Ant-Man and the Wasp
Dir. Peyton Reed
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Coming off of the epic crossover event Avengers: Infinity War where the fate of the universe was in the balance, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a refreshingly smaller adventure, in more ways than one! It's light and funny and takes everything that worked about the first Ant-Man and expands the world and characters in fun new ways. Although the movie nerd world will forever question what Edgar Wright's Ant-Man would have looked like had he not been given the boot - Peyton Reed more than stepped up to the plate!
The film begins with the incredible shrinking Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) under house arrest after his involvement in Captain America: Civil War. As a result, the security business he started with his former criminal buddies, X-Con, is struggling, with his talkative and dweebish cellmate Luis (Michael Pena) put in charge of things. All Scott has to do is stay out of trouble for a few more days until his electronic anklet comes off, but of course that's when his old friends Hope "The Wasp" Van Dyne (Evangeline Lily) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), show up at his house and break him out for another adventure! Which this time explores the "quantum realm," where Pym's missing wife (Michelle Pfieffer) may still be trapped, as well as a villain bent on finding said wife and a mustache-twirling businessman who wants to steal the shrinking technology from Pym.
There are about four or five plots going on at the same time, but somehow Peyton Reed keeps them all spinning, and non-stop entertaining! Paul Rudd is perfect here, providing the bumbling "everyman" dad-joke commentary on the craziness happening - as well as providing one of my favorite scenes in the entire MCU when another character possesses his body. Michael Pena likewise has amazing, fast-talking comedic chops, with another highlight being a scene in which he's given truth serum and goes on a long tangent.
I love how this film continues to build off the world established in the first Ant-Man. The action scenes are constantly dynamic as characters shrink and enlarge themselves and the objects around them during fights (especially during the extended final chase through San Francisco). I love the look of the "worker ants" tinkering around Pym's laboratory, and how the teeny-tiny "quantum realm" is visualized. The physics and creativity of these particular characters are utilized brilliantly throughout this film.
In the grand scheme of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man and the Wasp may seem like a "trifle," but damn is it a good trifle! Exactly what I want out of a superhero movie, it's simply a blast from start to finish!
Final Verdict:
SEE IT!
The First Purge
Dir. Gerard McMurray
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At this point, I feel like I'm in an abusive relationship with the Purge series. Although I had already seen three of these movies and been disappointed by EVERY ONE, like a mindless lemming I leaped over the cliff again into this fourth entry in the horror franchise, the prequel The First Purge. While I did think this film had more to offer in terms of biting political commentary, it's still not living up to the potential this series has to offer!
The premise of the Purge is that for one night a year, all crime is legal in the United States - all in an effort to drive down crime rates for the rest of the year. This film explores how it came to be: with a new political party, the New Founding Fathers, testing their first experimental purge on an isolated community. However, looking behind the scenes, the NFF's methods are sketchy at best, recruiting impoverished people to participate by offering them money, and under-the-radar putting more crazy people into the city when the "purgers" aren't killing each other right away! I think it's kind of a clever commentary on America right now, but the film itself just lacks much in the way of a good story or scary set pieces.
Final Verdict:
WAIT FOR NETFLIX
Sorry to Bother You
Dir. Boots Riley
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Sorry to Bother You takes the cake for "weirdest movie of 2018" I've seen so far. It's about a black telemarketer, Cassius "Cash" Greene (Lakeith Stanfield), who discovers an ability to make more sales by putting on his "white voice" (dubbed in by comedian David Cross). At this point, Cash's career skyrockets, and soon he becomes embroiled in the crazy business world run by the cocaine-snorting CEO Steve Lift (Armie Hammer), whose program WorkFree more or less presents a kind of legal way to "sell" people on becoming a slave for the company! Caught between the world of corporate security while his friends are protesting the company at the same time, as well as his identity of being black/white, and later even more trippy identity confusions, Sorry to Bother You feels like a fascinating idea explored in literally every way possible, without consideration for logic or audience patience for lunacy!
I can definitely see why this film might appeal to a certain crowd (like Adult Swim-watching stoners), but I just couldn't get into it. When it comes to ambitious movies that deal with the theme of black identity and how the "ghosts" of slavery still linger on in America today, last year's fantastic Get Out deals with the subject with much more sophistication and subtlety.
Final Verdict:
WAIT FOR NETFLIX
Whitney
Dir. Kevin Macdonald
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Whitney Houston pretty much had one of the best voices in music ever. It's not even up for debate! But her amazing, god-given talent is often overshadowed by her troubled life, in an abusive relationship with Bobby Brown and a serious drug problem that led to an early death at the age of 48. This documentary from Kevin Macdonald uses a boatload of interviews and archival footage to examine her life - from her rise to stardom to her ultimate downfall - in an effort to process the tragedy of her life.
If you are a fan of Houston, biographical documentaries, or music in general, you should watch Whitney!
Final Verdict:
SEE IT!
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