The New Dynamic Duo..."Ant-Man & The Wasp"

Ant-Man & The Wasp (2018)

Rated PG-13

Starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Pena, Laurence Fishburne, Walton Goggins,

Directed by Peyton Reed

The Story:

Scott Lang (Rudd) is almost complete with his 2 years of house arrest following the events of Captain America: Civil War. With just days to go until freedom, he begins having strange visions of Janet Van Dyne (Pfeiffer) in the Quantum Realm. Naturally, Hank Pym (Douglas) and Hope (Lilly) are trying to rescue her from the Quantum Realm, and they realize they need Scott's help to accomplish the mission. The only downside, they aren't the only ones who want to enter the Quantum Realm.

So I have to ask, did you like Ant-Man?

Because if you did, pretty much everything there was to like about that movie gets ample screen time in the sequel.

We've got another heist to accomplish, and the every man charm of Paul Rudd makes the trip worth taking.

Now if you didn't like Ant-Man, then there's really no point in bothering with the sequel.

Though I've yet to find anyone who seriously didn't enjoy that movie, at least just a little.

The sequel highlights what I think most fans of the MCU have come to realize with this franchse:

Ant-Man has, from top to bottom, the best supporting cast in all of these films.

The film itself takes place over roughly a 48-72 hour span, so there's a breakneck energy to it as Peyton Reed dials up the ability to shrink and grow to effective (and many times, hilarious!) results.

10 years.

20 films.

Everyone has their favorites, and I have a feeling that this one will land in the first half of many fans favorite listing.

Here's to the next 10 years... and the next Ant-Man sequel!

Final Grade: A

Here's Your Spoiler-Free Review Of "Captain America: Civil War"

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Chadwick Boseman, Elizabeth Olsen, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland

Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo

The Story:

Following some recent disasters where the Avengers have caused damage and death of civilians, the United Nations wants the Avengers to operate under their jurisdiction. Tony Stark (Downey) agrees. Steve Rogers (Evans) does not. Lines are drawn and friends are about to throw down.

You've seen the trailers, and odds are if you're reading this, you've either seen the movie, or plan to see it.

So here goes:

It is a Captain America movie. I've heard many say it's Avengers 2.5, but it's not. The best comparison I could give it would be for those that grew up reading comics, this is a crossover where the story starts in the pages of Captain America and when the issue is over, it's continued in the pages of Iron Man or the Avengers.

The tone, the direction, it's all deftly handled by Anthony and Joe Russo. The Avengers franchise is in great hands going forward. They have given us, in my opinion, the best of the superhero movies that Marvel Studios has produced.

Better scripts, better action than either of the Whedon directed Avengers, they show how to balance a cast of players, giving everyone their moment (or several) but never at the sacrifice of the overall story.

Spider-Man (Holland) and Peter Parker were fleshed out more in this short foray into the actual Marvel Cinematic Universe than nearly all of the previous iterations combined. And I actually liked the reboot. :)  We're hitting the ground running with no new origin, it's on, and I'm looking forward to next year's adventure.

The Black Panther gets introduced and is great from the start. You're told everything you need to know, and I don't know that an origin movie is in the cards. Maybe a rehash for those that may have skipped Civil War.

:: cough cough fools cough cough ::

Marvel continues to set the bar high, and just when you think they might stumble, they soar over that thing with all kinds of clearance, and you wonder why you even had doubts.

You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll sit on the edge of your seat.

Bravo.

Oh, and sit through the credits people.

ALL the credits.

Final Grade: A+  I think you'll see this again at the end of the year honors as my favorite film of 2016.

Little Hero. Big Heart. "Ant-Man"

Ant-Man (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Pena, Judy Greer

Directed by Peyton Reed

The Story:

Scott Lang (Rudd) is an extraordinary burglar who gets out of prison and needs to go straight so that he can be the hero that his daughter believes him to be.  However, going straight is tough when your best friend (Pena) knows people that know things and offers Scott a chance to make a huge score so that he can provide for his daughter. The job is quite simple: rob an old man's safe while he's away from home. What Scott finds inside that safe changes his life, forever!

I don't know what the beef between Edgar Wright and and Marvel Studios was, but I am quite content with the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It's a heist film... with superheroes!

It's also a film about love and what a father would do for their family...their daughters...

It's good stuff!

Rudd is his usual everyman charmer, and that pays off in the likeability of the character.

Surrounded with Luis and his friends, this is the most fun you've had at a Marvel film since Guardians of the Galaxy.

This time though, all the action takes place right here on Earth.

It was a perfect way to incorporate Hank Pym (Douglas) into the Marvel Universe and truly know that the film universe can, and will, exist on its own merits and upend everything you think you know with new versions of familiar characters, and you won't really mind any of the changes.

Do you miss seeing the winsome Wasp?

Maybe, but the promise of things to come looms large, and it's an exciting future not knowing what is in store for these characters.

