Marvel's Ant-Man Waste Another Villain

Like Aquaman, Ant-Man is known to the general audience as a laughable comic book hero.  What good is a guy who can shrink down to the size of an ant?  Director Peyton Reed, Paul Rudd, and the rest of Marvel Studios set to prove that they can make another unknown property popular just like Guardians of the Galaxy.

In this film Rudd plays Scott Lang, a smart ex-con who got thrown in jail because he was defying "the man." Scott wants to get is life back on track, back into his daughter's life, and scientist/millionaire Hank Pym wants to help.  Pym, played by Michael Douglas, wants Scott to break into his company and steal a prototype suit that will allow a solider to shrink down to micro size and be stronger than average size.  Pym's former protege Darren Cross, played by Corey Stoll, disagrees.  He wants to sell these suits and make billions, or finally gain approval from his father figure.  That's the confusing part to me.

Coming off of the epic Avengers: Age of Ultron it was nice to get a much more quiet film from Marvel to end Phase 2 of their cinematic universe.  Ant-Man was a heist movie with superheroes.  Scott had to break into a highly guarded building to steal a suit.  It was pretty straight forward and simple.  The side stories however were not.  This is a film about fathers and their children.  Scott and Hank's relationship to their daughters were at the forefront with Pym also being a father figure to both Darren and Scott.  Hank and his daughter Hope, played by Evangline Lilly, was done pretty well, but his disappointed mentor role for Darren fell flat.

Throughout the entire film I didn't get if Cross was trying to make the shrinking suit because he finally wanted Pym's approval, or if his first goal was to make money. He was like a mixture of Obadiah Stane and Loki; only not fleshed out enough.  Instead, Yellowjacket will just be another throw away Marvel villain.

I liked the smallness(no pun intended) of this film.  Hank warned that the world would be in danger if Cross succeeded, but given that Falcon gave Ant-Man a run for his money do you really think Iron Man or Thor would even break a sweat against Yellowjacket?  In any event, Michael Pena gets the "Steals The Movie" award as Scott's friend who is clearly there for comic relief.  His role could have gone the way of other bad comic relief like Jar Jar Binks and those racists robots in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.  But Pena made it work.  Granted the film had just a little too much humor for my taste, but it was also partly what made it feel so different from the last few Marvel films we've gotten.

I think the entire cast did a really good job with their parts.  But if anything, what Ant-Man suffered from was editing.  It felt like there was quite a few quick cuts that, as a person who has not only watched movies his entire life but also studied film making, were very noticeable.  Some people say the film seemed too long.  I think slowing things down to explore more of the relationships would have been better. 

For me, the two things that shined in this movie were how well the shrinking effects were done, and also the dialogue.  The script was very solid, and I was glad to see Edgar Wright, the man originally tapped to direct this film, got his due in the credits for his contributions.  

Overall, I think Ant-Man is a decent film.   It's no where near the quality of Captain America: The Winter Solider, but far from the garbage Iron Man 3 was.  It's got just a little bit too many silly moments to make it great, but it created some great characters.  I like Scott and Hope and I can't wait to see them incorporated into the bigger MCU scope.  

RATING:  C

P.S.  Too many MCU references.  "Why not call the Avengers" was fine.  "They're probably too busy dropping cities on people" was too much.

My Blu-Ray Purge

The other day I did something I've thought about for a while now.  I went through my blu-ray collection and got rid of a few movies that I felt did not live up the high standards I think my collection should project.  Now, a few movies I kept because my wife enjoys them.  Some of which have now been separated from the main collection like The Hobbit films and the Twilight saga.

Some blu-rays I thought long and hard about whether to give them up or not.  In the end, I felt like I kept a few people may disagree with, but I don't think anyone would argue with what I sold off.  Here are 3 I Sold, and 3 I Saved.

SOLD

Green Lantern (2011)

Like the Star Wars prequel trilogy I think there are some good qualities in this film, but suffered due to bad directing.  I wasn't on board when Ryan Reynolds was first cast as Hal Jordan, but he eventually won me over.  I even enjoyed Blake Lively as Carol Ferris and Mark Strong as Sinestro, but this messy film could not be saved by the great casting and mythology.  The movie had one of the weakest villains with Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond and a poop cloud as Parallax.  Whenever I try and watch this film I get about half way through and turn it off.  Such a shame.  I hope WB goes a better job with their Green Lantern Corps movie, but my hopes are not high.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

Speaking of great comic book villains turned into smoke monsters I give you the devourer of worlds; Galactus.  This is just one of many things wrong with this movie, from Jessica Alba's bleached hair to Mr. Fantastic break dancing.  Again, this film did have a few good things about it such as the Johnny/Ben banter and the Silver Surfer I felt was done pretty well.  But I also believe this movie was just more of a victim of it's time.  It came out the year before The Dark Knight and Iron Man was released, and a time before studios knew how to do these comic book properties right. 

