"AMERICAN HUSTLE" (2013) Review

 

"AMERICAN HUSTLE" (2013) Review

Between 2010 and 2015, the career of David O. Russell had seemed to be on a roll. During this period, Russell had directed, produced or did both four movies that had garnered a great deal of acclaim and awards. The third of this "Golden Quartet" happened to be a period comedy-drama called "AMERICAN HUSTLE". 

Set mainly in 1978, "AMERICAN HUSTLE" is loosely based on the ABSCAM operation, set up by the F.B.I. as a sting operation against various government officials in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The movie begins with two con artists and lovers, Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser, who are caught in a loan scam by F.B.I. Special Agent Richie Di Maso. The latter proposes to release them if Irving assists him in a sting operation against Mayor Carmine Polito of Camden, New Jersey and other officials. Sydney tries to convince Irving not to agree with Richie's proposal. But desperate to avoid prison and reluctant to leave his adopted son with his verbose and slightly unstable wife Rosalyn, Irving agrees to assist Richie and the F.B.I. The sting operation nearly starts off on the wrong foot, thanks to a clumsy tactic on Richie's part, but Irving manages to woo back the charismatic and popular Carmine, who is seeking funds to revitalize gambling in Atlantic City. The scam seems to be going fine, despite Sydney's growing relationship with Richie. But when Carmine introduces Irving, Sydney and Richie to the notoriously violent Mafia overlord Victor Tellegio into the plan to raise money; and Rosalyn's jealous nature and notoriously big mouth threatens to expose the sting operation; Irving realizes he has to come up with an alternate plan to save him and Sydney from the Mob and the F.B.I.

While watching "AMERICAN HUSTLE", it occurred to me that it is filled with some very interesting and eccentric characters. First, there are the two lovebirds - Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser - with his odd toupee and her fake British accent. Then we have Richie Di Maso is an ambitious "Mama's Boy" with hair permed into tight curls, who is a bit too eager to prove himself with the F.B.I. Irving's wife Rosalyn is an unhappily married woman with a big mouth and a careless and self-involved personality. And Mayor Polito is a happy-go-lucky politician with a rather large pompadour hair-style and questionable connections to the Mob. The movie is also populated with a Latino F.B.I. agent recruited by Richie to potray a wealthy Arab sheik, a charming Mob soldier who ends up falling for Rosalyn, Richie's frustrated and wary F.B.I. supervisor, and a very sinister Mob boss that can speak Arabic. If I have to be perfectly honest, I would have to say that the movie's array of characters struck me as being the movie's strong point.

This should not have been a surprise. "AMERICAN HUSTLE" is also filled with some great performances. Christian Bale gave a wonderfully subtle and complex performance as the aging and stressed out con man who reluctantly finds himself involved with a scam operation set up by the F.B.I. He certainly clicked with Amy Adams, who gave one of the most subtle performances of her career as the charming, yet desperate former stripper-turned-con artist, who found herself in a state of flux over her freedom and her relationship with her partner/lover. Bradley Cooper was practically a basket of fire as the aggressive F.B.I. Agent Richie Di Maso, who become over-eager to make a name for himself within the Bureau. Mind you, there were moments when Cooper's performance seemed to border on hamminess. I could also say the same for Jennifer Lawrence's portrayal of Irving's not-so-stable wife, Rosalyn. However, I must admit that Lawrence also provided the movie with some of its best comic moments. Jeremy Renner was a joy to watch as the charismatic mayor of Camden, Carmine Polito. The latter must have been the most happy-go-lucky role he has ever done.

"AMERICAN HUSTLE" also featured some first-rate performances from the supporting cast. Louis C.K. was very effective Richie's long suffering boss, Special Agent Stoddard Thorsen. Michael Peña provided some memorable comic moments as Special Agent Paco Hernandez, who surprised everyone with his ability to speak Arabic. Robert De Niro, who also made a surprising appearance as mobster Victor Tellegio, gave a subtle and intimidating appearance . . . especially in a scene in which he tested Agent Thorsen's ability to speak Arabic. The movie also featured solid performances from Jack Huston as a young mobster, Alessandro Nivola as Richie and Thoren's boss, Anthony Zerbe as a corrupt congressman, and Elisabeth Röhm as Mayor Polito's equally happy-go-lucky wife Dolly.

