Margot Kidder, whose best known role was as reporter Lois Lane in the 1978 Superman movie has died aged 69. The Franzen Davies funeral home in Montana confirmed her death on Sunday.

Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018 ), professionally known as Margot Kidder, was a Canadian-American actress and activist. She rose to fame in 1978 for her role as Lois Lane in the Superman film series, alongside Christopher Reeve. Kidder began her career in the 1960s appearing in low-budget Canadian films and television series, before landing a lead role in Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx (1970). She then appeared playing twins in Brian De Palma’s cult thriller Sisters (1973); in the slasher film Black Christmas (1974); and the drama The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), opposite Robert Redford. Her performance as Kathy Lutz in the blockbuster horror film The Amityville Horror (1979) gained her further mainstream exposure.

By the late 1980s, Kidder’s career began to slow. Later, in 1996, she had a highly publicized manic episode and nervous breakdown. By the 2000s, however, she had maintained steady work in independent films and television, with guest-starring roles on Smallville, Brothers & Sisters, and The L Word. In 2000 she appeared in three episodes of Peter Benchley’s Amazon (1999 TV series), playing a striking role as an insane Canadian woman bent on domination of all the local tribes. In 2015, she won a Daytime Emmy Award for her performance on the children’s television series R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour. She also acted in theatrical productions, most notably appearing on Broadway in a 2002 production of The Vagina Monologues. In 2005, Kidder became a naturalized U.S. citizen. In later years, Kidder became an outspoken political, environmental, and anti-waractivist. She died on May 13, 2018, at her home in Livingston, Montana.

Kidder dated former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau, directors Brian De Palma and Steven Spielberg, writer/director Tom Mankiewicz, and actor/comedian Richard Pryor.^[32]She was married and divorced three times. Kidder’s first husband was American novelist Thomas McGuane, with whom she had her only child, daughter Maggie McGuane, born in 1976. She was married to actor John Heard in 1979 for only six days, and was married to French film director Philippe de Broca from 1983 to 1984. Kidder stated in an interview with TV Guide that she was an atheist.

The Post is a 2017 American historical political thriller film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Liz Hannahand Josh Singer. It stars Meryl Streep as Katharine Graham, the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and Tom Hanks as Ben Bradlee, the executive editor of The Washington Post, with Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Carrie Coon, and Matthew Rhys in supporting roles. Set in the early 1970s, The Post depicts the true story of attempts by journalists at The Washington Post to publish the Pentagon Papers, classified documents regarding the 30-year involvement of the United States government in the Vietnam War.

I especially liked seeing Streep as Katherine, a middle-aged woman not too sure of herself and who has been used to seeing her father and then her husband run the company. After her husband’s death she relies heavily on her board’s recommendation and advise to run things as she lacks experience and is frequently overruled by more assertive men who advise or work for her. Hanks plays Ben Bradlee, executive editor of the Washington Post. Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Graham’s longtime friend, confides in her that he is to be the subject of unflattering coverage by the Times.

The story turns out to be an exposé of the government’s long-running deception of the American public. A former govt military expert, who was disillusion by what he saw in Vietnam and that the war was hopeless, steals photocopies classified reports documenting the country’s decades-long involvement in the conflict in Vietnam, dating back to the Truman administration. Ellsberg then leaks these documents to reporters at The New York Times; the movie follows two weeks in 1971 at The Washington Post and the publishing of the Pentagon Papers. However, the series is halted by a court injunction against further publication by the Times.

The Post’s assistant editor Ben Bagdikian tracks down Ellsberg as the source for the leak, who provides Bagdikian with copies of the same material given to the Times. A team in the Post works on these files and ask Katherine’s permission to run the story. The lawyers for the Post advise against publishing the material, lest the Nixon administration bring criminal charges against them. Graham talks to McNamara, Bradlee, and trusted Post chairman Fritz Beebe, agonizing over the decision of whether to publish. The situation is made even more complicated when the Post‘s lawyers discover that Bagdikian’s source is the same as the Times‘s, possibly putting Graham in contempt of court. If charges are brought against the company, Graham could destroy the newspaper she sees as a family legacy.

