Ant-Man When director Edgar Wright walked out on Ant-Man right before production began, the writing was on the wall that the picture might end up being the first out-and-out bomb for Marvel in many a moon. Now, just 14 months later, the film is being talked up as one of the potential smashes of the summer, likely to exploit the same balance of humor and action that brought Guardians of the Galaxy in from left field and across home plate. Either new director Peyton Reed has pulled off a miracle save or the Disney propaganda machine has hit an all-time high of creative disinformation. If Ant-Man does indeed soar, brace yourself for weeks of pseudo-populist theorizing about the modern cultural environment and the zeitgeist of the "little guy." (Some of whom, I assume, are good people.) (PG-13)
The Farewell Party In this Israeli comedy, a bunch of retirees make like Dr. Kevorkian, organizing their sunset years around the principle that assisted suicide isn't just a merciful act – it can be the centerpiece of a fine small business, too. You have to admire a film that could give Sarah Palin fits on the basis of its pitch alone (i.e., "Jewish death panel"), and attendees of the 2014 Venice Film Festival seemed to agree, naming The Farewell Party the winner of their People's Choice Award. In other words, it killed! (NR) NOTE: At 2:45 p.m. on press day, Enzian notified Orlando Weekly that The Farewell Party would not open this week.
The Little Death First-time filmmaker Josh Lawson explores the sexual perversions lurking behind the facade of an Australian suburb. So that's what "down under" means! OR: So that's what they mean by a "bushman"! OR: My dingo wants to eat your baby. (NR) NOTE: At 2:45 p.m. on press day, Enzian notified Orlando Weekly that The Little Death would not open this week.
Trainwreck There's a widespread misconception that, just because the freedom to talk about sex is a good thing for society, talking about your own sex life makes you inherently interesting as an individual. In the case of a Chelsea Handler, it can work for about five minutes – but then along comes an Amy Schumer, who has used carnal shock and awe as a platform to satirize brilliantly the damage our gender norms have wreaked on a whole host of levels. So it's not a bit surprising to hear Trainwreck talked about as Schumer's elevation to the "A" list of cross-media icons: Her persona is so well on its way to being essential at this point that her movie has every chance of being the sleeper hit of the summer. (Not that she has time to sleep, nyuk nyuk.) (R)
