Believe it or not, a big-screen adaptation of “Ant-Man” has been in development since the so-called MCU was just a twinkle in Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige’s eye. It’s been a decade in the making, and a majority of that time was spent under the guidance of director Edgar Wright. Many people didn’t think it would ever get made, and when Wright left the project only weeks before production was scheduled to begin, citing creative differences, it nearly broke the internet. You have to respect Wright for maintaining his integrity by refusing to kowtow to the bigwigs at Marvel, but Feige deserves credit for holding his ground as well, because considering its troubled production, “Ant-Man” could (and probably should) have been a disaster. Instead, it’s a funny and fast-paced superhero film that serves as a welcome breath of fresh air compared to the typical end-of-the-world summer blockbusters.

Paul Rudd stars as Scott Lang, a gifted thief and ex-convict who’s trying to put his life back together for the sake of his young daughter. And he gets that second chance when he’s recruited by Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) – a genius inventor who’s hidden his groundbreaking particle technology, which can shrink a human down to the size of an ant, from the rest of the world – to break into his company’s research facility and thwart his power-hungry protégé, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), from replicating the technology. Cross plans to militarize his version of the Pym particles, which he’s dubbed Yellowjacket, and sell it to the highest bidder for the purpose of creating the ultimate super-soldier. Sound familiar? In order to protect the weapon from falling into the wrong hands, Scott must assume the mantle of Ant-Man using a suit that grants its wearer increased strength while microscopic and the ability to telepathically control an army of ants.

In keeping with Marvel’s tradition of exploring different genres with each new movie, “Ant-Man” is primarily a heist film that strikes a nice balance between comedy, action and drama. It’s also a movie that has serious daddy issues, featuring parallel father/daughter stories – from Scott’s attempt to regain visitation rights with Cassie (the adorable Abby Ryder Fortston), to Hank’s fractured relationship with his estranged daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly), who blames him for the mysterious death of her mother – that drive the overall narrative. After all, “Ant-Man” is just as much about Hank Pym’s role as the titular hero as it is about Scott Lang taking over, and that was a brave but smart decision that pays off emotionally, as well as strengthens the connective tissue of Marvel’s expansive cinematic universe. Director Peyton Reed wasn’t given an easy task coming onboard so late in the game, but he does an admirable job of producing a streamlined, standalone adventure that weaves in references to the MCU without feeling slavish to the material.

It’s difficult to know exactly how much of Edgar Wright and “Attack the Block” director Joe Cornish’s original script was retained in the final version (they both receive a screenplay and story credit), but one thing that Wright deserves full recognition for is assembling the excellent cast. While Marvel still hasn’t solved its villain problem, with Stoll consigned to playing another cookie-cutter villain who’s very similar to Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stane (albeit with a slightly reversed mentor/student dynamic), the core trio delivers some really good performances. Rudd is perfectly cast as the smart-aleck Everyman, Douglas brings legitimate weight to a character that demands respect the minute he appears on screen, and Lilly finds plenty of moments to shine in what’s basically the Pepper Potts role. (If you haven’t guessed yet, “Ant-Man” has a lot in common with the first “Iron Man” movie.) The rest of the supporting cast is solid, but Michael Peña deserves special mention as Scott’s former cellmate, stealing virtually every scene he’s in.

Though the interactions between Scott and his helper ants are pretty ridiculous, the film completely owns it, which goes a long way in selling the idea of a superhero working alongside insects. It’s also refreshing to see a comic book movie that doesn’t end with yet another city-destroying finale, instead opting for set pieces on a much smaller scale that still have big stakes. “Ant-Man” is probably the only action movie you’ll ever see where the climactic third-act battle takes place inside a little girl’s bedroom, and yet it’s one of the best moments in the movie, resulting in some cool action beats that have a lot of fun with the character’s shrinking/growing powers. Though “Ant-Man” is a tad generic at times, and never quite as out there as it could be, it’s an undeniably unique superhero film that’s loaded with charm. Granted, it had the potential to be something truly exceptional in the hands of someone like Wright, but the fact that a movie called “Ant-Man” is enjoyable at all is an impressive feat on its own.

For years, Will Ferrell has resisted the urge to make a sequel to any of his films, but if there’s one character from his repertoire deserving of a second helping, it’s Ron Burgundy. Though a sequel had been rumored for years after the original attained cult status on DVD, it’s easy to see now why Paramount was so gunshy. The first “Anchorman” was lightning in a bottle; a comedy so goofy and over the top that it took people completely by surprise. And while the sequel aims to match (and exceeds) that level of silliness, it just doesn’t compare. “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” is at times funnier than its predecessor, but it’s also wildly inconsistent, bouncing aimlessly between gut-busting hilarity and entire sequences that miss their mark.

