JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Is God Is Starring Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Sterling K. Brown, Vivica A. Fox Directed by Aleshea Harris There's no more classic tale than a revenge tale. It's something that comes to mind when we've been wronged by someone, no matter how passive we might be - all peace and love go out the window when we're hurt in a tremendous way by someone else. What matters is how you get that revenge, and whether or not it changes you on the inside. That's the dilemma facing twin sisters as they embark on a "mission from God" to get the revenge they've been denied, but also something that could tear them apart. After their father (Sterling K. Brown) burns their mother (Vivica A. Fox) and themselves at a young age, now-adult twins Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson) receive a letter from their long-forgotten mother. Having been disfigured by the fire themselves (especially Anaia, who wears the scars on her face), the sisters visit their dying mother ...

Obsession Starring Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless Directed by Curry Baker If you had one wish, what would it be? The answer is different for each person, and for anyone who's seen any movie that has this as a topic, you'd know that said wish comes with unintended consequences. Want a billion dollars? Your closest loved one left that much in their will and died suddenly. Want world peace? An apocalyptic event occurs that wipes out humanity. Yet one of the most common "wishes" people have is for their unrequited love to feel the same for them - and as you know, wishes like that can be quite dangerous. For YouTube star Curry Baker, his second feature film "Obsession" focuses on that wish and the unintended consequences of it - but does so in a way that is fresh, new, and hip for today's generation.  Bear (Michael Johnston) is a shy, timid man who's had a crush on his longtime friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) for awhile,...

In the Grey Starring Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, Eiza Gonzalez, Carlos Bardem Directed by Guy Ritchie There was a time where Guy Ritchie was one of the most sought-after action directors in Hollywood. With hits like "Snatch," "Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels," and especially "Sherlock Holmes." His style is uniquely his: relentless editing, exquisite locations, fashion to the nines, self-mocking machismo and a character's verbal summary of a plan intercut with scenes of the actions being performed. Maybe it became too generic, but with the exception of his live-action remake of "Aladdin" (which doesn't include much of his original style), recent Ritchie films have been met with shrugs rather than shouts. "Fountain of Youth," "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare," "The Covenant," "Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre" and the like are churned out by the year with no fanfare, and fade into obsc...

Over Your Dead Body Starring Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis Directed by Jorma Taccone Movies are great when you expect the unexpected, when twists and turns keep you on your toes and are left wondering what wacky thing will happen next. "Over Your Dead Body" is, at its core, a simple story - a couple who've fallen out of love go to an isolated family home in order to secretly kill one another, and if that was the entire story, it would've felt like it dragged. Yet, both for good and bad, there's a few twists thrown in that does keep things entertaining, even if it kills the pacing and tone, and occurs far too soon. Dan Burton (Jason Segel) is a former movie director-turned commercial director and doesn't have a lot of money because he foolishly spends it, while his wife Lisa (Samara Weaving) is a community actor who has aspirations to become an actress but is constantly belittled by Dan. They decide to take a trip to Dan's fa...

: Faces of Death Starring Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Aaron Holliday Directed by Daniel Goldhaber The year was 1978. The term "viral" then only referred to a sickness that people got, not something that would permeate society almost fifty years later. A movie called "Faces of Death" seemed to predict the future of viral media, as the movie itself was banned in several countries for apparently being a snuff film - it centered around a doctor intrigued by death and shows what seems to be real deaths of people. While most of it was fake, the movie did incorporate actual news programs of the day, along with real autopsies and other real death scenes, but the most shocking ones were made up for the film. The movie has become a cult classic, and the 2026 "Faces of Death" asks the question: what would happen if someone today wanted to remake it, but make it real? Would people know the difference, or would they even care? After a tragic acciden...

  Mortal Kombat II Starring Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Martyn Ford Directed by Simon McQuoid There's a reason why most video games don't adapt well to movies, and that's because there's no story to be told. "Mortal Kombat" has been an iconic fighting game since 1992, and while many of them have razor-thin lines of story, they just exist for players to rapidly tap a button to skip it and get to what made the gaming series so great: the over-the-top gore when it comes to the "finishing move." Two movies in the 90s were notoriously bad (although now have gained cult followings), and the 2021 reboot was a bit too serious for its own good. Now with "Mortal Kombat II," director Simon McQuoid seemed to finally get it: people don't go to a "Mortal Kombat" movie for rich dialogue, cerebral storylines or multi-layered characters: they come for the fights. To that end, he more than delivers, as this sequel ...

