B-Movie Gazette: TOMMY'S TOP FIVE FAVORITE CLINT EASTWOOD FLICKS - #3 - CLINT IS GUNNY HIGHWAY THE ULTIMATE DRILL SERGEANT IN "HEARTBREAK RIDGE" (1986)

B-MOVIE OF THE MONTH - KLONDIKE FEVER (1979)

Canadian director Peter Carter was best known for the B-movie masterpiece Rituals, which, many movie lovers think beat Deliverance at its own game. He died sadly at 49 of a sudden heart attack but not before leaving us with a few other gems like Highpoint with Richard Harris and this sorely overlooked Western drama. Klondike Fever tells the story of Jack London (Jeff East) and his partner (Robin Gammel) as they journey to stake their claim and hopefully take home their weight in gold. It's adventurous, epic in scope with a huge cast and suitable for the whole darn family. Of particular note is Robin Gammel, excellent and funny, Gordon Pinsent who kills it as the crafty "Swiftwater" and an '80's actress who I never tire of mentioning, the lovely Lisa Langlois. It's super cornball along the way and sometimes feels like an afternoon children's special but this is a great film and surprisingly it won a bunch of Genie awards to back that up. Klondike Fever, playing above and on Tubi which recently uploaded a much nicer version than the VHS transfer that they used to have. 2.75 stars/2.75

Sunday, August 18, 2024

TOMMY'S TOP FIVE FAVORITE CLINT EASTWOOD FLICKS - #3 - CLINT IS GUNNY HIGHWAY THE ULTIMATE DRILL SERGEANT IN "HEARTBREAK RIDGE" (1986)

Lol. Watch that earring there. I've adored this movie since it originally came out and was very big on cable TV in the years following its release. It's a war movie that goes down smooth like a chocolate milkshake. It has a wide range of character, comedy, emotion yet still has an actual combat scenario in the third act.

Mario Van Pebbles has surprisingly been a source of contention with me and a few folks thru the years. For whatever reason they don't like how prominent he is in the film and that he steals the spotlight sort to speak. I feel the opposite, I think he totally makes the picture and comedically he's the heartbeat behind this film.

The person I'm not crazy about in this is Marsha Mason. Not that I've really liked her in anything else either but her character and role in this distracts a little too much from the comedic comradery set so well from the start of the film. A fan edit with her scenes cut could be an interesting version.

As of this post only streams VOD but it pops in and out of Tubi on a regular basis. 3.75 stars/5

FOR ANOTHER GREAT WAR MOVIE CLINT DID (NOT ONE OF MY HONORABLE MENTIONS) THEN CERTAINLY CHECK OUT "WHERE EAGLES DARE" (1968) EPIC >