ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (2018) – My rating: 8.5/10

Ant-Man and the Wasp is categorized as a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics characters Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Hope van Dyne / Wasp. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to 2015’s Ant-Man, and the twentieth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Peyton Reed and written by the writing teams of Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, and Paul Rudd, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari. Ant-Man and the Wasp focuses on retrieving Janet van Dyne from the quantum realm.  I truly liked the original film, Ant-Man, so I was psyched about seeing the Wasp officially added to the series.  I only have good things to say about Ant-Man and the Wasp — it was fun!

ANT-MAN (1987)
Janet van Dyne / Wasp (Michelle Pfeiffer) shrinks between the molecules of a Soviet nuclear missile, successfully disabling it but becoming trapped in the sub-atomic quantum realm for 30 years. Her husband, Hank Pym / Ant-Man (Michael Douglas) raises their daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly), by himself, believing that Janet is dead. Years later, former criminal Scott Lang / Ant Man (Paul Rudd) takes up the mantle of Ant-Man and discovers a way to both enter and return from the quantum realm. Pym and Hope begin work on repeating this feat, believing they may find Janet alive. Lang and Hope also start a romantic relationship and begin training to fight together as Ant-Man and the Wasp, until Lang secretly helps Captain America during a skirmish between the Avengers in violation of the Sokovia Accords. Lang is placed under house arrest, while Pym and Hope go into hiding and cut ties with Lang.

— SPOILERS BELOW — 

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP – (2018)
Two years later, Pym and Hope briefly manage to open a tunnel to the quantum realm. However, Lang receives an apparent message from Janet with whom he is quantumly entangled. Despite only having a few days left of house arrest, Lang decides to call Pym and share the message. Hope kidnaps Lang, leaving a decoy so as not to arouse suspicion from FBI agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park). Seeing the message as confirmation that Janet is alive, Pym and Hope work to create a stable tunnel so they can take a vehicle to the quantum realm and retrieve Janet. Hope arranges to buy a part needed for the tunnel from black market dealer Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins), but Sonny realizes the potential profit that can be earned from Pym and Hope’s research and double-crosses them. Hope fights Burch and his men off, until she is attacked by a quantumly unstable masked woman, Ava Starr / Ghost  (Hannah John-Kamen). Lang tries to help fight off this “ghost”, but she escapes with Pym’s portable lab, causing Pym to reluctantly visits his estranged former partner Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne) for help locating the lab.

From this point, the adventure goes to unimaginable places.  The special effects are fantastic as well as the performance of each actor.  The plot is also excellent, as there are several stories happening at once.  The twist and turns are great and will have you on the edge of your seat.  Overall, I really enjoyed Ant-Man and the Wasp.  Although it was technical most of the ride, it was understandable.  This movie is appropriate for all ages and is well worth your time and money to see it.  3D is nice but not necessary to enjoy the film.

 

READY, PLAYER ONE (2018) – My rating: 8/10

Ready, Player One is a  science fiction adventure film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, and written by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline, based on Cline’s 2011 novel of the same name.  Ready Player One is half real life and half virtual reality.  It’s shows what the world could look like in the future, everyone as obsessed with virtual reality as they are with Smart Phones.  This is all shown via a movie featuring a game — not my usual film preference however, this adventure is pretty good.

In 2045, many of Earth’s population centers have become slum-like cities. To escape their desolation, people engage in the virtual reality world of the OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation), where they can engage in numerous activities for work, education, and entertainment. Users have discovered Anorak’s Quest inside OASIS, a game programmed by the late OASIS creator, James Halliday (Mark Rylance). The first player to find the Easter egg, locked behind a gate requiring three keys within Anorak’s Quest is promised full ownership of OASIS, among other gifts. This has attracted a number of Gunters (“egg hunters”) to play the game. Innovative Online Industries (IOI), a video game conglomerate and manufacturer of most of the virtual reality equipment used to access the OASIS, also wants ownership. The new CEO of the company, Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), has amassed an army of debt-indentured players, known as “Sixers” (due to their six-digit identification), to seek the prize. However, to date, no one has managed to finish the first quest, a vehicle race across an ever-shifting version of New York City.

Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), an orphaned, 20-year-old Gunter, lives in a Columbus, Ohio, slum with his Aunt Alice (Susan Lynch). In the OASIS, Wade goes by his avatar, Parzival, and has partnered with Aech (Lena Waithe), a male avatar that serves as a virtual mechanic. He later befriends well-known player Art3mis (Olivia Cooke) after saving her from dying in-game – referred to as being “zeroed out” – which would reset her avatar’s character progression and remove all her goods. Wade decides to study the virtual OASIS library to learn about Halliday’s personal life, hoping to find a hint to finish the race. Wade learns that Halliday felt regret when he had to accept the resignation of his partner, Ogden Morrow (Simon Pegg), over a personal falling-out, musing, “Why can’t we go backwards for once? Backwards really fast, as fast as we can – really put the pedal to the metal.” At the next race, Wade reverses from the start line, finding a hidden, safe path to the finish line of the race. He gains the first key and a clue to the next quest. Aech and Art3mis, as well as players Daito (Win Morisaki) and Sho (Philip Zhao), follow Wade to finish the quest, and the five appear atop the global scoreboards, becoming known as the “High Five”.

IOI takes interest in them, desiring to learn their real-life identities. Bounty hunter i-R0k (T.J. Miller) overhears Wade tell Art3mis his real name, disclosing it to Sorrento, who approaches Wade in an attempt to convince him to join IOI to solve Anorak’s Quest, but Wade refuses. In retaliation, Sorrento has his assistant F’Nale Zandor (Hannah John-Kamen) attack Wade’s slum, killing Wade’s aunt and her boyfriend. Wade is rescued by Art3mis’ real-life friends and is taken to a Gunter hideout in Columbus, where he meets Art3mis’ player, Samantha Cook (Olivia Cooke). The two discover that Halliday had once dated Kira (Perdita Weeks), who later became Morrow’s wife , and was the source of their falling-out. In the virtual OASIS archives, Wade wins a bet with its Curator regarding whether Kira’s memory remains anywhere within the archives, winning a 25-cent coin and access to Halliday’s memories of Kira, which turn out to be the entrance to the second quest. In a re-creation of The Shining, the High Five team each gain the second key and the clue that the last quest is in Castle Anorak on Planet Doom.

Ready, One Player get more intense that includes blackmail, hiding in a van, a rescue, deception, IOI, a kidnapping, and finally the winning of the company.  I found this film interesting but more for the younger folks.  You’ll stay in the game throughout the entire movie, making Ready One.. almost a total animated movie. If you like this sort of venture, you’ll love this movie but if you older and not into computer games, don’t bother.  Check it out if you dare!