In Theaters: ***^Shazam

Her is a teenager turn superhero.  This movie also takes at crack at the importance of family, even if that family is a foster home.  It is only in family, that Shazam fulfills his true potential.  We have an evil villain who is pretty good in being the champion of the seven sins.  He turned out to be a pretty bad dude.  Asher Angel plays Billy as a youth, and Zachary Levi plays him as the superhero Shazam.  Mark Strong portrays the evil Dr. Sivana.
This is not the usual DC comic fair.  This movie is lighter and funnier than a traditional DC comic.  SUperman however does make a cameo towards the end of the movie.

Movie Review: ***^Justin and the Knights of Valour (2013)

Tony and I enjoyed this movie for movie night.  Tony actually started it.  What happens when you father, the king, has outlawed all Knights, and you feel your destiny is to become a knight.  This is a show of family conflict, but also growth from a boy to a man.  It also involves discovering who you really love, and it is not always the high society person, but sometimes the kitchen maid.  This movie stars Freddie Highmore as Justin, Tamsin Egerton as Lara, his crush but the wrong girl, and Saoirse Ronan as Talia, the spunky girl he meets and Antonio Banderas as Sir Clorex, a fake knight.  Mark Strong portrays Sir Heraclio, a banished knight who is coming back to seek revenge.  A lesson learned in this film is that trying to make everyone equal so as to preserve peace it not always a good idea.  There are those that are always willing to fill the void when you rule from weakness.

Movie Review: ****Sherlock Holmes (2009)

This Sherlock Holmes movie was made in 2009.  The most interesting thing about this movie are the characters, and the enmeshment between the character, Dr. Watson (Jude Law) who would like to see less of Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and get married to Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly).  However Holmes uses guilt, or dependency, or something to always keep him around.  This results in his almost being killed by a blast.  In this movie the nemesis is Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong).  Moriarty is still in the background, but a woman that intrigues Holmes, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) is working for him.  Blackwood sets himself up as coming back from the dead, after Watson proclaims him dead.  He continues to perpetrate murders to control others and gain power.  His boldest move is an attack on Parliament with gas warfare.  Will Holmes figure things out and get there in time.  This movie has good action but as I said, more interesting characters.

Movie Review: **** Emma (1996)

This is the Jane Austen BBC, A&E movie, 1996, starring Kate Beckinsale and Mark Strong.  In Jane Austen's way, it is a romantic comedy involving the British upper society.  It has Emma arranging marriages, and doing rather poorly except with regards to her governess.  She next sets up a young woman of questionable background with the vicar, and this turns our badly; although the vicar does propose to her, Emma.  It isn't until after her for her good neighbor confronts her bad behavior at a party, that she starts to realize she loves the neighbor, and when another suitor appears, she finds herself even more in love.  This movie has the Austen charm and is well done.  This version is better received than the feature version produced about the same time.   Kate Beckinsale is lovely in her role, and we all hate the vicar's wife, someone from outside the community who happens to have an inheritance but also has airs.

Movie Review: ****Robin Hood (2010)

This Robin Hood was not what I was expecting.  I am use to the story of Robin Hood stealing from the rich to feed the poor.  Instead this movie is a prequel to these events.  It shows Robin Hood coming to the defense of King John, and because he was liked of the people, he was declared outlaw.
This movie is very entertaining.  There are plenty of sparks between Robin (Russell Crowe) and maid Marion (Cate Blanchett) even though they are only pretending to be husband and wife, rather than actually being so.  So in this version, Robin Hood is Robin Longstride, whose father was executed for seeking freedom.  This movie is then a political movie, and the search for freedom.
Godfrey (Mark Strong) gives us the evil we need in this movie. He gains King John's confidence, but in reality is scheming with King Phillip of France to create unrest and weaken King John's support in England.  This almost works, but England is united when people realize what is going on.
This movie has a good battle scene, and it ends with King John's betrayal setting up sequels if they choose.