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Ever heard the joke, "I thought The Avengers was Iron Man 3?"  If only.  Setting aside the whole Mandarin issue, this franchise hit a new low when War Machine was just a bystander and not the kick-ass soldier he is meant to be.  And did I mention Pepper got super powers?  The villain and plot of this film was so lame this ranks as my least favorite Marvel Studio film to date.  I'm seeing Ant-Man in a few hours, and I'm pretty sure it'll be better than this toy-selling vehicle. 

SAVED

The Punisher (2004)

Out of the three films starring Frank Castle this is still my favorite.  Some prefer War Zone, but it had too little of plot and character development for my enjoyment.  Sure this film has a few laughable moments that might not be intentional, but this is still the Punisher killing everyone involved in killing his family while still trying to come to grips with the tragedy himself.  Thomas Jane is a great actor and after the short film, Dirty Laundry, I think we'd all like to see Jane have another crack at playing Castle. "God's gonna sit this one out."  Classic dialogue!

Fantastic Four (2005)

Yes, the sequel to this film has very few redeemable qualities that make it watchable a second time, but this film I feel still stands up.  Aside from Sue Storm I think the cast is pretty solid; especially Chris Evans as the Human Torch and Julian McMahon has Dr. Doom.  It's a decent origin story with some laughs that I feel nailed the family dynamic between the four heroes.  Ben and Johnny are the kids,  Reed is the distracted dad, and Sue is the frustrated mom.  I'm hoping Fox's new interpretation(otherwise known as Ultimate FF) is a good one, but I feel like this film gets a bad rap from people who know nothing about Marvel's First Family.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

My 2nd least favorite Marvel Studio film, but my wife thinks Thor is hot. 'Nuff said.

My Top 5 Young Han Solo Casting Choices

Yesterday, a huge piece of Star Wars news broke as it was officially announced that Disney and Lucasfilm are indeed making a young Han Solo film that will be released in 2018 as part of their Star Wars Anthology series.  Disney also announced the directors of this film would be none other than the duo behind The LEGO Movie and 21 Jump Street; Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

While I would have preferred an announcement of a solo Obi-Wan film starring Ewan McGregor I am still excited about this news.  Lord and Miller have been on a hot streak ever since 21 Jump Street made me laugh so hard at Channing Tatum.  And it wasn't because of his bad acting for once, it was because he was actually funny.  With these two calling the shots you have to assume the film will have an element of comedy to it.  Han is known for is one liners so I can see this film being a bit light-hearted as Han makes his way in the galaxy with his charm and his smirk.

Not too long ago the debate went on about who would play the new Spider-Man.  Well now that bone has been picked dry and Hollywood has given us something new to chew on.  Who will play the young Han Solo?  I've got my choices narrowed down to five.

5) Richard Madden

Every time Rob Stark was on screen in the HBO series Game of Thrones Madden seemed to have an aura about him that commanded you're presence.  Rob wasn't one of my favorite characters but I thought Madden carried the character very well.  If he can bring that same aura to a Han Solo role I think he'll be well on his to play it the way Harrison Ford did.  On a side note, I also picked Madden to be the next Batman before Ben Affleck was cast. 

4) Ansel Elgort

Yes, I do admit that I watched The Fault In Our Stars because I always try to give each film and television show a fair shake before I dismiss it.  While the film was not good(liked I predicted) Elgort played the bad-boy-of-cancer very well.  He had a charm to him, and that's what we need in Han Solo.  We need an actor who can come off cocky and like him because of it.  That's what Ford did, and that's what I believe Elgort can do.

3) Taron Egerton

Having made a splash in this year's Kingsman: The Secret Service, Egerton has made his presence known in Hollywood and has proved he can carry an action film.  He's got the charm and the chops to pull off a scoundrel.

2) Penn Badgley

I first saw Badgely in the short-lived WB series, The Bedford Diaries, and he later found a home for several years on The CW series Gossip Girl while taking on several films like Easy A and John Tucker Must Die.  While I haven't always been a fan of his choices he has always seemed like a legit actor to me.  An actor who can carry a tough-guy vibe, but turn on some charm when needs be.  Sounds like Han Solo to me.

1) Garrett Hedlund

Once I had my list down I was concerned about several of their ages with them playing a "young" Han Solo.  I looked it up, and Harrison Ford was in his early 30's when started playing Han Solo and everyone on my list is 30 and below.   If Disney won't let Hedlund get another shot at Sam Flynn in a sequel to Tron: Legacy then they should let him play another wise-cracking hero with a chip on his shoulder.  Hedlund can do brooding so I don't see why he wouldn't nail this part.    

A Short Terminator Review

Ok kids, I have to go meet some friends for drinks so I'm going to give you my thoughts on Terminator Genisys as directly and eloquently as I can.  In the fifth installment of this franchise we actually see Kyle Reese travel from the future to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor from the original Terminator in the first film.  But when Kyle, played by Jai Courtney, arrives thinking he'll find a naive and scared Sarah Connor he finds one that has been raised by a Terminator ever since she was a little girl and ready for some action.  As always, our heroes now must find a way to stop Skynet from being activated and stopping Judgement Day from happening.

