DVD Collectors Online

Q Planes, a review by GSyren

Title	Q Planes (US title: Clouds Over Europe) (5-027626-404949)
Director	Tim Whelan
Actors	Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Valerie Hobson, George Curzon, George Merritt
Produced	1939 in United Kingdom
Runtime	79 minutes
Audio	English Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles	None
Overview	Starring alongside Ralph Richardson and Valerie Hobson, Laurence Olivier portrays a test pilot engaged in secret experimental missions in this witty, cleverly plotted World War Two spy drama. Briskly directed by Hollywood veteran Tim Whelan and featuring typically innovative art direction from Vincent Korda, Q Planes is presented here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements. The frequent disappearance of new bombing planes on their trial flights one off the coast of America, one off the French coast, another in Russia, and a fourth in England - has left the authorities perplexed. While there is no clear evidence of foul play, the authorities call in Scotland Yard, and Major Hammond is assigned to investigate the mystery. He is one of only three men who refuse to believe that the disappearances are not the result of sabotage - much to the resentment of Mr Barratt, head of plane manufacturer Barratt and Ward...
My thoughts	Q Planes Bride of Frankenstein. A fun little film, but nothing special. Worth seeing for Olivier and Richardson rather then for the actual story.
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on March 3rd, 2014)

Wunderland, a review by Antares

Wunderland (2018) 5/100, Hurricane (2018) 60/100 - YouTube tossed a pair of war films at me last night from 2018. I'm not going to say much about them, but I would like to say this...Films about World War II are no longer necessary! Everything that has needed to be put on film concerning that war has already been done and directors and screenwriters who are the grandchildren of those who fought in it are not qualified to give those events an honest rendering. The former film is so poorly written, acted & directed, it boggles the mind that someone put up the amount of money necessary to make it. Historical inaccuracies at every turn and some mind numbing wokeness thrown in to make it a complete shit sandwich. The latter film really makes me long for the hallowed war film days of Tora! Tora! Tora! or The Battle of Britain. You know, when they used ACTUAL airplanes from the era to create the flight sequences. CGI air battles are comical and defy all the laws of physics. A better story for this film and Stefanie Martini doing her best imitation of a fully clothed Kate Winslet.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on January 2nd, 2022)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Superman II (1980/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (United Kingdom) Director: Richard Lester Writing: Jerry Siegel (Original Characters By), Joe Shuster (Original Characters By), Mario Puzo (Story By), Mario Puzo (Screenwriter), David Newman (Screenwriter), Leslie Newman (Screenwriter) Length: 127 min. Video: Widescreen 2.35 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 1, German: Dolby Digital 1, Italian: Dolby Digital 1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

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Stars:
Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor
Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent
Ned Beatty as Otis
Jackie Cooper as Perry White
Sarah Douglas as Ursa

Plot:
Unwittingly released from Phantom Zone imprisonment, three super-powered Planet Krypton criminals (Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas and Jack O'Halloran) plan to enslave Earth - just when Superman (Christopher Reeve) decides to show a more romantic side to Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). Gene Hackman (as Lex Luthor) also returns from the first film and with a top supporting cast, witty Richard Lester direction and visuals that astound and delight, Superman II saves the day any day you watch it.

Awards:
Won:

Saturn (1981)

Best Science Fiction Film

Nominated:

AFI (1980)		100 Years... 100 Passions (2002)
AFI (1980)		100 Years... 100 Thrills (2001)
Saturn (1981)		Best Actor (Christopher Reeve)
Saturn (1981)		Best Actress (Margot Kidder)
Saturn (1981)		Best Music (Ken Thorne)

Extras:

• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Scene Access
• Trailers

Chances that I would revisit the theatrical cut of Superman II were slim since I saw the superior Donner Cut, but since I just double-dipped on the Blu-ray set, I planned to watch all movies therein.
The theatrical cut isn't as bad as I remembered, and I could enjoy it again as I did in the past before knowing anything about the Donner/Lester controversy. Still some stuff are obviously unfitting. Especially since they chose not to use any Marlon Brando scenes, which results Jor-El missing in the flashbacks to the first movie (launch of Superman's ship and the imprisonment of General Zod). And also the need to use Superman's mother in the Fortress of Solitude scenes.
But I have to say, that there is only one moment, which I miss from the theatrical cut in the Donner Cut. And that is Clark's resignation of keeping up the charade and admitting to Lois that he is Superman. There is something similar in the Donner cut, but because it is a scene never originally shot and taken from screen test footage, it is not as effective (Christopher Reeve not yet the perfect Superman. Acting-wise and body-wise).

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on August 14th, 2011)