“Myra Breckinridge” is the infamous film that almost completely derailed the career of Raquel Welch (“Fantastic Voyage”, “Fathom”). It’s a truly weird film that feels like Ed Wood’s “Glen Or Glenda” crossed with “Monty Python”. It deals with the film industry, sex, sex-changes and sexual violence in a sort of sadistic yet comedic manner.

Myron Breckinridge (Rex Reed) undergoes surgery to change his sex and now, he’s Myra Breckinridge (Welch). Myra heads to Hollywood to make a claim on the wealthy estate of a relative (John Huston “Chinatown”) Myra is out to destroy masculinity by any means necessary. There is nothing that Myra won’t do including carrying out sexual assaults on men and stealing their girls.

I’ve never seen any man that undergoes surgery to look like a woman look anywhere near as feminine and attractive as Raquel Welch. I have no idea whether we’re meant to like Myra or loathe Myra. Myra is meant to be championing the feminist cause and yet this is a character that sexually assaults a man and then tries to coerce the man’s girlfriend into having sex. You can’t get much more predatory than that. To see the revered John Huston in this is surreal. Mae West (“I’m No Angel”) came out of retirement for this disaster.

“Myra Breckinridge” has some of the worst editing I’ve seen in a long time. The film constantly cuts to footage from various older films. We see old stars such as Shirley Temple, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. I wonder how mad they or their families must have been for footage of them to be used in a film where Raquel Welch plays a man that has a sex-change and sexually assaults a guy. This is a bafflingly bad film and it’s no wonder that it flopped. It’s the sort of film that manages to offend everybody (men, women, straight, homosexual etc…) without ever having any real point.

“High School DxD” is about as ridiculous a show as you can get. It knows exactly who its target audience is. It knows it isn’t high art but it is fun. Be aware that this an anime with lots of nudity and discussion of sexual topics.

Issei is a perverted teenage boy, who wants nothing more than to see girls with their clothes off. When he’s killed by a girl with supernatural powers on their first date, he’s resurrected by a rival supernatural girl and given magical demonic dragon powers. Now, he’s part of Rias Gremory’s demonic order. If he fulfils her desires, he’ll have his own hareem.

Issei feels like a mixture of the traditional goofy anime hero such as Naruto and Goku along with the blatant perversion of many other anime characters. The girls in this show have surprisingly very different personalities. Rias is very strong and confident leader of the Occult Research Club while Asia is a shy nun. Ultimately, the girls are just here to be in various state of undress and hilarity ensues whenever Issei is confront with their nudity. The other characters are okay but nobody has much depth in a show so obsessed with breasts.

“High School DxD” is genuinely a funny show. Some may view it as bad taste and maybe it is but I laughed at it. The way it combines overpowered beings battling one another with a teenage boy being socially awkward around women is pretty amusing. While you never actually see any animated sex, there is an awful lot of nudity here so please be sure to keep this away from young kids. “High School DxD” is sort of like the anime equivalent of a Troma film, it knows it’s trashy and it has fun being trashy. If you like anime and you’re not offended by the concept, give it a go.

“Jungle Cruise” is an adventure film based on a Disney ride. We’ve already had “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Haunted Mansion” so I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t now get even more films made about Disney ride. I’m laughing just thinking about a “It’s A Small World” film. Anyway, “Jungle Cruise” starts off with promise. However, it just drops the ball about halfway through.

In “Jungle Cruise”, adventurer Lily Houghton (Emily Blunt “The Adjustment Bureau”, “Edge Of Tomorrow”) is out to find an ancient tree with a mystical power that could revolutionise the world. She travels to the Amazon and enlists the help of wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson “The Scorpion King”).

Emily Blunt is good in this movie and I don’t have anything negative to say about her performance or her character. I thought Dwayne Johnson was okay and I like when he’s telling the goofy jokes near the beginning as it’s very reminiscent of the “Jungle Cruise” theme park ride experience. Unfortunately, the film decides to give us some twists that ruin his character. Also, I can’t stand Jack Whitehall (“The Bad Education Movie”) as Lily’s brother. The filmmakers seemed to feel the need to add in details about the character’s private life that have no impact on the story; it’s just pointless. Some of the special effects on the animals and monsters don’t look all that great, I was just very aware that I was looking at something made in a computer.