Deep Water Starring Aaron Eckhart, Molly Belle Wright, Angus Sampson, Ben Kingsley Directed by Renny Harlin I've never been a fan of flying, and it's been over twenty years since I've set foot on a plane, and I have no intentions to ever do so again. While everyone says it's the safest way of travel, I hate not being in control, and also not trusting a piece of metal between myself and 30,000 feet of air. This is why plane films often give me the willies because I can't help but imagine myself in that situation, so "Deep Water" was a film I was sure would give me those same feelings. The only feeling I had, however, was boredom - while this is a decent film to turn your mind off to, I simply couldn't do it, and somehow, someway, this movie not only managed to make air crashes boring, but shark attacks as well. While on a flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai, a fire breaks out in the cargo hold which causes pilots Rich (Ben Kingsley) and Ben (Aaron Eckha...

  That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie:  Tears of the Azure Sea Starring Miho Okasaki, Saori Onishi, Nao Kosaka, Kaho Fujishima Directed by Yashuhito Kikuchi Continuing my anime adventures with watching movies based on long-running franchises I've never seen, my buddy and I saw "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea." I've heard of the title before and wondered what it was about, and on the ride there I got a crash course on the first four seasons - a man is murdered and is reincarnated in another world as a slime with the ability to absorb the powers and appearances of other beings, in a nutshell. Fortunately, I didn't need a lot of background information for this movie, as the tale itself is one as old as cinema itself, brought to vivid life with astonishing animation, intense action, and compelling performances. Heading on vacation from an invite from Elmesia El-Ru Sarion, Rimuru Tempest (Miho Okasaki) and his co...

Hokum Starring Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh Directed by Damian McCarthy When you name your movie "Hokum," you're really asking for a lot from the audience. After all, the word "hokum" refers to nonsense, bunkum, or pretentious, insincere, or hackneyed material, particularly in movies, plays, or speeches designed to evoke a quick, easy, emotional response. Damian McCarthy has proven himself a true up-and-coming horror auteur with the excellent "Caviat" and especially 2024's "Oddity," but would he be able to maintain that momentum with his third one-title movie? Not only did he manage to do that, but he shows how he's perfected his craft with this third outing, featuring a fascinating, intense slow-burn murder mystery shrouded in supernatural horror. Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) is a struggling writer trying to find an ending to his famous  Conquistador trilogy when he's haunted by visions of his dead mother. T...

The Devil Wears Prada 2 Starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci Directed by David Frankel Releasing a movie twenty or more years after the original is a big gamble to make, and very rarely does it produce the same results. "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" was decent, but not necessary. "Tron: Ares" was a mess. "Blade Runner 2049" was exceptional but not seen by a lot of people. "Top Gun: Maverick" is the gold standard, earning over a billion dollars and a few Oscar nods. "The Devil Wears Prada 2" was a sequel no one thought would ever be made - most notably due to Meryl Streep not wanting to make sequels - but by the fashion gods it finally happened, and while it's not as magical as the original, it proves its existence, it was written, directed, and acted by people who have a passion for the project, and it was like seeing an old friend: no time seems to have passed. After losing her job as a reporter, Andy Sachs ...

Lee Cronin's The Mummy Starring Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace Directed by Lee Cronin Before 1999, when someone mentioned the Mummy, people would connect it with the Universal monsters of yore, the 1932 classic starring the legendary Boris Karloff as Imhotep, the titular Mummy. However, everything changed in 1999 with the release of "The Mummy" starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz that has remained a classic today - so much so that anyone who makes another Mummy movie has to distinguish itself from the trilogy, otherwise people will think Fraser is in it. That's what happened with "Evil Dead Rise" director Lee Cronin, who wrote and directed his own Mummy movie but couldn't call it "The Mummy" because people would think it was a sequel of Fraser's franchise. Released as "Lee Cronin's The Mummy," this film is vastly different from any Mummy movie that came before, and tells more like an "Evil Dead...

