Capsule Summary (minimal spoilers):

Ant-Man and the Wasp is yet another Marvel Superhero movie in an ever-expanding movie universe. All of these films take place in essentially modern times. It stands alone in that it only really relies on the previous film, with some references to the events of Captain America: Civil War. It starts a while after that movie, and ties back to events that happened many years ago.

Paul Rudd returns to the role of Scott Lang (aka Ant-Man), and has fallen out of touch with Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his daughter, Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly). He is under house arrest, and the FBI keeps checking up on him because they expect something is going on that he’s hiding. Circumstances emerge that force them to reunite and try to resolve the problem without Scott getting into any more trouble.

Like the first film, this is an Action/Adventure/Comedy, but this one finds a way to work in more comedy. I realized that as the post-credits scene finished, I had a smile on my face, as I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was. The story flowed organically and played out rather well. Scott’s friend Luiz (Michael Peña) returns and steals every scene he’s in. Most of his time on screen is full of the sort of digressive banter that makes British comedies work for me. It’s hard to describe without spoiling it, so I’ll stop there.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is rated PG-13 for super-hero style violence, and has a runtime of just under 2 hours. I am sure that there is some of the wow factor of seeing it in 3D, however, it’s not necessary to see it that way.

There is a mid-credits sequence, as well as a post-credits sequence, and they make more sense if you’ve seen Avengers: Infinity War, but it’s not 100% necessary.  About 90% of the audience stayed for these scenes, because they know that Marvel films do that, always. I strongly recommend this movie. It’s a lot of fun.

Standard Review (with minor plot spoilers):

When Hank Pym first developed his Ant-Man suit, his wife had a similar costume, and the two of them worked for the government. Unfortunately, she was lost in a mission, and that’s been a sort spot for him and his daughter, Hope. They have a flash of an idea on how to find out what happened, and that’s how their story begins. Meanwhile, Scott went to Germany to fight in Marvel’s Civil War, and has been fitted with an ankle bracelet, so he can’t leave his home. With only a few days left until retirement, er, only a few days left on his sentence, Hank, Hope, and Scott are reunited in the strangest of ways, which sets the course of the movie.

Nothing is ever that simple, as there’s someone who’s been selling them black market Quantum Technology. They’ve decided they want to cash in, and try to seize Hank’s research. Meanwhile, someone else is interested in it, but for some other reason.

Paul Rudd is such a natural for the role of Scott. It requires some skill at delivering awkward dialogue and keep a straight face. It’s very clear this role was tailor-made for him. Scott has a great relationship with his daughter, Cassie (Hannah John-Kamen), and she has a few funny moments, too. Michael Peña has become his business partner in a small security firm, and it’s like the two of them have been working together for years.

I didn’t expect the movie to be this good. It’s fortunate that the trailers, which gave away a couple of the good laughs, didn’t really reveal what the story was, and I think I’ve only hinted at it, here.

It’s a good film, with good effects. The CGI doesn’t overwhelm the experience, and there are more than a few good laughs. I really like this movie.

Capsule Summary (minimal spoilers):

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is the latest film in the franchise.  The Jurassic World theme park has been abandoned after the disastrous events of the events during the Jurassic World movie.  There’s a mountain on the island that has become an active volcano, leading to a governmental discussion of “let nature take its course” or “save as many dinosaurs as you can”. After all, they’re endangered species, once again.

It wouldn’t be much of a movie if they chose option 1, so they go with option 2.  The co-founder and financier of the original park, Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), implores Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) to help with the rescue mission, already under way. She convinces Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to return as well. They arrive, and that’s where the fun begins.

Overall, I liked this one better than Jurassic World. In general, people do behave smarter and make fewer stupid choices, so it plays better. There are more tense moments, and I let myself enjoy this one. There are some predictable moments and a couple of unexpected moments, but those were infrequent.

Fallen Kingdom is rated PG-13, as there is the typical dinosaur-based violence. They stop short of the on screen gore being too graphic, but they certainly imply it when they don’t show it. Runtime is 2 hours 8 minutes, but it didn’t feel that long. There is an extremely brief post-credits scene, and the trailers you’ve seen only give up part of the story.

I give this one a half-hearted recommendation, as there are so many films currently running to choose from.

Standard Review (with minor plot spoilers):

They never learn.  Containment, containment,  containment,  containment, containment . Single layer containment is NEVER enough, and this goes back to the original movie. They got better  with the computer and data security, but screw the rest!

Now that that’s out of my system, I’ll comment on a few things.

• Chris Pratt is his usual self onscreen, albeit less snarky than his turns at Star Lord.
• They bring in another mercenary leader and jokingly call him Great White Hunter in one scene
• Bryce Dallas Howard wears sensible boots
• There are too many callbacks to the previous movies, including specific plotlines. I wish they’d stop that.
• Some secondary characters serve as the plucky comic relief, and thankfully, some are more properly clever and resourceful.

Not much else to say, so go if you think you’ll like it, but not because you have to. It’s summer fluff, so treat it like that.