I was also impressed by the production designs for "AMERICAN HUSTLE". Judy Becker and her team did an exceptional job of bringing the late 1970s back to life. She was also assisted by Heather Loeffler's set decorations and Jesse Rosenthal's art direction. Michael Wilkinson's costume designs did an excellent job of not only capturing that particular era, but also representing the major character. This was especially apparent in his costumes for the Sydney Prosser, who used low-cut dresses and gowns to distract her marks. And I mean very low cut.

If there is one problem I had with "AMERICAN HUSTLE", it is probably Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell's screenplay. At first, it seemed perfectly fine to me. But eventually, there were a few aspects of the screenplay I found either troubling or confusing. One, I noticed that Russell tried utilize the use of multiple narrations that Martin Scorsese used in his 1995 movie, "CASINO". At first, he used Irving and Sydney's narration. Then he added Richie's voice to the mix. The problem is that I can only recall Richie's narration in one scene. Nor do I recall Sydney's narration in the movie's second half. Also, the first half of the movie seemed to hint that Richie's mark in his operation was Camden's Mayor Polito, who wanted to raise funds to revitalize Atlantic City. Why? Why would the mayor of Camden be interested in revitalizing the fortunes of another city, located in another county? And why was the F.B.I. so interested in Camden's mayor? At first, I thought the agency was aware of his mob ties. But when Carmine introduced Irving and Richie to mobster Victor Tellegio, both the con man and the Federal agent seemed taken by the mobster's appearance. So, why did Richie target Carmine in the first place? To make matters even more confusing, Richie extended his sting operation to several members of Congress. There seemed to be no focus in the operation and especially in the narrative.  Or perhaps Richie had more than one target.  Who knows.

Despite the slightly confusing screenplay, I must admit that "AMERICAN HUSTLE" was a very entertaining movie. Not only did it recaptured the era of the 1970s, but also featured some superb performances from a cast led by Christian Bale and Amy Adams. I thought it was entertaining enough to overlook its flaws.

"MY FELLOW AMERICANS" (1996) Review

"MY FELLOW AMERICANS" (1996) Review

When "MY FELLOW AMERICANS", was first released, I found myself wondering if Jack Lemmon and James Garner had ever co-starred in a movie or television production together. After checking several websites, including the IMDb, I discovered that this 1996 political comedy was the only production in which they worked together. How sad.

Directed by Peter Segal, "MY FELLOW AMERICANS" told the story of two former U.S. Presidents and long time political rivals - Republican Russell Kramer of Ohio and Democratic Matt Douglas of Indiana - who find themselves caught up in a political scandal called "Olympia" that originated with Kramer's former Vice-President, the current President William Haney of Texas and a defense contractor named Charlie Reynolds. The story began with Kramer spending his time writing cookbooks and speaking at various inconsequential functions and Douglas in the middle of writing his memoirs and dealing with a divorce. The Democratic National Committee chairman, Joe Hollis, asked Douglas to investigate "Olympia" in return for consideration as a future presidential candidate. Kramer discovers that Haney and the latter's Chief of Staff, Carl Witnaur, are trying to frame him for the scandal. Reynolds finally contacts Douglas during a book convention at Washington D.C.'s Union Station in order to confess. Unfortunately, he is assassinated by government thugs commanded by NSA agent Colonel Paul Tanner. Both Douglas and Kramer, who was also at the convention, stumble across Reynolds' dead body. Before the pair can confront Kramer about the scandal and Reynolds, they find themselves being targeted by Tanner and the NSA. Kramer and Douglas are forced to put aside their personal animosity and journey to the former's presidential museum in Ohio to find evidence that would exonerate him and place more suspicion on Haney - while keeping a few steps ahead of Tanner's thugs.

