Ant-Man

Ant-Man ~ I could talk about what Ant-Man is like in the comics, but really I already have elsewhere. I could take on the tact of how the film is different from the comics too, but I think where I'll go is with the burning question I had at the end of the movie, and no, I'm not talking about the mid-credits and end-credits stingers (at least not yet). Why does the Marvel Cinematic Universe treat Hank Pym with more care and respect than the Marvel Comics do? It's a puzzler, and I still don’t know the answer - but it makes me happy.

Ant-Man is a terrific heist film, settled into the wonderful tapestry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, perhaps one of the best shared universe continuities out there. It is fun and exciting on a level matching Guardians of the Galaxy. At this point however, I'm going to caution you folks, we're entering spoiler territory, so if you haven't yet seen the film or don't want to know what happens - vamoose, or prepared to be spoiled.

I was sold on this film right from the 1989 flashback opening featuring some actors in various stages of youth and age through CGI. Michael Douglas, looking as young and sharp as he did back on "The Streets of San Francisco," is Dr. Hank Pym - the original Ant-Man - and he's quitting S.H.I.E.L.D. Also there are John Slattery of "Mad Men," who has played Howard Stark (Iron Man's dad) in a couple of the Marvel movies, and Hayley Atwill, the amazing Agent Peggy Carter. Enraged by the mention of his late wife, Janet, Hank punches Martin Donovan's Mitchell Carson. Carson, in the comics is a disfigured SHIELD agent who opposed the third Ant-Man - here's he's just a minor bad guy, later revealed to be Hydra, holding with storylines from "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Flash forward to the present as burglar Scott Lang, played by slob-com actor Paul Rudd with the same unexpected and cool finesse that Chris Pratt took on Star-Lord. Is released from prison as paying his debt to society. While trying to stay on the straight and narrow, he falls in with his old crowd, buddies on the not-so-straight path - that steal our hearts, and steal the movie. Michael Pena and rapper T.I. are sidekicks that rule and roll, bring the humor and making this flick all the better as the serious comic relief - keeping it real while keeping it fun.

The gist is this. S.H.I.E.L.D. wants the Pym particle formula which allows a man to shrink to ant-size. Pym quits rather than give it to them, and then builds his own company, which while successful, does not take advantage of the Pym particle. New boss, former Pym mentee Corey Stoll as complete villainous a-hole in the comics Darren Cross, is actually trying to duplicate it, and thinks he's finally got it. His masterpiece, a miniaturized battle armor called the Yellowjacket (very little resemblance other than name to one of the Marvel Comics identities of Pym). Pym, and his daughter Hope (who hardcore comics fans might remember as the alternate future daughter of Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, also known as the Red Queen in A-Next) want to stop this from happening.

Enlisting the help of Scott Lang through trickery and convincing him to become the new Ant-Man, Hank begins to train the new hero. These are entertaining sequences, and make the film. I weary of origin stories told over and over again in the movies (yeah, I'm looking directly at you, Superman and Batman), but this was fun, and fun is what Ant-Man is all about. The comedic bits are great, especially the cameo by Garrett Morris. As someone old enough to remember his appearance on "Saturday Night Live" as Ant-Man nearly four decades ago, that was a treat.

The plan is to break into Pym's own company and destroy the Yellowjacket suit along with all the data on the Pym particle to keep Cross from selling it from Hydra, but first a side trip - one that leads to a very interesting encounter. I have talked about the Justice League Europe theory before, and the idea of posing a superhero to fight another superhero is another way to do this. I suppose that's why this side trip pits Ant-Man against the Falcon.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Anthony Mackie show up as the Falcon when Paul Rudd's Ant-Man has to break in and steal something from the Avengers' new headquarters as seen in the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron. And I guess this kinda makes up for the Falcon's noted absence during the final battle of that last film. What I liked about this clash, different from classic superhero battles from the Silver Age of Marvel Comics where you knew who would win based on the name on the front of the comic, is that neither character was made to really look bad in the fight. Ant-Man is a proven contender to anyone out there who still doubted it, and though defeated, the Falcon isn't humiliated. He comes off looking good, and I was glad.

While the previews give away Evangeline Lilly's scenes, except for the hopes that she'll become the Wasp (or that the original might return), I need to caution folks that the Thomas the Tank Engine scene is the least of the final battle between Ant-Man and Yellowjacket. There is much much more and way cooler aspects to it that cannot be missed. This is sooo not Minions where the entire movie is in the preview. Speaking of the Wasp, there is a wondrous flashback scene, and she's features indirectly in the mid-credits stinger. And stay to the very end for the Captain America: Civil War teaser.

And then we come back to the question I posed at the beginning of this lengthy review. Hank Pym in the comics is really only known well for a few things, and most aren't good. He's had a variety of identities, a history of mental illness and domestic abuse, and of course, building a monstrous AI dead set on exterminating the human race. They could have gone a number of ways here. For the film to portray him as a hero, I can't be happier for my favorite Avenger. I loved this movie, the last and perhaps the best of Phase Two.

If you'd like to hear more of my thoughts on the movie, as well as my lovely wife's, please check out this week's special Ant-Man episode of The Make Mine Magic Podcast.

Behind the Candelabra

Behind the Candelabra ~ I remember Liberace from my childhood. I remember him from the 1966 "Batman" TV show (in syndication, I'm not that old), where his appearance as villainous twin brothers equaled the series' highest rated episodes. Such was the power of Liberace. He was not only a fabulous piano player, and a faaah-bulous showman, he was a huge star, and a serious draw when it came to stage and screen. When Liberace was on TV, for various reasons, you had to see it, and his stage show, whether in Vegas, New York, or LA, it was always a sensation.

