Other stuff worth checking out in South African cinemas right now

Rolling with the positivity of my American Animals review, here are some thoughts on a couple of other good to great films on circuit right now that I haven't covered yet.

I actually don't have too much to say about Ant-Man and the Wasp - but I actually mean that as a compliment. After the sheer hugeness of Avengers: Infinity War and its less than upbeat ending, this sequel to Marvel Studios' smallest film (in every sense of the word) is the perfect tonic. I loved the hell out of Infinity War and I can't wait for the still-untitled fourth Avengers film, but this is a nice reminder that Marvel's films don't have to be epic to be tons of fun. Ant-Man and the Wasp offers just more of the same as the first film but with a better semi-villain and more Morrissey (and solo Morrissey at that!) jokes, as well as a nicely expanded role for Evangeline Lilly, who proves, once again, that she really should be a much bigger star than she is. Michelle Pfeiffer, Lawrence Fishburn and, most especially, a scene-stealing Randall Park are terrific additions to an already top-notch cast and director Peyton Reed brings the same sense of zippy fun and tons of heart to a script that's written by far more people than you would expect considering the film's tightness. Unlike Infinity War, it doesn't matter how invested you are in the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe, if you're looking for a fun, funny and heartfelt Hollywood blockbuster, Ant-Man and the Wasp is easily worth your hard-earned cash. And if you are invested in the MCU, be sure not to miss the brilliant sting in the tale during the mid-credits scene. But then, if you're invested in the MCU, you knew that already.

Isle of Dogs is about what you might expect from a Wes Anderson film about a group of dogs caught up in a vast conspiracy perpetrated by Japan's leaders against all canine kind and the one boy whose search for his lost dog might change everything. That is to say, it's quirky, offbeat and put together with that typical Wes Anderson style and precision: all adding up to a film quite unlike anything else out there. Using beautiful but intentionally creaky stop-motion animation and an exceptional voice cast of old collaborators and Anderson-neophytes, Isle of Dogs once again proves that no one does deadpan comedy and subtle, sneaky emotion quite like Wes Anderson and even if it doesn't rank among the Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore or the Grand Budapest Hotel as his very best work, it is a solid step up from his previous stop-motion animated film, the Fantastic Mr. Fox. The latter suffered somewhat from a tone that fell uneasily between kids movie and something more mature but there's no such problem here. It may star a young hero and plenty of cute (in a messed up kind of way) dogs, but Isle of Dogs is aimed much more squarely at grownups with its rich political satire and often dystopian feel. Dog lovers will especially love this but even the most casual Wes Anderson fan will find plenty to chew on as well.

Much has been made of how important Love, Simon is as a cultural event in that it's a mainstream, romantic comedy-drama for teens (and anyone who has ever been a teen) that happens to feature a gay lead but, as notable as this undoubtedly is, the best thing about it is that it's good enough that you both quickly forget the socio-political aspects of the film in favour of just going along with the story and these terrific characters and end up glad that it was of high enough quality to do justice to such a milestone in the first place. And make no mistake, this is a super mainstream film that slots in easy with all the other coming-of-age teen comedies that have come out in the past few years. Its characters are smart, pop-culture-literate and easily likeable; its plot turns comfortable in their familiarity and all directed, by Greg Berlanti (the mastermind behind most of CW's roster of comic book shows like Supergirl, Riverdale and the Flash), efficiently but in a way that mostly just gets out of the way of the rock-solid storytelling. The cast is great from top to bottom (not least of all, including Tony Hale in top comedic form) but special mention must go to Nick Robinson who is so good as our hero, Simon; convincing both as an average teenager (well, average for these sorts of the films) and one dealing with the ups and downs of coming out to his friends and families. He offers a highly sympathetic take on a character that gay kids can easily identify with but his - if you'll pardon the cliche - journey of self-discovery should resonate with anyone who has ever had to muster up the courage to be themselves in a world that can so easily reject them. Yes, Love, Simon is predictable and on-the-nose but it's also funny, honest, heartfelt and, as is the case with most of the best teen comedy-dramas, smarter than it looks. That it's also important is only the cherry on top.

That's 8-stars apiece and, as a special, early review of something being released this coming Friday, here is my quick take on the latest Dwayne Johnson actioner, Skyscraper, straight from leaving the press preview. It falls somewhere in the six or seven-star range, for what it's worth. I haven't decided yet, but the more you like the Rock, the more you'll like it. And, really, who doesn't like the Rock?

To get the obvious out of the way: yes, Skyscraper is basically Die Hard with a bit more Towering Inferno thrown into the mix. It's super obvious and super predictable as the kind of film that takes Checkov's gun to almost ludicrous extremes as virtually every notable object introduced early in the film will come into play later on. Plus, if you can't spot the bad guys and traitors coming several million miles away, you're clearly in a deep coma. It's also massively silly, far-fetched beyond words and almost instantly disposable. It is, however, also loads and loads of fun that almost makes virtues out of all the above flaws. Unsurprisingly, this does, once again, come down almost entirely to the irrepressible charisma of one Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson whose greatest strength as an action star has always had less to do with his built-like-the-proverbial-shithouse physique than his uncanny ability to play every scene exactly right and to take himself and the film around him only as seriously as is strictly necessary. It's an incredible skill that is all too easy to overlook - that is until you compare any of his action flicks to 99.9999% of the competition out there. Still, even if Johnson does most of the heavy lifting here - in every sense of the phrase - he is well matched with a likable supporting cast (including Neve Campbell, who I'm pretty sure I haven't seen in anything in over a decade but who looks, quite remarkably, almost exactly the same) and writer/ director, Rawson Marshall Thawber, whose name suggests that he should be a veteran action filmmaker but who is known mostly for comedy, including working with the Rock in Central Intelligence, which is, in retrospect, something of a stepping stone for what he does here. He has a keen understanding of the genre and his action scenes are largely very nicely played: he clearly gets the Rock's strengths as a performer but his set pieces are well choreographed and punchy. Honestly, the only thing really keeping Skyscraper back from being a classic bit of trash cinema is its weak, uncharismatic villains - where's Hans Grueber (*sob*) when you need him?