The Movie Paradise

Run Time : 1 hour, 44 minutes  Rating : R  Directed by : Shana Feste    Starring : Vera Farmiga, Christopher Plummer, Lewis MacDougall  I didn't know much about Boundaries  before I went to go see. I try now to go see a new movie in theaters every Saturday morning, and they usually end up being smaller films rather than the big tent pole blockbusters. And with a cast including Vera Farmiga  ( The Conjuring ), Christopher Plummer  ( All the Money in the World ), and Lewis MacDougall  ( A Monster Calls ), Boundaries  seemed too good to pass up. The film centers on a mother and her son as they go on a road trip with her estranged, weed-dealing father. And with that premise you have what seems like a pretty conventional story with some fresh flare to it, and that's exactly what Boundaries  is. Narratively, this movie isn't offering up anything new. The story beats are pretty much exactly what you would expect them to be. However, the performances are fantasti

Godzilla: King of the Monsters  is a film I've been patiently waiting to see a trailer for. I liked 2014's Godzilla , but I didn't think it was nearly as good as it could have been. It chose to focus on pointless human characters instead of Godzilla, and the film suffered for it. Now, I actually really enjoyed Kong: Skull Island . It's not a work of art, but I think it's a fun, action-packed monster movie, and it's Skull Island  that has made me really excited for 2020's Kong vs. Godzilla . But before we get to that, we have Godzilla: King of the Monsters  coming out next year. What has me excited for this one is the inclusion of the classic Godzilla  monsters Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah, who were teased in the post credits scene of Skull Island . I'm really looking forward to seeing a modern take on those characters, and to see Godzilla battle it out with them. What has me nervous about King of the Monsters , however, is that it's being dire

Ever since we saw the twist ending of Split , revealing it to actually be part of the world M. Night Shyamalan  previously created with Unbreakable , we have all been patiently waiting for Glass . The third film would connect the two previous movies, with Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, James McAvoy, and Anya Taylor-Joy  all returning. This is a movie that I have been dying to see. Split  was the first Shyamalan film that I've liked pretty much since Unbreakable , and his twist ending was genius. It only worked because of how good of a standalone story Split  is, and revealing it to be tied into Unbreakable  is like the cherry on top; it makes it even more rich. But with Glass , Shyamalan has a lot on his shoulders. He is tying in two of his most popular movies together, and a lot rides on this. I wasn't a particularity big fan of The Visit , but that was the first movie Shyamalan did that everyone didn't hate. And then he had massive success with Split . So Glass  is t

Run Time : 1 hour, 42 minutes  Rating : PG-13  Directed by : Rawson Marshall Thurber  Starring : Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell, Pablo Schreiber  Dwayne Johnson  has been on a roll lately. Whether you're talking about The Fate of the Furious ,  Baywatch, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle  or  Rampage , the Rock has been in just about everything. It doesn't matter if the movies have been terrible and have under performed ( Baywatch ), or if the films have surprised everyone and have had massive box office success ( Jumanji ), Johnson has become one of the biggest movie stars on the planet and elevates every film he is in. And things are no different with Skyscraper , his latest outing. Now, I haven't been super on board with Skyscraper . I've been interested really only because it stars the Rock, but that's about it. The trailers haven't really made it out to be anything extraordinary. It looks like Johnson's attempt at Die Hard , which isn't ne

It was just recently confirmed that the proposed Joker origin movie would be moving forward with Joaquin Phoenix  playing the Clown Prince of Crime. War Dogs  helmer Todd Phillips  is set to direct, with Martin Scorsese  producing. You can read more details about that here . I am getting more and more on board with this movie with each passing day. Joaquin Phoenix is a tremendous talent, and he is going to absolutely crush the role. Plus, I love what Phillips did with War Dogs , and I'm really excited to see what he brings to something like this. When the news broke that this film was officially happening, we heard that it would be shooting later this year, so there was speculation that it was being prepped for a late 2019 release date. Well, now we know for sure. At San Diego Comic Con , it was revealed that the film has been set for an October 4, 2019 release date. The movie will also officially be simply titled Joker .  Let's start with the title. I like it. It'

Release Year : 2014  Rating : R  Directed by : James DeMonaco   Starring : Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zoë Soul With  The First Purge  now in theaters, I thought I would go back and watch the first three  Purge  movies. I had never seen them before, and  The First Purge 's opening gave me a good excuse to finally check them out. I didn't really have very high expectations going in. I hadn't heard the greatest of things about the series, so I was expecting subpar movies. I've always thought that the premise is fantastic. To be completely honest, it doesn't seem like our actual society is very far from enacting something like the Purge, so there is an extra level of scariness accompanying the premise. So, the idea for these movies really resonates with me, and I think there is an incredible amount of potential for some really awesome films. But the impression I've always gotten is that the  Purge  movies have never really lived up to that potent

