Ant-Man and the Wasp: Small in Size, but Enormous in Stunts and Funniness

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After two years of preparing a third role, Paul Rudd made a valorous comeback in Peyton Reed's new MCU film, Ant-Man the Wasp. What his character lacks in size, Rudd makes up for in heroism. As for the rest of the film, it has nonstop playful banter, touching moments of keeping families together, robust fighting sequences, and coruscating visual effects that make it another hit for Marvel. Rudd and Evangeline Lilly should be commended for their roles as Ant-Man and Wasp, respectively.

After the disaster from helping Captain America, Scott Lang (Rudd) is given a chance to help Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his daughter, Hope van Dyne (Lilly) bring back her long-lost mother, Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) from a quantum realm. While trying to accomplish this task and reconcile his own familial issues, Lang is forced to ferret out a federal agent on his tail (Randall Park), a black market dealer (Walton Goggins), a ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and a rival from Pym's past (Laurence Fishburne). But with Wasp as his partner, there is no job too big for Ant-Man to handle.

Not only did the film have as much jokes and action as its precursor. It also showed a lot more happy endings for the main characters. Industrial Light & Magic and Method Studious, among other VFX companies enraptured my attention with fluorescent visuals for scenes of shrinking, combating evil, and traveling to distant worlds. Some of them reminded me of Guardians of the Galaxy or Doctor Strange. The cast, namely Rudd, Lilly, Douglas, and Pfeiffer, should be lauded for their commitments. And Christophe Beck's compositions highlighted the moments where a hero or villain may rise or fall. One of the funniest moments was hearing "Come On, Get Happy" from ABC's The Partridge Family.

To tie it all together, Paul Rudd was dedicated as Ant-Man. I always knew he was funny when he worked with Judd Apatow. But, seeing him and Evangeline Lilly righting the wrongs side by side makes his character display a more serious protagonist. If you want to see a film that centers on a hero small in size, but enormous on stunts and funniness, and maybe get excitement pumping for what's next in MCU, go and watch Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Hotel Transylvania 3: Wacky, Crazy, Fun

Sony and Genndy Tartakovsky made a very jocular third film when they created Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation. With nonstop moments for laughter and a great ensemble cast with new voices, it truly does make a great vacation movie.
After years of being busy with the hotel business, Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez) thinks it's time her father, Count Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) join her, her husband, Johnny (voiced by Andy Samberg), and the rest of their friends on a monster cruise. Drac begins falling in love with the ship's captain, Ericka (voiced by Kathryn Hahn). Unfortunately for and unbeknownst to him, Ericka is continuing the legacy of killing monsters for her great-grandfather, old enemy Abraham Van Helsing (voiced by Jim Gaffigan). It's going to take all of the Drac Pack to save the famed vampire hotelier, before he ends up dying for love, literally.
Overall, I liked the film. What Sandler and his frequent collaborators lack in live-action, they make up for in computer-animation. Audiences will sense a lot more ambition in their voice acting for fun- loving, adventure-seeking monsters or humans. It was also great bringing Hahn, Gaffigan, the radiant Chrissy Teigen, and rocking Joe Jonas aboard the team. Some of the film's hilarity wouldn't have been more accentuated without musical scoring by Mark Mothersbaugh, and with songs by Jonas, Bruno Mars, and classics from the 60's-80's. Then, there's the animation that was very colorful and sparkling to highlight the marvels of the cruise and moments of action.
Tartakovsky should get an Annie Award for this. This film's is a great parody of Universal Monster characters. I think this is the director's best work since his work with Cartoon Network. Hotel Translyvania 3: Summer Vacation is wacky, crazy, and fun for the whole family. Maybe there, people can see a cool vacation from an animated point of view.