JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Out of Darkness Starring Safia Oakley-Green, Chuku Modu, Kit Young, Iola Evans Directed by Andrew Cumming There's hardly a film out there that centers around events that took place back in the Old Stone Age, and with good reason - most people don't really seem to care about it, or have a lot of knowledge about it. People probably think dinosaurs still roamed the earth - they didn't. Instead it was one of the first advancements of human ingenuity, as they invented stone tools to better their lives. While it's rare to see a film like this, it's even rarer to see a horror film taking place during this time. "Out of Darkness" is one such film, an outlier that introduces us to a whole new language, and six clan members trying to survive in a harsh new condition while being hunted down by a hidden monster. Arriving on the shores of an unknown land, six people - leader Adem (Chuku Modu), his pregnant wife Ave (Iola Evans), their young son Heron (Luna Mwezi), Adem

Freud's Last Session Starring Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Goode, Liv Lisa Fries, Jodi Balfour Directed by Matthew Brown I'm a big fan of films that feel like plays, centering on one location and focusing on a few characters as they battle wits and emotions. Some examples include "Fences" and "The Two Popes," where both feature strong, stellar performances that are grounded in a gritty reality that is so captivating you can't take your eyes off the screen, as verbal jabs feel like epic battles and auditory agreements feel like you're witnessing some of the most awe-inspiring truces. So a film like "Freud's Last Session" should be a slam dunk: take history's most prolific psychoanalyst and the world's most renown theologian and put them in a room together to discuss everything from war to religion to psychology, and witness greatness on screen. Sadly the film meanders on the fringes and never hits the meat and potatoes of the matter,

Sasquatch Sunset Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, Christophe Zajac-Denek, Nathan Zellner Directed by The Zellner Brothers There's something people have been talking about a lot lately - the lack of originality in movies. The majority of big screens are occupied by sequels, prequels, movies based off other mediums, and superhero movies. There doesn't seem to be a lot of original content out there, and when there is, they're hardly seen because many of the people who complain that there's no originality won't go see them because they're something they're not used to, and are worried about spending their money on something they know nothing about. "Sasquatch Sunset" is one such unique film, a movie that's clearly not for everyone, and even I found myself wondering why I was watching it, because it seemed that not a lot happens. However, even days after seeing it, it's been living in my head rent free, and since then I've grown to ap

Unsung Hero Starring Daisy Betts, Joel Smallbone, Kirrilee Berger, Jonathan Jackson Directed by Richard Ramsey & Joel Smallbone Back in the 90s and 2000s I was heavily involved in the church, and especially the music associated with it. Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, Switchfoot, Skillet, Third Day, Newsboys, dc Talk, Jars and Clay and Audio Adrenaline were all artists I listened to on the regular, along with Rebecca St. James. Although I'm not as active in the church as I once was, I still find myself listening to the songs and having a sense of calming peace associated with it. One of the most famous Christian bands out there now is For King and Country, and I had no idea who they were, until I heard Luke Smallbone singing on Rebecca St. James's album on a song called "Dawn." When I looked it up I was shocked to learn that Luke and Joel Smallbone - who make up For King and Country - is Rebecca St. James's younger brothers. Talent clearly runs in the

Tarot Starring Harriet Slater, Jacob Batalon, Avantika, Adain Bradley Directed by Spenser Cohen & Anna Halberg "Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got - I'm still, I'm still Jenny from the block." Jennifer Lopez's famous song tells her story that although she's rich and famous now, she's still just Jenny from the block (which, by the way, no one believes). You'd think a song so personal would've been written by Lopez herself, but instead the song was written by Lopez, Troy Oliver, Mr. Deyo, Samuel Barnes and Jean Claude Olivier. What does this have to do with "Tarot?" Well, at the end of this by-the-numbers, totally bland, non-scary, jump-scare riddled, stereotypical character trait film, I literally gasped out loud finding that it was written by TWO people...TWO people actually needed to put their brains together to craft a film that could've been done by a monkey randomly drawing cards with generic scenarios on them. Peter

The Fall Guy Starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham Directed by David Leitch The Academy Awards honors actors, films, directors, producers, cinematographers, costume designers, makeup artists, musicians and sound designers, but there's a group of people who, without them, would prove disastrous for the film industry: stunt performers. They're the unsung heroes, the ones who get little to no recognition as they literally risk their lives to pull off the outstanding stunts that we get to witness on screen. They're a unique breed, fearless and bold, and they deserve as much recognition and respect as anyone else in the industry. Harry O'Connor, Art Scholl, Paolo Rigon, Kun Liu, Chris Lamon and numerous other stunt performers have died while performing their stunts, and unlike those who grace the big screen that we know, they get little to no coverage. It's a sad state of affairs, and director David Leitch knows this all too well - a

