Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is the story of the famous wild west bank robbers of the same name. It stars legendary actors Paul Newman and Robert Redford who have a silly romp through the old west and Bolivia. Newman in particular is awesome as always and you can tell he had a really good time making this film. Redford seemed a little stiff to me and he didn't really have the comedic timing Newman did. Of course, that could be because the writers gave him some pretty corny jokes.

This is a hard movie to categorize. It isn't really a western, it isn't really a drama and it really isn't a comedy but somehow it is all three of those things. It worked sometimes but at others I thought to myself, what the hell is the director thinking with this movie? Apparently the score won an Oscar but in my opinion it is one of the most bizarre scores for a movie I've ever heard (and not in a good way). Overall, I think the movie felt pretty dated and a little bit confused but it is worth watching because anything starring Paul Newman is.

Click here to add this movie to your queue.

Movie will stop streaming on Netflix 2/11/11.

The Standard 5:

Why is it in your queue? Paul Newman is one of those actors I'll watch in anything.

Is it artsy? No, but I think the director might have tried to make the score seem artsy. It wasn't.

Best thing about the movie? The weird ass bicycle riding scene, didn't get that at all.

What mood should I be in to watch this movie? Looking for a good silly time.

What rating did you give it on Netflix? 3 Stars. 
 

Tweet

The Candidate (1972)

The Candidate (click here to add to your queue) is a satirical look at how campaigns in America are run. Robert Redford is the star and he does a great job. I'm a bit of a political junkie that has even worked on a few campaigns so naturally this is a movie I had to give a look. In some ways the movie doesn't really hold up too well. Most movies from the 70's just don't seem to hold up over time and to me it's mostly because of the way those people dressed, it just doesn't look right. Redford plays a Democrat who is up against long odds to win and runs on the premise that he is going to lose so he might as well say what he wants. It's easy to forget that not too long ago the state that brought us Nancy Pelosi also gave us Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. It really illustrates how much the country has changed.

What I really found interesting about the film is what hasn't changed in the last 40 years. People are still arguing about abortion, the environment, unemployment and welfare just like they were back in '72. You often hear a lot of outrage in the media about how politicians don't get anything done and that they've sunk to new lows. Politics has always been, and always will be, a dirty business. 40 years later, this film shows just that.

The Standard 5:

Why is it in your queue? I'm a political junkie.

Is it artsy? No.

Best thing about the movie? The similarities between politics then and now.

What mood should I be in to watch this movie? A political and/or cynical one.

What rating did you give it on Netflix? 3 stars.

Tweet