Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

As Scott Lang balances being both a Super Hero and a father, Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym present an urgent new mission that finds the Ant-Man fighting alongside The Wasp to uncover secrets from their past. (IMDb)

The plot leaves a few things to be desired (namely, less of the increasingly convenient and far-fetched tech and its accompanying untethered babble; also, resolving things with the Ghost could’ve been done a lot earlier), but everything around it is quite satisfying: the characters are likeable, the jokes are frequent and funny (see the truth serum bit), and the size-changing action is lots of fun (the visual effects here are excellent and quite clever-see the final reveal at the drive-in).

7/10 (Good)

Ant-Man (2015)

Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, cat burglar Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world. (IMDb)

The estranged father-daughter duo is a little too brooding at times; thankfully, Rudd’s likeably lighthearted Scott and his buds (Pena’s excitable yet dim Luis steals every scene he’s in) provide enough ant-ics to break up the predictable melodrama, not to mention keep the standard superhero plot (cue the power-hungry villain) in check. The shrinking premise, meanwhile, adds a cool element to the action and even briefly probes questions of time and space (see Scott’s sub-nuclear fall).

7/10 (Good)

Last Vegas (2013)

Three friends take a break from their day-to-day lives to throw a bachelor party in Las Vegas for their last remaining single pal. (IMDb)

With questionable chemistry between the four leads, the “old guys partying” schtick here mostly just feels silly and awkward (although Freeman’s drunk ramble at the nightclub is great) and the numerous aging jokes forced. De Niro’s Paddy cuts through the crap in a great reality-check speech midway through, but its themes are discarded seconds later in favour of more generic party slapstick and the brief girl-drama doesn’t really make up for it, leaving us with just another formulaic Vegas flick.

5.5/10 (Poor)

Disclosure (1994)

A computer specialist is sued for sexual harassment by a former lover turned boss who initiated the act forcefully, which threatens both his career and his personal life. (IMDb)

Takes a while to get going, plodding through thick and uninteresting corporate jargon before the raunchy pivotal scene sets it in motion. Unfortunately, the protagonist’s tainted innocence makes him hard to root for, and he was never particularly likeable in the first place–adding a dryness to an already dated and stuffy-feeling film, with its drab 90s office setting and laughable VR animation. Decent legal drama with a couple of good twists manage to keep this film afloat, but only barely.

6/10 (Mediocre)