KathrynNewton – Credits Rolling

Kicking off Phase Five comes the third entry in the Ant-Man franchise. Everybody’s favorite little guy Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is adjusting to life post Avengers superhero. When his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) tampers with a machine that she is not supposed to, the whole family are sucked into the Quantum Realm. There, they not only come across a bunch of strange creatures, but must battle a new foe.

One of the reasons why we enjoy these movies is because they don’t take themselves too seriously. There’s plenty of jokes and quirky scenarios, but this time around, the pacing was different. With an uneven first half that took a bit too long to get going, the film has a heavy focus on science. As the science element is totally elevated, it would make sense for there to be more CGI than ever before and at times I felt like it was too over the top.

I liked how Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne was given more to do this time around. The whole plot centred around her and it was interesting to learn about her time stuck in the realm. Rudd was obviously back as the titular character and just as funny as ever. Also, how does this man not age? I don’t get it! I liked the addition of Newton as Cassie and look forward to seeing more of her in future films. As for Michael Douglas as Hank and Evangeline Lily as Hope, I was disappointed to see that they were sidelined. You’d think the latter, especially, would at least be featured more considering the fact that her name is in the film’s title. The standout for me, however, was Jonathan Majors as new big bad Kang. He was everything that I hoped he would be and while this film only served as a sort of introduction to his character, I am so excited to see what happens with him next.

Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania was not one of the strongest entries into the MCU, but it was an entertaining one nonetheless. There were too many special effects and I could have done without a particular side character who as tacky, cringey and added nothing to the story. Overall, I think it was a good enough set up for what’s to come.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️.5

Time loop stories may no longer be original, but they will always be interesting to me. I heard about The Map of Tiny Perfect Things recently and was instantly intrigued. Each version that I have seen so far of this concept has been different and I was curious to see how it would all unfold this time around. The film was certainly enjoyable though I do think I expected too much from it.

Mark (Kyle Allen) has been stuck living the same day over and over for some time now. It has gotten to the point where he almost doesn’t care what he does with his time because he’s sure that nothing will ever change. But then one day, something does happen that changes everything. Mark meets Margaret (Kathryn Newton). Turns out she is also reliving the same day Mark is. They decide to team up to try and figure out why this has happened to them and how they can break out of it.

What I liked the most about this was that the story picked up in the middle of the time loop and not at the beginning of it. We as the audience knew from the start that Mark had been stuck for quite some time now as he had adopted a similar routine for himself to follow. I think that this had more of an impact and it made me curious to find out why he was in this predicament to begin with. I also liked how Margaret was introduced and that the two of them could sort out their issues together.

While they tried to give depth to the film, I do think that there could have been more. Unlike Palm Springs for example, I don’t think that this version was different than what we have seen before. I did appreciate the fact that the two main characters really tried to focus on the smaller things in life that we otherwise don’t pay attention to, but I was hoping for more at the end of the day.

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things was a cute take on a familiar story. It was entertaining enough for an hour and a half, however I wish it had left more of an impression on me.

Rating: ♥♥♥