"MY FELLOW AMERICANS" is not exactly regarded as one of the best films in either Jack Lemmon and James Garner's filmography. Not by film critics and not by me. I am not claiming that it is a terrible film. But to be honest, "MY FELLOW AMERICANS" was not exactly an exceptional film. There are certain aspects of it that made it a rather silly at times. For me, the worst aspect of the movie was that director Peter Segal and the screenwriters sometimes presented the humor in a "vaudeville" style in which the jokes came out at a pace that struck me as too fast to be appreciated. And the jokes given to some of the supporting cast struck me as a bit lame. Although the movie did establish Douglas' penchant for finding ways to avoid his Secret Service detail (yes . . . former presidents are still guarded by the Secret Service), it never established how Kramer managed to avoid his detail at Union Station before he and Douglas found Charlie Reynolds' dead body.

And yet . . . years after I first saw "MY FELLOW AMERICANS", I still finding it very entertaining. Despite the occasional lame jokes, I still consider it to be a hilarious movie. Not all of the jokes are lame. In fact, a good number of them struck me as rather sharp and funny:

"Oh, yeah, I'm about to share my coffee with the Washington Love Machine. No dice. You could spit in a Petri dish and start a whole new civilization." - Russell Kramer to Matt Douglas

Matt Douglas: A cookbook. He [Kramer] wrote a cookbook. How dare he?
Joanna: Well, you know, when he was President, he did cook for his guests all the time.
Matt Douglas: That's not the point. Did George Washington write a book called "Your Wooden Teeth and You?" Did William Howard Taft write "Thirty Days To A Slimmer Ass?" It's shameful, just shameful.

"Don't do that with the liquor, Russ. It's so... George Bush." - Margaret Kramer to Russell Kramer

Matt Douglas (at the funeral of a former president): You're a whore. Admit it. Admit you're a big whore. Go ahead.
Russell Kramer: Name three women from the District of Columbia that you didn't bang when you were in office - what am I talking about? Name one.
Matt Douglas: Screw you.
Russell Kramer: Blow me.
[Rifles fire]

It was not just the one-liners that made "MY FELLOW AMERICANS" a lot of fun to watch. One, the movie featured a road trip that stretched from North Carolina to Cleveland, Ohio and back to Washington D.C. And I am just a sucker for road trips. And two, this road trip was made by two men who have loathed each other for years and were forced to work together to bring down a corrupt Presidential administration . . . while evading a group of lethal government thugs. Three, the road trip also forced the two men to escape the political bubble of Washington D.C. and become acquainted with the country and the people that populated it. Which means, this movie also featured some good old-fashioned character development. This was especially the case when Kramer and Douglas encountered an illegal immigrant and a marcher/trombonist in a West Virginia Gay Pride parade, who both helped the pair evade Tanner's murderous thugs; and a family that found itself homeless and jobless, thanks to their administration policies and forced to move to a new location for a much-needed job. In fact, the two ex-presidents' encounter with this family provided a better lesson on the futility of American politicians than any political commentator or historian has ever done.

Most of all, "MY FELLOW AMERICANS" benefited from the performances from a first-rate cast. The movie featured some amusing performances from Esther Rolle, who portrayed a White House cook; Wilford Brimley as the DNC's wily chairman; Conchata Farrell as a sardonic truck driver conveying immigrant illegals; a very young Michael Peña as a sweet and charming illegal immigrant who helped the two former Presidents evade the NSA; Tom Everett as the single-minded NSA agent leading the search for the presidential pair; Marg Helgenberger as Douglas' charming and intelligent book editor; Sela Ward as a sharp and witty journalist investigating the Olympia scandal; Bradley Whitford as President Haney's sleazy Chief of Staff; Jack Kehler and Connie Ray as the generous and homeless couple who gave Douglas and Kramer a ride.

