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Fugitive teen siblings (Jake Schur and Leila George) hook up with Billy the Kid (Dane DeHaan) and his gang as he's on the run from Pat Garrett (Ethan Hawke) in New Mexico, 1881. Chris Pratt has a side part as the dubious uncle of the teens.

"The Kid" (2019) was helmed by Vincent D'Onofrio (whom you might remember as the mentally troubled recruit at boot camp in "Full Metal Jacket"). It comes in the tradition of "One-Eyed Jacks," which was originally a Billy the Kid yarn by Sam Peckinpah (with Stanley Kubrick set to direct) until Brando took over the project and changed the story. Peckinpah eventually got his script made into a movie a dozen years later, "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid."

This isn't quite as notable as "One-Eyed Jack," but it's superior to Peckinpah's lyrical film. The main characters are all effectively fleshed out and there's a good scene where Garrett succinctly explains the Lincoln County War to the boy.

It ranks with the better Billy the Kid tales, although I prefer "Young Guns," and "Old Henry." It's at least on par with "Young Guns II."

It runs 1 hour, 40 minutes, and was shot at movie ranches in the Sante Fe area of north-central New Mexico.

GRADE: B.

"Motorama" (1991) is an amusing ride through the American Southwest; an offbeat satire about the sometimes crazy trek of life. It's filled with familiar guest stars, such as Robert Picardo, Mary Woronov, Meat Loaf, Irwin Keyes, Michael J. Pollard, Vince Edwards, Flea, Susan Tyrrell and more.

Drew Barrymore appears prominently on the movie poster (and DVD/Blu-ray cover), but she's only actually in the movie for like 20 seconds as the boy's fantasy girl (with no lines). I say "girl" because she was only 15 during shooting, a couple months shy of 16 years-old. Similarly, Cynthia King appears slightly longer as the backseat teen.

I smiled and laughed here & there and enjoyed the Southwest landscapes during winter, but there weren't enough interesting bits to keep my interest. It's a quirky curiosity that needed a rewrite to flush out more entertainment. Still, if you like road movies and can roll with the wacky approach, you might appreciate it more than I did.

It runs 1 hour, 29 minutes, and was shot in the Glen Canyon area of north-central Arizona and south-central Utah; Fox Plaza in Century City was used for the Chimera Headquarters.

GRADE: C.

In the mid-1800s, several children are transported from Jamaica to England when a pirate ship inadvertently apprehends them.

"A High Wind in Jamaica" (1965) is a cinematic version of the 1929 novel by Richard Hughes. It tackles challenging material that is difficult to pull off in film. However, if you pay attention to the subtle evidence, there are potent things to glean from the story.

For instance, it's clear that the pirate captain (Anthony Quinn) experiences long-buried tender feelings as the kids become his sort of substitute family, especially Emily (Deborah Baxter). You could say they're kindred spirits despite one being 49 years-old and the other 10.

James Coburn is effective as the first mate and best friend of the captain. The King of Cool would go on to star in "Our Man Flint" the next year.

One thing that arguably holds the film back is the frequent use of languages besides English, whether Spanish, Dutch or Creole dialects (I'm not sure which ones were used exactly). Yet this offers a sense of realism to the proceedings. Another element that is sort of off-putting is that the pirates come across as dirty, lawless and ignoble, but this can hardly be a criticism since pirate crews were the express opposite of the royal navies of Euro monarchies.

Despite the presence of the kids, the tone is similar to Quinn's "Barabbas" from four years earlier, just with the milieu of the open sea.

While not as compelling as "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962) or "The Bounty" this is nevertheless a worthwhile ship movie from the Age of (Old) Imperialism.

It runs 1 hour, 43 minutes, and was shot in Jamaica and the waters nearby with studio work done just west of London.

GRADE: B/B-