The Movie Paradise

Ex Machina is a small, science fiction film that is writer Alex Garland's directorial debut. It stars Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac (who will both be in the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens) and Alicia Vikander, as the A.I. Ava. Gleeson plays Caleb, a computer coder who wins a contest to visit the house of his company's boss, Nathan, played by Isaac. There, he finds that Nathan has created artificial intelligence in the form of Ava, and enlists him to test the model. Movies as of late have played with the idea of man's creation of A.I. a lot, but Ex Machina gives an interesting twist on it. The film isn't set in an apocalyptic future or a perfect utopia, but rather, as Garland puts it, "ten minutes in the future". What if a real company, like Google and Apple, actually created artificial intelligence? And this A.I. isn't ready to take over the world and destroy mankind, but is rather trying to understand the world around her and how pe…

One of the more interesting casting choices for the new DC Cinematic Universe was Academy Award winner Jared Leto as the Joker. Heath Ledger's Oscar winning performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight is one of my favorite villain performances ever (and the film is one of my favorite movies), but I thought Leto could do a great job of giving us a new take on the Joker. So I was excited. Then, Suicide Squad director David Ayer tweeted our first real look at Leto as the Joker, pictured below:

A lot of people have been against this picture. They don't like the tattoos. They say it's too much of a departure. Some people are saying it's not "subtle". Okay, when has the Joker even been subtle? I really like it, mainly because it is completely different from Ledger's and Jack Nicholson's Joker. The hair is bright, bright green which I think works for this rendition. You still have the purple in the form of the glove. A lot of people have said that the Joker…

A while back, when the Sony Hack initially happened, plans for an animated Spider-Man movie with LEGO directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller writing and directing was leaked (you can read that article here). However, when Sony made the deal with Marvel, it seemed like those plans disappeared. However, it has now been announced that Lord and Miller will in fact be making an animated Spider-Man movie, that will be released in theaters in 2018, just a year after the character's first stand-alone (and live action) Marvel debut. 
I am very mixed about this story, simply because I think Lord and Miller would be perfect to make the live action film. They have a great sense of fun and humor and they fit the bill perfectly for a Spider-Man movie, but I want them to do the live action, not an animated movie. Because what is this animated movie but just to make money? It won't factor into the Marvel Cinematic Universe at all. All it really is is a movie for kids to make money. And that…

M. Night Shyamalan is a tricky director. He has arguably made some of the worst films in cinema histroy (The Lady in the Water, The Last Airbender, The Happening), some debatable movies that some love and some hate (Signs, The Village) and a couple amazing, spectacular films (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable). While he has been uneven, he has been more evenly bad, which is sad. To me, The SixthSense is a brilliant masterpiece of a film. I liked Unbreakable but it wasn't great. Signs was okay but not really that good. The Village has a God-awful movie and The Happening is something that you can just laugh at over and over again. While I appreciate what he did as a filmmaker for The Sixth Sense, he has lost any sort of respect in my eyes. But part of the problem is that he became a bit too cocky when he found success with his earlier films, and began getting larger and larger budgets. When the news came out that Shyamalan's next film would have a lower budget and be more along the l…

Joss Whedon has become somewhat of a hero of his own for comic book fans. Not only did he direct The Avengers, believed by many to be the best superhero film made to date, but also made its sequel, which has a fair shot at beating out its predecessor. He has also overseen the entire production of Phase Two of Marvel films, even doing re-writes for Thor: The Dark World. Whedon has been very Marvel-oriented for a long time and he deserves a break. That's why it wasn't so much of a shock when it was confirmed that Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Anthony and Joe Russo would be taking over for Avengers: Infinity War Parts One and Two (read that article here). 
But as Avengers: Age of Ultron comes closer to its release (just over a week away!), Whedon has commented on not only what it was like to direct the sequel, but why he will not be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whedon said:
“I gotta say, it’s been dark. It’s been weird. It’s been horrible. About a mo…