Great storyline, and a thrilling, funny final act confrontation.

The biggest fear with this, and all Marvel movies, they're really using up their supervillains quickly!

Hopefully they don't hold the box office results against this film, I'd happily pony up to watch Ant-Man 2!

Final Grade: A

Romantic Comedies Aren't Dead Yet, However "They Came Together" Sure Tries To Kill It With One Movie

They Came Together (2014)

Rated R

Starring Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd

Directed by David Wain

The Story:

Joel (Rudd) and Molly (Poehler) recount their relationship over dinner.  They claim it's very much like a bad romantic comedy.

They aren't exaggerating.

They Came Together is supposed to be a send-up/homage of romantic comedy tropes and stereotypes.

You know when people set out to make a bad movie intentionally...

You wind up with a film like this one.

It's a literal train wreck, and you keep watching to see if it will get better...or worse.

Or if it is getting worse by getting better, or vice versa.

When the "tell me about it gag" goes on for at least a minute (feels like 5) you realize that they really don't care if it works or not, they're simply going to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.

More doesn't stick. Heck, much of it doesn't even hit the wall.

It sort of flies out the window instead.

You find yourself laughing at how dumb the dialogue or situation is.

Or how dumb you are for watching the movie in the first place.

:)

The only reason you really stick around is the charm of both Poehler and Rudd.

However, this film uses up much of any leeway either had with their next project, so they better come back strong.

Luckily, Rudd has Ant-Man on the horizon.

Final Grade: C- and I'm being very generous.

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I made it through this once. That was enough.

Keep It Classy America... "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues"

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

Rated PG-13/R  for Language

Starring Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koecher, Christina Applegate

Directed by Adam McKay

The Story:

Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) has moved on with his wife (Applegate) and their child and is now co-hosting the news in New York.  When she is selected to be the first prime-time female news anchor, and he's fired, well Burgundy spirals out of control as his life is effectively over.  But when Ron is approached to be part of a crazy new idea: a 24 hour news channel... can Ron reassemble his old team from San Diego, and help convince the world that news, 24/7 is a good idea?

I remember seeing Anchorman a few years ago, it was amusing, but not the amazing, hilarious cult film that many people I know make it out to be.

The sequel...

Pretty much the same.

There are a couple of insanely funny gags... and a lot of otherwise enjoyable laughs.

However, there's nothing here for me to want to come back to and watch again in the future.

And for me, that's the ultimate test and tribute to a comedy:  How many times can I watch this film, and it still be funny every time?

What actually worked for me in this film was when the movie focused on how Ron and his team actually created history on the air.  Those segments were the best, and revisionist history being what it is, you could believe that in this day and age, it was Ron Burgundy, or whatever real anchor he is indeed cloned after that came up with these ideas that "hey, this could be news!" and the people ate it up.

And still do.

If you enjoyed the first one, I see no reason why you won't enjoy the latest installment.

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Maybe in a few years I'd watch it again, but no hurry, and no need to own it.

Holiday Weekend Movie Review..."All Is Bright"

All Is Bright (2013)

Rated R for language

Starring Paul Giamatti, Paul Rudd

Directed by Phil Morrison

The Story:

Dennis (Giamatti) is finally out on parole.  He's heading home for Christmas, and discovers that his wife has told their daughter that he died of cancer.  She's ready to move on with Rene (Rudd).  Rene and Dennis plan to head into New York and sell Christmas trees to make some money, and Dennis hopes to buy a piano for his daughter for Christmas.

This is not a comedy.
It was billed as a comedy, but it is not.

It is a drama.

It's not a very good drama, either.

Actually, it's just not that great of a movie.

Very slow.

No, slower than that.

I think I made it 15 or 20 minutes before I hit 1.5x speed on the PS3.

It didn't help.

I wound up watching it at 10x.... sure there's not any volume, but at this point, I really didn't care.

If you're interested, he ends up stealing a piano for his daughter for Christmas.

A total waste of the talents of the Two Pauls.

Bah, humbug.

Final Grade: D

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: None whatsoever.

90 Minutes of Your Life is Not a Bad Price for "Admission"

What's the secret to getting in?

The Story:

Portia (Tina Fey) is a Princeton admissions officer.  At Princeton, they pride themselves on rejecting 99% of all applications they receive.  As they head into the applications of the upcoming class, she is contacted by John (Paul Rudd) a teacher at a new school about Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), his prodigy who would be perfect for Princeton, but maybe not necessarily the type of candidate that Princeton would otherwise pursue.  Can he convince her otherwise?  Maybe...

So this is one of those movies that was savaged by critics and ignored at the box office.

Beats me, it wasn't that bad.  I'm curious what folks were expecting?

It's hardly a romantic comedy.  Which is probably the undoing of the film.  That's what people probably thought they were going to get with the movie.  Is there a romance in here?  Yes, but it's almost tacked on as an afterthought.