“The Legend Continues” picks up several years after the first film, with Ron (Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) now living with their son in New York City and co-anchoring on a national news station. But when Veronica is suddenly promoted and Ron is fired, the pair splits up and Ron heads back to San Diego. Six months later, he’s tracked down by producer Freddie Shapp (Dylan Baker) with an opportunity to return to NYC as part of the first-ever 24-hour news channel, GNN. After reassembling his former news team – Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) and Champ Kind (David Koechner) – in time for the official launch, Ron makes fast enemies with star anchorman Jack Lime (James Marsden), who’s been given the primetime slot. But despite getting saddled with the graveyard shift, Ron makes a bet with Jack that he’ll still get bigger ratings, leading him to take a vastly different approach to the news that changes the course of broadcast journalism forever.

“Anchorman 2” starts so strongly that, for a moment, it appears that Ferrell and director Adam McKay have done the impossible by outdoing the original. But while the laughs come fast and furious early on, they’re not quite as prevalent in the latter half. Part of the reason is the movie’s nearly two-hour runtime, which is plagued by several long stretches where nothing very funny happens, diluting the laughs-per-minute ratio in the process. Many of the cast and crew from the first “Anchorman” have admitted that they were surprised by which jokes and one-liners caught on with audiences, and that’s had an adverse effect here, because it seems like McKay was so worried about cutting potential comedic gold that he just left it all in. Unfortunately, some of the jokes are such massive failures – including a bizarre third act twist involving Ron – that you’d wish he was a little more selective about what made the final cut.

Ferrell and McKay’s biggest mistake is trying too hard to recapture the absurdist tone of its predecessor, because some of the material in “Anchorman 2” comes across as being ridiculous purely for the sake of it. The climactic news team battle royale is particularly guilty of this. Although the sequence is chockfull of great cameos, it feels more like a tacked-on piece of fan service than anything resembling the clever fight scene in the first movie. Even more troubling is how poorly the supporting cast is utilized this time around. While Ferrell is excellent once again as the mustachioed anchorman, Paul Rudd and David Koechner are pushed to the sidelines for much of the film. Steve Carell’s simple-minded weatherman, meanwhile, is given a romantic subplot with Kristen Wiig’s similarly awkward secretary that isn’t as funny as intended. Brick is better in small doses, especially when he’s interacting with the other guys, but “Anchorman 2” lacks the strong group dynamic that made the original so successful.

There’s not enough of the four friends hanging out together, and as a result, it risks feeling like the Ron Burgundy Show at times, even if he’s undoubtedly the most amusing of the bunch. Instead of wasting precious screen time on idiotic characters like Veronica’s new boyfriend and Ron’s effeminate son (who’s played by one of the worst child actors ever), Ferrell and McKay should have just stuck with what worked the first time. Having said that, “Anchorman 2” isn’t as bad as my admittedly harsh review might suggest. While it’s not as quotable or memorable as the original, the movie has more than enough laughs that it’s still an enjoyable, albeit uneven and incredibly gonzo, comedy. Diehard fans won’t be disappointed, although they probably shouldn’t hold out hope for another sequel.

There was a time when Paul Weitz used to make great movies. After reviving the teen sex comedy with “American Pie” and adapting the Nick Hornby bestseller “About a Boy” alongside brother Chris, the eldest Weitz stepped out on his own, continuing his fantastic track record with underrated gems like “In Good Company” and “American Dreamz.” In recent years, however, the director’s career has been marred by a series of flops, and though “Admission” is probably the best of his cinematic failures, it’s a failure nonetheless. Not even Tina Fey and Paul Rudd, arguably two of Hollywood’s most likable performers, are able to do much to save Weitz’s latest effort, and that only makes “Admission” even more of a disappointment.

Fey stars as Portia Nathan, an admissions officer at Princeton University who spends her days diligently poring over student applications and her nights with her dull, longtime boyfriend Mark (Michael Sheen), who also works at the university as an English literature professor. When she receives a call one day from John Pressman (Rudd), a teacher at the alternative academy New Quest, asking her to visit the campus to meet a promising student named Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), she’s completely blindsided by John’s suggestion that the gifted teen is the child she gave up for adoption nearly 20 years earlier. Though Jeremiah is far from the typical Princeton applicant, he’s a prodigy and self-proclaimed autodidact who wants nothing more than to attend the university. But while Portia comes to appreciate Jeremiah the more time that she spends with him, she faces an uphill battle convincing her peers that he’s worth the risk, all while hiding the fact that he may be her son.

