The Wasteland Reviewer

The Wasteland Reviewer Recommends (January 5th, 2025)

This series will highlight my weekly journey through previously released films, whether they are rewatches for me or new discoveries. Here are my picks:    

Drunken Master (1978) 

Just how talented is Jackie Chan in the ways of martial arts? So many people know him for projects like Rush Hour or Kung Fu Panda, but he had a long career in China delivering some of the best action films of his generation. One of his most iconic of his early works must be Drunken Master. Chan played quite a few unlikeable protagonists in his time who needed a rude awakening to their behavior. This martial arts flick is no different. Banished from his father’s school, Chan’s Wong Fei-Hung finds a legendary master who seems like nothing but a homeless drunk. But what he has to teach is the drunken style of martial arts. This film is filled to the brim with fantastic action sequences with each of these actors showing off their talents with their style of martial arts. This all leads up to a fantastic climactic battle that is a wondrous display of technique, humor, and thrills for sure. The story is thin, but the martial arts displayed is enormous.

Children of a Lesser God (1986) 

William Hurt knew how to play intelligent, arrogant, and self-important protagonists like it was his business, didn’t he? One of the best examples of this is Children of a Lesser God where he portrays the “savior” teacher at a deaf school who will finally get all of the students there to speak. But he finds himself in conflict then in love with a young woman who is a former student and janitor. Marlee Matlin portrays Sarah as a strong, fiery, and commanding force who has no interest in bending her identity to fit the cruel world around her. Matlin is gorgeous, impassioned, and delivers a performance that is so powerful. Hurt is compelling in his own right as he lacks the empathy and understanding of this perspective that Sarah holds. Their sexual tension and conflicting ideologies create passion and friction that lights up Randa Haines’ compelling romantic drama. This journey to the center with understanding and compromise is a worthy dramatic journey to explore.

Ball of Fire (1941) 

Whoever thought that a filmmaker would be so bold to transform Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs into a romantic comedy with the tinges of crime comedy? Howard Hawks was just bold enough to craft this strange idea into Ball of Fire. You have a nightclub singer with plenty of personality (portrayed perfectly by Barbara Stanwyck) who finds ideas and perspectives needed by a group of unusual professors who are working on the creation of an encyclopedia. This ragtag crew of grumpy, happy, bashful (you know the drill) men is quite entertaining with plenty of personality and charm. But it is their unsung leader portrayed by Gary Cooper who leads the charge to find new perspectives and words while also falling for Stanwyck’s alluring singer. There are wild threads involving an heiress and the mob which just adds some wacky layers to this unexpected comedy. This is a silly ride and worth your time for sure. 

Go West (1925) 

Who doesn’t love some good old fashioned Buster Keaton shenanigans? Go West finds an old stone face heading out of the big city and going into the frontier where he takes up a job working on a ranch. The heart of the film is the tender and sweet connection that Keaton develops with a cow on the ranch. There are plenty of inspired gags including POV bull camera shots, disarming firearms with his pinky, and plenty more physical comedy along the way. There are tinges of romance, plenty of laughs, and honestly some exciting action as well. The climax is quite impressive as the whole cattle train is unleashed on the city of Los Angeles in a stunning feat of scale, stunts, and filmmaking. The amount of real cattle used is downright impressive and Keaton shows why he could master any scenario for great laughs. 

Duel (1971) 

Spielberg had it from the beginning, didn’t he? Sometimes you watch an early film from a director, and you see little elements of what will come. Duel is a great example of all the thrills and top-notch storytelling that Spielberg has delivered upon for decades. This is a lean thriller about a road rage incident that turns into a wild ride on an isolated highway. Dennis Weaver portrays an everyday guy with his own issues, but he soon becomes the target of a mysterious trucker who did not appreciate being passed on the highway. There are quite a few strong set-ups on the highway including a broken-down bus, a railroad crossing, and an isolated pay phone. There are some little details that build up tension and payoff in a perfectly executed story. This is a lean and mean thriller that delivers a good old time. 

The Sugarland Express (1974) 

How did Spielberg build off his success with the lean thriller Duel? He crafted another type of cat-and-mouse flick called The Sugarland Express. This film focuses on a young couple who are not the best citizens and whose child is taken from them. To resolve this issue, they kidnap a police officer and go on a big chase from the police to take their child from his foster family. This is an expertly shot and thrilling film matched with rich cinematography and a strong and salt-of-the-earth type of score from John Williams. Goldie Hawn shows why she would become such a beloved and charming film star. William Artherton is a fine pairing for her as a problematic criminal. Ben Johnson delivers as the wise and sympathetic police captain whose presence is a much-needed sobering element in this film. This captures plenty of thematic depth with cultural and class conflicts layered into this chase film. Action and soul mixed makes for a fantastic early effort from a legend. 

The Yakuza (1974) 

Who doesn’t love a “stranger in a strange land” type of story? Screen legend Robert Mitchum is a former detective caught up in a conspiracy in Japan involving his own past and the Yakuza. This neo-noir thriller is draped in Japanese culture and captures the honor of its underworld bosses. The Yakuza is a sharply directed affair from Sydney Pollack as the film leverages editing as sharp as the film’s blades and a visceral approach that makes its thrilling moment so impact. The climax is a memorable one as Mitchum is paired up with Japanese iconic Ken Takakura (famous for many Yakuza flicks) go on a two-man army suicide mission. This film is full of twists and shocks that will keep you on edge. Schrader’s original script may have been softened by Robert Towne, but this hard-nosed thriller still packs a punch in this 70s jazzy and Japanese infusion.