JoeMama's Movie Reviews

The Bob's Burgers Movie Starring H. Jon Benjamin, Dan Mintz, John Roberts, Kristen Schaal Directed by Loren Bouchard & Bernard Derriman When a beloved television series makes a big-budget blockbuster film, it's certain to bring in lovers of the franchise, but can it also introduce a new audience to a long-running series? It's usually difficult for a television series to make it big on the big screen, but it's been done before, most notably in the animated category. "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" was met with rave reviews by both critics and audiences, and even earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. After a very long wait, "The Simpsons Movie" finally hit the big screen as well, transferring the beloved Simpsons family to the big screen which again was met with critical and audience acclaim, and even introduced a self-defecating joke at the beginning of the film: While the Simpson family is watching "Itchy & Sctatchy: ...

Men Starring Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Paapa Essiedu, Gayle Rankin Directed by Alex Garland Alex Garland is a master at both writing and directing, providing two of the most unique, powerful, and unforgettable films in recent memory: "Ex Machina" and "Annihilation," both of which are mind-bending thrillers that has the audiences questioning reality and awestruck at the wonderful way Garland not only tells the story, but the way he shows it as well. "Men" is the first time he dabbles in the truly horrific, and it's got all his earmarks plain and simple, but this time it'll leave audiences divided in how he chose to approach the material. What seemed very cut-and-dry from the onset is turned on its head in the utterly insane (and utterly unforgettable) final forty minutes where the main character - and the audience - are thrust into an unflinching hell that's deeply disturbing, but also darkly humorous as well. Harper Marlowe (Jessie Buckley)...

  Hotel Transylvania: Transformania Starring Brian Hull, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kathryn Hahn Directed by Derek Drymon & Jennifer Kluska After seeing the rather lackluster "Hotel Transylvania 3," I figured that this franchise about monsters had finally met its demise - but like any good monster movie, that wasn't meant to be. When it was announced that "Hotel Transylvania: Transformania" would be coming out, I groaned on the in and outside, figuring this was just another cheap cash grab to get kids to the theater. I groaned even louder when I found out that it would be the first to not be directed by Gennedy Tartakovsky or star Kevin James as Frankenstein and, most surprisingly, Adam Sandler as the film's main star, Dracula. A fourth film in a franchise that died out after two films, without its director or lead star, and never seeing a theatrical release due to the pandemic and being sold to Amazon? Nothing about this boded well for the film, and so...

  Downton Abbey: A New Era Starring Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton Directed by Simon Curtis Normally when a television show makes a big-budget cinematic film, it's done in order to draw viewers to the show itself and also as a soulless cash-grab to draw in people who remember the series fondly, and see how the story progresses. "Downton Abbey" is a rare exception, as the series ended back in 2015 after six amazing seasons and mutiple Emmys and other accolades, so everyone thought that the adventures of those who lived in the lavish Downton Abbey would end then - but in 2019 they made a feature-length film that served more like an epilogue to the story, and found a way to re-ignite the magic that the series held over people (disclaimer: I've never seen an episode of the show). Wondering if lightning could strike twice, another "Downton Abbey" film came out in 2022 - "A New Era" - and instead of serving as an epilogu...

KIMI Starring Zoe Kravitz, Byron Bowers, Rita Wilson, India de Beaufort Directed by Steven Soderbergh There's a meme I remember seeing talking about how we would never want the government spying on us, and in the second panel a woman is laughing and Alexa laughs as well. There's other countless memes of how the FBI is monitoring our Internet usage, and we just accept it as humorous fact. Gone are the days of any sort of privacy, as even in your own home you're being monitored by multiple different devices that come off as harmless but in the wrong hands could be very detrimental to your own sanity and well-being. "KIMI" is a film that looks at this connection, a modern-day "Rear Window" for the COVID generation, a tight, 90-minute thriller that doesn't skimp on the story or the thrills, keeping its taunt runtime as engaging as it possibly could be. Angela Childs (Zoe Kravitz) works for Amygdala, a tech corporation that just released KIMI - a smart sp...

  Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers Starring John Mulaney, Andy Samberg, KiKi Layne, Will Arnett Directed by Akiva Schaffer The idea of a "reboot" is akin to a swear word nowadays, as it seems that everything nostalgic is getting a modern-day reboot in order to draw in the crowds who remembered the original show as well as newer viewers with the promise of something unique and fresh mixed in with the nostalgia, and more often than not is just a soul-less cash-grab by higher ups who notice that new intellectual properties aren't garnering a huge fanbase anymore. Reboots not just affect terrible movies (such as "Charlie's Angels," "The Mummy," and the like), but television as well, with shows like "Murphy Brown," "Charmed," "Charlie's Angels" (I see a pattern), "Uncle Buck," "90210," and "Melrose Place," who tried to bring back the old audiences and mix it with newer themes, but all fell ...

  Petite Maman Starring Josephine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Nina Meurisse, Stephane Varupenne Directed by Celine Sciamma There's always something inherently innocent about how a child sees the world, even the bad that unfolds around them. They don't usually understand what's happening to its fullness, and at times they may be frightened or concerned about tragic events with a lack of understanding, but during the joyful times they're over the moon for the most simplest things, including building a fort in the woods. When I was a child, I remember the carefree moments of youth going out with my friends, riding our bikes through town, exploring the woods, splashing in the creek, and just enjoying the slow descent of time - until we grow up, and time speeds up exponentially, and our carefree youth is replaced by insurmountable amounts of worry, concern, doubt, fear, and mistrust. "Petite Maman" is an expertly written, directed, and performed film focusing on grief, r...