Supergirl Review

With the new superheroine TV Show Supergirl due to start later this year, I decided to give my quick review on the original movie from the early 1980s .

Now when it comes to movies, there are obviously going to be movies that a lot of people like that I don't and movies that a lot of people don't like that I do. Supergirl is one of the latter.

Supergirl is nowhere near one of the best comic book movies ever made, and while it has a lot of cheesy and cartoonish moments, I still find myself enjoying it whenever I watch it for one reason or another. Helen Slater as Kara Zor-El (aka Supergirl) is by far the best part of the movie, with her charm and gracefulness as Supergirl helping me to get more invested in the movie than I would have otherwise. Faye Donaway is very over the top as villain Selena, but thankfully not as certain other comic book villains have been since (Mr Freeze anyone?). The romance storyline with Supergirl and Ethan is pretty forgettable as Ethan is incredibly underdeveloped and someone of the special effects are really dated now, but thanks to Helen Slater, I find Supergirl to be a more enjoyable film than it would have been.

Ranking the Harry Potter Movies

No.8: Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets

The Harry Potter movie franchise stands as my favourite movie franchise of all time and while I consider the 2nd film in the series as its weakest effort, there is still a lot I enjoy about it. The special effects are a big step up from the first movie and many of the actions sequences are brilliantly done, particularly anything involving the flying Ford Anglia. 

 One of the issues with Chamber of Secrets however is the length of the movie. At nearly 150 minutes long (minus credits), it stands as the longest of the franchise despite being based on the 2nd shortest of the books (Deathly Hallows is the longest if counted as one film in 2 parts) and often slow pace causes some problems, especially towards the end of the movie. The film is also guilty of committing one of the biggest no nos in terms of adapting movies based on books by copying too much of the dialogue from the book. 

However despite its flaws, Chamber of Secrets is still a decent entry in the Harry Potter movie franchise and on a much higher level than most weak links in movie franchise history.

*** out of 5

Zulu Review

Michael Caine stars as Lieutenant Bromhead, a role that immediately connected him with moviegoers in the classic 1960s war film which sees 100 British soldiers facing the horror of battling over 4000 Zulu warriors in Rorkes Drift in the late 19th century. 

Despite Zulu being made over fifty years ago, it still holds up to this day tremendously, and the picture quality is absolutely outstanding thanks in particular to the technology of Blu- Ray; though the quality on DVD in not to shabby either and the brilliant photography from cinemaphotographer Stephen Dade.

While its Michael Caine's performance as the cocky but noble Lieutenant Bromahead that is most remembered, Stanley Baker also stands out at Lt. John Chard, the officer in charge of the fort at Rorkes Drift whoose conflict with Bromhead slowly turns to friendship as they struggle to figure out how to survive the conflict against the Zulus which many will unlikely survive.

Mission Impossible Rogue Nation Review

Very few movie franchises in existence have gotten better and better with every existing movie. Harry Potter, The Dark Knight Trilogy and The Marvel Cinematic Universe are among the unique, and now the Mission Impossible franchise can also be added to this very rare list. True, Mission Impossible 2 may have added a dent into the paintwork of the series, but for the most part the franchise has improved tremendously for this highly action packed franchise. Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol was one of the highlights of 2011 in one of the best years of blockbuster films ever and it’s still amazing that Tom Cruise performed the entire Dubai building sequence without the use of a stunt man. But if you thought Ghost Protocol took the Mission Impossible series to the next level, Rogue Nation takes it sky rocketing to the moon with even more amazing action and easily the best story driven of the franchise as well. Despite now being in his 50s, Tom Cruise is greater than ever before and the opening stunt sequence shows how truly dedicated to his craft he is. Simon Pegg balances the action and thrills of the movie with his perfect comic timing and after having a small cameo in Ghost Protocol it’s great to see the return of Ving Rhames who really works well with the rest of the team. The big surprise of Rogue Nation however has to go to the series newcomer Rebecca Ferguson who is by far the far female character in the history of the franchise adding not just sexiness but a harder driven story and even more kick ass action as the viewer keeps guessing her purpose throughout the first half of the movie. Ferguson is just terrific and really gives Tom Cruise a run for his money in the action scenes. While there’s an argument that can be made for Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s villain from Mission Impossible III being the strongest of the series, Sean Harris gives it his all as rogue MI6 agent Solomon Lane who always seems to be a step ahead of Tom Cruise despite the two never really coming to blows throughout the movie. If there are some downsides to the movie, Jeremy Renner isn’t given as nearly as much screen time or purpose in the story as the rest of the IMF team, but he still delivers when he is present and proves to be an essential part of the group. Plus I think the film really could have done with a cameo appearance from Michelle Monaghan as Ethan Hunt’s wife Julia just to show that she’s still out there; but that’s just a little nick pick. Overall, I consider Mission Impossible Rogue Nation to be the best movie in the Mission Impossible franchise to date and I really look forward to the next entry which will hopefully come sooner than later.

Guardians of the Galaxy Review

While I have mixed opinions on the Marvel Cinematic Universe films overall, there's no denying it's success at the box office. However, when I first heard about this adaptation of a little know comic book franchise called 'The Guardians of the Galaxy'  I was quite skeptical, especially as it involves a talking tree and raccoon. But fortunately, Guardians of the Galaxy not only exceeded expectations, it also stands as one of the best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The humour and seriousness is balanced very well with great performances from Chris Pratt as Star Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Vin Diesel as Grout and Dave Bautista as Drax. However it's Bradley Cooper as Rocket the raccoon who steals the show. If there's any downside it's the lack of a strong villain unfortunately seems to be a trend in the franchise, but Guardians of the Galaxy is definitely one of the best blockbusters of the year even though it's not quite as good as Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Film Rating: 4/5

Superman II Review

Superman II remains one of the most controversial comic book movies ever made due to the change of directors mid way through shooting the film. There was a lot of tension between director Richard Donnor (who also directed the first film) and the producers The Salkhinds and it eventually lead to the removal of Richard Donner as director and replaced by Richard Lester.

While not the popular opinion, the theatrical version of Superman II (credited to Richard Lester) remains my favourite Superman movie to date. While the Richard Donner cut of the film has some standout moments (particularly the inclusion of Marlin Brando returning as Jor-El), it also leaves some of my favourite moments from the theatrical version.

Superman II was also the first superhero movie I ever saw, and so for that it remains one of my favourites to date. Terence Stamp still stands as one of the best villains in comic book movie history and in my opinion the film features Christopher Reeve's best performance as the Man of Steel. While there are some silly comedic moments in the film, the strengths clearly outweigh the weaknesses and I feel it will be incredibly difficult for any future Superman films to top this entry.

Film Star Rating: 4.5/5

My Top 10 Favourite Movies: Number 10

No. 10 - The Shawshank Redemption

Most of Stephen King's films have received a very mixed reaction from fans over the years, but a handful usually stand out including The Green Mile, The Shining, Stand By Me and of course The Shawshank Redemption, which today is often considered one if not the greatest film ever made. 

The film stars Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne who is wrongfully convicted of the murder of his wife and lover and made to serve a life sentence at Shawshank prison. There he is taken under the wing of fellow convict Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding and attempts to win over the favour of the prison's governor, hoping for his sentence to be reduced. But things start to turn for Andy with the arrival of a new convict who may hold the key to Andy's innocence. 

The Shawkshank Redemption is a very touching and terrific drama about hope, friendship and survival and still stands as one of the best drama films ever with terrific performances from Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman and beautifully directed by Frank Darabont.