Scary Monsters and Super Freaks

Birds of Prey (2020): [Cast and Crew]: Fun outing dominated by Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, the best thing about 2016's misguided Suicide Squad. Having left the Joker and slightly reformed, Quinn ends up battling foul-mouthed Gotham mob boss Black Mask (an ebullient Ewan MacGregor, all f-bombs) for the life of an unfortunate pickpocket. 

Along the way, she teams up with Rosie Perez's jaded Gotham cop Renee Montoya (like Harley, originally created for Batman: The Animated Series), yet another Black Canary, and another Huntress. The Gotham City Police are especially hapless in this film. Batman and Commissioner Gordon appear to be on vacation for the duration. Recommended.

Brightburn (2019): [Cast and Crew]: Enjoyable, violent, terse story of an evil Superboy-type and the perils of parenting a super-powered sociopath. The end credits suggest a shared-universe sequel that would include Rainn Wilson's loopy vigilante from Super, also produced by James 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Gunn (though scripted by James in that case as well, whereas Brightburn was written by two of his brothers). Bring it on! Recommended.

Swamp Thing (1982): [Cast and Crew]: Totally solid B-movie from veteran horror director Tobe Hooper does a pretty faithful job of adapting the early issues of Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson's DC comic book Swamp Thing. 

Way, way better than the jumbled, misguided 10-episode Swamp Thing TV series of 2019. Louis Jordan makes a good villain as a much more urbane Anton Arcane than that in the comic book. Dick Durock is solid in the rubber suit as Swamp Thing. Adrienne Barbeau is fun as a gender-flipped Agent Cable. Would probably have been better if it had been R-rated to allow for more graphic violence, especially in the concluding battle between Swamp Thing and a mutated Arcane. Recommended.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (aka Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster) (1971): [Cast and Crew]: Trippy late-stage Toho Studios Godzilla, now clearly a kid's series with an environmental message. Godzilla demonstrates a completely ridiculous ability to fly, a necessity when battling the high-flying Smog Monster. Hedorah's land-walking form looks a lot like Cthulhu after a week-long bender. Often intentionally funny, sometimes horrific, and sometimes with musical and animated sequences! Lightly recommended.