“Jungle Cruise” starts out feeling like an “Indiana Jones” movie. Sadly, it gets too interested in overusing special effects. By the end, it felt pretty indistinguishable from “Pirates of the Caribbean” and the Brendan Fraser “Mummy” movies. “Jungle Cruise” is not a terrible film and I loved parts of it. I just felt it was going in a good direction but then it changed course and everything just went south.

After the excellent “Batman: The Animated Series”, we got the impressive take on Superman with “Superman: The Animated Series”. Here’s a list of my personal favourite episodes.

10. Double Dose

Superman faces off against both Livewire and Parasite. Seeing the two villains working together is good and the final confrontation is pretty exciting.

9. In Brightest Day…

Superman must help a new Green Lantern battle the evil Sinestro. This episode manages to fit in a lot of Green Lantern content and almost feels like a pilot for a “Green Lantern” series. It’s good to see Superman join forces with another big DC hero.

8. The Main Man Parts I & II

After a fight with intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo, Superman is captured by an alien being that wants to keep the last specimen of various endangered species from across the universe. The idea is pretty interesting. Lobo is also a funny character and very enjoyable.

7. Feeding Time

A terrible accident creates a new supervillain, Parasite. Just by touching someone, he can absorb their strength and their mind. This leads to an interesting situation where we have a villain that can take Superman’s powers and secrets while making Superman himself weaker. It’s pretty thrilling stuff.

6. Stolen Memories

Brainiac comes to Earth and shows Superman his vast archives of the universe. However, it soon becomes clear that Brainiac has sinister motives for coming to Earth. The way in which Brainiac and Superman are connected is quite interesting as it relates to events from the first episodes of the series. Brainiac is also a challenging villain for Superman to deal with.

5. Little Girl Lost Parts I & II

Our introduction to Supergirl is right here. This episode also expands on the storyline involving Apokolips with more of Darkseid’s minions sent to Earth. It’s a fun episode that shows why Supergirl is such a great character.

4. Apokolips…Now Parts I & II

Superman discovers that the despotic Darkseid is coming to conquer the Earth. The best part is the ending where a recurring character is killed off… permanently. That’s a big deal in what many people dismiss as a goofy kids’ show.

3. Brave New Metropolis

Lois Lane accidentally gets transported to an alternate universe where Metropolis has become a police state. It’s always interesting to see alternate universes. It’s got some good action and I like the look of the other universe too.

2. Mxyzpixilated

This is easily the most amusing episode on the list. Superman is up against Mr. Mxyzptlk, a powerful being from another dimension that merely wants to mess with Superman. Instead of using his usual brawn, Superman will need to use his brains to outsmart his adversary. This is just a really funny episode from beginning to end and it’s so creative too.

1. Legacy Parts I & II

The consensus seems to be that the series peaked with the excellent finale. “Legacy” sees Superman brainwashed by Darkseid and sent on a mission to conquer Earth. The stakes have never been higher for the world or for Superman himself. Like “Apokolips…Now”, the ending is very deep with a mix of both good and bad outcomes.

Honourable mentions:
Fun And Games, Solar Power and Knight Time

While it never boasted an array of baddies as great as “Batman: The Animated Series”, I think people forget just how good some of Superman’s foes are. Here’s my list of the best villains of “Superman: The Animated Series”.

5. Lobo

Lobo is a bounty hunter and a real jerk. He’s been compared a lot to Marvel’s Deadpool but I actually prefer Lobo. He’s a rough and tough alien biker and his physical strength sometimes allows him to get the better of Superman too.

4. Brainiac

Like Superman, Brainiac is from planet Krypton. However, Brainiac is an evil robot determined to acquired knowledge and increase its value by destroying all others who share it. I like his robotic appearance and his connection to Superman makes him an interesting foe.

3. Mr. Mxyzptlk

Given a joyful voice by Gilbert Gottfried (“Aladdin”), Mr. Mxyzptlk is a being from another dimension that just wants to mess with Superman. He’s not really a bad guy, he’s just more of an annoyance but his creative powers make him fun to watch.

