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.  

Movie Review: ***^A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

This movie is an essay mostly about two people.  Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) is a down on her luck former school teacher.  She was forced to resign for having sex with a 17-year-old student.  She flees to live with her sister Stella (Kim Hunter) which forces Blanch to live with her brother-in-law, Stanley (Marlon Brando).  Immediately Stanley and Blanche begin to but heads.  Stanley feels Blanche has embezzled funds from the family estate.  (She lost the property paying off debt form medical bills as she watched her parents die.)  Stanley begins to push, discovering she lived in a trashy hotel, and likely provided sexual favors for money.  However, by trying to start again she meets a man, Mitch (Karl Malden) and they begin a relationship.  He is also a friend of Stanley's.  When Stanley discovers the background, he tells this to his friend, and then all the wheels come off.  This movie touches on the theme of spousal abuse on a few occasions in different relationships.  It also touches on rape, as Stanley is determined to have his way when his wife is away having a baby.  I guess the film ends how it must, with Blanche headed to the psychiatric hospital, and Stella determined to leave her husband with her new baby.
This is based on the Tennessee Williams play.  Leigh, Malden and Hunter won oscars.  Williams, Brando, were nominated, as was the film for best picture and the director.