Trailer Breakdown: Jurassic World

Posted on November 26, 2014 by jaycluitt

I don’t normally discuss trailers for future movies on my site, but sometimes… Well, sometimes Jurassic World happens. If you’ve ever read anything I’ve written or listened to any podcast I’ve appeared on, you should know how huge a fan I am of Jurassic Park. Well, Jurassic World is a film I’m somewhat looking forward to seeing next year. Here’s my thoughts on the trailer. Potential spoilers may follow, but this is all speculation gleamed from the trailer. Continue reading →

2001: A Space Odyssey

Posted on November 24, 2014 by jaycluitt

Where do I begin with 2001: A Space Odyssey? It’s a film I’ve kind of seen once before, in the background whilst I worked on other things. I’d gleamed a few details from certain scenes, but for the most part I remembered very little, with various podcasts I’d listened to seemingly describing a film I’d clearly not paid anywhere near enough attention to. Thus, I championed it to be the latest Movie of the Month on the Lambcast. It won, I hosted the show (here’s a link to it) and, despite that relatively in depth conversation with Robert, Jess and Nick – all of whom have more experience with this film than I – I’m still a little lost as to how I feel about the film.

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Lambcast #245 Interstellar

Posted on November 20, 2014 by jaycluitt

Earth’s crops are drying out. There’s nothing to do to stop this. Humanity is doomed, and the last generation has already been born. Fortunately, the Lambcast is here to sort it all out. Continue reading →

The Best of Youth

Posted on November 9, 2014 by jaycluitt

Matteo and Nicola Caratis (Alessio Boni and Luigi Lo Cascio) are brothers growing up in 1960s Italy. In the summer of ’66, that lesser known Bryan Adams song, Nicola becomes one step closer to becoming a doctor, so he and his older brother, who unbeknownst to Nicola has just walked out of his own exam, plan to go on a celebratory vacation to Norway with their two friends. However Matteo, who has been working as a carer looking after mentally disabled people, discovers his latest patient, Giorgia (Jasmine Trinca) has been undergoing forced electroshock therapy, so he breaks her out of her institution with plans of returning her to her family whilst on the trip. What occurs on this holiday sets Matteo and Nicola on vastly different paths, which are subsequently documented over the next four decades, following not just the two brothers, but also their friends, sisters, parents, lovers and, eventually, children. The-Best-of-Youth
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The Man Who Fell To Earth

Posted on November 7, 2014 by jaycluitt

This review was originally written as part of my USA Road Trip series for French Toast Sunday.

An alien (David Bowie) has come to Earth and disguised himself as a human. How did he get here? What does he want? Why is his first act on our planet to apply for patent protections? Is that really Rip Torn? All these questions and more will be answered and immediately replaced with others in this oddball 70s sci-fi brain-botherer from Nicolas Roeg. the-man-who-fell-to-earth-w1280
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Carnival of Souls

Posted on November 6, 2014 by jaycluitt

This review was originally written as part of my USA Road Trip series on French Toast Sunday.

When an impromptu drag race ends in tragedy, Mary (Candace Hilligoss) leave home and heads to Utah, where she has been hired as a church organist. However, Mary’s journey and life soon becomes encumbered by the appearance of a creepy pale man, who seems to have something to do with the abandoned carnival just outside of town. Continue reading →

Killing Season

Posted on November 5, 2014 by jaycluitt

This review was originally written for Blueprint: Review.

Almost twenty years after the US intervened in the Serbian/Bosnian conflict, two opposing veterans run into one another in the mountains of Georgia. One of them, American Colonel Benjamin Ford (De Niro) has become a recluse, living out his days away from his son (Ventimiglia) and his family, but bears a constant reminder of the war by way of the shrapnel still lodged in his leg. The other, Serbian soldier Emil Kovac (Travolta), initially seems friendly, but soon shows his true intentions.
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Brokeback Mountain

Posted on November 4, 2014 by jaycluitt

This review was originally written as part of my USA Road Trip series for French Toast Sunday.

If you’re anything like me, before you saw it you knew Brokeback Mountain as just the gay cowboy movie, or that film where Donnie Darko and the Joker get jiggy in a tent. Technically this is true, and it’s the reason the film has such notoriety – it’s not often that such a high profile film centres around a homosexual relationship between two otherwise straight male characters – but there’s a great deal more to this film besides that one aspect. Continue reading →

Fading Gigolo

Posted on November 3, 2014 by jaycluitt

This review was originally written for Blueprint: Review.

In New York’s Jewish Quarter, Murray, a failing bookshop owner (Allen), needs money. When his dermatologist (Stone) mentions she and her friend (Vergara) have always wanted a ménage a trois, Murray sees an opportunity; he recruits his florist and general odd-job-man friend Fioravante (Turturro) to become a gigolo, and soon the money comes pouring in.

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Electra Glide in Blue

Posted on November 2, 2014 by jaycluitt

This review was originally written for Blueprint: Review.

John Wintergreen (Blake) dreams of being a detective, but for now is stuck on a motorcycle beat, as his short stature is literally looked down upon by his superiors. However, when he makes a breakthrough, pointing out that an apparent suicide is more likely to be something more suspicious, John is given the opportunity to work alongside brilliant detective Harve Poole (Ryan). Continue reading →