There were performances that really caught my attention. One came from Everett McGill, who gave an intense performance as the ruthless NSA agent Colonel Paul Tanner. Lauren Bacall gave a very witty and charming performance as former First Lady Margaret Kramer. Jeff Yagher was both charming and delightful as the gay parade trombonist, whose real identity proved to be even more surprising. And Dan Ackroyd was deliciously sardonic and slick as the corrupt President Haney. But aside from the two leads, the funniest performance came from John Heard, who had me rolling on the floor with laughter as Haney's dimwitted Vice-President Ted Matthews, who had a talent for saying the wrong thing . . . at the wrong time.

But the stars of the movie were our two leads, Jack Lemmon and James Garner. Earlier, I had commented that it was sad that "MY FELLOW AMERICANS" was the only time they had worked together. It was no comment on the movie itself. I had recently learned that Walter Matthau was supposed to be Lemmon's co-star in this film (as he had been in the past). But Matthau was ill at the time and the filmmakers cast James Garner to take his place. And it is sad that the two actors had only worked with each other once for they were not only hilarious together, they managed to form a first-rate screen team. Both actors had been around since the 1950s and it took over forty years for them to do a movie together? What a shame! Lemmon was fabulous as the overly frugal former Republican president Russell Kramer, who fears being left behind and forgotten after his four years in office. Playing yang to Lemmon's yin was James Garner, who gave a delicious performance as the sardonic former Democratic president Matt Douglas, a sharp-tongued ladies' man who spends more time finding ways to evade his Secret Service detail than making a life after his four years in office.

"MY FELLOW AMERICANS" also featured a nice soundtrack that featured a breezy score created by William Ross. The latter also included some very entertaining songs from the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Presley, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Stevie Wonder and John Mellencamp. However, what I really enjoyed was Julio Macat's colorful photography, which I thought did justice to the movie's North Carolina and Washington D.C. locations.

I would never regard "MY FELLOW AMERICANS" as a cinematic masterpiece, let alone, a comedic one. There were times when the jokes moved too fast, along with the movie's pacing. But I cannot deny that the movie featured some first-rate humor and nail-biting action sequences, thanks to Peter Segal's direction. More importantly, "MY FELLOW AMERICANS" featured some strong characterizations, thanks to the screenwriters and first-rate performances from a cast led by Jack Lemmon and James Garner.

"MY FELLOW AMERICANS" (1996) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from the 1996 political comedy, "MY FELLOW AMERICANS". Directed by Peter Segal, the movie starred Jack Lemmon and James Garner:

"MY FELLOW AMERICANS" (1996) Photo Gallery

"ANT-MAN & THE WASP" (2018) Review

"ANT-MAN & THE WASP" (2018) Review

Two months after the theatrical release of the explosive "THE AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR", the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) released "ANT-MAN & THE WASP", the sequel to the 2015 movie, "ANT-MAN". Peyton Reed, who had directed the previous film, returned to helm the latest one. 

Set two years following the events of "CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR", "ANT-MAN & THE WASP" found Scott Lang aka Ant-Man nearing the end of two years of house arrest for his participation in the battle at Leipzig Airport in Germany and his violation of the Sokovia Accords. Unbeknownst to Scott, his use of the Ant-Man suit and arrest led the U.S. government to view Dr. Hank Pym's Ant-Man particles technology and the Ant-Man suit as a violation of the Sokovia Accords. Both Hank and his daughter, Hope van Dyne, ended up becoming wanted fugitives from the law.

