Western Movie Review: *** Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

 This is a Sergio Leone spaghetti western.  It stars Charles Bronson as Harmonica, a mysterious character who is extracting revenge as he goes.  Is ultimate goal is Frank (Henry Fonda), who is a very evil character but who is tied with the rail road, Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) and thereby gets away with it.  He and his men murder a family; but Cleveland (Jason Robards) is blamed.  Frank and the railroad want the property of the man they murdered.  They did not know he had recently married.  His widow is Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale).  Cleveland and Harmonica form an alliance of sorts to keep McBain from being cheated of her estate.  Even Frank and Harmonica form an alliance for a time, as Harmonica wants to be sure he is the person to kill Frank, who lynched his father when he was a boy.  

The movie is very slow at times with periods of violence.  Leone really drags out gun fights.  It is a 2 1/2 hour movie and could have been compressed greatly.  

Movie Review: ***^White Buffalo (1977)

This movie stars Charles Bronson as Bill Hickok and Will Sampson as Crazy Horse.  However they are both keeping their names hush hush; Hickok because of his part, and Crazy Horse because he is told not to use his name until he kills the white buffalo.  Part of this movie were not very well done, including the White Buffalo attack of the Indian village that killed Cray Horse's child.  Even Tony noticed that.  It was flashes of the buffalo and then blood.  However is is because of this incident Crazy Horse is given his task of killing the white buffalo and his name is changed to "worm" until he does so.  At the same time, Hickok has ben seeing the white buffalo in his dreams.  Hickok if joined by his friend, Charlie Zane (Jack Warden). 
There are also several cameos: Slim Pickens as the stage coach driver, John Carradine as the undertaker, Kim Novak as the female interest and Clint Walker as the man who wants to kill Hickok.
However this movie is more than three men chasing a white buffalo, which can cause earthquakes and avalanches.  It turns out in the end to be about relationships, and personal growth, for both Crazy Horse and Hickok.  Zane, the old timer, does not go along, and in the end Hickok loses a friend in Zane and gains one in Crazy Horse.

Movie Review: ****Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus (1991)

This is a 1991 made for TV movie with Ed Asner as the newspaper editor, Charles Bronson as the ace reporter, Francis Church and Richard Thomas as Virginia's father.  This movie, at the first has many many antagonists.  Co worker at the dock who have racial attitude against Irish, competitor newspaper reporter who have it in for Mr Church.  Church is struggling with alcohol addiction after losing his wife and child to illness.
Basically there are many plot twists.  Virginia's family is poor, and her father loses his job.  She struggles with the Santa Claus question, but this is not a prominent part of the plot, but brings all the characters together at the end.
The question, "Is there a Santa Claus?" in the a very real sense saves characters in the movie, as they find an answer to this question.  And as they find the answer, they also find the Christmas Spirit.  With all the plot changes I was wary of this movie, but the ending really brings you in, and for this alone this movie is worth seeing.