Movie Rating 8 out of 10 Family Rating Adult themes with strong violence and coarse language. There was something about the original Equalizer that made it stand out from all the other vigilante action movies and not just that Liam Neeson was nowhere to be seen. The action is great but without the need for CGI or death-defying stunts like in a 'Bourne' movie the close-up action brings an intensity that had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Denzel Washington returns to his role of Robert McCall, a former CIA agent, who is believed by most of the world to have been killed in a pre-movie explosion. This time he is working as an Uber-type driver who picks up on the problems of some of his customers and sets about righting wrongs. One of the early scenes sees him return to an apartment of pampered young executives who appear to have taken advantage of a young intern. The violence is up front and brutal as he dishes out on those who have taken advantage of this young women. In the original, Washington, achieves justice for strangers that he comes in contact with. In this story, the search for vengeance comes after losing a close friend to bad guys that should have known better. Along the way, we learn a little more about his previous role in the CIA but there is still a lack of details on what happened to his family and how he came to be considered dead. The showdown occurs when the bad guys and Denzel come in contact and realise that only one group will be still alive come the end of the movie. Travelling to a small town in the middle of a cyclone adds to the tension and difficulty as the game of cat and mouse plays out. The violence is graphic and certainly not for those who cannot stomach the sound of breaking bones, cringe-worthy injuries and gruesome deaths. Throughout all the chaos I love that Washington's character stays calm and collected, refrains from swearing and is even polite to those who he intends to inflict great pain. While there are definite goodies and baddies the line is often blurred as we see vengeance dished up outside the law and while I was always cheering for McCall you sometimes wonder what gives him the right to be the moral judge. I highly recommend this movie to those who enjoyed the original Equalizer and all of those, like me, who love the idea of dishing up vengeance but not too keen on the blood and pain that goes with it.    

Movie Rating 7 out of 10 Family Rating Superhero violence but no blood, few minor swear words, Having watched the second of the Ant-Man movies I realise that if it weren't for Paul Rudd and Michael Pena then this series would not have much appeal at all. The original movie showed how Ant-Man could shrink and grow tall, the powers he possessed but mostly that out of the suit, Scott Lang, was a regular divorced father dealing with family issues. In Civil War, we saw him in action on the side of Captain America and his abilities were shown to better effect. However, in this movie, it appears to be more of the same without much plot and at nearly two hours there were large stretches without much action. A big question coming into this movie is why wasn't Ant-Man part of the Infinity movie. A minor spoiler alert that isn't clearly spelt out is the fact that after the big battle scene in Civil War, Ant-Man is captured and put into 2 years home detention. If he takes on any superhero duties during this period he will be jailed for 20 years and he is not willing to jeopardise his relationship with his daughter. The beginning of the movie sees him with only a couple of days to go on his home detention before he is freed and throughout the movie an inept FBI agent tries to catch him breaking his parole conditions. The movie introduces Hope as the Wasp (Evangeline Lily) as she has been given a super suit by her father, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) that allows her to do the shrinking thing as well. They set off to try to find Hope's mother who was shrunk to a microbe size some 30 years earlier. Along the way, they are constantly chased by a bad guy, Sonny Burch, who wants the technology that they are using. They also have to fight off The Ghost and her carer who used to be one of Hank's research partners. There is a lot of racing around the streets of San Francisco with cars that shrink and then return to size. The comedy in the movie comes through Michael Pena's character, Luis, and his two assistants. The truth serum sequence is quite funny. But apart from that, a couple of fight scenes, and the car chase there is not much holding it together .... until the credits. As with all Marvel movies you never leave the theatre until the credits have ended. In this movie, the highlight of the film comes during the first post credit clip. You could hear the audience gasp when it is played. All in all, it wasn't a bad movie but certainly not up to the standard of recent Marvel movies. The ending must have some relevance in the next Avenger…

Rating     8 out of 10 Family Rating - Suitable for everyone. Lots of people have asked why it has taken 14 years for a sequel to The Incredibles to be created. Well, it may come as a surprise to realise that The Incredibles was made four years before the first Iron Man movie. Since then so many superheroes have come onto the scene that the creators of the Incredible family found it hard to come up with an original story for their characters. I can let you know that having watched Incredibles 2 that the wait was worth it. All the Parr family is back with the youngest, Jack-Jack now an important part of the storyline. The film starts with the age-old question - is the world better off with our without superheroes. Well before Captain America and his friends had to deal with superheroes being made illegal the Incredibles have been forced to hide their special powers. Behind the scenes, the owners of super-rich DEVTECH have plans to change the attitude of the community towards superheroes by working on their public image. Much to Bob's, Mr Incredible, disappointment it is felt that Elastagirl would be much easier to promote and so he takes on the responsibility of raising the children and looking after the home. So everyday issues relating to women's equality, stay at home dads, teenage girl romances and how to encourage the children to find their self-esteem are addressed while trying to capture the latest villain, The Screen Slaver. The story has twists and turns in regards to who is and isn't the real villain. However, the key aspect of the movie develops as Jack-Jack's superpowers are revealed and how to get a toddler to restrain them. Though it took 14 years to bring them back the Incredibles show how a family that sticks together, through thick and thin, that all challenges can be overcome. One of my favourite parts of the movie is the appearance of Edna, as she takes on the job of creating a super suit for Jack-Jack. She still reminds me so much of SBS presenter Lee Lin Chin.