JoeMama's Movie Reviews

The Hunt Starring Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, Ike Barinholtz, Ethan Suplee Directed by Craig Zobel There was much more story surrounding the release of "The Hunt" than what was actually delivered, but it doesn't mean the film itself was bad.  Scheduled to be released, it received criticism from some highly-powerful people, which led to the film being shelved entirely, with no plans of it ever being released.  Later, they decided to bring "The Hunt" to the big screen with a stellar viral marketing campaign, but once it hit theaters COVID-19 occurred, and the film was sent to VOD almost immediately.  After finally getting an opportunity to watch it, I must say that it was much ado about nothing, but again, that doesn't mean the film was bad - quite the opposite actually. Crystal (Betty Gilpin) and a group of other conservatives awaken in the middle of a field, gagged, and have no idea how they got there.  They find a crate full of weapons, and immediately find...

Spell Starring Omari Hardwick, Loretta Devine, John Beasley, Lorraine Burroughs Directed by Mark Tonderai Many people have heard the ancient religion of Voodoo, but there's a lesser-known spiritual religion known as Hoodoo, and they're sometimes mixed together, yet couldn't be more separate.  The practice of Hoodoo is an combination of different spiritual disciplines, traditions and beliefs created by African slaves in North America, and is a mixture of African, European and indigenous folk practices.  There's some similarities with Voodoo, but it's a distinctly different religion.  "Spell" is a film that uses Hoodoo in its plot in a negative way, despite most practitioners practicing the religion in a peaceful, loving way, but still allows the general populous to know that this special type of religion exists. Marquis Woods (Omari Hardwick) is a successful businessman who is still haunted by nightmares of his abusive father as they grew up in Appalachian ...

Extraction Starring Chris Hemsworth, Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Randeep Hooda, Golshifteh Farahani Directed by Sam Hargrave More often than not, when you get someone who's not a director directing their feature film after success in other parts of the industry (either be it a screenwriter, actor, or producer), the result is something that's a bit disjointed, as they rely heavily on their knowledge of what they do to express their film's main point.  Sam Hargrave is a well-known and well-respected stuntman who did work in several MCU films, and for the first time he took the director's seat in the graphic novel-inspired film "Extraction," and the result is what you'd expect from a stuntman - loads of fights, gore, and violence with very little plot or storyline.  However, while I often discourage this, I was actually entertained by "Extraction" due to the stylish sequences and the sheer charm that is Chris Hemsworth. Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is a merc...

Color Out of Space Starring Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Brendan Meyer Directed by Richard Stanley Three names that should become synonymous with fantastic cult classic off-the-wall horror: Richard Stanley, Nicolas Cage, and H.P. Lovecraft.  These three men combined can produce some of the best that cult classic films have to offer if "Color Out of Space" is any indication: it's completely bonkers, totally off-the-wall in the most wonderful ways, and even though it's almost two hours long, it doesn't feel like it drags at any moment.  It's a fun, exciting, psychedelic ride that you don't mind paying the cost of admission, because you get more than what you paid for. Wanting to escape the insanity of the big city, the Gardner family - father Nathan (Nicolas Cage), mother Theresa (Joely Richardson), daughter Lavinia (Madeleine Arthur), older son Benny (Brendan Meyer) and younger son Jack (Julian Hilliard) decide to move to the country so...

The Lovebirds Starring Kumail Nanjiani, Issa Rae, Anna Camp, Paul Sparks Directed by Michael Showalter Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae are two of today's best comedians, actors who aren't afraid to get fully into their craft and provide hilarious, laugh-out-loud moments seamlessly, so putting them together should've been a comedic match made in heaven.  While their performances were the strong highlight of "The Lovebirds," the rest of the film is a typical, garden variety action comedy that other films (most notably "Game Night") did much better. Jibran (Kumail Nanjiani) and Leilani (Issa Rae) start off their relationship with sparks, humor, and genuine friendliness, but four years later they find their relationship on the rocks.  Jibran is a schedule-setter who needs structure and balance to everything, while Leilani is free-spirited and spontaneous, and they feel that their relationship might be over.  Then they accidentally hit a bicyclist, ...

Bad Education Starring Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Geraldine Viswanathan, Alex Wolff Directed by Cory Finley High school is an animal all in itself.  I don't remember much about my high school days, but I think our school was a bit more calmer than most - a small, country community where everyone knows everyone and my graduating class was under a hundred.  However I know there's some schools out there that are highly competitive and want to be recognized nationwide as one of the best, and its this quest for power that causes some members of the upper echelon of learning to do some scrupulous things.  One such school - Roslyn High School - was one such school. As they tried to make their school the best, some of the more powerful leaders of the school embezzled over eleven million dollars, and would've gotten away with it too - if it wasn't for one meddling kid. Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) is the superintendent of Roslyn High, and Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney) is his a...

After We Collided Starring Josephine Langford, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Louise Lombard, Dylan Sprouse Directed by Roger Kumble Throughout cinematic history there's been film adaptations by some of the most prolific and talented authors in history.  Works by the likes of Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, L. Frank Baum and J.R.R. Tolkien have light up the big screen in ways the authors probably never thought of, and even though it's often said that the book is better, there's no denying that a great novel-to-film adaptation is much appreciated.  Then there's Anna Todd's work - and to label Anna Todd as an author is an insult to authors, wannabe authors, authors to be but died before managing to write a single word, and animals with an innate sense of wanting to be an author but lacking the opposable thumbs to do so.  Todd wrote some completely bland fanfiction concerning Harry Styles of One Direction fame, and somehow, someway, somewhy, managed to get all of her books turn...