In the film's opening, Hank and Hope briefly manage to open a tunnel to the Quantum Realm, where they believe his wife, Dr. Janet van Dyne, might still be trapped after shrinking to sub-atomic levels during a mission as the Wasp in 1987. Two (or three) days before the end of his house arrest, Scott has a dream about him taking on Janet's body, when he was briefly inside the Quantum Realm two years earlier. He leaves a telephone message to Hank about the dream and a few hours later, finds himself kidnapped by Hope. Despite their anger at Scott for his actions with Captain America two years earlier, Hope and Hank need his help to stabilize Hank's quantum tunnel and pinpoint Janet's location, so they can retrieve her. However, there are a few problems that the trio have to overcome: 1) Evading Special FBI Agent Jimmy Woo, who has been assigned to monitor Scott; 2) prevent both arms dealer Sonny Birch and a quantumly unstable masked woman from Hank's past named Ava Starr aka "Ghost" from stealing Hank's shrunken lab that contains the quantum tunnel.

In the wake of movies like "BLACK PANTHER" and "THE AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR", "ANT-MAN & THE WASP" seemed like a light, adventure frolic in compare. Like its 2015 predecessor, the movie is a story about a family. Yes, I can anticipate the next comment. "BLACK PANTHER" was also a family saga. But unlike that film, "ANT-MAN & THE WASP"is a lighter fare that centered around the Pym-van Dyne family and the rescue of one particular member - Dr. Janet van Dyne aka the Wasp. Or the first Wasp. For once, Scott's relationship with his daughter Cassie Lang does not play a major role in the film's narrative. But his business relationship and friendship with his fellow ex-convicts - Luis, Dave and Kurt - did. Luis, along with Dave, Kurt and Scott had created a home security firm called X-Con Security Consultants. However, Scott's efforts to help Hank and Hope threatened the friends' plans to recruit new clients and financing for their new firm. After many mishaps, kidnappings and brushes with the law, Scott managed to recruit his friends to help the Pym-van Dyne family rescue Janet van Dyne from the Quantum Realm and deal with the threat of the Ghost and especially, Sonny Burch. And Hank's past conflict with former colleague Elihas Starr led to him dealing with the latter's angry and desperate daughter, Ava Starr aka Ghost.

Just like the 2015 movie, "ANT-MAN & THE WASP" brimmed with a great deal of light and witty humor. Some of the humor struck me as a bit too light - especially Hope's use of the large-sized ant to fool the F.B.I. into believing that Scott had not broken his house arrest. But a good deal of the humor struck me as spot-on. This included a sequence in which Scott, while wearing Hank's unfinished Ant-Man suit, breaking into Cassie's school locker to retrieve the old one; Scott's witty interactions with the F.B.I. agent monitoring him, Agent Jimmy Woo; and the crazy car chase through San Francisco's streets in which Team Pym struggled to prevent both Sonny Burch's men and Ava from getting their hands on Hank's mobile lab. But if I had to select the funniest - and what I believe to be the second-best - scene in the movie, it would have to be the one in which Sonny Burch and his men attempt to extract information from Luis using drugs, while Dave and Kurt looked on. That had to be the funniest scene in the movie and one of the funniest in the entire MCU franchise.

"ANT-MAN & THE WASP" also featured some pretty good action sequences. First and foremost was the San Francisco car chase mentioned in the previous paragraph. I thought director Peyton Reed did an excellent job in switching back and forth between the scenes that featured either Ant-Man or the Wasp and Luis during the sequence. Both Ant-Man and the Wasp's fight scenes with the Ghost struct me as entertaining and a little mind-blowing. At the same time, Reed and the film's special effects team did an excellent job in conveying how the Pym particles tech used by Ant-Man, the Wasp and Luis affected the chase sequence. This chase culminated in an excellent visual moment in which an enlarged Ant-Man rose through San Francisco Bay in order to get his hands on Hank's lab, which had been snatched by Sonny Burch. Truly a memorable moment. But my favorite sequence featured the Wasp's first-rate brawl with Sonny Burch's men inside a San Francisco restaurant, as she attempted to retrieve the money she and Hank had gathered to pay for a piece of equipment that Burch had refused to give her.

