Joe [Blu-ray + Digital HD]

As I watched this movie it engrossed me into its world of abandonment. Everyone in this movie has been forgotten, left behind, and given up on. Every life is a product of seeming hopelessness. The protagonist, Joe (Nic Cage), is an ex-con who's chosen to keep his head low, work a day's wage, and move forward in the midst of an isolated, lonely life. He passes his time in sordid ways, though at his core he longs for something more.In Gary (Tye Sheridan), Joe finds a troubled teen who is a mirror of himself as a young man, on the cusp of giving up, and drowning in pain, anger, and violence. One of the most poignant scenes is when he and Joe go out the an old abandoned ship yard and practice smiling through their faces of pain. This is a snapshot of the movie. As Gary is faced with the pure evil of his father, and the sordid relationships he has with alcohol and others, Gary is at the crossroads where Joe took the wrong turn earlier in life. The movie portrays Joe as an anti-hero who chooses sacrifice over self-preservation, redemption over ruin.While the movie unfortunately promotes violence and vengeance as the way to atone, it also shows that we must fight violence with love, selfishness with sacrifice, and evil with good. While these themes have been explored numerous times over, the way Director/Producer David Gordon Green tells it is so rich and raw that it deeply resonates with your own heart, all the times you were left, all the moments of isolation, all the anger and hopelessness it produced, it echoes inside. The movie takes place in the contemporary South, but its real setting is the human heart.

We found Joe listed in our Amazon Prime video selections and realizing it was yet another Nick Cage movie that we had never heard of before it was an easy selection for our evening's entertainment.My Wife and I both like Nick Cage and feel he has never had the recognition that he deserves but that is Hollywood? Although we found this film interesting enough to watch to the end in one sitting, we both agreed that it was not as good as the Frozen Ground film we recently watched through our Prime subscription. Still, we feel it is deserving of a 4 star rating and recommendation, especially if you have a prime subscription.

Aren't you tired of the same ol' tired celebrity actors with no substance, scripts and ideas stolen from lesser known talented sources, turned into blockbuster hits because big budget, even bigger ego stars have siphoned the character from them? I am. It was really difficult watching the loser father stumble around here, destroying everything in his path. But THAT'S real- thats existence in its lowest form. I wanted to reach into the screen and slit his throat myself. That's justice. To rise above the hell these characters do, is true life. The happy ending here, is not the credits rolling. Its whatever serenity's found for each soul...

I usually try to avoid such dark and bleak movies; they can mess with one's dreams. But I couldn't take my eyes off the performances, nor could I stop thinking about it for several days. I am not sure what people's problem is with Nicolas Cage; he is a WORKING actor and he has been working since THE OUTSIDERS. Even the best of actors who work as much as he does might do a stinker or two, but so what? He is intelligent, keeps himself in fantastic shape, and he can still become totally immersed in a character. JOE is awesome work, and I am glad Cage took the risk. Tye Sheridan is wonderful; he is not blessed with "eye candy" features, so his acting ability shines; one feels as if he or she KNOWS this kid and pulls for him as hard as Joe does. And like Billy Bob Thorton's work, Southern Gothic LIVES... My only objection is that people like Joe and Gary and Wade and mother and sister, do not only live in the south. Every state has homeless, alcoholics, domestic abuse, and demons, and some seeking redemption, or the innocents like Gary, who only needs one kind hand to become a true hero. I think Joe's disappointment and anger with life are best told in the newspaper scene about the child being killed at a zoo. "Three years old-- a little kid is killed. WHERE WAS EVERYBODY?'

I don't understand all the negative reviews. This is a story, a very good story and fascinating too. Nicholas Cage has been impressing me lately with his small movies (The Frozen Ground is another good one). he does a great job, the supporting cast was mostly made up of locals that the director David Gordon Green found in the area and they are refreshingly natural. The standout is young Tye Sheridan, what a find and future star. Joe is an alcoholic ex-con who sees a 15 year old boy trying to make a life for him, his sister and mother only to have his horrifying drunken father beat him down all the time, figuratively and literally. If you are looking for an amazing story without giant robots or aliens or costumed heroes, then give "Joe" a try.

Contains possible spoilers'Brutal and beautiful' is how a reviewer on The Arts Desk describes it; to anyone who thinks these two words can go together, the film may have some appeal, but really, the brutality is fairly willed by the plot. All turpitude is here: an alcoholic father who murders a fellow drunk, beats up his son and draws a knife on him, and pimps out his own daughter who must be no more than fourteen. Even the good guy, Joe, is doing forestry work that involves killing trees by swinging at them in order to be able to inject poison into them; he at one point is so enraged by a barking dog at a brothel that he goes to get his own dog, also a fierce barker, sets it on the first one which it savages to death, while he pops upstairs for some oral sex with a prostitute. When he comes back down, he just walks out with his blood-stained dog, and that's that. His core of decency is brought out by the fifteen-year-old Gary, the son of the drunk, who works for him. He early on sees the father knock the son to the ground and steal his wages. This concern can only be expressed by a trip to search for the missing dog, when they engage in some unconvincing trying to act out feelings as if in an acting class, the giving of a truck and lighter, and in the horrible denouement ; there is little sense of any actual relationship. It is also unconvincing in basic points of plot; why, when Joe is already sheltering a young woman from her mother's boyfriend, would he not shelter Gary from his abusive father? He only offers right at the very end. Would there even be a very aggressive dog coming to the door in a brothel? Wouldn't this be the last thing they would want? The film is not concerned with this sort of question - just with creating mood, using moody music and shooting in rooms so dark you can hardly make out what's going on. For all the people who are beaten up or murdered, the film is very puritanical about even the hint of sex, and uses it as the symbol of the utmost evil intent in the final scene - maybe it's for this reason that the two brief moments when Joe embraces Gary are shot in almost total darkness, so you have to guess it as much as see it.The performance by Tye Sheridan as Gary is very good, but the film is not worthy of his talents. Nicolas Cage is not so convincing, I don't think - there's some kind of gauze over the character that results in a kind of flatness rather than burning mystery. For instance, when Gary tells him of the awful pimping of the mute daughter that is about to take place, he closes his eyes in a gesture that seems so theatrical, it just isn't convincing. Then he opens them, and springs into action, although it isn't clear how he knows where out on the open road to find them ...

