Ant-Man and the Wasp

Based on the Ant-Man comic series by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby and the Wasp comic series by Lee, Kirby, and Ernie Hart, Ant-Man and the Wasp is the sequel to the 2015 film Ant-Man in which the titular character teams up with the Wasp on a new mission to protect not just their technology from new foes but also use it to enter the Quantum Realm in the hope they can find Janet van Dyne. Directed by Peyton Reed and screenplay by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrier, and Gabriel Ferrari, the film follows Scott Lang/Ant-Man as he tries to balance his life as a father and superhero while being watched by authorities for his involvement in a dispute between Captain America and Iron Man two years earlier as he also tries to help Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne/Wasp with a mission as Paul Rudd reprises his roles as Lang/Ant-Man along with Evangeline Lilly as van Dyne/Wasp, and Michael Douglas as Pym. Also starring Michael Pena, Hannah John-Kamen, Walton Goggins, Judy Greer, Bobby Cannavale, Tip “T.I.” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Abby Ryder Fortson, Randall Park, Laurence Fishburne, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne. Ant-Man and the Wasp is a sprawling and witty film from Peyton Reed.

Set two years after events in which Scott Lang/Ant-Man aided Captain America in a dispute with Iron Man in Berlin that eventually lead to his arrest, the film revolves around Lang reluctantly helping Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne/Wasp over information relating to the Quantum Realm believing that Hank’s wife/Hope’s mother Janet van Dyne could still be alive. Yet, there are forces that want Pym’s technology believing that the Quantum Realm has so much to offer forcing Pym and van Dyne to go on the run as well as do their work in secrecy as they’re still upset at Lang for his aiding Captain America two years earlier. The film’s screenplay definitely play into the stakes of what Lang, Pym, and van Dyne are trying to do to protect their technology as well as the fact that there isn’t much time to retrieve Janet who had given Lang a message during his brief encounter with the Quantum Realm a few years ago. Even as part of Janet is in Lang’s mind where he would briefly communicate with her husband and daughter in Lang’s body in a key scene in the film.

With the possibility of getting Janet back, the trio of Lang, Pym, and van Dyne are also dealing with black markets dealer in Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) who has a component that Pym needs but he becomes aware of what the Quantum Realm can bring believing it can make him super-rich. Adding to Lang and van Dyne’s trouble is a mysterious being known as Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) who can move through objects as she wants the technology to cure herself as she also has a grudge towards Pym since her father used to work with Pym many years ago until a falling out occurred leading to Starr’s father to work on an experiment that would affect Starr in her present state. The trouble that Lang, Pym, and van Dyne are dealing with force them to seek help from Lang’s friend Luis (Michael Pena) whom Lang is trying to start a security business with as they also seek the help from a former colleague of Pym in Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne) who also knows about the Quantum Realm as he is reluctant to help out Pym due to the fact they had a falling out in the past as well. With all of this drama in trying to get Janet back, Lang is a few days away from finishing up his house arrest sentence as he’s trying not to screw up often turning to his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Forston) for advice as she is aware that her father is a superhero and knows what needs to be done.

Peyton Reed’s direction is stylish in terms of the action set pieces and humorous moments that is created in the film yet he also would balance it with some drama and low-key scenes that don’t require action as it relates to the human stories within the film as it is really about family. A man trying to balance his role as superhero who can shrink into the size of an ant and be a father to his daughter while helping to repair a father and daughter’s relationship by getting the mother back in the picture. Shot largely in San Francisco with several locations shot in Atlanta and at Pinewood Atlanta Studios including Savannah, Georgia. The film does play into this world where it is about the stakes as Reed would infuse elements of the chase scenes for a key sequence in San Francisco as well as moments that are suspenseful with the usage of the wide and medium shots. Reed would also wisely know when to give the audience a break from the action in favor of these human moments where there are elements of exposition including a hilarious exposition montage from Luis about how he met Lang and such.

