At the Movies: Movie Review: ***^Anaconda (2025)

 A sort of a remake of the Anaconda movie of 1997 with Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez with cameo roles.  Four childhood friends decide to rekindle their passions of youth, and make an Anaconda movie.  Ronald (Paul Rudd) recruits his friends to travel to the Amazon to make a movie, telling them he has the right to Anaconda, their favorite movie as youth.  He recruits his best friend, Doug (Jack Black) and old crush, Claire (Thandiwe Newton) and Kenny (Steve Zahn) to run the camera and technical stuff.  They are on their way to Brazil where they meet snake handler, Santiago (Selton Mello) who is obsessed with his snake.  However Ana Almeida (Daniela Melchior) high jacks their boat, with them on it and recording their movie on the way.  

There is a really creepy scene with the snake.  Santiago holds it in Ronald's face, an he reacts, and kills the snake.  Santiago leaves the boat to find a new snake; the new snake gets him instead however.  Now the snake has a taste for people and is after them.  Worse yet, Ana is a smuggler of gold.  Of course the snake gets her.  And in truth Ronald does not own the rights to Anaconda, as those who do, show up making their own movie.  But that doesn't last long as the anaconda destroys their set and is after them as well.  It doesn't discriminate.  Amidst the chaos our four are trying to get away, but Doug gets devoured by the snake, and somehow spit up hole.  He appears dead.  They rap him in a pig so as to create a diversion and they can get away.  They put a squirrel in his mouth.  However he is not dead and the snake is boring down on him.  He runs, eventually the snake gets the pig and not him.

This movie has some funny parts.  The characters run away a lot and seem to run in a funny manner.  The four rekindle their relationship and form a stronger bond.  And Doug gets to make the wedding video for Claire and Ronald.  

Movie Review: ****Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

 There are a whole cast of characters.  The movie starts after Janet Van Dyne has been rescued from the  Quantumverse.  Cassie Lang has developed a love for science and has created a way to communicate with the Quantumverse.  Her message is sent, which upsets Janet Van Dyne who shuts it off, but too late.  Someone has heard their mesage and sucks the five into the Quantumverse.  Here mother Van Dyne must face her past.  Worse than facing her past, she must face Kang the Conqueror.  She at first helped him, then realized his goal was to destroy time lines and universes.  She sabotaged his project.  He now wants it restored to give himself ultimate power and captures Cassie and uses her as leverage to get Ant Man to help fix his device.  This is done and now he turns very rageful.  Only through Antman's many intelligent ant can everything be put right.  But is it?  Future Antman movies will let us know

Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/ Ant Man

Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne or the Wasp

Michael Douglas as Dr. Hand Pym

Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne

Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang

Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror

In Theaters: Avengers: *****End Game (2019)

Avengers: End Game:  This is the most anticipated movie in some time; and it more than lives up to all the hype.  From Thanos’ “I am inevitable” to “I am Iron Man” and all the ride along the way, this movie is great.  Of course the thing about this movie is having all the characters together.  There is too much here to give a plot summary, but suffice it to say this movie entertains and appeals to Avenger fans, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy and Dr. Strange.  It has all the characters taking part in their turn.  There is a part during the major battle where all the women are going to protect the glove and it just seemed to miss as tried to make a politically correct statement.  And then of course the fumbled the glove anyway as Thanos had said, :He is inevitable.”  However that is my only complaint.  A couple of our major Avenger friends will not be coming back it appears, but there are plenty others who are ready for the continued Avenger Universe, including Peter parker and Spider man later this year.  This is a must see.  In fact it warrants going back and seeing all the Avenger movies.

Robert Downey Jr.     Tony Stark/ Iron Man
Chris Evans                Steve Rogers/ Captain America
Mark Ruffalo               Bruce Banner / Hulk
Chris Hemsworth        Thor
Scarlett Johansson     Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
Jeremy Renner            Clint Barton / Hawkeye
Paul Rudd                   Scott Lang / Ant-Man
Benedict Cumberbatch  Doctor Strange
Chadwick Boseman    T'Challa / Black Panther
Brie Larson                  Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel
Tom Holland                Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Karen Gillan                 Nebula
Zoe Saldana                Gamora
and many more
Marvel Universe

Movie Review: ***^Ant Man and the Wasp (2018)

The Ant and the Wasp (2018)  Except for the graphics representing the sub atomic world, (looks like a Doctor Who promotion) this movie is very good.  There is lots of play with tiny vehicles, which look like match box toys but blow up very large.  Ant Man is portrayed by Paul Rudd.  His non-ant character is under house arrest for using his powers without authorization.  During much of the movie and ant takes over his life, sleeping, playing the drum, taking baths etc.  The wasp is portrayed by Evangeline Lilly.  She and her father (Michael Douglas) are trying to rescue their mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) who has been in the subatomic world for many years.  There is cute play on staying out of jail while actually using superpowers to complete the rescue.  In addition there are two groups of people trying to get the equipment from them.  A group of thugs and a couple people, Dr. Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne) and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), hoping the equipment will help restore Ghost from a half-life due to contact with sub-atomic particles.  This movie makes for a very exciting ride. 

Marvel Universe

Movie Review: ****The Ant-Man (2015)

Movie: The Ant Man

This is a fun movie.  I seem to love all the Marvel Comic movies.  Marvel Comics seems to always hit home runs with their movies, and this is in the same.  Scot (Paul Rudd) is a cat burglar.  He has recently been released from prison and wants to go straight to regain visitation with his daughter.   But he needs a job and money for an apartment.  Baskin Robbins lets him go when his past becomes known.  He finally takes a burglary job, and finds the only thing in the vault is a suit of some kind.  He tries it on, and discovers the suit makes him small.    He later finds out that he was permitted to steal the suit as he was actually being recruited by the suit’s creator Dr. Pym (Michael Douglas).   Dr. Pym needs help to thwart the efforts of his former assistant who forced him out of the company, Darren Cross/Yellow Jacket (Corey Stoll).  Helping Dr. Pym is his daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly) who is the inside person as she makes it look like she has abandoned her father for Cross.  Also helping the Ant Man are the ants, of several different varieties. 

Great action, and clever script.  Ant Man vs Yellow Jacket is a great series of confrontations.  Ant Man’s daughter gets involved by the Yellow Jacket and he has to save her. 

Marvel Universe

Movie Review: ***^ Captain America: Civil War

This battle has lots of violence.  It pits Avengers against Avengers, as is the plan of Zemo (Daniel Bruhl).  His family was killed in fall out from past episodes of the Avengers battling evil.  Now he wants revenge.  Fall out from Avenger heroics has lead the United Nations to want to control the Avengers.  Differences in opinion cause the initial rift between the two groups.
Zemo manipulates people and things to bring Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and finds the secret clues to trigger his evil personality.  Captain American (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) are on a collision course.  With some new and some old Avengers taking sides.  This includes Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Ant Man (Paul Rudd), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and introducing Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman.)  Even Spider Man (Tom Holland) gets into the action.  His youth attracted Tony and I must admit his character brought humor to a movie that was really action-packed, violent and dark.

Marvel Universe