I suppose in the end, you almost need to blame the film's lack of box office on the marketing department.  Looking for a picture of the film, they are all cutesy pics of Rudd and Fey making it indeed look like a romantic comedy.

I think they should have spun the marketing to focus on Princeton's rejection of most candidates, and left it at that.  Then everything else would play out on its own merits.

Instead, the twist from this movie comes fairly early, and Portia spends the rest of the movie dealing with the ramifications of that revelation.

The movie is not laugh out loud funny either.  Starring Fey and Rudd, you would think that impossible, but I'm here to tell you that it's the truth!  Instead of guffaws, the movie spends most of its time in a constant state of amusement.  Some laughs will come, others will just elicit a smile or a chuckle.

That said, there are plenty of worse comedies out there.

Believe me, I've seen many of them.

:)

This one was worth a viewing.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: No purchase, but I'd have no problems seeing it again down the road in the future...

Where Does the Time Go? "This is 40"

Nobody ever said life was easy...

The Story:

Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) are both celebrating their 40th birthdays.  Naturally, if that wasn't enough of a crisis, they have to deal with their kids, their relationship with their parents(John Lithgow, Albert Brooks), their relationship with each other and the stress and toll of their jobs on their life.

It's funny because it's true.

So you've seen this pair before if you saw Knocked Up.  Judd Apatow returns to write and direct this semi-sequel.  And there are indeed some quiet truths espoused amongst the go for the jugular comedic gags.

Some work better than others, but the performances by all of the actors save even the worst gags from failing (and flailing) on the screen.

The biggest problem... there's really no payoff.

The movie loops around leaves us almost back at the start. 

Has there been some character progress throughout the movie?  Yeah... a little, I guess.

But really, many of the questions aren't answered so much as they are pushed off to the side in favor of the next big gag.

It's a Judd Apatow comedy, what else was I supposed to expect?

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch it again if it's on, Rudd is always hilarious, but much like Knocked Up, I don't need to own it.

Let's Get Hairy! "Mansome"

How manly are you?


The Story:

This documentary takes a look at men.  How manly are we? What do beards, moustaches and constant grooming say about men as a whole? 


Unlike Morgan Spurlock's usual documentaries, this one plays more as a star-filled comedy documentary.

You have Jason Bateman and Will Arnett doing some schtick at a health spa to break up the segments within the documentary.  I guess when you sign up as Executive Producers, you get what you want, though their bits are too long, and not nearly as funny as they should be, or as they probably think they were.

Then you have the following interviewed:

Judd Apatow
Adam Carolla
Zach Galifianakis
Paul Rudd

So this isn't man in the street territory.

The documentary itself is also a bit uneven in presentation.  Spurlock is heavily invested and seen in the first segment (moustaches) and then completely disappears for the rest of the film.  Odd to say the least, and so unlike any other documentary that I've seen him present.

The second segment on beards is overly long, painfully paced, and stars a guy that really is hard to care about since his only passion in life is having a great beard...but when you stack him against the competition at beard competitions (really???) his beard just doesn't look that great.  It's simply long.

It picks up again after that with showing what wrestlers have to endure to basically be completely shaved to do their jobs correctly.  Man, that's got to suck.

Then it gets an overlong metrosexual finale with perhaps the vainest "man" on the planet.  Likely not, but again, like the beard, too long, and the character much less interesting.


It's amusing at times, and indeed an interesting topic.

However when you average out the great with the so-so...

Final Grade: C
Would I Own It: Nah, I'm good.


Available for streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 49 ~ Clueless

Back to Back Heckerling!

What can I say, the lady gets High School!  Here, she weaves Jane Austen's Emma into the ritzy life of Southern California High Schools and comes away with Clueless.

To summarize, Cher (Alicia Silverstone) wants to make everyone happy, for purely selfish reasons, and so begins to attempt to match-make for many people in and around her life.  From the teachers to her friends, she just can't help herself.

Unfortunately, Cher can't seem to find that elusive Mr. Right for herself, although he may be much closer than she can even begin to imagine.

The dialogue and situations are tremendously funny, and the actors all do a great job.

Much like Fast Times, Clueless unleashed a group of young actors on the public who were just making their starts in the business, or who had not received much exposure on the Silver Screen.

Alicia Silverstone is the most obvious.  Some TV movies and some music videos were her claim to fame.  Then there was the late Brittany Murphy and Stacey Dash as her two best friends.

On the guy side of things Breckin Meyer and Donald Faison played love interests in the tale, but my favorite was Paul Rudd in the first role I ever saw him in.  Hilarious in his part as an ex-son-in-law, he was an overnight sensation...almost a decade after his appearance in this movie. : )

Following Fast Times lead of a strong supporting cast of older character actors, Dan Hedaya won my favorite character as Cher's put upon father, and I've already listed my favorite line from the film.

One I'm saving for the guys that show up on my doorstep to court my daughters.

>: )