Average Joe's Movie Reviews

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was directed by Jake Kasdan and stars Dwane "The Rock" Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan. Welcome to the Jungle follows four teenagers who discover an old video game console and are literally drawn into the game's jungle setting, becoming the adult avatars they choose. I was a pretty big fan of the first Jumanji , having not seen it until I was an adult. I really thought the first Jumanji was creative and a fun role for Robin Williams. The firs t Jumanji had a lot of intense moment and a very unique story. So going into this reboot/sequel I was a little hesitant as I thought the Jumanji-verse had been explored to it's fullest. Leaving Welcome to the Jungle I feel like they delivered a fairly solid and entertaining installment to this now franchise. I was quickly surprised with the entertainment value that Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle provided. Obviously Jumanji was a flawed movie, but it was flawed in a way t...

Downsizing was directed by Alexander Payne and stars Matt Damon as Paul Safranek, a middle aged man who decides his life would be better if he shrank himself. Now this movie really had my interest, I was intrigued by all of the trailers, the concept of the film and as a pretty big fan of Matt Damon I was excited to see another one of his films. Downsizing was absolutely nothing that I expected. This movie let me down in almost every way imaginable. It was a bleak, humorless and long story that didn't entertain me. Now, I don't like to say negative things about films too often, I understand that it takes a lot of work to make a film. I don't think criticism is about negativity, that being said, I had a very hard time finding any positives for this movie. At the end of this film I stood up and looked at my wife and we both had this look of "what did we just watch?" I was extremely disappointed in almost every aspect of Downsizing . I'd even go as far t...

Star Wars: The Last Jedi was written and directed by Rian Johnson. It follows  Rey as she develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares to do battle with the First Order. I successfully avoided all trailers and any news articles of The Last Jedi in an attempt to experience it as fresh as possible. After leaving this movie I found The Last Jedi to be extremely different. It felt like at times Rian Johnson wanted to breathe so much fresh air into the franchise he took it to some really different places. Some of it worked and some of it did not. I don't think The Last Jedi was better than The Force Awakens nor do I think it was any better than the original trilogy. So let's get into what worked: 1. Mark Hamill - Mark Hamill is an amazing actor and a true legend. His performance in The Last Jedi was amazing. He had several moments that showcased a...