Reed’s usage of close-ups and medium shots play into the character interactions that would include these scenes involving Lang, Pym, and van Dyne in their encounter with Starr as it is filled with suspense and drama. There are also some somber moments such as the opening scene as it relates to Pym and Janet van Dyne talking to a young Hope (Madeleine McGraw) about going on a trip that would become the mission that would lead to Janet’s disappearance. Even as it has Lang get Janet’s message through a memory of Janet’s as it does have these touching human moments. The scenes set in the Quantum Realm are surreal as it does play into this alternate reality of sorts yet it also shows what it can provide as it says so much into what Starr wants from it as well as Burch with the latter thinking more about money. The film’s climax does revolve around this lab that Pym and van Dyne have been building for years as well as the race to get Janet back home with Starr wanting to get the technology for herself prompting a showdown between her against Lang and van Dyne. Overall, Reed crafts a whimsical and exhilarating film about two superheroes trying to stop evil forces to protect their technology so they can bring someone back home.

Cinematographer Dante Spinotti does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it’s largely straightforward to play into the look of the exteriors in the day and night as well as some low-key lighting for scenes at Starr’s home and at the building where Luis and his friends are trying to start their security business. Editors Dan Lebental and Craig Wood do terrific work with the editing as it does have bits of style such as Luis montage exposition as well as some rhythmic cuts to play into the action and humor. Production designer Shepherd Frankel, with supervising art director Jay Pelissier plus set decorators Gene Serdena and Christopher J. Wood, does amazing work with the look of Pym’s lab including the Quantum tunnel he and van Dyne built as well as Lang’s apartment home and the place that Starr lives in. Costume designer Louise Frogley does fantastic work with the costumes such as the look of the suits that Lang and van Dyne wear as superheroes as well as Starr’s suit as Ghost and some casual clothing with the other characters.

Visual effects supervisor Stephane Cerretti does incredible work with the look of the Quantum Realm in all of its trippy and surreal visuals as it does feel like another world as well as some of the visuals as it relates to Ant-Man and the Wasp’s shrinking powers as well as some of the unstable powers of Ghost. Sound designer David Farmer and sound editor Addison Teague do superb work with the sound as it play into the effects of Starr’s condition as well as some of the sounds from the gadgets that Ant-Man and the Wasp uses. The film’s music by Christophe Beck is wonderful for its playful score with bombastic orchestral score for some of the action as well as some somber pieces in the drama and bits of jazz in the comedic moments while music supervisor Dave Jordan creates a fun score that feature music from Dusty Springfield, David Cassidy, and Morrissey.

The casting by Sarah Finn is great as it features some notable small roles and appearances from Michael Cerveris and Riann Steele in a flashback scene as Starr’s parents, Tim Heidecker as the whale boat captain, Divian Ladwa as a henchman of Burch in Uzman who created a serum to get some answers, Brian Huskey as a schoolteacher, RaeLynn Bratten as the young Ava Starr, Langston Fishburne as a younger version of Bill Foster, Madeleine McGraw as the young Hope van Dyne, and the obligatory cameo from Stan Lee as a man who witnesses some of the action. Bobby Cannavale and Judy Greer are terrific in their small yet respective roles as Jim Paxon and Lang’s ex-wife Margaret Lang who help Lang with his house arrest while dealing with the presence of the FBI. Randall Park is superb as FBI agent Jimmy Woo who watches over Lang as well as making sure Lang doesn’t break his parole violation while is eager to learn some card tricks.

David Dastmalchian and Tip “T.I.” Harris are fantastic in their respective roles as Kurt and Dave as Luis and Lang’s business partners in the security business as they also help out Pym and van Dyne with the former thinking Ghost is some kind of mystical figure. Abby Ryder Forston is excellent as Cassie Lang as Scott’s daughter who knows about his identity as she knows his struggle but also wants him to succeed knowing that Pym and van Dyne needs him. Laurence Fishburne is brilliant as Bill Foster as a former colleague of Pym who is reluctant to help him out while is aware of what Pym is trying to do as he is also aware of Starr’s condition. Michelle Pfeiffer is amazing in a small but crucial role as Janet van Dyne as Pym’s wife/Hope’s mother who is seen early on in flashbacks but is also someone who has given Lang a message into helping her family reach her knowing there’s a chance to get back to the world.

Michael Pena is incredible as Luis as Lang’s best friend/former cellmate who is trying to start a security business while helping out Pym and van Dyne with their troubles while providing some of the film’s funnier moments. Walton Goggins is marvelous as Sonny Burch as a black markets dealer that is eager to get Pym’s lab in the hopes he can make money from the source of the Quantum Realm as it’s an unconventional villain whose motivation is financial but also is someone who is way over his head in what he’s trying to do. Hannah John-Kamen is remarkable as Ava Starr/Ghost as a woman with unstable powers to move through objects as someone that needs Pym’s lab and tech to cure herself though she’s not really a villain but more of an anti-hero who has a legitimate grudge towards Pym and his family.

