JoeMama's Movie Reviews

Together Starring Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Damon Herriman, Mia Morrissey Directed by Michael Shanks Movies that feature actors who are already together in real life add an extra sense of realism that cannot be duplicated no matter how great the actors are. "A Quiet Place" proved this with John Krasinski and his real-life wife Emily Blunt playing a married couple, and they're more believable because they actually are. "Together" is one such movie, as real-life married couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie play a couple here, but this time there's some serious tensions that threaten to pull them apart - only to then encounter a strange entity that begins pulling them together. Enjoying life in the big city, Tim (Dave Franco) is a thirty-something wannabe musician who can't drive a car, and his girlfriend Millie (Alison Brie) has taken a lucrative teaching job in the country - and Tim seems hesitant to leave his life behind. The two struggle from the get-go, ...

Happy Gilmore 2 Starring Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Benny Safdie, Bad Bunny Directed by Kyle Newacheck Almost thirty years after the original, Adam Sandler reunites the old gang (at least ones still living) for another go-around with one of his most famous characters, Happy Gilmore for a Netflix original movie. Once it was announced, I was wary of it from the start, because a sequel so long after the original almost never works out (with some notable exceptions, such as "Top Gun: Maverick") because the audience has changed, and more often than not the sequels try to live in the nostalgia of the past while ignoring the present. While "Happy Gilmore 2" does that quite often, it also has a charm to it that makes it forgivable. While nowhere near as good as the original, it more than holds its own as a sequel that indeed proved its need to exist. It's been many years since Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) won his first golfing Tour Championship, and after a str...

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn Directed by Matt Shakman The Fantastic Four was Marvel's first family, created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in 1961, and focuses on Reed Richards, his wife Sue Storm, her brother Johnny Storm and Reed's best friend Ben Grimm, who, after going into space, come across cosmic rays that turn them into superheroes: Reed becomes Mr. Fantastic with the ability to stretch his body; Sue becomes The Invisible Woman with the ability to become invisible and generate force fields; Johnny turns into the Human Torch as he literally turns his body to fire and can fly; Ben transforms into The Thing, a rock-like creature with superhuman strength. They've been a staple in comics for decades, but the big screen hasn't been so welcoming - a Roger Corman 1994-directed film has all the earmarks of the cheap feel Corman was famous for; the 2005 and 2007 sequel were decent enough but nowhere nea...

Eddington Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler Directed by Ari Aster I got into a discussion with some friends about the new "Superman" movie, and one of my friends felt like it was missing something, where it seemed to want to be more than it was, but held back for some reason. I said it's because it's the first of a supposedly new film universe and they wanted to play it safe, bringing in as many butts in the seats as possible to propel this new universe and make it successful financially. On its face that's not necessarily a bad thing, as the movie itself was still really good, but it shows something that's happening in Hollywood - artists are foregoing their message in favor of the masses, trying to appease as many people as possible to make the fabled "Billion Dollar Club." It also happened in "Jurassic World: Rebirth" with the addition of the family that only slogs the story but also introduces a little gi...

Oh, Hi! Starring Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan, John Reynolds Directed by Sophie Brooks Dating has changed a lot throughout the decades, where now couples are made and broken over online apps or seedy bars, and the concept of "situationship" is all the rage - a romantic or sexual relationship that lacks clear commitment and direction. It gives singles a chance to explore their needs without committing to anything long term, but sometimes that doesn't work out, as one person in the situationship could develop actual feelings for the other than doesn't feel the same way, leading to heartbreak. Or sometimes it leads to a guy being handcuffed to the bed until he's forced to love the girl back. Iris (Molly Gordon) and Isaac (Logan Lerman) have been together for a few months, and they decide to go on a romantic trip to a rental house in the middle of the countryside. The couple seemingly is deeply in love but still getting to know one another, and di...

Dog Man Starring Peter Hastings, Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher Directed by Peter Hastings Animated films are hit and miss for me, considering a) I'm not a kid, and b) I don't have kids - but I find some very enjoyable on a purely single adult male standpoint, such as last year's "Inside Out 2" and "The Wild Robot," movies that are geared for children but also have deep meanings that adults can understand and help teach their children. "Dog Man" was a movie I wasn't excited about, because honestly it looked bland and boring to me, since I have never read the source material obviously. So it took me a few months to finally catch it on Peacock, and while it's not one of those stellar animated movies as I mentioned earlier, I can admit that I judged it too harshly.  In the town of Ohkay City, Petey (Pete Davidson) is an orange cat who's bent on destruction and especially taking down Officer Knight (Peter Hastings) and his d...

Superman Starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi Directed by James Gunn Superhero origin stories are so repetitive that everyone knows so well there's no point in re-telling them. We all know Batman lost his parents in an alley due to gun violence, Spider-Man lost his Uncle Ben, and Superman was an alien baby from a dead planet who crash landed in a Kansas cornfield and raised by John and Martha Kent. Every time a superhero movie or universe is rebooted we get these origin stories all over again, which no one really cares about. James Gunn realized this after providing three of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe's movies with the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy and instead re-re-re-re (pretty much) introduces us to the Son of Krypton in a unique way: by already having him established as the world's most famous hero, thrusting us into the story right away and never losing its focus. After Superman (David Corenswet) stopped an invas...