However, for a movie strong on comedy, it provided a good deal of emotional drama and pathos in the film. After all, at its heart, "ANT-MAN & THE WASP" is a family-dominated film. Just as I had earlier pointed out. The movie opened on an emotional note as audiences watched Hank and Janet say good-bye to a young Hope before embarking on that mission that would leave Janet lost in the Quantum Realm for the next three decades. Between Janet's communication to her family via Scott's body, the revelation of Ava's family tragedy and her current physical state and more importantly, Janet's actual reunion with Hank and Hope; the movie brimmed with some deep and very satisfying emotions. The one sequence that left me in tears proved to be the Pym-Van Dyne family reunion. Audiences did not learn, until the film's first post-credit scene that the events of "ANT-MAN & THE WASP" had occurred before and during the events of "THE AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR". And ironically, that last moment in which moviegoers discovered how Thanos' snap affected the character in this movie struck me as more tragic and effective than the ending of "INFINITY WAR". 

As much as I enjoyed "ANT-MAN & THE WASP", I cannot deny that it had flaws. For me, the film's main flaws stemmed from "CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR" and the Sokovia Accords. I have never liked the Sokovia Accords story arc. Not only did I find it questionable written, but not fully explored by the MCU after the 2016 movie - with the exception of early Season Four of "AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D." and "ANT-MAN & THE WASP". My main problem with the Sokovia Accords is that the MCU writers do not seem to know the difference between an accord and a law. And since neither Scott, Hank or Hope had signed the document, I saw no reason why they should be affected. 

But apparently, after being rescued from the government's Raft by Steve Rogers aka Captain America; along with Clint Burton aka Hawkeye made a deal with the Federal courts and settled for two years of house arrest for violating the Accords. While being incarcerated inside the Raft, Scott had unintentionally revealed Hank's name, which led both Tony Stark aka Iron Man and Thaddeus Ross to recall that Hank Pym had created the Ant-Man suit. But when Scott made the deal, both Hank and Hope became wanted fugitives because Hank had not registered the Ant-Man suit. I have a lot of problems with this scenario. 

One, due to the bombing in Vienna, Austria; the Accords had not yet been ratified when Scott and Clint were first arrested. Two, Hank had first created the Ant-Man suit back in the 1980s and had been unaware of Scott's use of the suit in Berlin. After being freed by Steve, Scott had shrunken the suit and mailed it to his daughter Cassie, while declaring that it had been destroyed. If the suit was officially considered destroyed, why was Scott arrested anyway without the crucial evidence any prosecutor would need to convict him? Why were Hank and Hope declared as fugitives for failing to register a suit that officially no longer existed? Why did Hope become a wanted fugitive? The Feds remained unaware of the Wasp suit and her use of it. And she had played no role in the creation of the Ant-Man suit. Also, the writers did not need the Sokovia Accords as a reason for Scott to face conviction and house arrest. He had violated his parole when he left the country to help Steve, Sam Wilson aka the Falcon and the others. One day, I will write an article on why I regard the Sokovia Accords arc as the biggest pile of shit ever created by the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). But I will add that the story arc made the narrative for "ANT-MAN & THE WASP" occasionally frustrating for me.

"ANT-MAN & THE WASP" suffered from one more flaw. The movie's villains did not strike me as particularly strong. As individual characters, both Sonny Burch and Ava Starr were interesting. They did not strike me as strong adversaries for this movie. Sonny was basically a slick capitalist who wanted to use Hank's technology to bolster his bank account. And his story arc was comedic at best. Although Ava provided plenty of strum and drang in the plot - including her threat to kidnap Cassie Lang and use her to convince Scott to hand over Hank's portable lab. But Ava's goal was fueled by anger at Hank for what happened to her father, and a desperate desire to use his quantum technology. By the end of the film, it took Janet to help stabilize her condition. Although I found both characters interesting, neither was another Darren Cross aka Yellowjacket, who had proven to be a more interesting and dangerous character to me. 

