Shakefire.com - Randall Park

There’s no denying that Avengers: Infinity War is the biggest and most packed film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with dozens of characters, both hero and villain, all vying to either save or destroy the universe. By its very nature it leaves you exhausted by the end. Following up the biggest release of 2018 so far is a daunting task, but Ant-Man and the Wasp is a welcoming palate cleanser for the MCU with more of a focus on comedy over action and a reminder that Marvel Studios is still more than capable of telling stories on the smaller scale, this time quite literally.

Following the events of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has been placed on house arrest after making a deal with the government to no longer have any contact with Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly), or any other superhero in violation of the Sokovia Accords. While Scott has been enjoying spending time with his own daughter, Hank and Hope have been busy working on an experimental project that will get them to the Quantum Realm in the hopes of finding their wife/mother, Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), who has been lost there every since going subatomic decades ago during a mission with Hank. Their project has attracted some unwanted attention, however, as both black market dealer Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) and a mysterious figure named Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) who is capable of phasing through objects are after their quantum technology. Scott inadvertently becomes entangled with their experiment having briefly traveled to the Quantum Realm himself, and the key to finding Janet may lie within his head.

Half of the entire universe may be hanging in the balance but Ant-Man and the Wasp’s focus is on family. Scott has been struggling to put the Ant-Man persona behind him in order to spend more time with his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson). Already on house arrest, If he’s caught again by the government he’ll automatically be sent to jail for over 20 years. Most movies of the MCU, with the exception of Civil War, never really address the ramifications or fallout of being a superhero on a personal level. Scott is not Captain America or Iron Man or any of the other Avengers. He’s just a guy who happened to find a super-powered suit one night and is constantly torn between his duties as both a superhero and a father. Throughout the film he’s always on edge saying how he should be back at home because he could be arrested at any point. Even though his name is first, Ant-Man is riding in the passenger’s seat this time around.

The real driver behind the film is Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne aka the Wasp who finally has a suit of her own that is far more advanced than what Scott had. She and Hank are doing everything they can in order to figure out how to get to the Quantum Realm and find her mother, even if that means taking on shaddy black market deals with Sonny Burch. Hope is more than capable of taking care of herself and is oftentimes the one taking the lead whenever things get dangerous.

As cool as the titular characters are, I was entertained the most by the secondary characters, particularly Michael Peña’s fast talking Luis. He was the highlight of the original Ant-Man and does so again when it comes to Ant-Man and the Wasp. Every line of his dialogue is hilarious and one scene involving what may or may not be truth serum is downright one of the best scenes in any Marvel movie, period. After Ant-Man I, along with many other fans, hoped for more Luis, and the sequel definitely delivers!

Where Ant-Man and the Wasp stutters is with its story. There’s simply too much going on at once and the narrative can’t juggle everything at once. Having two villains going after Hank’s quantum technology is a little much, especially since Sonny Burch is just your average run of the mill criminal who often just gets in the way of the much badder and more interesting Ghost. It’s simply a waste of Walton Goggins, and the film could have been much better exploring more of Ghost’s character instead of dividing time between the two.

Despite its somewhat bloated story, Ant-Man and the Wasp injects some much needed humor into the MCU. It’s a comedy first and foremost and then an action film whereas with most other Marvel Studios films it’s the other way around. It might not feel as big as the other films of the franchise, but as you’ll see by the end, it’s just as important.

Office Christmas Party

Matt Rodriguez — Sat, 10 Dec 2016 16:13:02 +0000

When his uptight CEO sister threatens to shut down his branch, the branch manager throws an epic Christmas party in order to land a big client and save the day, but the party gets way out of hand...

Office Christmas Party

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Office Christmas Party,

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Dec 09, 2016

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Office Christmas Party,

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105 minutes

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Office Christmas Party

Matt Rodriguez — Sat, 10 Dec 2016 16:10:55 +0000

Office Christmas Party

Review:

Theatrical

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Grade:

2.90

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Office Christmas Party

Office Christmas Party walks a fine line between being a goofy holiday comedy and being completely obnoxious. Thankfully, it’s more humorous than cringe-inducing as it offers up exactly what you would expect from an over-the-top Christmas party that gets way out of control; plenty of laughs.

