Ant-Man and the Wasp: well deserve filler

Having seen Ant-Man and the Wasp in NuSentral last month, I nearly forgotten to write about it online. For those who are following MCU movies, this may not fit into the flow of the current timeline. AntMan and Wasp occur right after events of Civil War and before Infinity War, and the film do assume that the viewers had watched Ant-Man 1. For those who have not watch those movies....shame on you, though you can jump straight into this movie, you probably would not appreciate all the details. Why Ant-Man can control ants, why he is in house arrest, what were they referring to when they say how big he grew... and stuff like that.



The opening of the film do try to summarize the first Ant Man movie, telling how the original Wasp disappear into quantum realm while in a mission to save the good old US of A. This movie centres on Ant Man and the new Wasp on the mission to rescue the original Wasp. In the process, there are gangster trying to steal the technology for quick buck and also the Ghost, who has similar aim to steal their laboratory but with a different motive.


The chemistry between the leads are fun to watch, and the action is pleasantly paced. The dialog are light and many funny moment. Though it may not be as zany as Deadpool or Guardians of Galaxy, the whole story felt light and fun. It may not impact a lot to the current Infinity War story, just to explain the disappearing of Ant Man in that movie, though lots of theories came out to how the quantum realm will fit into Avengers 5. After watching the whole movie, it did not have the full impact as Infinity War, it felt more like a good filler in an ongoing series....nothing much to change the main storyline, but leave us satisfy none the less.

ratings: 3 half poink~!
comments: stay at least for the first post credit scene... that may have some connection to the coming Avengers 5

Ocean's 8: the higher the expectation, the harder the fall

I support female empowerment. The message is popular nowadays, as seen in mass media, TV shows and even movies. However, the idea may not translate well in the movies. Having seen the similar idea, Ghostbuster was fairly entertaining, but did nothing to the franchise at all. It just fade into the mass collection of those forgettable movies. Will Ocean's 8 end up in the same fate?

On paper, it should be a winning entry. Big casts. Successful formula. What else can go wrong. Well, it did not go wrong. It just end up with a big "meh...". The story follow Sandra Bullock as Clooney's sister. While previous Ocean's series prove to be more successful, this latest entry just pale in comparison. The movie still follow the same heist formula. Bullock gather a group of specialist to steal a very expensive piece of jewelry, while looking good in the process, while avoiding a few miscalculation, and a twist at the end of the movie to provide the big "ah....". 

What went wrong, I kept asking myself. The cast should be perfect, with so many veterans on board. The problem is the whole story focus on Sandra Bullock's character without any characterization on the other cast. It was made in such a way that nobody actually care to remember the supporting cast. There was just minimal effort to stereotype them, so you would get a funky East Asian, a cool nerdy Afro American, add a resourceful South Asian, a superficial white bimbo, and there you have a team. The only character which hold on its own is probably Cate Blanchett. The action is seriously lack of style compare to other similar movies recently. Now You See Me, while may have ridiculous story-line, but the heist was done in such a stylish manner. The pacing of the whole Ocean's 8, is rather slow. It did not help it as I watched in during a midnight slot in the cinema. The mini twist at the end of the film, did not help to salvage the movie, as it is really a small, mini, tiny twist which do not do anything to the story at all. 

To be fair, it is not a bad movie. It is fairly entertaining. However, having decided to hitch hike on a popular vehicle, you cannot avoid comparison with the more successful bigger brother. If they would decide to make an independent movie rather than an addition to the Ocean's family, it may turn out differently. 

ratings: 2 poink~!

comments; would help if not catch the film during midnight show. 

Avengers Infinity War: Perfect Final Chapter for MCU Phase 3

It had been a super busy few months. Cant even recall the last time I went to the cinema properly. But Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) event of the year could not be missed for any reason. And everyone was not disappointed at all.



To fully appreciate this movie, one may need to watch the rest of the individual Marvel titles but for those who had missed some prior show, it did not prevent the enjoyment of this saga. The story began with the introduction of Thanos, the mad titan. To make things simple, Thanos is on the pursuit of 6 powerful gems which help him unlock the power to easily wipe out half of the universe. This lead to his arrival on earth, confrontation with all the heroes in the MCU from Avengers, to Guardian of the Universe.



Trying very hard not to put any spoiler here, this show is awesome. I could go on and list all the great moments in the movie, but let me just summarize it easily, this may be the perfect example of how a story arc in comic should be translated into movie. With the benefit of characterization of each heroes in prior movies, the movie could just jump into action in the opening sequence. At least two major character will die in the opening sequence. The story took it time to introduce Thanos, and it is a refreshing writing of a villain. Instead of the usual world or universe domination or seeking revenge, Thanos' ambition is more noble. To virtually save the universe of limited resources and growing population, he felt the need to balance the nature and wipe out half of all population. Think lawful evil in Dungeons and Dragon vs chaotic evil of Joker.



The action is non stop, as expected of each of the Marvel movies. Seeing each of the Marvel character ditch it out on screen is just breathtaking. The script was written very well that each of the character was balance, and the focus was equal. It is very difficult to fulfill the fans of each movies, considering all of them would have their own niche of fan base. The pace of the whole movie is consistently exciting, my eyes were just glued on screen for the 2 hours plus. The only drawback is the movie killed off too many characters including those were scheduled to return for solo movies, hinting that there may be some reset of sort in the next Avengers movie.

DC could have learn a thing or two here. MCU has started their final chapter of the Infinity Gauntlet story arc and it is simply amazing. A movie not to be missed.

Ratings: 4 half poink~!
comments: post credit sequence would introduce Captain Marvel (come on, everyone knows by now), and by leaving one particular character alive, I think they would follow the actual comic story of how Thanos is defeated, minus Adam Warlock of course.