JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Clifford the Big Red Dog Starring Darby Camp, Jack Whitehall, Tony Hale, Sienna Guillory Directed by Walt Becker "I wish we were big and strong and the world couldn't hurt us." This was the prayer uttered by young Emily Elizabeth after she acquired the unique red puppy she named Clifford, and it's a prayer that resonates deeper now than ever before, especially through the eyes of a child. In a world today filled with fear, anger, and sheer hopelessness, there has to be hope that we can overcome all the negativity and get to a point where we're big and strong, and the world can't hurt us, right? It's something that we're all looking for nowadays, and "Clifford the Big Red Dog" manages to pull us all away from our fearful lives and enjoy a fun, light-hearted family-friendly film that hits the nostalgia for adults and the generic slapstick comedy the kids can enjoy as well. Emily Elizabeth (Darby Camp) attends a prestigious school, but is on the...

 Spencer Starring Kristen Stewart, Timothy Spall, Sally Hawkins, Sean Harris Directed by Pablo Larrain We all make mistakes, and sometimes we own up to them: I'm owning up to one of my cinematic mistakes right now. When I saw "Twilight" and "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," I figured that Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner were some of the worst actors I've ever seen, and I couldn't stomach even finishing the rest of the series. I often made fun of them in my "younger" days and figured they'd never do anything of importance, and I can gladly admit that I was wrong (well, I was right with Lautner, who's pretty much disappeared from the cinematic landscape thankfully). Robert Pattinson has shed his "Twilight" days and has turned into a reputable, nuanced, spectacular actor with a slew of phenomenal performances under his belt in acclaimed films like "Good Time," "High Life," and "The Ligh...

Worst2First: My Top Ten Actors Who Didn't Appear in Their Sequels Sometimes actors hit it big with a major blockbuster that solidifies them as A-list actors, and they go on to star in sequel after sequel until the original film is nothing more than a fond memory as the sequels to come only squandered the good grace of the first. Then there's actors who appear in a major blockbuster who refuse to star in the sequels for one reason or another, and more often than not it was a great decision. Here are my personal top ten actors who didn't appear in their blockbuster sequels... **THERE WILL BE MILD SPOILERS!** #10 Keanu Reeves Speed 2: Cruise Control "Speed" was a career-making vehicle for its stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, and went on to earn over $121 million dollars domestically, earning the title of fifth highest grossing film of 1994, so it came as no surprise that a sequel was greenlit. Both Bullock and director Jan de Bont returned, but Keanu Reeves op...

Eternals Starring Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh Directed by Chloe Zhao There's the old saying of being stuck between a rock and a hard place, and that's how I feel director Chloe Zhao must've felt during her time directing "Eternals," which is easily the most risky endeavor the MCU has taken thus far. The story of ten superpowered eternal beings who've been on Earth for a few thousand years is tricky enough, but also trying to establish each one as their own unique character and give them really deep meaning is nearly impossible, even for a two hour and thirty-seven minute film. You run across the problem that the length is too long for many people to enjoy, and also not having enough action to satisfy the average MCU moviegoer, which is one of the reasons why critics panned this as the "worst Marvel movie to date." I highly disagree with that statement and while I don't find it to be on the upper echelon of the twenty-s...

Antlers Starring Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Scott Haze Directed by Scott Cooper Legends, folklore, and tall tales have existed throughout history, with unique stories being told from generation to generation, oftentimes centering around supernatural creatures. Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the Wendigo, the Chupacabra and more have littered the audible and written word for centuries, and countless movies have been made to highlight these particular creations. "Antlers" is one such film, a movie centering on a small Oregonian town besieged by a supernatural entity, but more importantly, besieged by real life horrors that drown out anything else. Julia Meadows (Keri Russell) is a schoolteacher who just moved back to her childhood home to help her brother, Sheriff Paul Meadows (Jesse Plemons) with the house, and the memories of her abusive father plague her thoughts. Meanwhile, young Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas) begins acting more and more isolated after...

Last Night in Soho Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Diana Rigg, Matt Smith Directed by Edgar Wright The works of Edgar Wright are as unique and compelling as anything you've seen on screen, a visionary man who transcends genres and supplies audiences with powerful pieces of cinema that often go unsung to the traditional moviegoer, but for those who salivate over his next work, we can't wait to see what distinctive product he comes up with next (and many of us are still upset over the debacle that occurred between Wright and Marvel, leaving his "Ant-Man" film as nothing more than a whimsical thought, although his script was used for most of it). He's best known for satirical genre films as well as utilizing popular music as more than mere background noise, and no film epitomizes this than his action-packed 2017 film "Baby Driver." Yet Wright is best known for his "Three Flavours Cornetto" trilogy of films, three films that blend diff...

Worst2First: My Top Ten Actors Who Never Did Sequels In a time where sequels are all the rage, many actors will metaphorically sell their souls to star in them, because more often than not they're easy cash grabs. Who doesn't want to see Robert Downey Jr. in another "Iron Man" movie? How many times can we enjoy Gal Gadot as "Wonder Woman?" Yet while it seems Hollywood is churning out sequel and sequel, there's some actors who have resisted the urge to appear in them, and here are my top ten favorite actors who've never appeared in sequels. #10 Jake Gyllenhaal Oscar-nominee Jake Gyllenhaal has had a slew of hits under his belt, including "Donnie Darko," "Nightcrawler," "Prisoners," "Brokeback Mountain," and "Rendition," but for his decades of work he's never appeared in a sequel to his films, even though "Donnie Darko" got the direct-to-DVD sequel treatment with "S. Darko." Mayb...