Michael Douglas is great as Hank Pym as the creator of the Pym particle that allows objects to shrink or enlarge including the creator of the Ant-Man suit as he’s determined to get his wife back into the world while dealing with his own faults for the falling outs he created with former colleagues. Evangeline Lilly is phenomenal as Hope van Dyne/the Wasp as Pym’s daughter who takes on the role that her mother had played more than three decades ago as the Wasp where she finally gets the chance to kick some ass as well as display a determination of wanting her mother back and needing Lang to be her partner. Finally, there’s Paul Rudd in a sensational performance as Scott Lang/Ant-Man as a former thief serving two years of house arrest for his involvement in Captain America and Iron Man’s dispute where he deals with letting Pym and van Dyne down as well as trying to be there for his daughter where he has to become Ant-Man again despite a few screw-ups in some updated tech where it has that nice balance of humor and determination.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is an incredible film from Peyton Reed. Featuring a great ensemble cast, amazing visual effects, a great balance of action and humor, and a fun film score. It’s a film that manages to be not just entertaining and full of laughs but also with a human story about a man trying to help a family get back together as well as be part of this offbeat family. In the end, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a spectacular film from Peyton Reed.

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Infinity Saga: Phase One: Iron Man - The Incredible Hulk - Iron Man 2 - Thor - Captain America: The First Avenger - The Avengers

Phase Two: Iron Man 3 - Thor: The Dark World - Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Guardians of the Galaxy - The Avengers: Age of Ultron - Ant-Man

Phase Three: Captain America: Civil War - Doctor Strange - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - Spider-Man: Homecoming - Thor: Ragnarok - Black Panther - Avengers: Infinity War - Captain Marvel - Avengers: Endgame - Spider-Man: Far from Home

Multiverse Saga: Phase Four: Black Widow (2021 film) - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – Eternals – Spider-Man: No Way Home – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – Thor: Love and Thunder – Werewolf by Night - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

Phase Five: Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – The Marvels – (Deadpool & Wolverine) - (Captain America: Brave New World) - (Thunderbolts*)

Phase 6: The Fantastic Four: First Steps - (Avengers: Doomsday) - (Avengers: Secret Wars)

Related: MCU is Cinema: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 – Pt. 4 – (Part 5) – (Part 6) – (Part 7) - The MCU: 10 Reasons Why It Rules the World

© thevoid99 2018

The Hateful Eight

Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight is the story of eight different people who seek refuge at a stagecoach stopover in a mountain pass as they deal with a chilling blizzard. Set years after the American Civil War, the film is a western that plays into a group of people who find themselves in a shelter where it’s a mixture of people who are forced to deal with each other despite their differences. Starring Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, Channing Tatum, Zoe Bell, and James Parks. The Hateful Eight is a tremendously grand and rapturous film from Quentin Tarantino.

The film revolves a group of different people who are trekking towards a small town in the middle of Wyoming as they deal with a blizzard where they stop and meet an assortment of characters at a stagecoach stopover where there’s a lot of tension looming between eight different people. It’s a film that plays into a group of people who doesn’t just deal with a blizzard that is deadly but also what is at stake as a woman named Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is being driven to a town where she is to be hanged for many murders as the bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) is accompanying her to make sure that she will die by hanging and collect a $10,000 bounty. Along the way, they encounter two different men who join them on the stagecoach and then meet more at the stopover where something sinister starts to happen.

Quentin Tarantino’s screenplay is set in a very traditional three-act narrative with six chapters as each one doesn’t just play and introduce key characters into the story. It’s also in what is at stake as it relates to Daisy whose bounty is huge as the men she and Ruth encounter either have their own motives in what to do with her or are there for their own reasons that has nothing to do with her. Among them is another bounty hunter in a former cavalry officer in Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) who is also going to this town of Red Rocks, Wyoming to collect a separate bounty of his own while a young Southerner named Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins) is also going to the town to become its new sheriff. All of that happens in its first act where these four characters meet and ride on this stagecoach where Mannix, Ruth, and Warren all have some background and history where Mannix is the son of a marauders leader who refused to accept the defeat of the South.