Run Time : 1 hour, 58 minutes  Rating : PG-13  Directed by : Peyton Reed    Starring : Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily, Michael Douglas  How do you follow up the shocking gut-punch that is Avengers: Infinity War ? With a lighthearted, standalone comedy like Ant-Man and the Wasp , naturally. Ant-Man ( Paul Rudd ) has always been an interesting character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . He is one of the more absurd heroes, and yet Marvel  found a way to make him appealing back in 2015. Paul Rudd is excellent as the character, and he brings something to the universe that nobody else really does. Ant-Man  was a good film, and I liked it very much. I don't think it's one of Marvel's best, but it's a solid movie that I definitely enjoyed. So I've been looking forward to the sequel. With Evangeline Lily  now suited up right alongside Rudd as the Wasp, I thought that this one had the potential to exceed the first film. I have to see Ant-Man  again, but I do th

Run Time : 1 hour, 50 minutes  Rating : PG-13 Directed by : Gary Ross Starring : Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway My interest level in Ocean's Eight  has never been to the same degree as other people's. I have never seen the original Ocean's  trilogy. I hear they are fantastic movies, and I definitely want to check them out at some point, but I have yet to see them. So without that built-in appreciation for the series, Ocean's Eight  looked like just another movie to me. And that's not to say it looked bad at all; the trailers really impressed me. But I never really viewed it as the next installment in a beloved franchise like many others did. What stood out to me about this film was the cast. You have some incredible heavy-hitters in the ensemble, including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, and Rihanna . It truly is an impressive cast, and that is what caught my eye the most

Welcome to this week's  Nerd Round-Up . Essentially what we do here is we take a look at all things circulating in the world of nerdom. We break down these down, anything ranging from superheroes to  Star Wars , and every other geek-centric thing in between. We analyze the smaller bits of news that weren't big enough stories to necessarily warrant an entire article, but are still significant and important and worthy of discussing. Perhaps it's casting news, a contract detail, a set image, or something else that's more on the minor side, but is still definitely worth talking about. This is a time and place for all of us unabashed nerds to come together and talk about the things that we love so much in the movie-sphere. So, without further ado, let's get started with this week installment of Nerd Round-Up. It is being reported that Blood Diamond  and Guardians of the Galaxy  actor Djimon Hounsou  has been cast to play the Wizard in Shazam . In the comic b

It's been almost a year since we first heard that War Dogs  director Todd Phillips  will be helming a Joker origin story that will be separate from the current DC Cinematic Universe , with Martin Scorsese  producing. You can read the initial report here . I think the idea for this project is fascinating. Telling a story about the Joker that doesn't have to tie into the current universe gives the filmmakers an incredible amount of freedom. Plus, with every comic book movie belonging to a cinematic universe, we don't have too many truly stand-alone stories, and this would give Warner Bros.  an opportunity to try something different. So from the beginning I've been incredibly intrigued by the prospect of this movie. However, DC  announces five new movies a day, and only a couple of them have actually come to fruition. There was no way to know if this Joker movie would ever actually come to pass. Well, it's now official. The Joker origin movie is coming, and will b

Welcome to this week's  Nerd Round-Up . Essentially what we do here is we take a look at all things circulating in the world of nerdom. We break down these down, anything ranging from superheroes to  Star Wars , and every other geek-centric thing in between. We analyze the smaller bits of news that weren't big enough stories to necessarily warrant an entire article, but are still significant and important and worthy of discussing. Perhaps it's casting news, a contract detail, a set image, or something else that's more on the minor side, but is still definitely worth talking about. This is a time and place for all of us unabashed nerds to come together and talk about the things that we love so much in the movie-sphere. So, without further ado, let's get started with this week installment of Nerd Round-Up. It is being reported that Mission: Impossible III  and  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes  actor Keri Russell  is in talks for an undisclosed role in Star

Run Time : 2 hours, 2 minutes  Rating : R  Directed by : Stefano Sollima   Starring : Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Isabela Moner  I remember when I first heard that a Sicario  sequel was coming, focused entirely on Benicio Del Toro  and Josh Brolin but without Emily Blunt  or director Denis Villeneuve  involved, I wasn't sure what to think. I like Sicario  a great deal, but I don't think it's Villeneuve's best film. Even with that, Villeneuve's direction and Blunt's performance really helps sell that movie. Sure, Del Toro and Brolin gave excellent supporting performances, but could a whole film be built around just them and could it work just as well? Even without an answer to that question, we now have Sicario: Day of the Soldado . While I wasn't on board initially, the first trailer really changed my tune. It was riveting and intense, and it really got my blood pumping. None of the other trailers have lived up to that first one, so my ex

Jurassic World  blew away everyone's expectations when it broke the (then) record for the biggest opening weekend at the box office, raking in $208 million dollars domestically. It went on to make $1.6 billion dollars worldwide, and currently sits as the fifth highest grossing film of all time. So when Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom  was set to come out, we all knew that, even though it wouldn't be as big as the first one, it was still going to be a massive movie. It opened to $150 million, which may seem like a big dive from the first film, but it is still a considerable amount of money considering it was coming off the $180 million debut of Incredibles 2  the previous weekend. I really like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom . If you don't like the direction of these new movies, you probably won't enjoy this one. But I'm a fan of these films, and I think Fallen Kingdom  is a nice addition to the franchise. You can read our full, spoiler-free review  here . And no