Witch Starring Russell Shaw, Ryan Spong, Sarah Alexandra Marks, Fabrizio Santino Directed by Craig Hinde & Marc Zammit Movies about witches are about a dime a dozen, and follow the same formula: typically set in a time period long ago (since now, fortunately, the stigma of witches has been lessened and the religious fervor has diminished), in a small Puritanical town, a girl is accused of witchcraft which spirals the town into a frenzy filled with suspicion, doubt, and murder until the witch is put to religious justice. While that's not necessarily a bad formula (Robert Eggers' "The VVitch" and Mario Bava's "Black Sunday" immediately come to mind), most films fall by the wayside. "Witch" is a small film that, at first glance, seems to follow the mold before completely shattering it in a second act twist that's daring, provocative, and works in a lot of levels, but could've been more pronounced if given a bigger budget. In the small

Worst2First: My Most Anticipated Films of Summer 2024  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 A Quiet Place: Day One June 28 John Krasinski shocked audiences with 2018's "A Quiet Place" which he directed, starred, and co-wrote the screenplay for. Earning a whopping $341 million dollars, the film was an instant hit and its sequel did equally as well. Now the "Quiet Place" universe is expanding with "A Quiet Place: Day One," which will be the most daring outing yet, as it's not directed by Krasinski and doesn't star him, his real-life wife Emily Blunt, or their children in the film. Instead it focuses on the beginning of the alien invasion thro

Boy Kills World Starring Bill Skarsgard, H. Jon Benjamin, Jessica Rothe, Famke Janssen Directed by Moritz Mohr There are some genres that pretty much demand some amazing twist, some nuanced storytelling, or compelling characters that undergo an extreme metamorphosis through their journey. Action is not one of them, although they can include those elements - action films are a genre all their own, focusing more on intense violence and stylistic action sequences rather than compelling narratives, and generally rally around the theme of revenge. Earlier this year, "Monkey Man" was an action movie about a man getting vengeance for his dead mother and his people. "John Wick" is vengeance against the killing of a dog. "The Beekeeper" is vengeance against a friend's suicide after she gets swindled out of all her finances. You get the idea. Now it's "Boy Kills World," a simplistic action film about a man's vengeance for the murders of his mot

Challengers Starring Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, Mike Faist, Darnell Appling Directed by Luca Guadagnino Director Luca Guadagnino is best known for directing films that feature obsession, and obsession taken to the extreme. "Call Me By Your Name" is a young man's obsession with an older man, who's summer fling ends with a melancholy longing. His remake of "Suspiria" is a young woman's obsession with being the best ballerina dancer set amongst a near-literal pack of wolves. "Bones and All" is a young couple's obsession with their cannibalistic natures. Now with "Challengers" we get more than one obsession: first there's the obsession of tennis, but there's a deeper obsession that lies underneath everything - and that obsession is never really actuated in the sense that we know everyone's motives, objectives and plans, but just enough to know that there's something more crawling underneath the surface of their action

The First Omen Starring Nell Tiger Free, Ralph Ineson, Sonia Braga, Nicole Sorace Directed by Arkasha Stevenson "The Omen" is one of cinema's most prolific, memorable, and expertly done horror films, a movie that's withstood the test of time and still is as terrifying now as it was back in 1976. The story about the Antichrist named Damien in the form of a child being adopted by a powerful American political figure was done with precision, care, and excellence, with numerous scenes etched inside the minds of people who've watched it (who could forget "It's all for you," or how many times now have we carefully watched how men moving a pane of glass in front of us). Since then, there's been three sequels (of very diminishing value), a remake (which doesn't need to even be uttered), and now a prequel, "The First Omen." Suffice it to say I was highly skeptical that the prequel could live up to the original, and in all fairness that's

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Starring Henry Cavill, Eiza Gonzalez, Alen Ritchson, Henry Golding Directed by Guy Ritchie World War I was known as The Great War, as no one ever experienced such a war on that grand scale. Then came World War II, and that war was one that changed the course of history - especially when it comes to cinema. There's very few movies centering around World War I ("1917," "War Horse," "The White Ribbon" to name some), but when it comes to World War II, there's an abundance of films about it. Some focus on the atrocities the Nazis committed against the Jews ("Schindler's List," "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"), while others focused on the war itself ("Flags of Our Fathers," "Defiance"), and others that are fictionalized stories centering around the war ("Inglourious Basterds"). "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" is one that sits in the center - a r

Abigail Starring Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Alisha Weir, Kathryn Newton Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett Sometimes you go into a movie based on the trailer expecting exactly what the trailer delivers, and that's "Abigail" to a T. A group of kidnappers abduct a young girl in hopes of getting money from her wealthy father, and learn that said girl is a ballerina vampire, and blood and carnage ensues. By-the-numbers, rote, simplistic, and stereotypical are words to describe "Abigail," but you don't really mind because the duo known as Radio Silence delivered what they promised: a fun, light B-rated romp with a fantastic cast, copious amounts of blood, and a star-making role for the young Alisha Weir as the title character. One night a group of kidnappers abduct young ballerina Abigail (Alisha Weir) and take her to their safe house. Once there, their boss instructs them to use no real names, no back stories, and no cell phones so no one w