Ant-Man

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Peyton Reed/Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Bobby Cannavale, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena, Judy Greer, Corey Stoll, Abby Ryder Fortson and Martin Donovan

If you thought you had seen the last of the summer superhero flicks after The Avengers: Age of Ultron, you might disappointed/delighted to find another offering from Marvel Studios in the theaters this week: Ant-Man. I find myself a member of the delighted camp (with reservations) and must say I mostly liked the movie. Much of that has to do with the more humorous approach of director Peyton Reed's story and the very welcome refrain from apocalyptic destruction other Marvel adaptations visit upon movie-going audiences. Meaningless, mindless carnage is kept to a bare minimum and sometimes, as in the case of a battle on a toy train-set, the action can be funny.

And who better to play the title character than Paul Rudd, the funny-man doofus who seems cast against type. But in a movie that prides itself on being cheeky, Rudd is the ideal choice to keep the story and action from becoming self-serious and earnest.

Paul Rudd plays Scott Lang; a parolee who has just served a sentence for robbing a corporate giant in an attempt to compensate everyone who was bilked by the company. Educated as a mechanical engineer, Lang's smarts can't protect him from a post-parol job at Baskin Robbins, where he is summarily dismissed when his boss learns of his criminal past. Unable to earn a living, Lang decides to commit another robbery with help of sketchy associates, who provide even sketchier information about a safe supposedly loaded with treasure.

Lang is reluctant to commit another crime, given the fact he has been unable to see his daughter Cassie (Abbie Ryder Fortson), from whom he is denied contact by his ex-wife Maggie (Judy Greer, in a role that barely registers as a blip), and her new husband Paxton (Bobby Cannavale, a more substantial character), who is a less than accommodating.

Faced with destitution and eager to earn money to maintain a lifestyle that would enable him to see his daughter, Lang agrees to the robbery plan hatched by he and his three friends; Luis (Michael Pena), Kurt (David Dastmalchian) and Dave (T.I.). Unfortunately, Lang finds the robbery is part of an elaborate plan by the scientist Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to allow an amazing suit of his own design to be stolen by the ex-convict, for reasons that become clearer later. The suit allows the wearer to shrink to the size of an ant but still retain his/her full-sized strength.

When the film begins, we see Pym twenty years earlier, when his corporation still bore his name. Faced with an unscrupulous executive board who want to sell his suit technology to the military, Pym refuses to share his plans lest the suit falls into enemy hands. As a result, Pym is dismissed from his position but buries the plans, though the board carries on the research, hoping to find or discover the key component of the suit.

Back in the present and unbeknownst to Lang, Pym wants the ex-convict to use his burgling expertise to steal the suit his former corporation has developed from his original plans. The new suit also enables the wearer to shrink to the size of an insect (in this case, a yellow jacket) but unlike Lang's, the yellow jacket suit comes equipped with weaponry.

Pym's daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) becomes a willing participant in the imminent theft of the yellow jacket, though her involvement represents a conflict of interest, due to her employment with Pym's former company. Hope was part of the voting majority that helped dismiss her father from Pym Industries. For Hope, the theft not only means stopping the sale of the suit to the military, but the plan also serves as means to reestablish relations with her father.

It is great fun watching Lang learn to use the ant suit. In an exercise where Lang is expected to run at full speed then pass through a keyhole and re-materialize in normal proportions, Lang crashes into the door repeatedly. Lang also learns that Pym has also developed a communications device that allows him to issue commands to ants, who will play key roles in the robbery attempt. Hope teaches Lang about the different varieties of ants he is to work with and how to command them to perform certain tasks.It is not uncommon for Lang to accidentally revert to normal size in the ant tunnels; an amusing development that allows us to chuckle at the sight of Lang's upper body suddenly sprouting up from the ground.

Another highly entertaining sequence involves a task Dr. Pym devises to further test Lang's skills in the ant suit. He assigns him a mission to steal an item from Stark Industries; a piece of technology he designed that is now in the hands of Tony Stark. Lang is dismayed to discover the complex he is asked to break into has been converted into Avengers' headquarters. The subsequent scenes where Black Falcon tries to prevent Ant-Man (Lang) from breaking into the complex demonstrates the ant suit's effectiveness. Black Falcon finds Ant-Man's constant shrinking and ability to punch a exasperating, in spite of his own technologically-sophisticated suit.

