Tag: Paul Rudd

Film review-Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, attempts to continue the saga of Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man, and his allies as they venture into the Quantum Realm. However, the film struggles to find its footing, suffering from a lack of narrative direction and inconsistent pacing. While the movie retains some of the humor that made the first two Ant-Man films so enjoyable, it also becomes bogged down in attempts to tie into previous Marvel movies and remind viewers of past events.

The film’s reliance on green screen technology to create its fantastical worlds is unfortunately marred by poor editing, resulting in distracting inconsistencies and uncanny character renderings. Despite this, the movie does have its moments of charm and heart, particularly in the subplot involving Scott’s relationship with his daughter Cassie. However, the broader narrative struggles to find a balance between the intimate family drama and the larger-than-life action sequences.

Perhaps the strongest aspect of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the introduction of Kang the Conquerer, played with menacing brilliance by Jonathan Majors. Majors’ portrayal of the villain injects a much-needed dose of gravitas and terror into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making Kang a worthy adversary for the heroes to face off against.

Overall, while Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania may please diehard fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it falls short of the high expectations set by its predecessors. The film’s attempts to expand beyond its titular hero and its reliance on callbacks to previous movies ultimately detract from the potential for a standalone adventure.

⭐⭐

Film review-This is 40

Judd Apatow has grown as a director. He started out doing funny-vulgar 20130102-090252.jpghumour, like “Knocked Up” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” and producing similar comedies. Like with his last movie “funny people” Apatow has opted to not totally ignore the vulgar humour, but to intercut it with deeper subject matters, such as love, marriage, parenthood, responsibility and family, for the most part, it works.
“This is 40” is a spin-off to “knocked up” With Paul Rudd (Pete) Leslie Mann (Debbie) Maude Apatow (Sadie) and Iris Apatow (Charlotte) all reprising their roles. You may notice the absence of Katherine Heigel and Seth Rogen, this is due to Heigel very opening bashing Apatow during the press conferences for Knocked Up. Although Seth Rogen doesn’t appear, his character is mentioned.
Times are tough for the family, Sadie is going through puberty and is turning into a drama queen and they’re having huge financial difficulty. Pete’s record company is going bust and his deadbeat dad (Albert Brooks) is sponging money from him.

The first half of the movie plays out like a standard Apatow comedy, but then it goes a lot deeper and examines the characters relationships and problems. It becomes more and more interesting as the story unfolds. What’s unique about this film is, there is no obvious happy ending. The characters still annoy each other, there isn’t a quick-fix happy ever after ending, which really makes this movie stand heads and shoulders above the rest.

I enjoyed this movie and I loved catching up with these characters, but it was a little too long. Some scenes could have easily been cut, to make it run a bit smoother. With the same cast and creative team this would make an excellent HBO or Showtime series.