Things to Know Before Seeing ''Ant-Man and the Wasp''

Ant-Man and the Wasp is just about a week away from public release and I could not be more excited. For a while, Ant-Man was my favorite movie (that was before I had seen a lot of movies - Marvel movies, for that matter), and still is one of my favorite movies to date, so naturally, the sequel has me stoked.

Upon request, here are a few key points you should know before watching Ant-Man and the Wasp.

- Ant-Man is definitely on the more comical and lighthearted side of the MCU, and I expect the sequel to be just the same, so don't walk into the theater with a dark, brooding, Captain America: The Winter Soldier mindset.

- I would recommend seeing the first Ant-Man before watching Ant-Man and the Wasp. You don't necessarily have to, but it sure helps a bunch. I also suggest taking a look at Captain America: Civil War, too, since this movie occurs right after Civil War takes place.

- A lot of early reviews from critics say that Ant-Man and the Wasp is even better than Ant-Man, so if you liked Ant-Man, you'll probably laugh a whole lot more than you did while watching this film.

- There are two end credits scenes in Ant-Man and the Wasp, and I've heard that the first one is the more important of the two.

- If you have yet to see Avengers: Infinity War, don't worry - you can still watch Ant-Man and the Wasp.

- The film is rated PG-13 and has a runtime of 1 hour 58 minutes.

All in all - go see the movie. Once it comes out, that is.

"Incredibles 2" Review (SPOILERS)

I just got back from watching Incredibles 2, and what can I say? Pixar has worked its imaginative magic once again. It's a sequel worth waiting for, to say the least.

Per usual, it's now time for the likes/dislikes and pros/cons of the movie. These are all solely based on my opinion and I am entitled to it, but feel free to share yours in the comments. Keep in mind that there will be spoilers - you've been warned!

LIKES

- The villain is much more terrifying in this film than its predecessor.
- I loved how the villain used screens to enslave (hence the name ''Screenslaver") control people since our world is so digitally reliant. Very clever.
- The action scenes were awesome.
- I don't have a problem with strobe lights, so the strobe light scene was super epic and mesmerizing.
- Bao, the short film that plays before Incredibles 2, was phenomenal and tearjerking. Classic Pixar.
- The kids (Violet, Dash, and Jack Jack) are hilarious. The Parr family has such good chemistry.

DISLIKES

- There were a few cases of mild cussing which I felt were completely unnecessary.


That's all of the specifics that come to mind. In general, Incredibles 2 was fantastic and I recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first one. It was a real treat to see these beloved characters back on the big screen.

"Solo: A Star Wars Story'' Review (SPOILERS)

I'll admit, I walked into Solo: A Star Wars Story with pretty low expectations. After the disaster known as The Last Jedi, I didn't have high hopes for this film. There was also the whole ''Alden Ehrenreich Needed an Acting Coach'' fiasco to top off my concerns.

However, Solo was not nearly as terrible as I thought it would be, yet still slightly underwhelming. By no means is it a perfect movie - or even a memorable one at that - but it wasn't as much of a menace as the majority of Star Wars fans on Rotten Tomatoes said it was, even with all of the hardships it faced, such as the firing of the original director mid-production.

So, here's a few things I liked about Solo, and a few things I didn't like:

LIKES

- How Han and Chewie met
- Paul Bettany's performance
- Darth Maul's cameo
- Alden actually did a decent job on portraying Han
- Donald Glover's performance
- Rescuing the enslaved Wookies
- The Beckett Twist

DISLIKES

- L3
- L3 and Lando's ''relationship"
- The film didn't explore the reason behind Han's cynical attitude or Imperial training
- The action scenes were kind of boring and bland
- How Han got his last name
- Qi'ra's unexplored motives
- Lack of depth for the majority of the characters and not giving the audience a compelling reason to care about them

There's also one more thing I'd like to discuss before I conclude this post, and that is the Solo box office performance. Compared to other Star Wars films, Solo has so far failed miserably. Earning only about $275 million worldwide on its second weekend, a lot of people have been wondering what went wrong, and I believe I have three main reasons to explain this shocking event:

1) TLJ left a lot of Star Wars fans bitter and angry
2) The movie was released too early after TLJ and didn't have enough time to build up hype
3) It had to compete with other big movies such as Avengers: Infinity War and Deadpool 2 during the month of May

That's all I have to say about Solo, and if you haven't seen the movie yet - don't worry, you won't be missing out on much, but go see it in theaters anyways because popcorn.