Pym's and Lang's nemesis is current CEO of what was formerly Pym Industries; Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), who has few qualms about exploiting the technology Dr. Pym developed.

The latter half of the story is the elaborate plan to steal back the suit Cross keeps securely inside corporate headquarters. Ant-Man leads an assault of ants as they ride a wave of water into the complex to locate the suit, only to find Cross has donned it himself. A showdown between Ant-Man and Yellow-Jacket follows soon after, which carries on beyond corporation property and ultimately into his former wife's home, where Cross hopes to kidnap Lang's daughter. A fierce battle ensues, which takes partly on a train set; an action sequence that comes with its own humorous moments.

Of course the film couldn't end without what has become a staple in Marvel adaptations; the sequel set-up. I will say no more.

As previously stated, the idea to make the movie action/comedy was a sound idea. The world doesn't need one more comic book movie with gravitas (though more are to come, I'm sure). It's nice to see a lighter superhero movie; one that doesn't leave one's ears ringing and head splitting with auditory aggression.

And unlike most superhero movies, performances are more the centerpiece of this film. Paul Rudd has to be one of the most likeable screen presences in the movie industry today but also one of the funniest. I'm glad we'll see more of him in Ant-Man films to come. Michael Douglas isn't an actor one usually finds Marvel adaptations but he proves to be as entertaining as Rudd. It was very pleasing to see Martin Donovan (always a welcome presence. I always thought him to be underrated and under-appreciated actor), who plays Mitchell Carson; another unscrupulous board member who is a collusive agent of Darren Cross' evil designs. Evangeline Lilly is charming and shares some nice chemistry with Rudd. We also learn we can expect to see more of her in future iterations.

One of the most inspired scenes in the movie shows Lang shrinking to the quantum level, after Pym warns him that entering such a realm may mean an eternity in sub-atomica. The sequence is visually imaginative and abstractly arresting while also providing sustained suspense.

I won't tell you Ant-Man is brilliant popcorn cinema but it is fun and diverting and a good excuse to seek refuge from angry summer weather. It appears we may see Scott Lang and Tony Stark together in the near future. It could be fun to watch Scott Lang and Tony Stark--the other funny Marvel superhero--engage in some amusing repartee. We'll wait and see. For now, I'll savor Reed's flick.

Jurassic World

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Colin Trevorrow/Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Irrfan Khan, Ty Simpkins, Jake Johnson, Nick Robinson, Judy Greer, BD Wong, Omar Sy

Colin Trevorrow, director of the amusing, off-the-wall Safety Not Guaranteed, takes on the dinosaur-sized production Jurassic World. Watching the film, I couldn't remember if Spielberg was in the director's chair because much of it bears his stamp. I suppose that's inevitable when he himself co-produced the film.

Though Trevorrow makes the film reasonably entertaining, his can't hope to match Jurassic Park for its originality or Spielberg's thrill-making ability. Jurassic World borrows so from the original the film seems almost like a reboot.

Isla Nublar is now home to Jurassic World; a mega-theme park sprawled across the Costa Rican island. Rather than the park-in-progress seen in the first film, Jurassic World is a fully-functional tourist destination.

When the film begins, we see the brothers Zach and Gray preparing to leave their parents outside their snow-covered home. Zach, a broody, discontented teen, is given a romantic send-off by his girlfriend, while his precocious, younger, Asperger-ish brother concerns himself with other distractions. The dark cloud hanging over the household is the divorce their mother Karen (Judy Greer) and father are headed precipitously toward. While the parents say their goodbyes to Zach and Gray at the airport, the older brother acts peevish, put-upon and unhappy about leaving his girlfriend.

The story cuts to a sleek transport boat as it approaches the impressive Jurassic World. An aerial long shot captures the crowded, vast complex; situated on the lush shoreline of Isla Nublar. Negotiating the crush of people who wander about the shops and tourist attractions inside the park, the brothers find their Aunt Claire; a park executive, who receives her nephews rather coolly. From the first exchange, the boys see their aunt is emotionally detached and totally absorbed in the business of running Jurassic World. After Claire makes a tepid promise to spend time with them the next day, the boys run off while an appointed guardian struggles to keep up.