I liked the chemistry between Jai Courtney and Emilia Clarke, and think they will be good for the franchise, should another sequel be made.  The twist with John Connor put me off a bit, and really wasn't done well enough to matter.  Like Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, the film tried to add too may jokes to a franchise whose best film was taken totally seriously.  Terminator: Salvation lost the time-travel element that makes this series special, but this fifth film had plenty to make up for it's predecessor.  

Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to this franchise that made him famous, but still was not as good of performance as Terminator 2: Judgement Day.  With trying to make his robot personality funny it didn't pay off because it was used to frequently.  I think all the elements of a great film were here, but like the football coach that still lives off of his championship season many years ago, this film is far from the heights the Terminator name used to be. 

 Honestly, the Sarah/Kyle stuff was the highlight of the film and the only thing I stayed focused on.  She felt like ever since she was a girl she had a path she couldn't stray from, all the while trying to keep a secret from Kyle that they are supposed to fall in love and out of that would come John Connor; the world's greatest hero.  Kyle on the other hand grew up idolizing his own son, not knowing he was his father.  And John had to keep that secret from his best friend most of his life.

After the film I thought about the Sarah/Kyle/John dynamic and how much I love the time paradox.  John saved Kyle as a child from a Terminator.  Kyle then goes back in time to save Sarah and tells her how John saved him as a child.  Sarah then tells young John where and when to save Kyle later in his life, because without Kyle to go back in time John never would have been born.  I love time paradoxes!

So, in closing, Clark and Courtney were the good parts of the film and I'd be happy to go see another Terminator film sequel, provided they cut out trying to appeal to the broader audience with silliness and just give us some raw rated-R action with a deep time travel storyline.  Besides, we still don't even know who sent back '"Pops".  And yes, there is a mid-credits scene.

RATING:  C

5 Great Performances In 5 Bad Comic Book Movies

Today on my way to work I was listening to one of my old friend's podcast on iTunes. The Longbox Sessions stars Joshua Griffey and Alex Dandino as two sweaty nerds who talk movies, comics, and all things geeky.  Sometimes I think the guys can be a bit harsh on things of the pop culture nature, but in this week's podcast Griffey tried to be positive and mentioned a good performance in a "shitty" comic book movie.  This stuck with me today and got me thinking about other good performances by good actors who just got the short end of the stick because of how the rest of the film went.

5) Kelsey Grammar as Hank McCoy/Beast in X3

The third film in the X-Men film franchise is by far one of the most horrific comic book films I can think of.  Brett Ratner taking over directing for Bryan Singer almost ruined this billion dollar franchise.  However, the casting of Frasier alumni, Kelsey Grammer, as the X-Men's resident scientist was quite entertaining.  I'm glad Grammer got a second, though brief, chance to reprise his role in X-Men: Days of Future Past.  And amen that Singer is back directing Marvel's Mighty Mutants!

4) Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko/Sandman in Spider-Man 3

Yes, we are all still traumatized by emo-Peter doing his silly shuffle down the sidewalks of New York, and the underrated treatment of Venom and the Black Costume Saga.  But if the film would have just focused on one villain I think it would have been quite better.  Church is a top notch actor with roles in films like Sideways and George of the Jungle(a favorite of mine), and he did a terrific job of bringing out the humanity in a character that could have come off as silly.  One thing I especially enjoyed about Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy was making his villains relatable; like Flint Marko who was just trying to get money to help his sick daughter.

  

 3) Mark Strong as Sinestro in Green Lantern

Reading a Green Lantern comic with Hal Jordan as the hero can be entertaining.  But if Sinestro is right next to him the page will explode with excellence.  Sinestro has always been the other side of the coin to Jordan.  He's what Hal Jordan could be if he just stepped his toe over the fine line of justice.  And Sinestro actually believes his way is the right way.

Mark Strong is now known for his roles in Sherlock Holmes and Kingsman: The Secret Service, and as Griffey pointed out on The Longbox Sessions he was the perfect casting for Sinestro.  Like J.K. Simmons in Spider-Man, I would love to see this actor get another shot at this character, though I won't get my hopes up.

2) Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I don't know what Marvel and 20th Century Fox were thinking when they took a character who was known for telling jokes, and then get an actor to play that part who is also known for telling jokes, and then sew his mouth shut.  The only watchable parts in this X-Men spinoff was Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth.  I could also debate Taylor Kitsch as Gambit, but that may be just my favoritism for Tim Riggins.  Now, I'm not a big fan of Deadpool, but I am curious to see the new solo film coming out next year where Reynolds will return as the deadly assassin.  I'd also love to see a reference to him being mistaken for Spider-Man like in the comics, but somehow I don't think that will fly with Sony and Marvel Studios.

 1) Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

I'm only referencing the second FF film because I still enjoy watching the first one.  It was pre-2008 when comic book movies were still trying to find their footing.  Iron Man and The Dark Knight both came out in 2008 and changed how everyone thought about comic book/superhero films.

When Chris Evans was cast as Captain America I was very vocal about my disagreement.  I thought Evan was the perfect Johnny Storm.  It was like he was ripped right off of my comic pages.  At the time I only knew Evans as comedic relief like in The Losers.  But he proved me wrong and now I can't imagine Captain America being played by anyone else.  But I still think he was an awesome Human Torch.