Death on the Nile (1978)

 "Mon dieu, how she makes enemies of them all!"

I've read the novel, but it would have been around 1990-ish, so I wasn't expecting to remember much of the plot, and surely enough I didn't. So I was genuinely unspoiled for the big reveal. Nevertheless, I'll try and review this as a film rather than as Agatha Christie's original plot.

It's a very cinematic adaptation, shot on location at all the sights in Egypt as well as in rural England. The whole thing is exquisitely shot- particularly impressive is the first tracking shot of the dramatis personae all at dinner for the first time.

This isn't quite an all-star cast, but the star wattage is nevertheless relatively high, with no less a personage as Bette Davis in a middling sized role. David Niven is solid as the Watson figure, with Colonel Race giving some hilariously off colour views on those characters who deign to speak in a language other than English. Maggie Smith excels as a bitter woman in reduced circumstances, while Angela Lansbury is every bit as good as an amusingly sozzled romance novelist.

However... I'm not sure about Peter Ustinov as Poirot. It's not that there's anything wrong with his performance, he just feels miscast. He doesn't visually convince as Poirot, however well he may play the part. However, the overall performances are strong, and the film works superbly, helped by its awesome locations, in letting events play out dramatically, even if we do spend far too long on Poirot's explanation of how pretty much every character could have seen Jacqui shoot Simon through the window.

There are some fascinating moments here- a brief mention is made to a previous case involving a "decapitated clergyman". There's an unfortunate Indian stereotype. But overall this is a fine adaptation which plays the source material with a straight bat.

Supergirl (1984)

"I'm considering nothing less than world domination!"

I know that this film, well, isn't exactly good, but, I mean, come on- this is a delightfully quirky bit of '80s silliness which combines the style of the Superman films, generic '80s action films tropes, some delightful silliness and a completely random jolly hockey sticks, Mallory Towers side. It's gloriously bonkers. This is a film which has Peter Cook utter the line "Holy Cow!"- what's not to love?

Then again, so is the character, and I can't help reflecting that the film was made, in glorious Pinewood Studios, the very year before DC killed Supergirl off in Crisis of Infinite Earth, sentencing her to death for the crime of having an overly convoluted backstory. And, well, we see that here- Argo City is a bit of Krypton that survived the planet's destruction for vaguely unconvincing reasons, and all this is because of the new character of Zaltar- played with an acting ability far above the level that the character deserves by the great Peter O'Toole, who accidentally destroys the city (except, naturally, Kara) with the film's main MacGuffin only to die a predictable death and end up as Kara's very own Obi-Wan style British morale-boosting ghost. It was clearly in the zeitgeist.

Helen Slater is more than good enough as the goody two-shoes character she's playing, but is upstaged in the billing by the splendid Faye Dunaway, who is having much more fun chewing the scenery with delightful gusto with wicked witch and baddie Selena. Yes, there's a certain creepiness in the love narrative between the very adult Ethan and the very innocent schoolgirl Kara, which is definitely eeeurgh, but the film is far more fun than its reputation suggests,