BUTCH CASSIDY and the SUNDANCE KID (1969)  4.0***

  George Roy Hill's best film and one of the best western movies as well as buddy movies ever made. Excellent direction, cinematography, setting, screenplay and score. Robert Redford and Paul Newman are in top form and deliver knockout performances. Their real life friendship is portrayed naturally on screen. Katherine Ross is also good as Sundance’s girlfriend The plot revolves around two seasoned outlaws who have robbed almost every bank/train in the West. With the law unable to catch these two likeable bandits, a master tracker and band of bounty hunters are set on their trail. Their only option to lose their chasers is to head South, as far as Bolivia. It turns out that the Bolivian government will have nothing to do with the two American The film focuses on the endearing mis-adventures of these bandits/heroes, using  slapstick comedy, conventional Western action, contemporary music, and humorous dialogue to characterize the past and  poke fun at typical western film clichés                  

 The plot is clever, funny, unique, exciting and has one of the most memorable endings in film history. It's a one of a kind western that has all the action and combines that with hilarity. It is a work of art and masterpiece of its genre that has never been able to be duplicated. It has resonated throughout generations and has influenced many filmmakers. To this day fans of the film still quote some of its famous lines such as:

          Butch Cassidy: Well, that ought to do it.

          [after blowing the train car to smithereens]

          Sundance Kid: Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?

          

          Butch Cassidy: Who are those guys?

               Butch Cassidy: Alright. I'll jump first.

           Sundance Kid: Nope.

           Butch Cassidy: Then you jump first.

           Sundance Kid: No, I said.

           Butch Cassidy: What's the matter with you?

           Sundance Kid: I can't swim!

           Butch Cassidy: [pauses, then laughs] Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill ya.

          [pause, then they start running to the edge]

           Sundance Kid: OOOOH SHIIIIIT!

                Of the 7 Academy Award nominations, there were 4 Oscar winners :William Goldman for Best Screenplay; Conrad Hall  for cinematography. 2 went to Burt Bacharach for Best Song ("Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head) and Best Original Score. The other three nominations were for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Sound.

    BRIGHTBURN  1.5 ***

  As a horror film it is NOT a bright burn… at its best it may be a slow burn…for me it was a no burn !!!

   The premise of this film is not one we have seen before in the "superhero" genre. What would the world do if a super-powered life form came to Earth and realized that we were all just insects to it? That the world needs to be destroyed bit by bit? It starts out very "Clark Kent" like with the couple who have no children happening upon a child fallen from the shy in a weird space ship kind of thing. The parents see this as a blessing. As if the universe heard their cries for a child and answered them. Soon though, this Smallville scene takes a turn towards absolute terror. This "child" isn't what he seems to be. He isn't a boy, or a human. He's something altogether different. An evil non-destructible, non-feeling alien  in an innocent teenage boys body.

It wasn't good. I had somewhat high hopes, considering the Gunns being involved in this film. I either expected it to be slow, dark and just terrifying, or a brutal, gory, fun movie. It was neither. The characters were written dumb, the scares were just.. scares (almost all being jump scares), plain and simple. You know, the usual cheap stuff. Loud noises, big bad wolf appearing behind the characters, blablabla. There were more in the audience laughing than screaming. And the gore was basically non-existent, so there's that. I love a good horror, I love being truly scared, I love when I can't help myself and just feel the need to cover my eyes. This movie had no effect on me whatsoever. And it's not a fun turn-off-your-brain joyride, it isn't fun at all. It's just cheap. In some reviews people said they liked it, so, good for them. But if you expect a good horror. It is not that.

Rated R for horror violence/bloody images, and language.

I  went to see this huge BLOCKBUSTER (already at 2.189 billion dollars) at the downtown Imax in 3D . It is the ultimate extravaganza of the Marvel series … 3 hours of all the marvel superheroes but only one super villain: Thanos, but he is enough. I hugely enjoyed this well written, well directed and well-acted movie. Rather than tackle such a difficult review I am borrowing from a review that describes it so well without any spoilers. It is set forth below:

AVENGERS Endgame   4.0***

The grave course of events set in motion in the preceding “Avengers Infinity War” by Thanos that wiped out half the universe and fractured the Avengers ranks compels the remaining Avengers to take one final stand in Marvel Studios' grand conclusion to twenty-two films,” Avengers: Endgame”.

Review by Brian Tallerico at Rogerebert.com

“Avengers: Endgame” is the culmination of a decade of blockbuster filmmaking, the result of years of work from thousands of people. It is designed to be the most blockbuster of all the blockbusters, a movie with a dozen subplots colliding, and familiar faces from over 20 other movies. It’s really like nothing that Hollywood has produced before, existing not just to acknowledge or exploit the fans of this series, but to reward their love, patience, and undying adoration. The blunt thing you probably want to know most: It’s hard to see serious MCU fans walking away from this disappointed. It checks all the boxes, even ticking off a few ones that fans won’t expect to be on the list. It’s a satisfying end to a chapter of blockbuster history that will be hard to top for pure spectacle. In terms of sheer entertainment value, it’s on the higher end of the MCU, a film that elevates its most iconic heroes to the legendary status they deserve and provides a few legitimate thrills along the way.

Don’t worry: I will stay very spoiler-free. The main joy of this film is in how it’s incredibly complex narrative unfolds, and you can go elsewhere if you want that ruined. The disappointing “Avengers: Infinity War” ended with Thanos finally getting all of the six Infinity Stones he so desperately sought, and then using them to wipe out half of existence, including beloved heroes like Black Panther, Star-Lord, and Spider-Man. “Avengers: Endgame” picks up a few weeks after “The Snap,” as the remaining heroes try to pick up the pieces and figure out if there’s a way to reverse Thanos’ destruction.

Immediately, “Endgame” is a more focused piece than “Infinity War” by virtue of having a tighter, smaller cast. (Thanks, Thanos.) It’s a more patient, focused film, even as its plot draws in elements of a dozen other movies. Whereas “Infinity” often felt bloated, “Endgame” allows some of the more iconic characters in the history of the MCU a chance to be, well, heroic. No longer mere pawns in a Thanos-driven plot, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk, and Thor break free of the crowd, ably assisted by Hawkeye and Ant-Man. In a sense, this is the new Avengers, and the tighter group of superheroes reminded me of the charm of Wheldon’s first "Avengers" movie, one in which strong personalities were allowed to bounce off each other instead of just feeling like they were strapped into a rollercoaster headed in the same direction. It also allows space for some of the best acting work in the franchise, particularly from Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., who one realizes while watching this have turned Captain America and Iron Man into something larger than life for a generation. The most satisfying aspect of “Endgame” is in how much it provides the MCU’s two most popular heroes the story arc they deserve instead of just drowning them in a sea of cameos by lesser characters from other movies. In the way it canonizes them , it becomes an ode to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

Rated PG-!3 for sci-fi violence and some language.