Celebrating Ants!

Celebrating Ants!

Ant-Man is creeping ever closer to its release date! Now, to some, ants are creepy. They get into everything, especially sweets, chew through the wood, leave unsightly hills in lawns, and can just get in the way. But there are lots of things to celebrate about ants. Here are few things that make ants great!

1. Ants belong to the Order Hymenoptera, which inlcudes bees, wasps, sawflies, and ants.

2. Ants can be extremely efficient foragers. The European red ants (Formica polyctena) can harvest an estimated 1 kg of arthropod food a day!

3. Honeypot ants feed exclusively on on insect-produced honeydew. They can be so full of honey they literally look like honey pots.

4. Some ant species have "gatekeepers," or major workers that have heads that can plug an opening. 

5. Bullet ants have an extremely painful sting, hence their name.

6. Leaf-cutter any workers can strip a tree of leaves in one day.

7. Trap Jaw ants use their jaws to literally fling themselves away from danger. Their jaws can open at 140 mph.

8. There are over 12,000 known species of ants and they inhabit almost every landmass on the planet.

Vote for Ant-Man Poster!

If you haven't been on Twitter and don't follow Ant-Man, you may be missing out on some fun happenings. For instance, you can tweet for a special screening of the film in a city near you! Or vote for the poster you can get if you see the film on July 16th! Start voting on facebook and twitter! We've ranked them from our favorite to least favorite below. Use the hastag in the caption to vote on your favorite social media platform.

Here's what's going on (from Facebook): Vote for the exclusive poster that you want to receive when you purchase a RealD 3D ticket to Marvel’s “Ant-Man” at AMC Theatres starting Thursday, July 16th while supplies last. Just comment on this post with the hashtag that corresponds with the poster you like best! Make sure you vote by tomorrow at 9AM PST.

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#AntManStrikes

#AntManSuitUp

#AntManHope

Ant-Man Trailer 1 - Sweet like a honey ant!

The second Ant-Man trailer was released today! This time around we get a much better idea of the tone of the film and get to see more of the characters.

Let's start with my favorite thing about this trailer - the ants. I'm already a fan of the Formicidae, but it was way cool to see different species of ants get starring roles in this trailer. What looked like red, black, and potentially honey ants will grace the big screen in July. Something like this probably hasn't been seen since Them! (Kill one and two take its place!) in the 1950s. The red ants even exhibit rafting behavior to protect Scott!

Yellowjacket is seen in all of his gold and black glory. The suit he wears is way cool for a villain. Not only tech but has a very arthropod look and feel to it. Yellow jackets are mean insects to begin with and this villain seems no different. It appears that we have a man who does not understand power, but craves money and respect above all else, no matter the cost.

I'm really excited about the fight sequences, too. Changing size in the middle of a punch, running up a gun barrel, it all seems fresh and new and will hopefully be as astounding and fun as we see here. 

We also get a good sense of the tone of Ant-Man. It's fun and quirky, much like Guardians of the Galaxy, but still retains a serious tone about powers and what that means for the individual and for the public. Powers like these must be used responsibly. Especially after Age of Ultron hits, it'll be a different MCU.

I also love the color palette in this film, the reds, blues, and yellows. We also get to see more of Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne. I really like seeing Michael Douglas as Pym. He brings a lot of wisdom to the role that seems to have been learned through mistakes. Evangeline Lily as Hope Van Dyne appears to be quite the ally and she alludes to being Wasp perhaps? I mean, she does seem to know a lot about the suit and its powers.

Overall, great trailer and I am beyond excited for this film that will end Phase 2 of the MCU!