Johnny Depp has fallen from grace as of late. He has had a long line of bad movies, where he has been bad in them. And in all of these he is playing some cooky, eccentric, heavily make-uped character. So when I heard that Depp was going to be playing Whitey Bulger, I was understandably nervous. He has just been phoning it in for so many movies, and this is a role that could be brilliant. The first trailer for Black Mass was released today, and it looks like Depp is on the closer side to brilliant for this role. 
One word to accurately describe this trailer is "intense". The intensity raises throughout the trailer with the music, which I am positive I have heard before. Depp looks almost unrecognizable as Bulger, and brings a menace and ferocity to the character. Depp brings power to the character, at least from what I saw in this trailer. This looks like it could be a great gangster film with a fantastic performance from Depp. And the supporting cast is filled with talent, i…

After the whole crisis over who will be the new director of Star Trek 3 passed, things have finally started moving on the project. Fast Five director Justin Lin is taking over the franchise from J.J. Abrams, who obviously went on to do Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. However, outside of the new director and some casting decision, little is known about the movie. We learned that actor Simon Pegg (who plays Scotty in the films) will help write the screenplay. But with a 2016 release date, more information on the movie should be expected soon. Now, we know a little bit more information.
A rumor has appeared that the title of the movie will be Star Trek Beyond, which I think is an interesting title. When the title of Star Trek Into Darkness was announced, very little about the movie could be gathered from the title, other than the fact that sh*t was going to go down. But with Beyond, the title makes it sound a bit more hopeful. That's the implication I get from it when I fi…

With Ant-Man just a few months away from its release, it's easy to forget the controversy that surrounded the film just under a year ago. Edgar Wright had been attached to the film for over five years, long before Iron Man kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Ant-Man kept getting delayed with Marvel's new plan of building up to The Avengers. Once Ant-Man was set for a release after Avengers: Age of Ultron, news came out that Wright and Marvel were parting ways. Wright's screenplay and story that he had written and crafted for five years just didn't fit into this new cinematic universe that Marvel had developed, and they could not see eye-to-eye. Peyton Reed was brought in to direct, Adam McKay and star Paul Rudd reworked the script and Ant-Man got back on track. You can watch the latest trailer here.
But with the impending release of Marvel's (arguably) biggest film yet in Avengers: Age of Ultron, director Joss Whedon had a few things to say about Wright&…

This weekend, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and Unfriended opened in theaters. Let's take a look at this past weekend's box office.
#1 Furious 7- $29,156,595

In its third week, Furious 7 came in first place. This movie has been crushing it at the box office. Just the other day we reported that the film crossed $1 billion worldwide (which you can read here). Right now it is the seventh highest grossing movie of all time and may very well ending being number four or five. Although, it's reign will end in May when Avengers: Age of Ultron opens. You can read our review of Furious 7here. 
#2 Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2- $23,762,435

On its opening weekend, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 came in first place. The film wheeled right up behind Furious 7, except it traded a sports car for a Segway. I am actually a fan of Kevin James. I think he's a really funny guy, and I liked the first Paul Blart. I might catch this movie on cable or VOD, but it's not one I'd rush out to the theaters to see…

While it hasn't had a huge marketing presence yet, one of my more anticipated films of the summer is Jurassic World. I love the original Jurassic Park and Chris Pratt is a very entertaining actor. Back in November we got our first trailer, which I thought was fantastic. This movie is going to have scope, scale of epic proportions and I think is going to be an awesome thrill-ride. So when I heard that a new trailer was coming out, I was interested but already sold on the movie. After seeing this new trailer, I am sold even more!
This movie looks like it is going to be fantastic! I was worried before that Pratt was going to be his goofy self we know him from Guardians of the Galaxy and Parks and Recreation, but it seems like even though he'll crack a joke here and there, he will be a lot more serious than he has been in the past. While I didn't think Bryce Dallas Howard looked very good in previous trailers, I thought she did fine in this one, and we got to see a shot of Vi…