ALSO SHOWING
Ant-man and the Wasp (PG)
JJJ
Literally and figuratively Antman continues to feel like a minor character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That, however, works to the character’s advantage. The first film’s downscaled action was an unexpected delight after the city-levelling chaos of every other superhero movie. Modest anticipation for this sequel, meanwhile, has encouraged Marvel to stop dragging its heels and finally give a female superhero abovethe-title billing. Cast as the Wasp, Evangeline Lilly steps up from frustrated supporting player to fully fledged action star, her alter-ego, the ass-kicking, tech-savvy Hope Van Dyne, no longer subservient to Paul Rudd’s Ant-man. Indeed, as the film opens she’d rather have nothing to do with his alter ego Scott Lang, whose Ant-man antics in Captain
America: Civil War have resulted in him being placed under house arrest back in San Francisco. Unfortunately this has also forced her and her father, original Ant-man Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), to go on the run, inhibiting their efforts to use Hope’s own miniaturising suit and Pym’s arsenal of shrinkable laboratory equipment to rescue her mother (Michelle Pfeiffer), the original Wasp, from a sub-atomic void known as the “quantum realm.” That’s only part of a busy plot that eventually sees Antman dragged back into the fray to battle a wealthy arms dealer (Walton Goggins) and a tragic shape-shifter known as the Ghost (Hannah Johnkamen). Returning director Peyton Reed juggles all this with the same unobtrusively jokey tone he brought to the first film and the results are fun, if somewhat inessential, with even Lily’s headlining role petering out as the focus shifts more firmly on to its top-billed hero. A final shock reminder that this is taking place in the same timeline as the most recent
Avengers movie redeems it, though: the force of the ensuing narrative sucker punch feels appropriate for a film in which the minuscule can quickly become monumental.
Hearts Beat Loud (12A)
JJJJ
Cast as a failing Brooklyn record shop owner, Nick Offerman brings his customary grouchy charm to this casually sweet, musical-inflected indie comedy about a widower (Offerman’s Frank) determined to start a band with his teenage daughter after a song they co-write gains some traction on Spotify. Frank’s impractical dream is really his own way of coping with his daughter Sam’s imminent departure for medical school (Sam is nicely played by up-and-comer Kiersey Clemons); for Sam, whose lyrics for the titular song are inspired by her feelings for her new girlfriend, her dad’s delusions are a mild annoyance that nevertheless yield a better understanding of the need to take a breath once in a while to reflect on and enjoy life.
Co-writer/director Brett Haley mostly avoids falling into the mawkish traps and hipster oneupmanship this premise and setting all but invite. Instead he concentrates on crafting amiable characters who are fun to hang out with, something aided by a supporting cast that includes Toni Collette and Ted Danson.
Sicilian Ghost Story (15)
JJJ
Based on the real-life 1993 kidnapping and torture of a Mafia informant’s 12-year-old son, this Italian drama retells the horrifying story of Giuseppe Di Matteo from the point of view of a fictionalised classmate, Luna (Julia Jedlikowska), whose fantastical imagination and outrage penetrate the code of silence that has condemned this boy to his fate in the eyes of the locals. Writing/directing team Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza embellish the facts of the case with lots of grounded-in-reality fairytale elements, transforming it into a sort of Neo-realist Pan’s
Labyrinth to make a wider point about the way violence haunts Italy. The results are hard going but grimly compelling. ■