Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Scott and Cassie Lang, Hope and Janet van Dyne, and Hank Pym are all accidentally transported to the Quantum Realm and embark on an adventure that goes beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.

Though this threequel expands on the scale of the last two Ant-Man movies to the massive possibilities of the Quantum Realm, the film lacks the charm and wit that a movie with Paul Rudd as a shrinking superhero should have. The green screen and visual effects are hit or miss in terms of blending in with the actors, and the sets feel derivative of Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy, almost as if the production asked James Gunn to borrow a Guardians set for a day but without following through with the weird and quirkiness of what we’re seeing. Instead, the adventure just feels like it’s going through the motions until we meet Kang, who’s played strongly by Jonathan Majors. The stakes when it comes to his character are engaging but still too vague to give his character the depth beneath Majors’ stellar presence. Whenever the actors do get the chance to quip off each other or interact with bonkers new characters they meet, it makes for funny moments, especially due to Rudd’s undeniable talent and Kathryn Newton’s performance as Cassie, but any meaningful character development is nonexistent besides the characters revealing secrets or reiterating their love to each other. The movie’s themes about heroism and “looking out for the little guy” are sweet but only take it so far because of the unoriginal execution. The action itself has some fun moments and laughs, but ends up a standard adventure that isn’t inspired or clever enough to do its titular hero justice or advance his arc besides showing him the MCU’s new big bad.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a watchable movie without enough quirks to make the tone satisfying or enough complexity to make the conflict fascinating. Even for the Ant-Man trilogy, it’s simply fine and only needs to be watched to collect important puzzle pieces for the future of the MCU.

Knock at the Cabin

Eric, Andrew, and their daughter Wen are vacationing in a remote cabin in the woods when four strangers arrive, requesting an unimaginable ultimatum — sacrifice one of their own or the world will end.

M. Night Shyamalan’s dark and stylish filmmaking make this one another win, and his best since Split. The inventive cinematography knows exactly how to make you anxious about what’s about to happen and when or when not to show what matters most, and his unpredictable style keeps this one-location movie exciting and unnerving. The atmosphere makes you attached to the main family within moments but questioning whether anyone here is truly a bad guy. Dave Bautista delivers his best on-screen work as a man who’s empathetic and understanding but also bringing forth a horrific choice for the protagonists to make, though all the “antagonists” show humanity and remorse, besides Rupert Grint’s character who feels the most like a caricature. Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge deliver exceptional performances having to endure panic, pain and disbelief while counting on each other’s love to make it through the situation. The tension escalates in jaw-dropping ways that’ll have you questioning the sides and genuinely fearing for the characters. Shyamalan gets rid of the unintentional humor or ludicrous plot turns of Old for a thriller that shows the character’s emotions and behavior much more realistically and makes a contained but chilling film that teeters between the line of humanity and insanity. A strong watch for fans of the horror and thriller genres that’s as emotionally gripping as it is edge-of-your-seat level intense.