Based on Jean Hanff Korelitz’s 2009 novel of the same name, “Admission” had the potential to be a good movie, but it’s hampered by a major identity crisis. Weitz can’t seem to decide whether he’s making a comedy or a drama, and although it’s being marketed as the former, with the exception of a few chuckles here and there, the film is almost completely devoid of laughs. Michael Sheen is the only consistently funny character in the movie, even if it is a fairly one-note role, and it offers a glimpse at what “Admission” could have been. After all, Weitz has proven before that he can adeptly balance both genres, but the execution here is so poor that they just end up clashing.

The same could be said of its two stars. While Tina Fey and Paul Rudd sound like a comedy dream team on paper, they have zero chemistry as romantic leads, and it makes their inevitable hookup feel even more awkward as a result. Disney Channel graduate Nat Wolff shows promise as the eccentric teen, and veteran actors Wallace Shawn and Lily Tomlin add some nice color in supporting roles, but it’s not enough to make up for the film’s tonal inconsistency and tediously long 117-minute runtime. “Admission” is exactly the kind of predictable, rom-com drivel that Fey has spent most of her career defying, and though her undeniable charm and wit makes the movie a little easier to endure, she’d be better off if she stuck to writing her own material.

Everyone who’s kept up with Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim comedy block over the past few years has heard of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, the masterminds behind “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” And everyone who’s watched the show knows that after seeing it you’ll a) never be able to watch commercials the same way again, and b) notice how much influence these two fellas have had over what is now considered “mainstream” comedy.

“Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” was a sketch show that ran from 2007 to 2010. It was freakin’ weird, to say the least, and its surrealistic, satirical humor mocking advertisements, public-access television, and everything in between has since spawned a spin-off, “Check It Out with Dr. Steve Brule,” which stars John C. Reilly, and the full-length feature “Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie” (B$M).

Here’s the thing about Tim and Eric: you seriously don’t understand what I mean when I say “weird” until you’ve seen their work for yourself. Their brand of humor takes some getting used to, and there’s a reason each episode of the show only ran for 11 minutes. I’m about to wow you with a brand new saying, but sometimes, less is more. As a result, I’m somewhat skeptical of recommending “B$M” as your first dip into the T+E pool. You really should get your feet wet first with sketches like “Griddleman,” “Prices,” “Free House for You, Jim,” Tairy Greene’s Acting Seminars for Children, and some of Brule’s Rules, and maybe even watch a few full episodes of the show (there are always a couple streaming on the Adult Swim website) before committing yourself to 94 minutes of this stuff. That said, there’s a reason Tim and Eric were the best kept secret in American comedy for so long. And a lot of the best-known names in the genre, guys like Ben Stiller, Paul Rudd, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and, Zach Galifianakis, made appearances on the show (the last three went on to star in the movie). The full list of cameos is certainly jarring, you might look at it and wonder how the hell you’d never heard of a show with that many big names before.

Tim and Eric are hilarious, but certainly not for everyone, and their humor is almost unexplainable until you experience it firsthand. If you watch a few sketches and find yourself enjoying them, then check out the trailer for the “Billion Dollar Movie.” But their stuff is often hate it or love it, so don’t say I didn’t warn you if 30 minutes in you feel like you’re watching the worst film ever made. The thing is, anti-humor is part of the shtick. Tim and Eric’s work (but the film especially) is meant to provoke a strong reaction one way or the other. They were actually trying to repulse just as many people as they entertained. And in that, they’ve inarguably succeeded. Just look at the Netflix user reviews, they’re nearly all five stars or one, with very little in between.

“Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie” was released earlier this year through on-demand TV and web services—which I believe is the future of movies, why pay $10 each to sit in an uncomfortable theater when you can pool the money together without leaving the couch? But that’s a story for a different day. Anyway, I’ll give you the synopsis, but it’s really irrelevant. The fact that the guys could even string together a semi-coherent plot line to go along with their “jokes” is nothing short of amazing. What you need to know is this: It’s Tim and Eric. It’s a movie. Great job!

Tim and Eric are given a billion dollars to make a movie, but squander every dime… and the sinister Schlaaang corporation is pissed. With their lives at stake, the guys skip town in search of a way to pay the money back. When they happen upon a chance to rehabilitate a bankrupt mall full of vagrants, bizarre stores and a man-eating wolf that stalks the food court, they see dollar signs-a billion of them.

Follow the writer on Twitter @NateKreichman.

It’s Saturday night and you need something to watch. Never fear, Hidden Netflix Gems is a new weekly feature designed to help you decide just what it should be, and all without having to scroll through endless pages of crap or even leave the house. Each choice will be available for streaming on Netflix Instant, and the link below will take you to its page on the site. Look for a new suggestion here every Saturday.