sweeney) finds that she's really good at fighting and boxing, and chooses ...

Predator: Badlands Starring Elle Fanning, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Mike Homik, Rohinal Nayaran Directed by Dan Trachetenberg  The "Predator" franchise has been a very disjointed affair since it's debut in 1987 that centered on a race of alien beings who travel worlds and hunts down the biggest predator on their planet to claim dominance. The first film is hailed as a sci-fi horror masterpiece with Arnold Schwarzenegger at the helm, while the sequel featuring Danny Glover had its own charms. Then came the "Alien vs Predator" spinoffs which failed to deliver the hype, followed by the so-so "Predators" and abysmal "The Predator." Everyone thought the franchise long dead, until director Dan Trachtenberg brought "Prey" to Hulu, making it one of the most successful "Predator" movies and most critically and audience acclaimed. Trachtenberg took care to tell the Predator story in a unique setting with a compelling, multi-d...

Bugonia Starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos Lately there's been a cosmic entity known as 3I/Atlas that many say is a spaceship that entered our galaxy to bring about the end of the world, while most rational people call it as it is: a comet. Yet talk like this resonates through a certain subset of society that thrives on conspiracy theories and wacko doomsday cults, who reside in their own echo chamber and believe what they want to believe, no matter the facts that go against it. This has only increased as the years progress, further dividing society that separates themselves based on their own ideologies and beliefs, which is essentially a fuse that's been lit leading to an eventual explosion. It's to this end that Yorgos Lanthimos remakes the 2003 South Korean film "Save the Green Planet!" and makes it wholly American, where two conspiracy-driven losers believe a pharmaceutical CEO is an alien who wants ...