The Movie Paradise

I have to admit it: I have never seen the original Ben-Hur. I know! Blasphemy for a film fan, right? Well, I'll get around to it someday. So I didn't necessarily share the outrage that many fans of classic cinema had when a remake was announced. I was indifferent to it. The original was made in 1959. I don't think it's "too soon". But like I said, I was indifferent. The casting of Tobey Kebbell and Morgan Freeman interested me but I had honestly forgotten that the film was coming out this year until the trailer dropped online. I played it not really having many expectations, but I did have an open mind to the film. 
I'm sorry, but this film looks like a generic, garbage CGI-fest. Maybe the original Ben-Hur came first with these themes, but the idea of a rivalry between two brothers leading to them fighting in battle isn't original. I got vibes of Gladiator throughout the whole trailer. I will admit that Kebbell looks really good, and I would watch it…

I was really late to The Witch party. I didn't get to see it until it had been in theaters for a while, and even then it's taken me a while to write this review. But this is a movie worth reviewing, so I'm forcing myself not to let it slip through the cracks. Going into this movie, I was optimistic. A few of my friends had seen it, and they thought it was really good. I had also seen that it got great reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (it stands at an 89%). Now, I'm not a particular fan of horror movies. I personally prefer psychological thrillers instead. Truly good horror movies all have another element to it that makes it not purely horror. There's an engaging story, good acting and a deeper message that makes it more worthwhile and profound than ordinary slasher/jump-scare sh*t fests that pollute the theaters nowadays. So I walked into The Witch with expectations that it would be a horror film I enjoy. It does meet these expectations, even if parts do fall flat and d…

(**Warning: Contains Strong Language**)
Cursing hot dogs isn't the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the words "sausage party". But that's exactly what we're getting from Seth Rogen and his gang, in their R-rated animated feature due this summer. I was very much looking forward to seeing this trailer. Rogen works best when he's with his whole team, and that's what he has for this film. Plus, the animation factor made this project especially interesting. It's great that they're now trying to branch out from their usual type of film. What are they going to do next? A superhero movie? (Oops, sorry Seth. I forgot about The Green Hornet) Regardless, I was excited to see a trailer for Sausage Party, and now we have one. 
I really like how this trailer was set up. It was constructed to be a trailer for an animated kids movie, until the horror element was played and the swearing began. That turn was hilarious, and the trailer went on from …

10 Cloverfield Lane popped out of nowhere a couple months ago, dropping a trailer for this mysterious Cloverfield quasi-sequel. There was no word that a sequel was even in development, and then bam! A trailer drops and the movie is suddenly coming out in two months. Since then, fans have done nothing but speculate. How does this film tie in to Cloverfield? Was it really filmed as a sequel, or are they just playing it up with the marketing? What the hell is this movie? These were all questions I had going into the film. I also had a genuine interest in the movie itself. John Goodman looked fantastic, and it seemed like a really interesting premise. So I didn't walk into the film entirely because it was related to Cloverfield. And that will the movie's downfall for some fans, as it has virtually no ties to Cloverfield. But it works out for the best, as 10 Cloverfield Lane is a far better film than its supposed original.

The film centers on Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), wh…

In this editorial series, I will be doing a weekly collection of all things nerdy. Some of the article will be a wrap-up of some movie news, perhaps casting rumors or images; stuff that doesn't necessarily warrant an entire article but are still important. Then the rest will be different geek culture items, such as memes or videos. I will try my best to post these every Saturday. So let's get our hands nerdy (okay, that was terrible) and check out the geek picks of this week.
The News



It was announced this week that Oscar winner J.K. Simmons will be playing Commissioner Gordon in the upcoming Justice League Part One, and going forward in the DC Cinematic Universe. Simmons famously (or shall we say, infamously) played J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and won his Oscar for Whiplash. He is an incredible talent. He wasn't necessarily my first pick for the role, but I know he is a tremendous actor. I am sure he will do the character justice (no pun intend…

It's here! The second trailer for Captain America: Civil War is here! I really liked the first trailer, but it was a teaser. We didn't get much more than just a brief glance at the film. But now we have a full length trailer, and it is awesome. The best parts of the previous trailer are more fleshed out and even better in this one. We get a much better sense of what these heroes are fighting for. We didn't get that really with the last trailer, and this one made it more clear. We got a more extended look at Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, and exactly how he and the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) fit into the film. The action is highlighted, and this looks to be some of the best fight choreography of a Marvel film to date, perhaps rivaling Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 
What stole this trailer was the emotion of it. There was power in the fighting, as we saw Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) damaged and conflicted over how to do the right thing. We saw Cap (Chris Eva…