Tom Hanks Movie: ****^ Apollo 13 (1995)

 The Apollo mission that did not make it to the moon, and almost got the three astronauts killed.  Directed by Ron Howard, based on the true story.  Three men are preparing to go to the moon, Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise).  A couple days before the journey, Mattingly was replaced by Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) for fear that Mattingly may have contracted the measles and would become ill in space.  All goes well, until there is an explosion on the ship.

This movie does a very good job of showing the reactions of the families when their spouses/ fathers are in danger.  These include wives Marilyn Lovell (Kathleen Quinlan) and Mary Haise (Tracy Reiner) It also does a good job of showing the many team members in Houston.  This includes the acting talents of Ed Harris, Clint Howard (Ron Howard's brother) and Marc McClure.  The cast also includes Ron's mother, Jean Speegle Howard as Lovell's mother.

The problem solving that went into getting these three home, including the scene of putting a round peg into a square hole was very good.  This was to filter the carbon dioxide and they came up with something that worked.

Very well done, and even with knowing the outcome you wanted to heer with the people of mision control agt the end.

Movie Review: ****Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

 This movie poses the question, should a super being impose peace, nuclear disarmament in this case, on the world.  In this case Superman (Christopher Reeve) takes on this task.  However in this case, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) has escaped prison again, helped by his nephew, Lenny (John Cryer). Luthor is determined to clone Superman.  He does this using the sun, which gives him the power of the sun creating Nuclear Man (Mark Pillow).  

In the mean time at the Daily Planet things are not going well.  There has been a hostile takeover by David Warfield (Sam Wanamaker) who is into sensational headlines and stories even if not quite true.  Perry White (Jackie Cooper) is let go and Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) eventually quits.  Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure) hangs on.  Lois Lane rekindles her flame with Superman, encouraged by Superman.   Warfield's daughter Lacy (Mariel Hemingway) ignites a flame with Clark Kent.  Clark Kent and superman go on a double date with Lois and Lacy which makes for some trickery back and forth.  However the date is interrupted when Luthor send a message to Superman on a frequency only he can hear.  He entices Superman and introduces him to Nuclear Man.  This leads to an interesting fight, and Superman being sickened, perhaps with nuclear energy from the sun.  The outcome is very much in doubt, as long as the sun shines Nuclear Man has the advantage.

In the mean time White has bought up the shares of the company, and comes back with his own take over, kicking Warfield out.  Superman concludes that peace should not be forced, but come from the people themselves.

This movie has an interesting conclusion.  The Superman movies all fall short in terms of special effects.  They did not have the computer generated features that are available now.  However within their technology limits they do pretty well.  

Movie Review: *** Superman III

 This is the only Christopher Reeve Superman movie without Lex Luthor.  Instead he goes up against Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn) who is an entrepreneur.  He teams up with a computer expert, Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor).  He also has a couple women helping him, Vera (Annie Ross) and Lorelei (Pamela Stephenson).  They access a satellite and with that they manipulate the weather.

There is also less Lois Lane and the newspaper characters as Clark Kent returns to Smallville for his class reunion, and rekindles a flame with Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole) and out duels Brad (Gavav O' Herlihy) for her affections.

So Gorman designs a super computer, but the three villains take it over and kick him out.  In bread into the computer is it analyzes an opponents weaknesses, and is able to counter.  When superman confronts the computer, the computer takes over one of the women and becomes self sufficient.  It is no longer dependent on electricity and becomes independent.  Superman has to trick the computer to save the world.

Movie Review: ***Supergirl (1984)

 This movie is made as a sequel to the Superman movies and to take advantage of the Superman buzz.  Supergirl/Linda Lee (Helen Slater) comes to earth looking for a device she lost.  It is an orb that keeps the refugee ship powered as the group has left Krypton.  Without the orb they are doomed.  Zaltar (Peter O' Toole) leads the group and condemns himself for the loss of the orb.

Supergirl follows the orb, and as luck would have it, it falls into the hands of a witch, Selena (Faye Dunaway), who wants to use the power to take over the world.  She has a couple helpers (Brenda Vaccaro and Peter Cook) Only Supergirl stands in her way.  Supergirl is cousin to Superman, and she goes to boarding school where she rooms with Lucy Lane (Maureen Teefy), Lois' young sister.  There is a handsome man (Hart Bochner) in the mix that Selena is determined to have, but her spell goes wrong and he attaches to Linda Lee, Supergirl's alter ego.  

This movie is mildly entertaining, but goes over the top and as a result did not get good reviews.  The other actor involved, from the Superman series is Marc McClure who plays Jimmy Olsen.  He is a friend of Lucy's.

Movie Review: ****^Superman (1978)

 Superman/Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) is sent to earth by his parents (Marlon Brando and Susannah York) as his planet, Krypton is due to explode.  They send him to earth, where differences is gravity will give him super powers.  There he is adopted by the Kents (Glen Ford and Phyllis Thaxter).  When his father dies, he moves to New York and becomes a reporter.  There he works with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), photographer Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure) and his boss Perry White (Jackie Cooper).  Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) is a criminal boss and mastermind.  He is intent and igniting a nuclear bomb to create an earthquake so California with drop into the sea.  This will propel his properties in the desert to be seaside property.  

He figures out Superman.  He is from another planet, and vulnerable to kryptonite.  He uses this to incapacitate Superman and launch his two nuclear bombs.  However Luthor is betrayed by his girl (Valerie Perrine).  She released Superman, who in turn saves his friends and the world.