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

Don't Become Too Attached To Anyone..."The Hateful Eight"

The Hateful Eight  (2015)

Rated R

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern

Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino

The Story:

Bounty hunter John Ruth (Russell) is bringing Daisy (Leigh) in to collect the reward. However, as they race in their stagecoach to the haberdashery to avoid an impending blizzard, they run into another bounty hunter, Major Marquis Warren (Jackson) stranded in the storm. Then they meet Chris Mannix (Goggins), who claims to be the new Sheriff of Red Rock. Once they all make it to the haberdashery, they meet even more people and things get ready to take a very deadly turn.

Someday, Quentin Tarantino will write a movie without profanity or violence.

Maybe even a kids movie.

That day is not today.

:)

No, instead, Tarantino takes us on a trip back to the wild west and puts us into a nest of ruthless rogues who like to talk.

And talk.

And talk some more.

But, that's what Tarantino is known for: dialogue.

And this movie has a ton of it.

Just a bit under 3 hours worth.

The movie starts off with chapters, and that is all fine and good, but then when the movie comes back from intermission (yes, it's that long...) Tarantino makes a stylistic change that I didn't agree with then, and still don't now.

He introduces a narrator for the last half of the movie.

I don't get the choice, other than to remind his audience of what they may not have remembered since the intermission.

It's jarring, and again, out of place since the first half of the movie did not include a narrator, I still don't see why he felt the need to bring one in to the proceedings.

Otherwise, it's a fine cast, and if you love Tarantino movies, you'll probably love this one just as much as the rest of his catalog.

Final Grade:  B-

Super Secret Sleeper Agent! "American Ultra"

American Ultra (2015)

Rated R

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Connie Britton, Topher Grace, John Leguizamo, Walton Goggins, Bill Pullman

Directed by Nima Nourizadeh

The Story:

Mike (Eisenberg) is a stoner who works a dead-end job at the local convenience store while drawing his graphic novel about an ape with super-powers. His girlfriend, Phoebe (Stewart) seems to love him a great deal, but he fears he's going to lose her because he can't seem to get past the phobia of leaving their dreary little existence. Then one fateful evening, a woman (Britton) says some words to him and it unlocks memories and skills that transform Mike into the ultimate secret sleeper agent killer for the CIA. These skills might just help him survive an assassination attempt by the CIA to get rid of him once and for all.

So, watching this movie and it all seemed vaguely familiar. Then I put my finger on it, this is pretty much the tv show, Chuck.

Fair enough. I enjoyed that show.

Sleeper agent assassin who is an amazing killing machine. That they put him into the body of Jesse Eisenberg makes the situation more ironic.

However, it's a pretty fun movie.

Although, if you cannot stand Eisenberg (you know who you are) this movie would probably grate on you for the entire duration. It's also a nice chance to see Stewart doing something other than moping around and longing for vampires.

Topher Grace is hilariously evil as the CIA operative who demands Mike's death, and sends scores of agents into this town to kill him. All that was missing was the twirling of a villainous moustache.

A very fun script by Max Landis and great direction by Nima Nourizadeh makes this one a much more enjoyable experience than Nima's last effort, Project X,  had been.

Overall a pretty fun viewing experience and with a few tweaks (possibly including recasting Eisenberg and Stewart who have little chemistry together) this could have been even better.

Final Grade: B-