By the film’s second act where they stop at this stopover, they meet another group of diverse characters including a Mexican named Bob (Demian Bichir), a British hangman named Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth), a quiet cowboy named Joe Gage (Michael Madsen), and a former Confederate leader in General Sandy Smithers (Bruce Dern). Along with the stagecoach driver O.B. Jackson (James Parks), these people find themselves inside the house where paranoia and mistrust ensues which includes some tension involving Smithers and Warren where the film’s first half ends with a chilling story from the latter about the former’s son. It is told with such style and detail as it has this mix of dark humor and gruesome imagery. By the film’s second half, the drama and suspense becomes more prominent as it’s not just what is happening inside the house but also the fact that there’s a sense that there’s some people that is going to die. It’s not just who is in this house that is scary but also the fact that there is this blizzard out there. No one is safe where something will break as the third act reveals more into what is happening and who wants what with Daisy being the prize.

Tarantino’s direction is definitely vast in not just the richness of the images he creates but also in the way he sets it. Shot entirely on location in Telluride, Colorado, Tarantino takes great advantage of the locations from the look of the Rocky Mountains to the ravishing attention to detail with the locations as well as the snow which is crucial to the film itself. Notably as Tarantino takes great stock into shooting these locations not just in rich wide and medium shots but also shoot it in a format that hadn’t been used for many years which is 65 mm film stock. In that grand film stock and in an anamorphic aspect ratio of 2:76:1 which was a common format in the 1950s and 1960s that is also similar to the Cinerama process of the times. Tarantino doesn’t just go for images and moods that play into those films of the times with these wide lenses but also brings it back to Earth while creating an intimacy and tension for scenes inside the house.

The scenes set in the house are gripping as it’s small but also has some space where the film stock captures much of the lighting with great detail. Even in some of these smaller moments such as a lone jellybean on the floor or the close-up of a coffee pot. Tarantino’s usage of close-ups as well as some intricate crane shots and some long shots help play into the drama and suspense that looms in the film. The film stock helps with these scenes as well as in what Tarantino does in his compositions in a key scene where Daisy sings a song as she is in the foreground and Ruth is in the background. By the time the film reaches its third act, that is where the violence starts to really take shape. While violence is something that is expected with Tarantino, it is presented with a sense of urgency that adds to the suspense. Especially in the film’s climax where it is about survival and who can out-wit who. Overall, Tarantino creates a gripping yet tremendous film about a group of individuals dealing with themselves and a cold blizzard in the West.

Cinematographer Robert Richardson does incredible work with the film‘s cinematography with its gorgeous yet evocative look of the daytime exterior settings in the Rocky Mountains to the lighting schemes and textures that he uses in the interior scenes as it is among one of the highlights of the film. Editor Fred Raskin does excellent work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts and slow-motion cuts as well as creating rhythms that help play into the suspense and drama that unfolds throughout the film. Production designer Yohei Taneda, with set decorator Rosemary Brandenburg and art director Richard L. Johnson, do amazing work with not just the design of the stagecoach where some of the main characters ride on but also the look of the stopover house and its different farms as it plays into this world in the middle of the Rocky Mountains that is remote but also filled with some dread as the look of the stone cross in the film‘s opening scene is also one of the key touchstones of the film. Costume designer Courtney Hoffman does nice work with the clothes from the old military uniforms that Warren and Smithers wear to the array of fur and heavy clothes the many characters wear to deal with the cold winter.

Makeup designers Greg Funk and Jake Garber do brilliant work with the look of the characters such as the facial hair of characters like Ruth and Bob as well as the black eye that Daisy sports. Special effects director Greg Nicotero and visual effects supervisors Laurent Gillet and Darren Poe do fantastic work with some of the special effects as it relates to some of the violent moments in the film as well as a few set dressing for some of the exteriors. Sound editor Wylie Stateman does superb work with the sound as it adds a lot to the film‘s suspense and drama from the way the cold winds sound from inside the house as well as the sounds of gunfire. The film’s music by Ennio Morricone is phenomenal as it bears many of the hallmarks that is expected of Morricone in terms of operatic vocal and orchestral arrangements to the usage of quirky hooks and melodies as the music is a true highlight of the film music supervisor Mary Ramos creates an offbeat soundtrack that features songs by David Hess, Crystal Gayle, the White Stripes, and Roy Orbison.

