Axesbowledaslove

A young Jackie Chan gives an energetic and funny performance as Wong Fei Hung, an often fictionalized character in Chinese folklore but who actually lived and is remembered with great reverence in China.

Here, Wong Fei Hung is the dissolute son of a town leader and martial arts master. Shaming his family, Wong is driven from the nest to suffer under the tutelage of a drunken uncle who happens to be a master of the fighting styles of the "Eight Drunken Gods".

Enduring excruciating exercises does not prove worth it to young Wong until he encounters "Thunderfoot" who beats the daylights out of him in a fight. Returning to his uncle, or "Drunken Master", Wong finishes his training just in time to face Thunderfoot again, this time for keeps.

As a casual watcher of Kung Fu films as opposed to a true devotee, I would highly recommend this movie for its humor, interesting fights, and often hilarious English Dub Track. The current DVD Release available through Amazon and other outlets (I found my copy for 9.99 in the big bin at Wal-mart) has a few flaws. Portions of the original soundtrack are missing, so dubbed-in english is substituted. Some of the renderings are just hilarious. However, the print is much improved over the old VHS release from 6 or 7 years ago.

At this point I have to comment on Jackie Chan's performance. The guy is simply a master of physical comedy. Chan is easily the equal of Harold Lloyd or Buster Keaton -- every bit as daring and imaginative. Couple that with his martial arts skills and engaging personality and you have a modern marvel of cinema. I think Jackie Chan could well be the most accomplished master of physical comedy in movie history. He is THAT good.

Add to this the fact that Yuen Wo Ping directed this film. This is the same Wo Ping who later choreographed fight scenes for The Matrix series, as well as Crouching Dragon and Kill Bill.

No, Drunken Master is not, of itself, a masterpiece. It is a flawed but honest low-budget kung-fu flick with a load of good humor thrown in. I give it a solid 3.5/4 stars, and heartily recommend it for an enjoyable evening of good-hearted movie thrills and laughs, as well as for an early look at the work of a couple of real masters.

It's been a long wait, but The Matrix is back. No spoilers, but I will include some specifics here that may not agree with those whose sole joy of the theater rests in their being surprised. If you want to know nothing about this movie, stop reading now.

There, for the rest of you, this: The Wachowski Bros. have nailed it again. The story picks up some months after the conclusion of the first film. A new operator, Link, played by Harold Perrineau, has replaced Tank at the controls of the Nebuchadnezzar, Neo and Trinity are sleeping together, and good old Morpheus is still doing the serious leader stuff. If you don't know what I am talking about, and I seriously doubt that, then you haven't seen "The Matrix" yet. Trust me, rent or buy the DVD prior to seeing "Reloaded". It will help.

It will also hurt - here's why: Unlike the original with its stunning opening bit with Trinity in the hotel room, this movie starts slowly. The Wachowskis have a story to tell here, and it just takes a bit of time to get rolling. During perhaps the first 45 minutes of the show, I was beginning to think that "Reloaded" was stumbling into the same hole as the Star Wars movies. It was beginning to feel self-absorbed, ponderous, overly serious, and cautious. I am sorry if this comment hurts the feelings of the Star Wars fans, but that is how I see that whole thing going. The Matrix, on the other hand, is decidedly not tripping down that particular rabbit hole. Things do pick up, and when they do, hold on.

There is much to tell about the film, but I want to call attention to one character you will meet: The Architect, played to the hilt of pomposity by Helmut Bakaitis. This guy personifies pedanticism. And if any of the words in this last sentence gave you a problem, just wait until you meet the architect. This guy is your worst freshman philosophy nightmare, straight from the pit of hell and Oxford, humorless as a cold razor across your palm. Some films are rated R for violence, some for sex -- and you will find a bit of the latter and a passel of the former in this film -- but you will not find another movie anywhere with a stream of vocabulary like this guy spouts. The film board should have a proviso added to the ratings system that includes `Rated R for Incomprehensibility, no one under 17 admitted without a thesaurus'. While the architect was onscreen, I couldn't help thinking, looking around the theater at all the teenagers.

The thing is, the Wachowskis are peeling an onion here. Layer after layer it goes, and when you think you have gotten somewhere, another layer is discovered. The Architect reveals some startling information to Neo, but is it really true, or just another layer of the onion? What is reality? What does it all mean, Mr. Natural?

My guess is, the kids will figure it out faster than me, and good for them. Good for you, too. Be sure to see this film if you liked the original, and don't get antsy during the first act, it gets real hot soon.

Okay, maybe Spielberg had a little trouble melding his sensibilities with those of his late friend Stanley Kubrick, but when I say a little, I mean just that. This is a stunning movie, and it is very much like a Stanley Kubrick film in that there are parts of it so visually and emotionally haunting that they must be classed as unforgettable cinema.

I am not in the mood to quibble about the few rough spots in the script and the borderline performance of a couple of minor players (Sam Robards is fairly unconvincing in my book--not sure if it's him or his lines--but he just didn't click with me). Easy to forgive when weighed against the stellar work of Haley Osment and Jude Law (not to mention a little diamond of a performance turned in by by Clara Bellar as the obsolete mecha-nanny). I predict A.I. will become the sleeper of Spielberg's career and I also assert neglect on the part of AMPAS for the film's treatment in the nominations this year. Don't neglect this great movie yourself.