2. Lex Luthor

Perhaps no villain has been more of a thorn in Superman’s side than Lex Luthor. While possessing no superpowers, Luthor has a lot of money and resources to throw at our hero. He’s also helped to create many of Superman’s other foes such as Metallo and Bizarro. Luthor’s innovative yet twisted mind means that he presents a real threat to Superman and Metropolis. His standing in society also allows him to be relatively untouchable at times.

1. Darkseid

The only villain that could outdo Lex Luthor is of course Darkseid. The despotic leader of planet Apokolips not only managed to kill Superman’s friend, Dan Turpin, but also managed to brainwash Superman into conquering the Earth on his behalf. Darkseid is also the best because he has a ton of villains such as Kalibak, Steppenwolf and Bruno Mannheim to do his bidding. Darkseid is also voiced brilliantly by Michael Ironside (“Starship Troopers”).

Honourable mentions:
Parasite and Bizarro

“Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties” is an interactive movie from 1994. It features so little interactivity that it barely qualifies as a videogame and features so little motion that you would struggle to classify it as a motion picture. It’s little more than a slideshow version of a cheesy sex comedy and it’s truly disastrous in every possible way.

A beautiful young woman by the name of Jane (Jeanne Basone) and a plumber by the name of John are destined to meet. You must make the correct decisions to help them fall in love and have a future together. Wrong decisions often lead to bizarre results.

Despite the fact that the formats it was originally released on could handle playing video, most of “Plumbers Don’t Wear Ties” is just a series of still images so expect the cast to look rather stiff. There is one brief sequence at the beginning that actually is a normal video. It involves Jane talking and then for some reason, the camera zooms in on her breasts. Jane and John are not remotely engaging characters. Jane goes to get a new job and there’s a creepy boss that wants her to strip for him. There’s also an annoying narrator, who sometimes wears chicken mask. Seriously, I have no idea’s what’s going on.

“Plumbers Don't Wear Ties” is nonsensical. I did laugh at parts of it because it’s just absurd. There are pointless colour filters, awkward scenes of a sexual nature and a guy in a chicken mask. There is both a censored and uncensored version. Thankfully, I saw the censored version as I really didn’t need to see any more of the characters than I did. This whole production is just madness. Regardless of whether you view it as a movie, a videogame or just some novelty product, it’s unbelievably bad.

“Screamers” is another film based on the work of Philip K. Dick (“Blade Runner”, “Total Recall”). It is a film that may have worked better if he had an ounce of optimism in it but instead, it goes down the “Alien 3” route of maximum cynicism.

In “Screamers”, we see a future where the resolution to the Earth’s energy crisis has been discovered but concerns for the safety of miners that extract the wonder element causes a lengthy war. We meet Joe Hendricksson (Peter Weller “RoboCop”, “Naked Lunch”), who is stationed on Sirius 6B. This is where all the fighting occurs as underground circular saws, that have become self-aware, are picking off both sides. When brought down to a primitive level, it is “Terminator” meets “Tremors”.

Peter Weller is an actor that has real charisma. He manages to deliver some funny one-liners here. However, his character is quite uninteresting for the most part. The other characters aren’t given enough personality and become cardboard cut-outs. The robots in this film look alright but most of the time, they’re underground. As the film progresses, they get more advanced but not in a way that the effects particularly benefit them, which is disappointing.

“Screamers” is so bleak and dull at times that it’s hard to appreciate the finer aspects of the film such as the relatively rich concept. I’ve enjoyed some of the other films based on Philip K. Dick’s short stories a lot more as they’ve created even richer worlds and even richer concepts. With so few characters and with such an empty location most of the time, it becomes increasingly hard for the film to come up with anything that’s worth showing at times so that’s where the real problem is. Also, the ending is so depressing. “Screamers” has things going for it but not enough to make it worth watching.

“Gamera The Brave” is not only probably the best “Gamera” movie but it’s also arguably the best giant monster film from Japan that I’ve seen. While the early “Gamera” films may be too goofy for some (not for me though), I felt some of the 90s ones took themselves a little too seriously and the C.G.I. was overused. “Gamera The Brave” finds a sweet spot in the middle of the two styles.

In 1973, Gamera sacrificed himself to defend the world from Gyaos. Decades later, the young Toru (Ryô Tomioka) discovers a baby turtle. He befriends the turtle but it starts growing to an enormous size and it is also exhibiting other super abilities. Soon, this new turtle will become the new Gamera and help save the Earth from the threat of Zedus.

