Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid

Rating: PG

Movie Release Date: September 23, 1969

DVD Release Date: May 16, 2000

Plot 411: Two bank robbers try to outrun the law and still maintain their illegal habits.

Review: Paul Newman and Robert Redford star as Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid respectively in this Western period piece. The two characters are lifelong friends and their relationship is thoroughly enjoyable despite their contrasting personalities. Butch was an affable and charismatic guy while Sundance was solemn and sometimes ornery. However, opposites attract and sometimes work well together. Butch was the leader and had all the great plans. Sundance stuck with the gunslinging duties. His love interest Etta (Katharine Ross) also has a friendly bond with Butch and there's a great scene in which they ride a bike together. The film is quite literally a chase movie. Besides the friendship, this is the next thing that occupies much of the runtime. The outlaws travel across flatlands, up mountains, through rivers and even head to a foreign country to escape the law. However, along the way they do not give up their illegal ways. There were some interesting cinematic selections, like sepia-toned photography or photo montages played over modern music, that kind of distracted me but I suppose it's an artistic choice. The dialogue was surprisingly modern. Overall though, I liked this film a lot. You don't get to see a lot of this genre anymore. Plus, with quality actors like Newman and Redford, how can it not work?

Watch It: For a great performance by Newman and Redford. I can now see why this film is considered iconic.

Skip It: If you're looking for a lot of action. While there are some gun fights and robberies, most of the movie is about evading the law and not confronting it.

Rachel, Rachel

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: August 26, 1968

DVD Release Date: February 17, 2009

Plot 411: A single woman living in her childhood home with her mother experience life for the first time when a boy from her past returns.

Review: Joanne Woodward plays Rachel, a woman living (but just barely) with her overbearing mother. She is 35 years old, repressed and waiting for her life to start. It gets jump started when a boy from her childhood returns home to visit his parents. They have a brief relationship - a fling to him, a life-changing experience for her - and she finally decides to take her life into her own hands. The movie is filled with flashbacks of her childhood (she was the daughter of an undertaker), and you can tell it was a tough one. From an early age she was sheltered and very insecure with herself. The life she leads today reflects this upbringing and at times she is consumed with morbid thoughts. Interestingly though, she is actually capable of widely ranging emotions, which becomes just the thing she needs to change her life. Her mother is horrid, yet you still feel sympathetic toward her. She is like any other person who is growing older - afraid of what lies ahead, of change and of being alone. This is Paul Newman's directorial debut.

Watch It: For a really good, character-driven movie in which Woodward won a Golden Globe Award for best motion picture actress.

Skip It: If you're looking for high-flying action and death-defying thrills.