Ant-Man and the Wasp

First Hit: It’s been a long time since a Marvel film brought joy, fun, and a story that worked—this one did.

I’ve really struggled watching Marvel films of comic book heroes. Most of the more recent Marvel films put these characters into today’s current world or some future world and they must fight some alien power to save the world, or some piece of it.

Here we have fun packed into an engaging story.

Scott Lang aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) is under house arrest. He’s got an ankle bracelet and agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) keeps coming over to check his ankle bracelet much to the amusement of Lang’s daughter Maggie (Judy Greer).

His former superhero mate Wasp / Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and her father Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) are attempting to build a machine that will allow them to find Janet Van Dyne / Wasp (Michelle Pfeiffer) who got stuck into a microscopic quantum realm.

Dr. Pym invented the ability to shrink and expand physical forms including people and that is how Ant-Man and Wasp were created. When Janet got lost in the realm, he believed she was still alive. In reaching out from her microscopic quantum realm, she contacts Lang.

Lang, Hope, and Dr. Pym believed they could rescue Janet, so the film is about how they find a way to finish a machine to make the rescue. However, there are opposing forces including Ava Starr / Ghost (Hannah John-Karmen) who needs Janet’s energy to unbecome a ghost. Ghost is supported by a former colleague of Pym, Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne). Another group trying to get control of the machine Pym is making is Sunny Burch (Walter Goggins), a low level criminal. However, helping Lang is his security firm CEO, Luis (Michael Pena).

Rudd is great in this role. He’s perfect at keeping the humor in this role, while having enough ability to make the role as Ant-Man realistic. Park is hilarious as the agent trying to catch Lang violating parole. Greer was wonderful as Lang’s daughter. Her precocious nature was perfect. Lilly was wonderful as Wasp, Pym’s daughter, and Lang’s old flame. Douglas was fun as Pym. He still carries a bravado that made his earlier films work. Pfeiffer was strong in this limited but pivotal role. John-Karmen was very good as Ghost and one trying to become whole. Fishburne was perfect as Foster. Goggins was good as the lower level mob guy thinking he could make a big score. Pena was fantastic. He carries the humor in this film perfectly. Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers wrote a wonderful film that captured humor, the spirit of superheroes, and had a storyline that was fun and worked. Peyton Reed did an excellent job of putting this story on the screen. I loved seeing San Francisco this way.

Overall: This was a fun film to watch and, in the end, thoroughly enjoyable.

Ant-man

First Hit:  Very enjoyable film that works because it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

A fun filled adventure that definitely works because of the storyline, acting, and especially of the acting by Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-man. He approaches the role with intelligence, irreverence, and honesty.

His compatriots, outside of the ants, are Luis (Michael Pena), Dave (T.I.), and Kurt (David Dastmalchian). All together they help Ant-man suit inventor Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly), defeat Darren Cross / Yellowjacket (Corey Stoll) who is trying to re-create Dr. Pym’s technology for evil use.

The motivation for Scott is his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) whom he doesn’t see much because he’s been in prison. The scenes of Lang as Ant-man when he’s working with the ants is priceless. As an audience member, I knew it was fantasy, yet I bought the story and film because it was so well put together – with lightheartedness.

Rudd was perfect for the role. He’s so comfortable in his body and the script’s dialogue was perfect for him. He’s great. Pena is also fantastic. He’s talkative, yet there is an air of intelligence in his storying telling. Douglas is strong as the scientist. Lilly is wonderful to watch and her backing up her intelligence with physical abilities were excellent. Stoll was really good as the strength of evil doing and the antagonist. Fortson was enjoyable as Rudd’s daughter. Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish wrote a great script. Payton Reed had a great handle on how to execute this story.

Overall:  This is a really fun and enjoyable film.

Last Vegas

First Hit:  I laughed off and on throughout this film – enjoyable.

It won’t win any Oscar tributes, nor will the Oscar winning actors get nominations for their roles in this film, and my guess is that this group of fine actors had a good time making this film.

Each of the actors Kevin Kline (playing the Florida retired Sam), Morgan Freeman (playing the, I just had a stroke Archie), Robert De Niro (playing the grieving Paddy) and Michael Douglas (playing the rich and I hate getting old Billy) were perfect for their roles.

After more than 60 years of friendship, these guys are in their 70s and the changes in their bodies and lives are more obvious. Billy wants to get the old gang together because he’s decided to get married for the first time (she’s 32). Although there has been a riff between Paddy and Billy, the gang gets together in Las Vegas to rediscover their friendship and have a good time.

For each guy there is something to resolve and this film finds a wonderful way for them to gain peace with themselves, their family, and/or their friends. The best part of this film is the way the actors were themselves (and their characters) with such ease.

Douglas is on target with beginning to process how time flies. De Niro is perfect as the guy who learns to let go, just a little. Kline is great as the guy who learns how to bring life and romance back into his life. Freeman is superb as the guy who wants to live his life on his terms, despite the warning sign of a recent stroke. Mary Steenburgen (as Diana) is sublime as the night club singing woman who helps Paddy and Billy resolve their disagreement. Dan Fogelman did an excellent job of combining today’s world and language with yesterday’s way of viewing life. Jon Turteltaub was very smart in letting these professionals enjoy their roles.