The design of Gamera here seems like a perfect blend between the goofy monster of the 60s and 70s and the more serious design of the 90s. Zedus is pretty terrific too. It never gets old watching guys in rubber suits battle it out as giant monsters. Some C.G.I. is used for a few of the monsters’ attacks but it never feels overdone. The human characters are surprisingly enjoyable. The friendship formed by Toru and the new Gamera is actually quite heart-warming for a film about a flying turtle monster.

“Gamera The Brave” is a wonderful movie. It has a childlike innocence to it but it also delivers on the monster action. I can’t believe I’m admitting this but I actually felt emotionally engaged and that’s something you really can’t say about most kaiju (Japanese giant monster) films. If you’ve never seen any of the other “Gamera” films then this is the perfect place to start. If you’re a fan, you’ll likely enjoy this one a lot.

“Hobbs & Shaw” is a spin-off from the “Fast & Furious” franchise and it’s probably the most testosterone fuelled nonsense ever made. It’s like “Lethal Weapon” on steroids. This is a totally brainless film filled with explosions and goofy one-liners.

Lawman Luke Hobbs (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson “Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle”, “The Mummy Returns”) and assassin Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham “Crank”, “The Expendables”) are bitter enemies but they’re going to have to put aside their differences and work together. They’re tasked with stopping a cyber-enhanced supervillain (Idris Elba “The Losers”).

Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw was easily my favourite character from the “Fast & Furious” films so it’s great to see him in a larger role. I don’t mind Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs. This is clearly trying to be a buddy cop pairing like in “Lethal Weapon”, “Rush Hour” and “Red Heat”. Idris Elba is decent as Brixton, who feels more like a feel out of a superhero movie than a “Fast & Furious” movie. Vanessa Kirby (“About Time”) is reasonable as Hattie. Really, the characters in this movie are not so important because the focus is on the car chases, the explosions and all the other ridiculous stunts and vehicular carnage.

“Hobbs & Shaw” is about as stupid and soulless as action movies can get. If you can turn off your brain for a while, you’ll have fun. It’s full of exciting action sequences and parts of it are genuinely funny. It never aspires to be even vaguely meaningful; this is just pure Hollywood action. If you like the “Fast & Furious” movies, you’ll probably love this one too. The franchise just keeps getting more and more juvenile. I also didn’t miss Vin Diesel (“Pitch Black”) or Tyrese Gibson (“Baby Boy”). If you enjoyed films such as the “Fast & Furious” sequels, “The Expendables” or the Michael Bay “Transformers” pictures, “Hobbs & Shaw” will delight you.

“The Looney Tunes Show” is what happens when you take the whackiest cartoon characters of the 50s and stick them in a sitcom format. Parts of it are undeniably funny but it also feels like the wrong way to present the Looney Tunes. We don’t want to see these outrageous characters trapped by the same constraints as the characters in shows such as “Seinfeld”.

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are housemates in suburbia. Each episode, they deal with different problems involving the other Looney Tunes such as Lola Bunny, Porky Pig and Speedy Gonzalez. We also get some weird musical numbers featuring different Looney Tunes.

The Looney Tunes are still funny here but as if they’re now forced to act like characters in a more traditional sitcom. They have fairly mundane conversations about typical everyday issues too. In the old shorts, these characters would get repeatedly shot in the face or drop anvils on each other. The slapstick here feels so downplayed that you question why we need to be watching animated talking animals when they act like pretty much like the cast of “Seinfeld”. The animation is okay for the most part but the C.G.I. sequences featuring Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner are pretty lousy looking.

Parts of “The Looney Tunes Show” are really funny. Sometimes the blurring of the mundane and the ridiculous provides some real chuckles but I just needed more absurd antics. Some entire episodes featured little to no slapstick and almost nothing that couldn’t have been done with real people. The best cartoons from the old “Looney Tunes” shorts to “SpongeBob SquarePants” to “South Park” do things that justify the use of animation. “The Looney Tunes” show has created an awkward format for itself that feels paradoxical. It’s certainly not awful and I enjoyed parts of it but I know this can be done better. A few years later, we got “Looney Tunes Cartoons”, which returned the more conventional “Looney Tunes” format of outrageous antics and it was so much better than this.