While it wasn't talked about back then, I think everyone knew Liberace was gay, it was oddly accepted he was different in that way. Liberace was wholesome entertainment. When I heard HBO was making a movie about him, I feared the worst. Especially after recent hack jobs on Phil Spector and Alfred Hitchcock. HBO knows how to make quality television series, but the folks who make their movies are out of control.

When I heard it would be about Liberace and his last lover, Scott Thorson, I knew it would be another smear piece. Thorson's book of the same name was a memoir in much the same vein as Mommy Dearest.

Then I heard about the casting, and I was intrigued. Michael Douglas as Liberace, and Matt Damon as Scott Thorson. Wow. Boggles the mind, doesn't it? Here's the thing, they pull it off, they pull it off mind bogglingly well. When I see a flick with a big name star, if I can stop calling them by name, and believe they are the character, that's impressive to me. For instance, Meryl Streep and Mel Gibson are always Meryl and Mel to me, but here, this was Liberace and Thorson. The actors' performances are stunning.

True or not, those performances are scarred by the outrageous and flamboyant story. It may have happened that way, and they may have worn those clothes, but the absurdity of the situations take away from the quality of Douglas and Damon.

It also doesn't help that the rest of the cast is filled out by comedians and actors doing their crazy best. Rob Lowe, Dan Ackroyd, Scott Bakula, and Debbie Reynolds, among others, are at their insane peak, equal to Douglas and Damon.

Should you watch it? Definitely. Behind the Candelabra is both time capsule and freakshow, and most importantly a manic showcase for the actors involved, and nowhere near the usual trainwreck we have gotten recently from HBO Films.

Atlas Shrugged: Part I

Atlas Shrugged: Part I ~ There is a small subset of science fiction writers whose work has reached out into areas so not in the fiction arena. There's L. Ron Hubbard, a pulp, sci-fi, fantasy and adventure hack who set out purposefully to create his own religion - the notorious Scientology. And then there's Ayn Rand, whose own personal madness fueled a more philosophical movement - Objectivism. All I have to say is thank God Philip K. Dick never decided to branch out into religion, philosophy or politics.

I loved Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead," "Atlas Shrugged," and even her lesser known work "Anthem," but the whole Objectivism thing kinda leaves me cold. Of course the problem here is that the brilliant Atlas Shrugged is almost a monument to the movement. That said, I was very hesitant to see the film version, or at least the first part of a two-part (quite possibly three) film adaptation.

Released last year to art house theaters and not doing well financially at all (it cost $20 million to make yet made less than $5 million at the box office), Atlas Shrugged: Part I is still an amazing film. The story, that of a future society where the intellectuals have gone on theoretical strike and brought the world to a standstill, is staggering.

The film looks great, but the problem is with the execution. The actors, mostly unknowns and character. actors, have no charisma here, and coupled with Rand's heavy handed dialogue, the beginning is all talk and almost sleep inducing. When I was paying attention, I felt like I was being lectured and browbeaten for being a capitalist. Not good. This is a subversive Wall Street, just without Michael Douglas, and without a soul.

When the story does begin to pick up and I started to warm to a couple of the characters, Ayn Rand's bourgeois arrogance kicks in. It's almost as if she's making fun of the upper class, or more accurately those folk ridiculous enough to want to make a living. The attitude is enough to pull me out of the film and keep me from enjoying on any level. It's very heavy handed.

Don't get me wrong, like I said, I like Rand's writing a lot but I just don't like being preached at. I never felt that way on the page. And of course, as noted in the title itself, this is only part if the story. Atlas Shrugged: Part II, with an all new cast of better known actors, opens to art house theaters next week. I hope it will be more like Ayn Rand's fiction and less like philosophies.

Karl Malden Dies at 97

Actor Karl Malden passed away today of natural causes. He was 97.

Malden was probably best known for his sizable nose as much as starring in "The Streets of San Francisco" with Michael Douglas and being the pitchman for American Express, both in the 1970s.

He also won the Oscar for supporting actor for his role as Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire and was nominated again in 1954 with On the Waterfront. He also appeared in Patton, Nuts, Gypsy, Baby Doll, Pollyanna and one of my faves, the Matt Helm flick Murderers Row.

The man was an acting treasure, and he'll be missed.


.

A Perfect Murder

"IS IT TIME FOR THE GOOD GUYS TO WIN YET?"

A Video Review of A Perfect Murder

Copyright 2003 Glenn Walker

Michael Douglas plays the same guy in every movie he’s in, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. He’s doesn’t suffer for it – he’s a good actor, just at playing Michael Douglas. A clever man beset by circumstances. If you were to tell me that the leads in Fatal Attraction, The Game, Disclosure and even the "Streets of San Francisco" TV series were all the same character I’d have no trouble believing you. Michael Douglas is, well, damn good as Michael Douglas.

Gwyneth Paltrow (View from the Top, Duets, Emma) and Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings, the butchered TV remake of Vanishing Point) at least have range in their parts in A Perfect Murder. Director Andrew Davis’ film is well done, slickly filmed and deliciously acted in a style Hitchcock would be jealous of. The problem with the flick, adapted by Patrick Smith Kelly from the Frederick Knott play, is that nobody can be trusted. There is no one here, not husband, not wife, not other man, no one to root for. You want them all to die. Everyone here is despicable and you can’t wait for their come-uppence.



Whenever I see a suspense or action thriller with my wife her better sensibilities make her bury her face in my shoulder and cry, "Is it time for the good guys to win yet?" I’m glad we didn’t see this one together. I’d have to answer, "Sorry, honey, no good guys this time."