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Inspired by actual events in 1985 surrounding a crashed drug runner’s plane in Georgia, missing cocaine, and the apex predator/black bear that ate the stash; a handful of unlikely players, park rangers, drug dealers, parents and kids alike find themselves wrapped up in the rampage. The rules are simple, keep your nose clean enough to kill or be killed, but who will walk away?Written by Jimmy Warden and Directed by Elizabeth Banks, this gruesome period piece embodies and replicates the spirit and feel of the decade it’s set in from art direction, acting style, and cinematic vision. Steeped in absurdity, this horrific ride delivers gallon for gallon, kilo for kilo, the most blood we’ve seen on screen in quite some time, yet, acerbic humor cuts the edge and keeps things moving. So, for all of its short comings in editing and continuity, Banks has faithfully re-created a horror/thriller B-film spark that children of the 80’s will be familiar with. High cinema (no pun intended), not even close, screwball romp, absolutely. Enjoy it for what it is, entertainment that doesn’t overstay its welcome with a runtime of 95 minutes. Cocaine Bear is rated R….surprise.

Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and his whole family are sucked into the Quantum realm only to discover a new enemy is on the rise– Kang (Jonathan Majors). Thwarted at every turn, getting home will take efforts from friends old and new and require an open mind, proving there’s always room to grow. Written by Jeff Loveness and Jack Kirby and Directed by Peyton Reed, this third installation of the franchise comes up thin on plot, heavy on CGI graphics and a lackluster shine breaking a cardinal rule of Sci-Fi– the creation of an all powerful being, in this instance Kang. The issue being, once a character reaches an all powerful status and cannot be stopped, the story becomes uninteresting and momentum is lost, it’s the ultimate “who cares?” writers pitfall. Furthermore this is troubling in the fact that the next wave of Marvel action appears to be centered around Kang’s rule and conquering of the the Metaverse, and, we’re off to a significantly snoozing start. So, for all of its glitz and glamour, attempts at humor, and bombastic smashing at the quantum level, sadly the Ant-man just can’t carry the weight of this task. Running two hours and five minutes, task this as a rental later, Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania is rated PG-13.

A family vacationing at a remote cabin is taken hostage by a group of strangers armed with medieval weapons and forced to make an impossible decision under the premise that the world is ending. Even then, failing to make a decision could still have apocalyptic results. Are these the end times, or just crazy times? Written by M. Night Shyamalan, Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman, and Directed by Shyamalan this allegorical story based loosely on depictions of the Book of Revelation features an unlikely cast including Jonathan Groff, Rupert Grint, and Dave Bautista; however, it’s Bautista who steals the show as the empathetic and gentle giant carefully guiding and coaching the ensemble, bravo Bautista. Breaking form from his special plot twist schtick, Shyamalan also appears to be reaching into slightly different story telling territory; and yet, in doing so doesn’t build up to the “big reveal” leaving the viewer a little less Shyamalan-wowed at the conclusion of its 100 minute runtime. Bottom line, maybe more of a rental than a theatre watch but still fun for the dark suspense that it is. Knock at the Cabin is rated R.