The casting by Victoria Thomas is wonderful for the cast that is created as it features some notable small appearances from Lee Horsley, Belinda Owin, Keith Jefferson, and Bruce Del Castillo as employees/patrons of the stopover house, Zoe Bell as a stagecoach driver, Dana Gourrier as the stopover house owner Minnie Mink, Gene Jones as her lover Sweet Dave, and Craig Stark as Smithers’ son Chester in a chilling sequence that Warren tells General Smithers to. Channing Tatum is fantastic in a small but very memorable role as a gang leader named Jody who is a man that is full of charm but is also very dangerous. James Parks is terrific as the stagecoach driver O.B. Jackson as one of the few men that Ruth trusts as he deals with the brutality that is the cold weather. Bruce Dern is excellent as General Sandy Smithers as a legendary hero of the Confederate army whom Mannix admires while being aware that he and Warren had an encounter in the past that leads to some very intense moments.

Demian Bichir is superb as Bob as this Mexican who is looking after the stopover house as he is quite ambiguous but also someone that is charismatic while saying some very funny shit that baffles Warren. Michael Madsen is brilliant as Joe Gage as this quiet cowboy who is at the stopover on his way to his mother as it’s a very restrained yet cool performance as someone who could be very deadly. Tim Roth is amazing as Oswaldo Mobray as this British hangman who is the film’s comic relief as someone that is quite energetic but also says some funny things as he is among the group of individuals who is also very odd. Walton Goggins is incredible as Chris Mannix as the son of a marauders gang who is supposed to become a sheriff as he deals with Warren’s presence as well as admiration for General Smithers where it’s a complex performance that is part humor but also dramatic in the fact that he isn’t a smart man but a character that is fully aware that something isn’t right at all.

Samuel L. Jackson is remarkable as Major Marquis Warren as a former cavalry officer who bears the notoriety of doing a lot of killing in the Civil War as he is quite devious in what he does but also understands what is at stake where he tries to help Ruth. Kurt Russell is great as John Ruth as this notorious bounty hunter that likes to do things the hard way where also lives by old school rules as it’s a performance that has Russell be gritty but also someone that doesn’t take shit from anyone. Finally, there’s Jennifer Jason Leigh in a wild performance as Daisy Domergue as this woman who has a $10,000 bounty on her head for killing people as she is a character that is just off-the-wall in terms of the things she says and what she does where she isn’t to be trusted while being just as ruthless and devious as the men around her.

***The Following is a Description of the 70mm Roadshow Presentation***

For audiences who are going to see the film in its 167-minute general release are going to see the film in a more traditional format that is often common with today’s films. Yet, it doesn’t have exactly what Tarantino would want for the film which he shot in a format that is very different from what is often expected in cinema. For this special roadshow presentation which was a common thing for big films back in the 1950s and the 1960s, the film is given a wider scope that manages to capture every attention to detail into what Tarantino and cinematographer Robert Richardson had captured while the sound itself is also just as big.

Sorry for the bad lighting...

For this special presentation, audiences don’t just receive a special program for the film but would also be given the chance to experience something that is rare. In this 187-minute version of the film, the film opens with an orchestral overture that lasts for about a few minutes and then the film would play. During the middle of the film comes an intermission that lasts for fifteen minutes. There’s no trailers that precedes the film that is often the case with traditional films of the day. Instead, audiences would see the film and that is it while getting a chance to take a break in between as it plays into a presentation that is rare in today’s more commercialized idea of cinema.

***End of 70mm Roadshow Presentation Tidbits***

The Hateful Eight is a tremendously visceral and exhilarating film from Quentin Tarantino. Headlined by a hell of an ensemble cast as well as gorgeous photography, grand visuals, eerie suspense, high-octane violence, and a monstrous score by Ennio Morricone. The film is truly an example of what epic cinema is and what it should be in an era where the term is misused while being a western that is very dark and filled with intrigue that is gripping to watch. In the end, The Hateful Eight is an outstanding film from Quentin Tarantino.

Quentin Tarantino Films: Reservoir Dogs - Pulp Fiction - Four Room-The Man from Hollywood - Jackie Brown - Kill Bill - Grindhouse-Death Proof - Inglourious Basterds - Django Unchained - Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

The Auteurs #17: Quentin Tarantino - Growing Up with Quentin Tarantino

© thevoid99 2015