I certainly had no problems with the film's performances. Abby Ryder Fortson, Judy Greer and Bobby Cannavale gave solid performances as Scott's daughter Cassie Lang, his ex-wife Maggie Paxton and the latter's second husband, police officer Jim Paxton. Randall Park gave a funny and sly performance as F.B.I. Special Agent Jimmy Woo (who was a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent), who happened to be Scott's parole officer. Laurence Fishburne proved to be both humorous and enduring as Dr. Bill Foster, Hank's former partner who became Ava's guardian following the deaths of her parents. Both Tip "T.I." Harris and David Dastmalchian were hilarious as Scott's friends and co-owners of the X-Con Security firm, Dave and Kurt. Once again, Michael Peña proved to be a comedic dream as Scott's closest friend, Luis, who proved to be the brainchild of X-Con Security. Harris, Dastmalchian and especially Peña were breathtakingly funny in one scene in which Luis found himself being interrogated by Sonny Burch after being injected with truth serum. That has to be, without a doubt, the funniest scene in any MCU movie I have ever watched.

Michelle Pfieffer was only seen in the film's pre-credit and post-credit scenes, along with at least fifteen minutes of the main narrative. And yet, being the first-rate actress that she is, managed to provide a very poignant performance as the missing Dr. Janet van Dyne aka the former Wasp. Due to the comedic elements of his character, Sonny Burch did not strike me as a particularly memorable villain. But I cannot deny that I found the character very entertaining, thanks to Walton Goggins' smooth and insidious performance that seemed to be punctuated with a good deal of sharp comedy. I have only seen Hannah John-Kamen in at least two other films - "TOMB RAIDER" and "READY PLAYER ONE". While I found her appearance in the latest Lara Croft film rather brief and unmemorable, I was very impressed by her intense performance as one of the villains in "READY PLAYER ONE". In "ANT-MAN & THE WASP", John-Kamen skillfully added a lace of desperation to her intense performance as Ava Starr who frantically tries to get her hands on Hank's quantum lab in order to save her life. 

After viewing "ANT-MAN & THE WASP", I think I was more impressed with Michael Douglas' portrayal of Dr. Hank Pym aka the former Ant-Man than I was in the 2015 film. This movie revealed just how emotionally volatile and annoying Hank Pym could be. Douglas did a superb job in exploring Hank's not-so-pleasant personality and at the same time, managed to make him still likable. Evangeline Lilly's portrayal of the film's leading lady Hope van Dyne aka the Wasp struck me as more relaxed in this film than in it was back in 2015. That is understandable, considering that Hope seemed to be in a better place emotionally in her relationship with her father and as the new Wasp. I also happily noticed that Lilly managed to give a more witty, relaxed and elegant performance. I also found her rather funny, thanks to scenes that featured her scenes with Scott at Cassie's school and Luis' drug-enhanced flashbacks during his interrogation by Burch. Paul Rudd was equally funny as the movie's leading man, Scott Lang aka Ant-Man. Rudd brought his usual charm and comic timing to the fore throughout the movie. But he also proved what a truly first-rate actor he can be - especially in one scene in which Janet's spirit took control of his body. He did an excellent job in recapturing Pfieffer's mannerisms and diction without being heavy-handed or obvious.

Overall, I enjoyed "ANT-MAN & THE WASP" very much. My only problems with the film was that it could have used a stronger villain and screenwriters used the Sokovia Accords as part of its narrative, when it was unnecessary. However, "ANT-MAN & THE WASP" featured some great direction by Peyton Reed, excellent performances by a cast led by Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly, a first-rate family comedy-drama and a very memorable and poignant post-credit scene.

"ANT-MAN AND THE WASP" (2018) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "ANT-MAN AND THE WASP", the 2018 sequel to the 2015 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie, "ANT-MAN". Directed by Peyton Reed, the movie stars Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly as Scott Lang aka Ant-Man and Hope Van Dyne aka the Wasp: 



"ANT-MAN AND THE WASP" (2018) Photo Gallery