Alternately, if she were to win any legal challenge, the Post could instead establish itself as an important journalistic institution. She chooses to run the story. The White House takes The Times & The Post to the supreme court and the successful ruling of 6-3, is found in favour of the press. Nixon demands that the Post should be barred from the White House. One year later, security guard Frank Wills discovers a break-in in progress at the Watergate complex after a guest at the Watergate hotel called complaining about people using flashlights.

Now, it’s fairly safe to say that both Hanks & Streep are acting heavyweights and that they are just about in the top 5 actors of all time. Or atleast their generation, I dunno. I am a huge fan of both, especially Hanks as I haven’t watched too many movies with Meryl in it but I do love her. This film is not a very exciting one and not one that I am going to want to watch many times over. It’s a big dull and methodical but does have the acting chops to pull it off. A 7.5 outta 10!

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a 2017 American adventure comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Scott Rosenberg, and Jeff Pinkner based on a story by McKenna. Part of the Jumanji franchise, the film is a sequel to Jumanji (1995) (based on the 1981 children’s book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg). he film stars Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, and Bobby Cannavale. he film received generally positive reviews from critics, who called it a “pleasant surprise” and praised the cast. It has grossed over $962 million worldwide, the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2017 and the 40th-highest-grossing film of all time. A sequel is scheduled to be released in December 2019.

It is an adventure movie with a lot of fun. We first see the board game in 1996 being discovered by Alex Vreek’s father on a beach after it was thrown over a bridge by Alan Parrish and Sarah Whittle 27 years earlier. Alex sets the game aside. That night, it transforms into a video game cartridge which catches Alex’s attention when he is awakened by the Jumanji drums and he is transported into the game. We then flash back to 2017 6, four Brantford High School students serve detention: Spencer Gilpin, caught writing an essay for former friend Anthony “Fridge” Johnson (also in detention); Bethany Walker, who made a video call during an English-class quiz and Martha Kaply, who refused to participate in gym class. They are sent to the school basement to prepare magazines for recycling and to think about their future. Fridge discovers Alex’s discarded video-game system when he explores the basement, and he and Spencer set up the game.

Although it has five playable characters, the first one cannot be selected. Spencer and Fridge choose two characters, and the girls choose their own. When Spencer presses “Start”, they are transported into the game. The teens find themselves as characters in the game – Spencer is a heavily ripped muscular explorer and archaeologist Smolder Bravestone; Fridge is diminutive zoologist Franklin “Mouse” Finbar, whom he chose after misreading “Mouse” as “Moose”; Bethany is chubby male cartographer and intellectual Sheldon “Shelly” Oberon (whose nickname she mistook for a woman’s), and Martha is beautiful commando and martial arts expert Ruby Roundhouse. They each have three lives; Spencer deduces that if they lose all three, they really die.

They are met by Nigel, the game’s guide, who takes them to a point and tells them that Jumanji is in danger. Corrupt archeologist Russel Van Pelt stole the Jaguar’s Eye (a magic jewel) from its shrine, cursing Jumanji. Nigel escaped Van Pelt with the jewel, and the players must return it to a jaguar statue and call “Jumanji” to lift the curse. The teens must dogdge the bad guys in Van Pelt’s army as they work their way through the different levels. They are soon helped by by Alex (the missing fifth player, whose avatar is pilot Jefferson “Seaplane” McDonough) and ofcourse in the end all of the rise up above their trepidation and conquer their fears as they are able to restore the eye and the game is over and they return back to the real world and in their own bodies.

They later meet the real Alex, who was returned back to 1996 and he is now married with children, he named his eldest daughter after Bethany out of gratitude for saving his life and introduces them to his infant son, Andy. Martha and Spencer become romantically involved and the four are now friends after their experiences in the game. When they hear Jumanji’s drumbeats, they bring the game behind the school and Fridge destroys it with a bowling ball (also found in detention) to prevent anyone from playing it again.

The movie is a good watch with some good laughs and some good action. Everyone is good in their roles but Jack Black steals the show as a teenage girl in a 40Plus old man’s body. 8 outta 10!