Carlita’s Cosmos Goes to the Movies: Supergirl

This is not your grandmother’s Supergirl! That being said, I’m the grandma so to speak.

This Supergirl is not the one I grew up with in the seventies and eighties. And to be honest, it was because of that that I wasn’t interested in seeing this movie. I walked into this movie with low expectations, but walked out wondering why this film is getting so much hate. This movie was gritty and dark, but also heartwarming and hopeful. It was based on a more recent story line called, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

The movie has received some negative feedback and the reviews I’ve seen seem to fall into two categories. One is that people who aren’t up to date with current Supergirl comics were expecting the more bubblegum version of the character that I grew up with and apparently that’s what they wanted. On the other hand, the readers of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow are worked up because it doesn’t follow the book exactly. Personally, I think that’s a little silly, since movies never or at least rarely follow the book plot to the letter.

Also, I’ve seen some criticism of the lead actress’s appearance, rather than her performance. Not only is that not fair, but it’s ludicrous. Milly Alcock is beautiful, and more importantly, her acting is outstanding. I much enjoyed her performance in House of the Dragon and Supergirl and am looking forward to seeing more of her. So, judge the movie on its storytelling and acting, not on whether the actress matches someone’s idea of what Supergirl should look like. Also, Eve Ridley did an excellent portrayal of Ruthye, a character who is experiencing much the same angst as Supergirl. And as always, who doesn’t love Jason Momoa on the big screen!

I, like a lot of people after having been swept up in the furor that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe had stopped paying attention to DC. I didn’t even realize a new Superman movie had come out in 2025. Don’t know how I missed that. Anyway I was impressed with David Corenswet’s portrayal of Superman in the Supergirl movie, so I will be streaming Superman next.

Overall, I found the movie entertaining and the acting superb. My only complaint is that there is a dark story line that wasn’t treated with as much emotion as it deserved, but I guess it wasn’t possible with the time constraints. I think a miniseries would do more justice to everything that was going on in the movie.

I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars, definitely worth seeing at the theater!

Sinners-A Review

Sinners is representative of what I truly love about horror. It explores the lives of the characters who live in a time of great inequality. It takes place in Mississippi in the 1930s. It was a time when only a select few could experience true freedom.

The movie harkens back to the days of a horror tale depicting creatures who frighten us to the depths of our soul but also focusing on the lives of the people experiencing not only a supernatural horror, but the quiet, enduring horror of their daily existence.

These kinds of stories exhibit angst along with hope. In the presence of monsters, heroism and bravery are displayed by people who had given up on fighting the metaphorical monsters in their ordinary lives.

For me, the overarching theme is about freedom. At first small bits of freedom, the characters just trying to establish a place that they can call their own. The freedom to love the one you want to love, regardless of the standards of society. The freedom to be oneself and express that in creativity. Amongst the townspeople there is only a small and powerful group that seem to have real freedom, for everyone else, it is a goal, a dream.

I discussed this movie over lunch with my close friend, and she believes the overarching theme is about the lie of Christianity as it has been forced upon cultures who previously practiced paganism. She pointed out that even the ancient vampire talks about how conversion was forced on his people, but how despite the suffering that was caused by that conversion, he still feels comfort upon hearing the prayers. Christianity was forced on these cultures and used to keep them in line. She went on to say that the movie is called Sinners because everyone is a sinner.

Freedom from all of this is found by many of the characters in this movie, but in profoundly different ways. The movie has many layers, and I highly recommend it. I will be watching it many times!