JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Black Panther Starring Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira Directed by Ryan Coogler The Story: After his father, the King of Wakanda, is assassinated, T'Challa becomes the new King of the hidden African nation.  His early rule is met with increased stress after Vibranium - the most powerful metal known to man, and also exclusively housed inside the hidden country - is stolen by the villainous Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis), whom has evaded Wakandan justice since the days of T'Challa's father.  Klaue is aided by Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), who harbors ill feelings for T'Challa and wishes to rule Wakanda himself, leading to a struggle of ideologies that threaten to tear the nation apart. The Synopsis: Comic book superhero movies have always gone to the white man, with the likes of "Iron Man," "Captain America," "Thor," "Batman," and "Superman" gracing the big screen in ...

The Ritual Starring Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali, Robert James-Collier, Sam Troughton Directed by David Bruckner The Story: College friends Luke (Rafe Spall), Phil (Arsher Ali), Hutch (Robert James-Collier) and Dom (Sam Troughton) travel to the Swedish mountains for a hike in memory of their friend Robert (Paul Reid), who died before being able to take the trip with them.  Luke feels guilt over his death, while his other friends tiptoe around his guilt. As they trek through the mountains, Dom gets injured and they decide to take a shortcut through the woods, but shortly upon entering they discover a dead animal hanging in the trees, with Runic symbols carved into the trees.  They continue on and find an abandoned house, but after a mysterious night when they all wake up doing something different, they still continue to press on to find civilization, unaware they're being stalked by an eternal being who demands sacrifice - human sacrifice. The Synopsis: Director Davi...

Peter Rabbit Starring James Corden, Domhnall Gleeson, Rose Byrne, Colin Moody Directed by Will Gluck The Story: Peter Rabbit (James Corden) continually invades the garden of old man McGregor (Sam Neill) in order to steal food for his family, but also because McGregor killed and ate his father.  When McGregor suffers a heart attack and dies, Peter and his friends take over the garden and home as their own. Then McGregor's young nephew, Thomas (Domhnall Gleeson) arrives to clean up the house and sell it, and falls in love with next door neighbor Bea (Rose Byrne), who's always been nice to the rabbits and who Peter considers to be a surrogate mother.  Thomas is extremely obsessive compulsive, wants everything in a neat and orderly way, and utterly detests rabbits.  So Peter, his cousin Benjamin (Colin Moody), and sisters Flopsy (Margot Robbie), Mopsy (Elizabeth Debicki), and Cottontail (Daisy Ridley) set out to make Thomas's life a living nightmare, while he in...

The 15:17 to Paris Starring Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Judy Greer Directed by Clint Eastwood The Story: Growing up in a quiet suburban town, lifelong friends Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos spent their growing up time in trouble with the principal of their Christian school, deemed by another teacher as having ADD, and are often seen as the invisible minority.  They befriend fellow troublemaker Anthony Sadler, and the three friends become lifelong companions. Years later, Alek is now in the military, and Spencer wants to be an Air Force pararescue, but is denied due to his poor depth perception.  He joins another facet of the Air Force, and decides with Alek to do a backpacking trip through Europe.  They convince Anthony to go with them, and the three friends parade through Europe enjoying one last get-together before they're stationed. Then they board the 15:17 train to Paris from Amsterdam, and encounter a terrorist aboard who wants ...

My Left Foot Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Fiona Shaw Directed by Jim Sheridan The Story: Christy Brown (Daniel Day-Lewis) was born in Dublin to Bridget (Brenda Fricker) and Paddy (Ray McAnally) Brown, a lower-class family in the slums of Dublin, but he was no ordinary boy - he was born with cerebral palsy, causing him to not be able to fully control his body.  His parents decided to raise him in their home with their several other children, and as Christy grew up he began using his left foot to communicate. As the years went on, Christy maintained an active role in the family, helping his brothers and also painting and writing with his left foot.  He showcased incredible knowledge and intellect, and eventually meets Dr. Eileen Cole (Fiona Shaw), who takes him to a center for cerebral palsy patients, and is able to get his paintings showcased at an exhibit.  As the story continues, Christy deals with the struggles of life and love ...

Worst2First:  My Top Ten Best Actress  Oscar Winners When it comes to Best Actress, the category has had a long lineage of Hollywood women who've revolutionized the big screen.  Each performance is so memorable that not only were they worthy of the coveted award, their presence continues to influence and amaze moviegoers to this day. Here are my personal top ten Best Actress Oscar winners, worst2first... **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS** #10 Julianne Moore "Still Alice" Julianne Moore is one of Hollywood's most powerful leading ladies, performing in such epic works as "The Hours," "The Kids Are Alright," "Children of Men," and "Far From Heaven," but it's her role as Alice Howard - a linguistics professor who deals with being diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease - that finally earned her the Oscar.  Her performance is powerful and memorable, bringing both a sense of pain and also determination in a rol...

Forever My Girl Starring Alex Roe, Jessica Rothe, John Benjamin Hickey, Abby Ryder Fortson Directed by Bethany Wolf The Story: Eight years ago, Liam Page (Alex Roe) left his bride-to-be Josie (Jessica Rothe) at the altar in order to pursue his country music career.  Now a singing star, he returns to his small town after hearing of his friend's early demise.  Undoubtedly, he's not met with the same fanfare he's used to, as Josie and the rest of the town - including Liam's pastor father (John Benjamin Hickey) - have pretty much abandoned him since he did that to them years ago. However, there's a little snag in the fact that Josie was pregnant, and now Liam's eight-year-old daughter Billie (Abby Ryder Fortson) is in the picture.  At first, Josie is hesitant to allow Liam to see her, but she relents and allows them to spend some time together, forcing Liam to face the reasons he ran off, and whether or not he could be a good father - and possibly re-sp...