While some Marvel movies can be pretty intense, the last Ant-Man movie was a lighter caper film. Ant-Man and the Wasp continues that tradition, as assorted characters race and battle to get hold of the same item.
Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is just a few days from finishing his house arrest, he's got a new security business going, and he's ready to stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, his dreams about Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) lead Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) to conclude that Janet is still alive in the quantum realm -- and they need Scott's help to bring her back to this world. So they break Scott out of his home, covering for him and telling him it'll be taken care of quickly.
Of course, it's not nearly that simple. Hank and Hope's plan revolves around their lab, which is in a building that can br shrunk to the size of carry-on luggage. This is hunted by Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), a woman who can become intangible and needs the lab to cure herself by extracting the energy from Janet -- which could kill Janet. The lab is also pursued by Sonny (Walter Goggins), a businessman who's promised to sell the lab to some disreputable people. So soon Scott has become Ant-Man, Hope is the new Wasp, and they're shrinking and enlarging things while fighting the enemies and working together.
Ant-Man and the Wasp is fun. The movie is more comedy than action, but the action sequences still work pretty well. There's some nice romantic chemistry between Scott and Hope, and the Ghost is one of the more sympathetic villains of the Marvel universe. This works well as summer escapism -- and fits in nicely with the Marvel universe.
While Marvel has enjoyed great cinematic success with its well-known characters, their Guardians of the Galaxy film did well with much lesser-known characters and a sillier feel. Now Marvel is trying the same with Ant-Man, a superhero movie that's part action, part comedy, part training montage, and part heist.
Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is a thief and electrical engineer who just got out of jail for a, er, noble theft. He wants to take care of his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Forston), but his ex-wife Maggie (Judy Greer) wants him to get a job, get a place to live, and pay child support first. And Maggie's fiancee Paxton (Bobby Cannavale) is a detective who thinks Scott is no good.
Scott can't get a job with his criminal record, so he eventually joins his criminal buddies Luis (Michael Pena), Dave (T.I.), and Kurt (David Dastmalchian) on what's supposed to be a perfect job. After Scott overcomes a number of obstacles, all he finds is "a motorcycle suit" and a helmet. When he gets curious and tries the suit on, he shrinks down to the size of an ant! He also hears a voice in the helmet.
The suit is the creation of Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), who had been the Ant-Man earlier in his life. Hank created the "Pym particles" that can shrink or enlarge matter -- and he's worried because businessman Darren Cross (Corey Stall) is on the verge of duplicating the Pym particle and using them to power a lethal armor called Yellowjacket -- which Cross will then sell as a weapon. Hank needs Scott to break in, destroy the data, and steal the Yellowjacket. Hank trains Scott in using the suit to manage his size, as well as controlling ants and throwing discs that shrink or enlarge what they hit. And Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Hank's daughter is training Scott to fight despite wanting to go on the mission herself. She's also pretending to work with Cross -- and has issues with her father, since he never told her what really happened to her mother.
Ant-Man is a lighter superhero movie. There are plenty of special effects (mainly when we see the ants seem like large beasts) and action (especially at the end), but there's more planning and training through the movie. Paul Rudd is best known as a comic actor, and he's an excellent choice to helm this movie; Scott Lang's fellow criminals are almost all comic relief. Ant-Man isn't perfect -- it follows a very straightforward story line, with relatively few surprises -- but it's a simple, likable summer movie.
Ever hear that saying about the fine line between insanity and genius? Well, King of California is themed around that old statement. It stars Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood.
Douglas plays Charlie, a bipolar patient that after a two year stay at an inpatient psychiatric facility is discharged back into the world. Sufferers of bipolar disease often exhibit grandiose ideas, and poor impulse control (at least in the manic phase). While he may not be a danger to self or others, and hence not need to be in the hospital, let's say that his disease is hardly cured. Shouldering much of the burden is his daughter, Miranda ( played by Wood). With the absence of her father, she had a lot of growing up to do quickly, and supported herself by working double shifts at the local Mickey D's despite being a minor. With her father back on her doorstep, her burden only increases, and the theme of who is really the adult here runs throughout this film.
The plot of King of California focuses on Charlie's latest "big idea" that he came up with while he was in the hospital from their library and the internet. He is hot on the trail to buried Spanish treasure left by a missionary Monk back in the 1600's, a Father Torres. While he has no money, there's no stopping Charlie as he buys a GPS unit, a metal detector, and even rents a backhoe for the big dig. Hot on the trail, the landscape of California has changed a little bit in the last three centuries, and he thinks that the buried treasure is smack dab in the middle of the neighborhood's Costco of all places. With a singularity of purpose, he plunges ahead towards the truth, as pictured in the image below.
The King of California has much going for it. For starters, the acting performances were well done. I don't know if Douglas spent time observing mental patients, but I believed that he was manic for most of the film. The flashbacks, unlike in many films, were also well done, appropriately inserted (with cues to make it obvious it was a flashback), and adds to the depth of the characters, and their unusual father-daughter relationship. The overall plot of chasing down a treasure is also engaging, and kept my attention throughout.
The part where this film stumbles is the end. It kind of feels like a song on the radio turned off midway, rather than ending on a strong major chord. While we do get answers on the treasure, and the veracity of Charlie's delusion, somehow it felt less than satisfying. Even given the lackluster ending, I can still recommend King of California to those looking for something a few magnitudes away from the mundane, and a good character study on bipolar disease.
If you're looking for action and suspense, then The Sentinel is sure to deliver. It features Michael Douglas, Keifer Sutherland and Eva Longoria.
The Sentinel focuses on the Presidential detail of the somewhat mysterious Secret Service. The plot is based on one of the agents being a mole, and the efforts to identify him while maintaning the security of our President. While this is all fictitious, with the ultra low profile of the Secret Service, this, and more could go on without us even knowing it anyway.
Even though the plot is fictional (thankfully!), considerable effort was put into the accuracy of the Secret Service's operations. Several recently retired agents consulted as technical advisors for the film. They even had the actors on the firing range so the shootouts would be more realistic (Longoria is quite accurate with a pistol reportedly).
The Sentinel is well paced, and quite believable. We get a glimpse into the operations of our most elite civilian agency. It is a must see for action and suspense movie fans. Also, don't miss the two featurettes on the Secret Service on the DVD.
