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While The Sopranos largely focuses on Tony and his crew there are a lot of "civilians" in the frame. Usually these serve to show the non-criminal side of Tony's life and balance out the characters. Here, however, we have a civilian who gets caught up in Tony's more illicit dealings.

David Scatino (played by Robert Patrick) owns a sports goods store and his son, Eric, is performing in the school entertainment evening with Meadow. While David does owe Richie Aprile money, Tony does his best to keep him on the civilian side of his life but a card game pulls him into the darker side.

This all makes for some very profound and powerful drama as we see Tony turn from Mr Nice Guy towards David to the criminal he is. It shows the fine line between Tony's two sides, how while Tony tries to keep the two separate sometimes they merge and how callous Tony can be once someone crosses over to his illicit side. It also shows the effect of Tony's decisions and work on these "civilians" and their families.

Powerful stuff.

A young Catholic priest, Father Jud Duplenticy, is sent to a small parish to serve under eccentric Monsignor Jefferson Wicks. Wicks' sermons and everything he stands for are totally at odds with Father Jud's beliefs and the two are soon in open conflict. When Wicks is murdered in seemingly impossible fashion, Father Jud is the immediate suspect. The police call in famed detective Benoit Blanc to solve the puzzle.

The third of the Knives Out mysteries. The original film, from 2019, was brilliant, like an Agatha Christie mystery with a modern twist. The second, released in 2022, was okay but not in the same league as the original, having a host of unlikeable characters and a clumsy ending.

Now we have the third instalment, like the previous two, written and directed by Rian Johnson. The setup to the murder is quite thorough and the murder very intriguing due to it seeming unsolvable.

Add in some decent comedy along the way and a fairly solid wrap-up and it's an entertaining and interesting ride, definitely better than the second film.

However, it is far from brilliant. The plot develops quite slowly, aided and abetted by a few unnecessary detours. While the plot may seem original, the impossible crime scenario has been done before - a few Agatha Christie mysteries spring immediately to mind. The feeling that this has been done before didn't help my level of engagement. At least the film does acknowledge these precedents as books with similar murder scenarios are mentioned at one point.

While Daniel Craig is a great actor, Benoit Blanc now seems a bit cartoonish. I assume this was to heighten the comedic aspect but that creates a problem in that the comedy undermines the dramatic side and lessens the tension.

Overall, while far from perfect it's a very watchable and enjoyable film.

The planet Krypton is about to be destroyed, causing two parents to send their baby son on a three-year trip to Earth. After his space craft crash lands in a remote location on Earth, the child is found and adopted by the Kents, naming him Clark. He grows up to have superhuman strength and speed and X-ray vision. Using these qualities the world will know him as Superman.

A great, highly entertaining telling of the Superman story. Detailed in the backstory yet not dull, the film is a wonderful mix of action and character engagement. Special effects are good for 1978 (though the obvious models in the dam burst scene were quite funny).

Plot is reasonably solid, especially for a comic book / superhero movie. Some contrivances though which do take the shine off to an extent. Still, far more substance than your average modern superhero movie.

A classic among superhero films.