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Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) | Sidney J. Furie

August 10, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Although he had claimed to be done putting on the red cape after SUPERMAN III, Reeve is lured back to make a fourth entry with a different studio from an idea he had written himself to bring back the series to respectability. Alas, it didn’t quite work out that way in the end. Superman makes […]

Supergirl (1984) | Jeannot Szwarc

August 3, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Just as Kal-El was sent by his parents to Earth from a dying planet in order to save him, so too did Alexander and Ilya Salkind try to save their dying franchise by trying to spin it off with a new character with Kara, Superman’s cousin, better known as Supergirl! Things didn’t quite go according […]

Superman III (1983) | Richard Lester

July 28, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Gone is Richard Donner, gone is Gene Hackman, and gone is the epic feel of the SUPERMAN series with SUPERMAN III, in which the creators finally wrest the controls away to make what they’ve been wanting to make all along: comedies! Richard Lester returns as director, as Superman, once again played by Christopher Reeve, has […]

Superman II (1980) | Richard Lester & Richard Donner

July 21, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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A patchwork film that somehow still works great as a piece of entertainment, despite the switch in directors from Richard Donner to Richard Lester a great deal of the way through. Three power-hungry Kryptonians travel to Earth to dominate it, and the only one who can match them is Superman. Alas, he’s nowhere to be […]

Superman (1978) | Richard Donner

July 14, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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The granddaddy of the modern-day superhero flick, 1978’s SUPERMAN put together a truly epic experience befitting a popular hero on the magnitude of Superman. Richard Donner directed DC Comics’ legendary property from his infancy on the planet Krypton all the way to donning the cape and costume to right wrongs wherever he may find them […]

Batman (1989) | Tim Burton

July 7, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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One of the biggest blockbusters of the 1980s, and of all time, Tim Burton would take the reins of Warner Bros. hugest hit with 1989’s BATMAN, a much more dark and eerie take on the character than any prior screen take to date. With a tremendous Danny Elfman score, hit singles by Prince, and a […]

The Return of Swamp Thing (1989) | Jim Wynorski

June 28, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Seven years after Wes Craven’s original adaptation of the DC Comics superhero, Jim Wynorski takes a stab by sending the whole thing up as a campy b-movie sci-fi/horror hybrid. Swamp Thing (Dick Durock again) is back as protector of a hot babe in the form of Abigail, portrayed by Razzie Award-winning actress Heather Locklear, to […]

Swamp Thing (1982) | Wes Craven

June 23, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Wes Craven wrote and directed this adaptation of the DC Comics superhero, once a scientist trying to help humanity, who turns superhuman when he is doused with his own experimental formula to use plants to help humans while in the nearby Louisiana swamp. Adrienne Barbeau stars as the government agent sent to oversee the lab, […]

Little Shop of Horrors (1986) | Frank Oz

June 16, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s off-Broadway darkly comical stage musical came to life in 1986, directed by Muppet-alum Frank Oz, featuring Rick Moranis, and small roles for Steve Martin, Bill Murray and John Candy. Ellen Greene co-stars in this story about a 1960s loser who finds success with an exotic plant that makes all his […]

G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987) | Don Jurwich

June 8, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Rounding out this trio of Hasbro toy-based films put out by Marvel/Sunbow in the mid-1980s, “GI Joe: The Movie” has the dishonorable distinction of being funneled straight to video and subsequently syndicated on television due to the lack of success for the “Transformers” and “My Little Pony” movies at the box office the year before. […]

My Little Pony: The Movie (1986) | Mike Joens

June 2, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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Marvel joined with Sunbow to deliver the first of four animated feature films based on Hasbro toys in the 1980s with 1986’s MY LITTLE PONY: THE MOVIE, which took the popular toy line of dolls resembling ponies and other animals (plus a few humans) and pitted them against three dastardly witches who can’t stand their […]

The Transformers: The Movie (1986) | Nelson Shin

May 25, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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The first of four feature-length ventures between Marvel Productions and Sunbow Entertainment that centered on toys made by Hasbro, THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE would make for an ambitious way to not only sell toys and entertain fans, but also to set for a new course for the animated TV series, in this bridge between the […]

Masters of the Universe (1987) | Gary Goddard

May 18, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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The Cannon Group took a bath with the failure of MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE in 1987, a film that had gone over budget and well beyond schedule. The film starts off in the mythical land of Eternia, where the ruthless villain Skeletor (Frank Langella) has managed, with the help of a powerful musical cosmic key, to […]

Excalibur (1981) | John Boorman

May 13, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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John Boorman’s polarizing but highly ambitious take on Arthurian legend is a visually and aurally striking look into the myth, the fantasy, and the haunting imagery that the medieval Thomas Malory tale has evoked over the last several centuries. A then-nobody, but now all-star cast that includes Helen Mirren, Liam Neeson, and Patrick Stewart appears […]

The Black Cauldron (1981) | Richard Rich & Ted Berman

May 5, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

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1985’s THE BLACK CAULDRON represents Disney at its nadir as an animation studio, resulting in a box office failure and years of obscurity. It’s first PG-rated animated feature struggled to find an audience clamoring for its dark and violent tones. However, it has garnered a significant cult following over the years, with its tales of […]