JoeMama's Movie Reviews

An American Haunting Starring Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek, Rachel Hurd-Wood, James D'Arcy Directed by Courtney Solomon Synopsis: In the early 1800s, in a small town in Tennessee, one family is haunted by a vengeful spirit.  John Bell (Donald Sutherland) gave a bad deal to a woman in town who was rumored to be a witch, and she casts a curse on his family.  Soon after, his daughter Betsy (Rachel Hurd-Wood) begins getting attacked nightly by an unseen force.  Her mother, Lucy (Sissy Spacek) and father try in vain to stop it, even calling in the town's Professor Powell (James D'Arcy) to find some sort of logical explanation for everything, to no avail. As the spirit amps up its attack on the family, old secrets come to the surface, and ultimately the question is asked whether the family had a curse placed on them - or if they're the ones causing the curse. Review: "An American Haunting" is "based" on a real-life event, where it is li...

The House at the End of Time Starring Ruddy Rodriguez, Rosmel Bustamante, Gonzalo Cubero, Guillermo Garcia Directed by Alejandro Hidalgo Synopsis: In 1981, Dulce (Ruddy Rodriguez) awakens to a horror.  Her husband, Juan Jose (Gonzalo Cubero) has been murdered, and she witnesses her young son Leopoldo (Rosmel Bustamante) get sucked into the basement by an unseen force, never to be seen again.  She is arrested for their murders and spends the next 30 years in jail. Now an old woman, Dulce (still brilliantly performed by the great Venezuelan actress Ruddy Rodriguez) is released on humanitarian grounds, but she is forced to live in the house where all the horror took place.  With the help of a local Priest (Guillermo Garcia), Dulce begins to unravel the secrets the house holds, and what really happened on that fateful night. Review: This is the first horror film out of Venezuela, and they spared no expense.  Director Alexandro Hidalgo cast one of Venezue...

The Remaining Starring Johnny Pacar, Shaun Sipos, Bryan Dechart, Alexa Vega Directed by Casey La Scala Synopsis: Skylar (Alexa Vega) and Dan (Bryan Dechart) are about to get married, and everyone is celebrating the festivities, including their best friends Tommy (Johnny Pacar), Jack (Shaun Sipos) and Ali (Italia Ricci).  All is well until several of the wedding guests suddenly die unexpectedly, and they learn that the world has dissolved into utter chaos. The Rapture has happened, where God has taken those who believed in Him to heaven, and left the unbelievers to deal with the wrath.  Fire and hailstorms are just the start, as a legion of evil demons have been unleashed on Earth, and as Skylar and her friends struggle to survive, they learn that they ultimately have to make a choice to either save their eternal souls, or curse them for eternity. Review: Casey La Scala directed one of my favorite comedies growing up with "Grind," so having him at the helm of ...

The Babadook Starring Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall, Noah Wiseman, Tim Purcell Directed by Jennifer Kent Synopsis: Seven years after the death of her husband, Amelia (Essie Davis) is still a broken woman.  She's depressed, she doesn't have any friends, and she spends a lot of time at home.  Her young son Samuel (Noah Wiseman) has severe developmental issues, as he's extremely violent and even crafts homemade weapons, while frightening other children and also alienating himself from anyone else. One night Noah comes across a book at their house called Mister Babadook, and when Amelia reads it to him, it unleashes a deadly spirit into their lives, as it slowly stalks them and taunts them, slowly wearing down Amelia's mental state until it's ready to invade her body and do what it came to do - take the child. Review: I have heard a lot about this film but never got to see it until it came on DVD.  It received critical acclaim and was even mentioned by t...

Stonehearst Asylum Starring Kate Beckinsale, Jim Sturgess, Ben Kingsley, Michael Caine Directed by Brad Anderson Synopsis: In 1899, psychological medicine had still a long way to go.  In a medical class at Oxford, Eliza Graves (Kate Beckinsale) is put on display for medical students as someone suffering from "female hysteria" after biting her husband's ear off.  She is brought back to Stonehearst Asylum under the care of Dr. Lamb (Ben Kingsley), when new doctor Edward Newgate (Jim Sturgess) arrives, eager to work with the mentally handicapped. Upon arriving at the Asylum, Newgate discovers that Dr. Lamb's methods are, simply, unorthodox.  Instead of subduing patients with overloads of medicine and isolation, he lets them roam free, associating with the doctors and nurses, and taking them off their medication.  As Dr. Newgate investigates, he learns a troubling truth about the Asylum, and the people supposedly assigned to run it. Review: Based off Edg...

The Imitation Game Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong Directed by Morten Tyldum Synopsis: Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) is recruited by the British government during World War II to crack a seemingly uncrackable code the Germans used called the Enigma machine.  His offbeat, eccentric and abrasive personality rubs his fellow codebreakers the wrong way, and it's not until Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) arrives does he realize that he cannot crack the code alone, but needs as much help as he could get. Alan's story is told in a non-linear fashion, moving through three different times in his life - his early childhood years where he forms a close friendship with a boy named Christopher who introduces him to cyphers and codes; his time during the War when he built a machine he called "Christopher" to combat the Enigma machine; and later in life when his personal life comes to the forefront in damaging and degrading w...

Side Effects Starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta Jones, Channing Tatum Directed by Steven Soderbergh Synopsis: Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara) is suffering from severe depression, and has attempted to take her own life.  Her doctor, Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) prescribes a pill for her to take that will hopefully calm her down, but the effects of the drug sends Emily, Dr. Banks, and those around them spiraling into a world of death, deceit, and deception.  Review: "Side Effects" is a strange film, but not in a bad way.  It seemed like it was going to be a drug film where a corporate manufacturer would be seen as the bad guy, but instead it's a completely more intimate story about the main characters, and a surprise murder.  We know who the killer is, and so does everyone else, but it's the manner of how the murder was committed that's the main focus of the film.  The story is compelling and it's delivered by four of the best actors in the ...