Michael Starring Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller Directed by Antoine Fuqua Musical biopics. No two other words strike as much fear in the hearts of moviegoers than that, as the cinematic landscape is littered with the remains of musical biopics that are essentially zombies - not alive, but still moving. Very few times are there ones of note ("Straight Outta Compton" and "A Complete Unknown" being two of the best), while the others leave sour notes in the minds of audience members. Yet, in 2026, we saw the biggest musical biopic of all time, because it centered around who is arguably the best voice in music in history: Michael Jackson. Everyone knows his life, his struggles, his failings and, most importantly, his music, so we wondered if there was something more to his story that could be flushed out with his own biopic. "Training Day" and "The Equalizer" director Antoine Fuqua seemed perfect to bring the story to the big s...

You, Me & Tuscany Starring Halle Bailey, Rege-Jean Page, Lornzo de Moor, Mario Calvani Directed by Kat Coiro There was an episode of "American Dad!" where Roger the alien was put on trial under one of his personas for committing a crime, but it seemed he was going to get off because he was so charming to the jury - but Stan saw through it and forced the jury to convict him anyway. What's this have to do with "You, Me & Tuscany?" Two things: 1) I'd rather watch that episode again than see this again, and 2) it has a lot to do with the overall theme of this movie. Could you get away with telling a monumental lie simply due to the fact that you're just so darn cute and charming? Should one lie dictate your entire life? Will this movie revolutionize the tiresome rom-com?  Anna (Halle Bailey) is a woman with no purpose - she works as a housesitter but gets fired because she impersonates the homeowners because she's been stuck in her life since her...

The Plague Starring Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin, Kenny Rasmussen, Joel Edgerton Directed by Charlie Polinger Sometimes you hear about a movie and think it's going to be something, but when you watch it you find it's something entirely different. Rarely does it help the movie, and with "The Plague," it definitely didn't for me. The trailer, word of mouth, and all of that seemed to point to a body horror movie and an intense psychological thriller, but instead it's a dark coming-of-age tale that has a hint of body horror but really just personifies what it feels like to be an outcast in the most formative time of your life. If you go into the movie expecting to see this type of movie, then you'll have a favorable outlook on it - for me, I was bored, waiting for the body horror or psychological thriller to take hold until it ended, and I was left wanting. Yet, if I knew what it was going in, I would've appreciated it so much more. Ben (Everett Blunck) is ...

The Drama Starring Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie Directed by Kristoffer Borgli How well do you really know someone? Do you know their complete history, their ins-and-outs of what they've been through in their life that led them to this moment? What if you found out a deep, dark secret about your partner days before getting married? Would you still go through with it, or understand that the event is in the past and who they are now isn't who they were then - or are they? A24 tackles the romantic comedy subgenre with "The Drama," and in true A24 fashion it totally abandons the comedy part and instead centers on two flawed characters whose past comes back to haunt them in an unending unsettling film that raises important questions that aren't easy to answer. The day Charlie Thompson (Robert Pattinson) meets Emma Harwood (Zendaya) in a local coffee shop is the best day of Charlie's life - he pretends to have read the book Emma is reading in...

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Starring Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black Directed by Aaron Horvath & Michal Jelenic Back in 2017, "The Greatest Showman" starring Hugh Jackman received a beating from the critics, giving the film just a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences, however, chose not to listen to the critics and wanted to decide for themselves, and the results were historic: an 86% audience rating, an Oscar nomination, over $428 million worldwide, and a soundtrack that still thumps to this day. "The Greatest Showman" proved that critics aren't always right, and that rings true again for "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" - a film lambasted by critics but hailed by audiences, that does have its faults but it's so filled with nostalgia and lovely animation that in the end it doesn't really matter. As Bowser (Jack Black) remains miniaturized and under the watchful eyes of Mario (Chris Pratt), Luigi (Charlie Day), Princess Pe...