Meanwhile, we see Claire at work, leading a group of potential investors on a tour of the park and the private labs. We learn something about the park's growth initiatives, which includes scarier, genetically designed dinosaurs with bigger teeth to wow and dazzle the patrons who grow increasingly bored with tyrannosaurs, triceratops and apatosauruses.

As in the first film, the unholy marriage of science and commerce alerts us to the folly of hubris and tampering with nature.

While the boys wander through the park, Claire's administrative concerns lead her to the park's newest exhibit; a genetically engineered creation called Indominus Rex; which is essentially a larger, smarter and nastier T-Rex. Safety concerns about the Indominus' paddock have arisen, which necessitates a meeting between Claire and a former naval engineer named Owen (Chris Pratt), whose expertise on structural integrity makes him an ideal consultant. When we first see Owen, he is standing on a walkway above a pen of velociraptors. As the raptors hiss and screech below, Owen busies himself training the raptors to follow orders. He even assigns them names.
When an unscrupulous military contractor named Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) shows up to observe Owen's raptor-training, we learn the raptors are to be trained for deployment in combat.

I'm glad the screenwriters kept one foot in the real world; showing us how different parties with different agendas might actually exploit dinosaurs for profit and militaristic purposes. Of course the audience knows both means of exploitation will prove to be short-sighted and foolish.

In a scene where Claire approaches Owen about inspecting the Indominus' paddock, we see his shabby-looking, riverside home. We soon discover they once shared an extremely brief romance, which shows signs of rekindling.

Later, at the park complex, Claire and Owen find claw marks on the walls of the paddock, which suggest the dinosaur has taken flight. Thinking the Indominus Rex gone, they discover the dinosaur has tricked them into believing it escaped. As they find the towering hulk bearing down on them, Owen manages to elude the beast but an unfortunate staff person is gobbled whole. In spite of Owen's efforts to contain it, the Indominus effects an escape, and when he does, he goes on a park-wide, lethal rampage; feeding on other dinosaurs and hapless park employees. Later, the Indominus' love for bloodsport comes to light when Claire and Owen happen upon a herd of dead apatosaurs; their claw-streaked bodies providing grisly evidence.

And like the first film, we know the two youngsters will eventually find themselves stranded and trapped somewhere in the park. While taking a tour of the park in glassy, gyroscopic pods (really cool) Zach decides to drive off road into prohibited areas. Gee, what do you think will happen next?

And you might guess too that the thought of her endangered nephews will cure Claire of her seeming indifference and awaken a warm, familial compassion.

As the Indominus Rex stalks and skulks about, the park closes while the tourists are herded into a makeshift shelter in a warehouse.

Hoskins sees the Indominus' escape as an opportunity to test the velociraptors hunting and seeking skills. Though contemptuous of Hoskins, Owen decides to lead his trained pack on the hunt. Meanwhile, Hoskins' heavily armed, para-military personnel join the pursuit.

One of the parks biggest investors, Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan), takes to the air in his helicopter in hopes of locating the Indominus, only to find the beast has smashed into the park aviary, where pterodactyls are kept. The flying dinos escape, unleashing their own mayhem on the tourists and park personnel.

It's pretty clear where the story will go. As previously mentioned, if you know the first film, this one won't offer many narrative surprises.

I don't know what is more frightening; predatory dinosaurs loose in a theme park or the very realistic throngs of tourists milling about. Though the idea of the park seemed like a fun idea in the first film, Trevarrow is quick to reinforce the impression that such a place would actually be inhumane and maybe immoral. One might have thought that after all the mayhem and destruction visited upon the world in the first few films, the authorities might keep a place like Jurassic World from ever getting off the ground. Implausible as the park might be, the human capacity for stupidity can never be too implausibly rendered onscreen.

Trevarrow does a respectable job keeping the story and action moving, but the film lacks the original's sense of wonder. Or maybe we've become the jaded park patrons Claire derides. Are T-rexs' and velociraptors no longer enough?

The Claire/Owen romance seems like a throwback to a 1940s' B-film; the damsel in high-heels being led about by the rugged, shotgun-toting tough. Bryce Dallas Howard's and Chris Pratt's chemistry manages to distract us from this crumbly, boy-leads-girl movie convention of old.

I liked the shot of the park's tourist area reduced to rubble and ruin to reinforce the film's message that nature isn't something to be commodified. Man proposes, nature disposes; to rework a famous quote.

