Tag Archives: Action

It’s a Small World After All in Ant-Man & The Wasp, and It’s Influence on the MCU

9 Jul

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

* Mild Spoiler Alert

Ant-Man and the Wasp is a far more comedic film than any other in the Marvel Comics Universe. While it’s tough to beat James Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy, I can not wait to see Drak and Ant-Man get together. Talk about David and Goliath!

When considering the all-star talent involved in both works, this second outing has a lot more to appreciate. Not all of this tale is a paint by numbers scenario. The main plot is to save the original Wasp (Janet van Dyne, Michelle Pfeiffer) from Quantum Reality and in the mind of many is how does this film tie into the events of Avengers: Infinity War?

Those fans who have kept up can easily figure it out. This spoiler will not be revealed. As with most superhero films, they do better without that origin story. This story picks up two years where the last left off and considers Scott Lang’s (Paul Rudd) past involvement with the Avengers. He’s serving time after his appearance in Captain America: Civil War, and only has a few days left to his house arrest.

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How Can The Incredibles 2 Be Topped?

16 Jun

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

  • Spoiler Alert!

Brad Bird‘s The Incredibles is a perfect send-up to many a past superhero comic. Not only does it explore familial issues (the core of what this franchise is about) but also it continues to examine the public perception of what kind of purpose do these Supers serve. The subplots introduced in the first film get further analysis, and the resolutions are far from being complete.

This second chapter does not get too deep with the whole “Gods and Monsters” aspect which defines many a DC film. To stay light-hearted needed this filmmaker’s magic touch. PIXAR’s mantra focuses on matters of the heart and togetherness instead of the difficult choices heroes have to make: Is it possible to save everyone from harm?

In the first movie, Mr. Incredible aka Bob Parr (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) yearned for those bygone days of simply saving the day. He has an ego the size of his heart. To do good is tough, and he’s not out to showboat. He wants to protect the little guy, but not everyone agrees to his method. The public despises superheroes because they can potentially cause more harm than good (somebody has to clean up the mess they leave behind), and only a handful of folks support them. He gets recruited to do good deeds but little did he know the peoples involved have their own agenda. The sequel flips the situation around by having Elastigirl / Helen (Holly Hunter) getting the adventure and seeing Bob at home, dealing with raising a nuclear family. The plot is a retread and it works well enough to highlight reversed gender roles. Bob gets to clean the dishes at home and Molly gets to be Mrs. Fantastic.

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Where’s the Archaeology in Tomb Raider?

22 Mar

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

  • Spoiler Alert

Tomb Raider is one of those franchise universes I loved playing and following because of the locations. From lost catacombs in Peru to Egypt, China to Greece, Cambodia and back to Egypt, the original games went to a whole ton of places where I happily followed along. The films took her to Cambodia, Italy, Greece and Africa. The reboot stuck to a jungle island in the Devil’s Sea (off Japan) and the followup went to remote parts of Russia. Both were very enjoyable plays, but I missed the crazy fantastique from the early games.

The original movies and games, to which longtime fans will recall, had Lara Croft globetrotting to picturesque ancient worlds to deal with ancient evils. If she was not the figure digging for the truth, either her allies or enemies were. However cheesy these films were, those movies belonged in the so bad it’s good category. When Angelina Jolie declined to reprise her role for a third film, the time was ripe to start the games anew. Of course, that meant the movie universe needs to follow suit.

This version of Lara (Alicia Vikander) has no archaeological training. She’s a young lady on the run not only from her past but also her future. She’s a spunky lass with no proper future in sight; she has daddy issues. This part of the plot defines the core of the film and narrative-wise, this re-imaging is off to a good start.

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Could there be a trilogy with the new Jumanji? A Late Movie Review & Thoughts

19 Jan

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

More eyes were on Star Wars: The Last Jedi last month than Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. After all, it’s tough to beat the Robin Williams classic. When compared to movies of today, the effects are dated and a lot of blue screening was done to get animals to overlay with the human actors. The 1995 film had elements which played around with the themes of taking responsibility for one’s actions.

Flash forward to the 2017 film. The premise skirts around a few of the original themes, but instead simply have fun with it. The world is expanded upon and it feels like Temple Run, the mobile and online game. If anyone plans on taking the treasure, they better be darn sure they can escape! Instead of a board game, the product transforms into a video game and sucks new people into its world, like the 1982 film TRON.

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