Overall:  Although its subject is light, this was a very enjoyable and entertaining film.

Haywire

First Hit:  Although the story is not very strong, Gina Carano is good as a private intelligence action contractor.

I saw two action films with women as the lead characters this weekend and the primary difference is believability of their skills.

Mallory (played by Gina Carano) is a contractor for hire. She will provide protection, rescue hostages, or anything for a price. She’s a former Marine as was her hero father Mr. Kane (played by Bill Paxton).

The filmmakers made enough of this backstory making her skills and intensity believable.

The film begins with her sitting in a booth drinking a cup of tea. The intensity on her face tells the whole story, she’s in the middle of a story and we are slowly invited in. One thing I noticed was that there were no opening credits, which was nice.

The basic story is that she is set up to be eliminated along with a Chinese hostage she is supposed to rescue. However, Paul a British intelligence officer (played by Michael Fassbender) who is the guy that has to kill her soon realizes that this is going to be difficult. At every turn there are people after her and she takes care of business in a reasonable fashion.

Towards the end she’s offered a legitimate job with the US Government but she has a revenge streak in her and therefore until she finishes the people who tried to finish her, she isn’t taking the job.

Carano is fully capable of making this role hers and she does an outstanding job of having me believe she was capable of all her moves. Fassbender was good as the British MI agent. Antonio Banderas, as Rodrigo, did a nice minor turn as the instigator of the films events. Channing Tatum, as fellow free agent Aaron, fits his role well. Paxton is wonderful in his small role as Carano’s father. Michael Douglas, as Coblenz, was good as the government man pulling the strings. Ewan McGregor, as Kenneth the leader of the outside contracting agency, seemed lost in his part. Lem Dobbs wrote an OK script in that it held together enough although it wasn’t powerful. Steven Soderbergh did a great job of taking a moderate script and making this film work interestingly.

Overall: This film was fun and enjoyable to watch because the main character made it work.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

First Hit: Enjoyed the acting and some of the shots of New York but the story wasn’t very well told.

It wasn’t until the following morning did I see the integration of the story. Maybe others got it more quickly but I didn’t.

As the credits rolled, I looked at my girlfriend, who made me wait a week to see it, and said, “What did you think?” Paraphrasing, she said it didn’t make sense and didn’t have a point. I saw her point but somewhere I knew it did make sense and had a point.

However, it didn’t come to me until the next day. Maybe I’m slow and the way this film unfolded made it difficult for me to put all the pieces together. However, I see more films than the average audience goer and I find it difficult to believe that I was the problem – but who knows.

Regardless, Michael Douglas reprises his role as Gordon Gekko the Wall Street financier who ended up in jail for insider trading in the first film. When he steps outside of the prison walls there is nobody there to pick him up. While in prison he wrote a best-selling book about his experience and heads out into the world once again.

His daughter Winnie Gekko (played by Carey Mulligan) wants nothing to do with her father, is running a website for alternative energy and lifestyles, and is living with a Wall Street trader named Jack Moore (played by Shia LaBeouf).

Moore is being mentored by an old and long-time street executive named Louis Zabel (played by Frank Langella). Their firm is in trouble and is going down the tubes if they don't get a cash infusion or are bought out. The government will only support a bargain basement buyout by a firm led by Bretton James (played by James Brolin).

Zabel is crushed by the turn of events and commits suicide by jumping in front of a subway train. The company collapses and Moore blames James on the death of both his company and his mentor. Revenge is in the air and when James listens to a talk by Gekko about the state of current Wall Street economics he decides to approach Gekko for his thoughts and assistance.

One of the most amusing scenes in the film is seeing Charlie Sheen reprising his role as Bud Fox from the first film and the exchange of conversation between him and Gekko at a fundraising event.

Douglas is wonderful in this reprised role. The taste and flavor he left on one’s mouth after the first film is, 13 years later, picked right back up again and holds true throughout this film. LaBeouf is engaging and strong as Moore. There isn’t anything great about this performance, yet I can’t think of anyone else who would have brought it together in his age group. Mulligan finally plays an age appropriate part. And here she gives a strong performance. Eli Wallach as Jules Steinhardt is interesting because he controls so much, yet says so little. It is his money that changes the game of the film. Brolin is wonderful as James the overly confident “we’re to big to fail” arrogance of the recent financial failure of Wall Street. Langella is good as the aging man who tried to keep up with the new deal making on Wall Street while stuck in the integrity of the older world. And Susan Sarandon as Jack Moore’s mother clearly portrays the stupidity and greed of buying real estate for an investment versus buying it as a home to live in. Oliver Stone directs this with some visually stunning shots of New York but the film lacks a clear story, is confusing and didn’t really provide the kind of power it could have by exposing the how of the recent financial melt-down.

Overall: Lacked cohesiveness in both its storyline and direction. However, it is definitely worth watching when Douglas in on the screen.