San Francisco figures prominently, at least for a few moments, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest blockbuster, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” which opened this week.

That’s the highest-profile release of the week, but an even better option is to check out Amazon Prime’s second — and final — season of “Carnival Row.” Or, if you’re not into steampunk/fantasy series, plunge into the lovely romance “Of an Age.” It’s a keeper.

Here’s our roundup.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

It’s best to approach Marvel Studios’ latest release as if it’s a stepping stone for more compelling comic-book mayhem ahead. In other words, it’s good, not great.

Set after the game-changing events of “Avengers: Endgame,” director Peyton Reed’s third “Ant-Man” film is a satisfying enough entry point to MCU’s Phase 4.

Loaded with special effects but showing more restraint than the CGI orgy we saw in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” the film’s best sequences center on human interactions.

This “Ant-Man” puts the human factor first in its opening moments as the proud Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) strolls along Bay Area streets, where he catches the fancy of everyone around him. Having just released a self-help/autobiography “Look Out for the Little Guy” (a real book due Sept. 5), Scott’s life is about as sweet as a cherry pie.

He’s in love with do-gooder Hope, a.k.a. the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), and is bonding more with science-nerdy daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton). But a shakeup comes to all once they get sucked into the Quantum Realm — a surreal alterna-world that looks like an amalgamation of “Star Wars,” “Tron” and other sci-fi classics.

Once there, the fam gets fed all the dirt on Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), the fierce mom of the Wasp. Surprisingly, Janet is the main character and a steady anchor in the film, and Pfeiffer brings gravitas to playing a supreme badass with a wild past and an unfortunate connection with the story’s standout villain, Kang the Conqueror (portrayed with Shakespearean flourishes by the great Jonathan Majors).

To spill more tea about what goes down would be a disservice. What needs to be said, though, is just how remarkable Pfeiffer and Majors are in this sequel. Whenever they’re paired onscreen, “Quantumania” catapults to a top shelf in the Marvel Universe.

So it’s all the more of a killjoy when those juicy moments get followed up by stale and obvious side-notes, such as Bill Murray popping in and doing his standard Bill Murray shtick as a kinda-creepy former hookup of Janet’s. It’s boring, and adds nothing.

At other times, screenwriter Jeff Loveness and Reed engage in more inventive doings, particularly when it comes to giving various return players — the now big-headed M.O.D.O.K. (Corey Stoll) and ant-lover Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) their star moments. It’s all entertaining enough, but “Quantumania” seems like an in-between enterprise, another chess move in the superhero series. The two terrific end-credit scenes hint of even better things to come. Stay. They’re worth it.

2½ stars out of 4; in theaters now.

All That Breathes

Director Shaunak Sen’s evocatively shot documentary — the odds-on fave to win the Oscar this year — takes us into the inspiring world of New Delhi brothers Nadeem Shehzad and Mohammad Saud. They’re valiantly trying in their makeshift avian basement to nurse back to health the black kite, an at-risk bird of prey.

Although Sen’s documentary can be viewed at home, it deserves to be seen on the biggest screen imaginable. It soars as high as the birds it depicts, while telling a compassionate story of two Muslim brothers trying to do their part in making the world a better place. It’s astonishing.

4 stars; available on HBO Max

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com