Like the investors in the film who never seem to learn, the filmmakers may be on a course to create more of these films. Certain developments in the story suggest as much. Jurassic World is mostly fun and mostly painless. One could see a helluva lot worse at the local multiplex these days. Speaking of, is that Woman in Gold I still see on the marquee?

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Matt Reeves/Starring: Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell and Judy Greer

Director Matt Reeves, of Cloverfield fame, captains the latest Planet of the Apes installment, which is set some years in the future. A monkey virus has wiped out a chunk of the world population while the self-emancipated apes from Rise of the Planet of the Apes thrive and multiply.

We see the ape community in their arboreal village, somewhere outside San Francisco, hunting as a pack and establishing their species quite nicely. Caesar (Andy Serkis), the ape's charismatic leader, lives in his own tree condo with his wife Cornelia (Judy Greer) and son. The familial unit has added a baby brother, so all seems well.

Though the apes live harmoniously in the forest, human struggle to survive in the virus-ravaged city. The uneasy peace that exists between the species is upheld more by a lack of contact than a negotiated pact.

The state of relations becomes complicated when the apes happen upon humans in the forest, which rouses the hairier primates into a frenzy. Wary of the humans, Caesar forcefully commands them to "Go," which reveals tha ape's aptitude for human speech. Frightened, the humans return to the city of San Francisco, which has been largely reclaimed by nature; with vines choking nearly every surface. Living without power, the humans hatch a plan to reboot it, which involves returning to the ape-infested, ape-controlled forest to locate the generator.

Meanwhile, a rogue ape named Koba, who despises the humans, hatches a plan of his own to depose Caesar and launch an assault on the humans. Koba finds a pretext, which involves shooting Caesar with a gun recently-acquired from the humans then strategically abandoning it. When the apes look for the culprit, they see the gun and assume the humans are the aggressors. Believing Caesar to be dead after the fall from his tree, the apes follow Koba as they lay seige to the city. They quickly gain ingress, eliminating every human they find.

The humans are led by Malcolm, Caesar's counterpart, who is eager to maintain peace at all costs though he finds the humans almost inevitably drawn into an armed conflict with the apes.

Violence and death ensue as Koba and the apes overwhelm the humans, driving them further into the city's recesses. What follows is not just a humans vs apes conflict but Caesar's struggle to restore his leadership

I could never understand the appeal of the Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which boasted impressive ape CGI but was really Hollywood's ploy to establish a franchise that movie-execs won't let die. The Charlton Heston movie spawned several film iterations and a 70s' T.V. series, but somehow Hollywood feels we need more. Tim Burton's wretched re-make of the original should have discouraged any further plans for resurrection but here we are again. Rise wasn't bad but left me yawning, just as Dawn has.

Though Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has something to say about something, I'm hard-pressed to know what the hell it is. In one scene Caesar, upon reflection, realizes the apes and humans have much in common. I thought, is this all you want to convey? Does this serve as the film's pearly-wisdom? And did it take 130 minutes of screentime and my twelve bucks to articulate that?

The performances are fine and the CGI-rendered simians are done well, but there is nary a plot development that can't be anticipated within the first 15 minutes. I thought San Francisco looked particularly good as a re-imagined nature-reclamation, but I've grown fatigued with post-apocalyptic, on-screen depictions of roadways clogged with cars and urban, structural atrophy. If Hollywood summer films aren't busy visiting Biblical destruction on cities, they're busy showing us New York or Paris or San Francisco as de-populated, decayed, concrete mausoleums.

Ten years ago, the now classic Napoleon Dynamite was released late Summer with a budget of $400,000. It was hilarious, offbeat, original and unforgettable with now-iconic characters. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has an Olympian budget of $170 million and apart from some cool visuals, has little else to recommend it. Somehow Hollywood never learns the crucial lessons. I don't know if anyone has ever crunched the numbers, but what the industry spends on Summer blockbusters must exceed the budgets of some third-world nations.

I'm fine with apes taking over. If they ever wrest control of the movie studios from the dull-witted committees overseeing productions, we might finally have a Planet of the Apes story I might be eager to see.

I propose the next film--already in pre-production--be titled After-Dawn but Just Before Mid-Morning and Noon Though Late-Afternoon Isn't Out of Question of the Planet of The Apes.
Yeah, I might pay to see that.