This is a review of the 2014 Region B2 Blu-ray from Curzon Film World. This independent 2013 film, from director David Gordon Green, was also produced by him. It was first shown at film festivals, and has gained a critical reputation, although on release, it did poorly at the Box Office.‘Joe’ is a very tough film, with a hard, uncompromising story, rugged performances and a gritty look. It is set in a poverty-striken, run-down part of Texas. This is not the America of Hollywood Boulevard or glittering skyscrapers. This is dirt-poor, seedy, forgotten America, living in second-hand trailers, shopping in grungy little road-side stores, and eking out a living doing not-quite-legal jobs. Gordon Green, and his regular Cinematographer Tim Orr, capture this perfectly, with the heat, the seen-better-days trucks, trash, mangy dogs, and cheap liquor.The star is Nicolas Cage. Whilst Cage has starred in many films over the years, has also directed, and has often been particularly well-paid for his roles, he has always been in the second tier of Hollywood stars. His most noteworthy performance, for which he won an OSCAR, was romantic drama ‘Leaving Las Vegas’, way back in 1995. Over the years, he has also gained a reputation for extreme ‘Method’ acting, for taking on particularly flamboyant, even grotesque, roles, and for quite radical performances. Some of his fellow actors rate him highly however, including Sean Penn and Ethan Hawke, and director David Lynch.This background, regarding his acting style, is relevant here. His performance as the eponymous Joe, who runs an illicit forestry business in backwoods Texas, has been widely described as his best for many years. It is quite flamboyant ~ Joe has issues with anger and authority ~ but it is also measured, controlled, understated and powerful. His co-star in Texan Ty Sheridan, then only 17. Sheridan plays Gary Jones, the son of a violent alcoholic work-shy father. Gary is determined to earn money to put food on the table for his mother and younger sister, and keep a roof over their heads. Old beyond his years, he seeks employment with Joe’s illicit crew.Many of the other actors in the production were locals ~ something that Gordon Green does regularly in his productions. Gary’s father, Wade, was played by street performer Gary Poulter, in reality homeless and an alcoholic. Poulter died shortly after filming finished, but his performance is mesmerising in it’s booze and blood-soaked reality. The late A.J. Wilson McPhaul is also excellent as Sheriff Earl.The film follows the way that working together brings Joe and Gary’s separate worlds, both already chaotic and violent, together. This is a raw, powerful film, not pretty, tough to watch in places, but with the sort of truthfulness and quality that is often only to be found in Indie films, free from the constraints and concerns of the big studios. Don’t miss it.

Ex-Con 'Joe Ranson' (Nicolas Cage) lives and plays by his own rules, he's tried to control his temperand dislike for authority in the shape of the local law-enforcement.Joe' is in the Forestry business he pays a fair days pay for a fair days work, he's a no nonsense guy.Though he try's to stay out of trouble, trouble tends to come his way, the backwoods people have away of life all of their own.'Joe' comes across a young lad 'Gary Jones' (Tye Sheridan) who's looking for work, he'd seen the ladthe previous night by the grocery store he where he picks up and drops off his work crew.'Gary' has a torrid home life, taking a regular beating from his alcoholic father.He gives the 15 year old a chance to earn, 'Gary' proves himself a good worker.Joe' befriends the youngster which is somewhat out of character, but has realized the problems 'Gary'has at home, 'Joe' becomes very protective of the youngster.Backwood rough-necks that have crossed 'Joe's' path before appear to be causing 'Gary' and his youngsister problems with the blessing of his waste of space father, 'Joe' will need to do what he see's as theright thing.This is 'Nicolas Cage' at his best in this gritty and no-nonsense backwoods drama, it is on occasion prettyviolent, and should hold your attention.Takes a little while to wind-up perhaps but well worth taking time-out for.Good picture and sound quality throughout.Features -* Making of 'Joe' featurette.* Theatrical Trailer.

Nicolas Cage is ideally cast, and carries off the title role to a T. A man with a past he's not too proud of, trying to have a simple and peaceful life, but things conspire against that so his resolve is tested. Tye Sheridan is a cracking young actor and he too shows courage and sense beyond his years. He was equally convincing in Mud.I hold back on the 5th star because we can see more or less where the storyline is going, and that's where it does go. The characters, Cage and Sheridan sympathetic ones and Sheridan's father in particular who is an extremely nasty piece of work, are excellently portrayed. The final frames left me quite puzzled with regard to Sheridan's father though, leaves a touch of hanging mystery really.A good movie but definitely lacking in subtle ways, so it's enjoyable but not gripping.

I loved the trailer, hated the movie. If you've seen the trailer, you've seen all the good parts of the movie.They could have cut half the movie and it would have been much better.