Server company Zenotek hasn’t been having a great year, financially, and Chicago branch manager Clay (T.J. Miller) and his right hand man, Josh (Jason Bateman), want to throw a party to pick people’s spirits back up. Unfortunately his sister and CEO of the company Carol (Jennifer Aniston) sees this as a waste of money and demands that the party be cancelled and threatens to shut the branch down, calling Clay a terrible manager. A potential new client, Walter Davis (Courtney B. Vance), could bring millions to the company, but they have doubts that a big company like Zenotek could give them the personal attention a smaller company could. In an effort to save the branch from being closed and to prove to his sister that he is more than capable of being in charge, Clay decides that the party is back on and invites Walter so that he can see how much of a family they all our in the hopes of getting his business.

Office Christmas Party is exactly what you would expect out of a raunchy R-rated comedy. It doesn’t try to sell you an overly complex story with deep character development or some heartwarming message. It simply wants to make you laugh. And it does so quite successfully I would say. The film starts off slow, but once the party gets started the antics continue to grow bigger and bigger.

T.J. Miller, Jason Bateman, and Jennifer Aniston lead the film, but it’s the supporting cast that garners to most laughs. Kate McKinnon plays the uptight personnel from HR and is the straight edge of the film but she occasionally lets her wild side out in awkward fashion. Jillian Bell is hilarious as Trina, a pimp who offers up one of her girls to an employee who needs to show off his “girlfriend” to his fellow coworkers. Rob Corddry is the office asshole who also happens to work in Customer Service. There are all these various characters that have their individual moments to shine.

We’re currently in the heart of Oscar season where many of the films being released are geared towards serious subject matters and serious performances. Office Christmas Party is a reminder that films can be fun and that there doesn’t need to be some deeper meaning to everything. Sometimes a laugh is just a laugh.

Fresh Off The Boat: The Complete First Season

Matt Rodriguez — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 16:54:27 +0000

Fresh Off The Boat: The Complete First Season is available on DVD starting today, and Shakefire is giving away a copy to one lucky winner. Simply fill out the form below to enter and we will randomly select a winner from all eligible entries!

Join TV’s Funniest New Family and flashback to the 90’s! 12-year old hip-hop enthusiast Eddie Huang (Hudson Yang) and his family make their way from D.C.’s Chinatown to Orlando where his dad, Louis (Randall Park) tries to make his new steakhouse a success. His mom, Jessica (Constance Wu) aims to understand the culture clash and dominate suburbia. While his brothers fit right in, Eddie’s still tries to get a seat at the table – any table – in the school cafeteria. Bullies on the bus may get him down, but Eddie can bust a move and wield a fajita like nobody’s business! Go behind the scenes of this breakout sitcom inspired by renowned Chef Eddie Huang’s bestselling memoir.

Fresh off the boat

(Deadline: October 16, 2015)

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Fresh of the Boat: Pilot (PREVIEW)

Paul Arca — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 01:53:04 +0000

Review:

TV Show

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Grade:

4.00

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Fresh off the boat

Randall Park

Constance Wu

‘Fresh off the boat” is a new comedy TV show that is set to premiere later this year on ABC. The show follows an Asian family that moves from Washington D.C.’s Chinatown to suburban Orlando. The main character is Eddie (Hudson Yang), a young Asian-American kid with a traditional Asian family as they attempt to adjust to life in a new environment. Changes and culture shock are in order for the whole family, but Eddie has the most difficult time trying to adapt. How will the Yang family fare in Orlando? You will have to watch the show to find out.
Being an Asian-American, I found this show to be hilarious and filed with a lot of common themes I lived through myself. The jokes were spot on, but they were a bit heavy on the generalizations and stereotypes. On the bright side, everyone is mocked in this show and no one is safe. I found the first episode to be cleverly written and felt it will appeal to the growing Asian-American population, but will leave other audiences scratching their heads. There are other shows that have tried to go down this path before, but none have been so open and comical about the issues facing Asian families trying to adjust to life in America.
I would watch future episodes and hope they can elaborate on the individual storylines of the other family members. The issues of school and starting school are playfully addressed in the first episode and a great set-up for the rest of the season. This is a good-hearted show that will surely appeal to audiences and make you laugh along the way. For those reasons, I am giving the pilot episode of “Fresh off the boat” an “A.”