Superman (1978)

 

An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.

From memory: Entertaining, witty, star-cast screen adaptation of the classic comics superhero has a lot to offer, but is also a bit heavy-handed, and the villains are not that convincing; however, Christopher Reeves was a perfect choice to cast him as Superman.​ 

Halliwell (no star): "Long, lugubrious and only patchily entertaining version of the famous comic strip, with far too many irrelevant preliminaries and a misguided sense of its own importance."

Maltin***1/2: "Dynamic, grandly entertaining saga...mixing equal parts sincerity, special effects..., and send-up.Great fun." 

Timeline (2003)

A group of archaeologists become trapped in the past when they go there to retrieve a friend. The group must survive in fourteenth century France before they can escape back to the twenty-first century.

Quite mindless entertainment, not tethered by any plot coherence let alone the paradoxes of time travel; lots of talent wasted for the fun.

Halliwell (no star): "Risible adventure, so daft to be almost, but not quite, endearing; the performances are beyond redemption."

Maltin**: "Lively, noisy, convoluted story becomes so confusing it's difficult to know who's who, let alone what's what."

Superman II (1980)

Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to start a relationship with Lois Lane, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.

From memory: Director Richard Lester adds some much-needed humor and speedy action, even breaking some taboos along the way, and Gene Hackman is fine as villain Lex Luthor.

Halliwell (no star): "Half the first episode was devoted to a creaky unnecessary setting up of plot and characters.  This sequel is all the better for diving straight into action, but a classic it isn't, even of the comic strip kind."

Maltin***: "Screw the Superman legend, forget logic, and full speed ahead: that's the attitude of this flashy sequel...Full of great effects and entertainingly played, but lacking the awe and wonder of the original film, adding cruelty and violence instead."

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (1963)

A man, newly recovered from a nervous breakdown, becomes convinced that a monster only he sees is damaging the plane he's flying in.

Arguably one of the series' best episodes: weird, suspenseful, with a macabre touch of humour and a hilariously great performance by William Shatner.

Superman II (1980)