MIKE WARD’S SMALL SCREEN
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (12)
(Download now, DVD and Blu-ray from Monday) SIZE-shifting superhero Ant-Man, aka former petty criminal Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), remains in rather a pickle as we catch up with him in this entertaining, action-packed sequel.
He is still under house arrest for his misdemeanours in Captain America: Civil War.
But we soon find him donning his ant clobber again when physicist Hank Pym, played by Michael Douglas, sets out to rescue his wife Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) from the so-called quantum sphere. Janet’s daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) is, of course, The Wasp, and her partnership with fellow superhero Ant-Man now gets the chance, quite literally, to develop wings.
They make quite a pair, the waspish one’s distinctive, superior fighting skills more than making up for Ant-Man’s tendency to be a bit of a twonk.
As Marvel stories go, this one obviously operates on a less globally significant level than most of them, but the spectacular visuals and engaging comedy remind us there is more than one way to make a satisfying superhero yarn. A CHRISTMAS PRINCE: THE ROYAL WEDDING (PG)
(Netflix Originals)
LAST year’s romantic comedy A Christmas Prince finished with journalist Amber (Rose McIver) being proposed to by Ben Lamb’s Richard – the royal she’d helped secure his rightful place as king of Aldovia.
So now comes the knot-tying bit, assuming Amber doesn’t bail out, overwhelmed by all the royal protocol she suddenly has to stick to.
BLOOD (15)
(DVD from Monday)
Shown recently on Channel 5, this excellent psychological thriller stars Adrian Dunbar as a doctor suspected of murder. The person doing the suspecting is his estranged daughter Cat (Carolina Main), who’s dashed back from Dublin to the family home after her mum has suffered a fatal accident. With the circumstances not adding up, she starts to suspect her dad of foul play.
DOG DAYS (12) (Download, DVD and Blu-ray from Monday) DESPERATE Housewives’ Eva Longoria is among the stars of this shamelessly fluffy comedy about a bunch of LA dog owners and their cute canine chums.