Le Cercle Rouge

Posted on April 22, 2015 by jaycluitt

Corey (Alain Delon) has just been released from prison after 5 years, but not before one of the guards tells him about a job on the outside – a jewellery heist – that needs someone of his talents. Corey seems hesitant but, after an altercation with his former boss, who is now sleeping with Corey’s girl, he buys a car and heads out of town. Meanwhile, Vogel (Gian Maria Volonté) has been arrested, and is being transported by train by Le Commissaire Matteito (Bourvil) to be questioned and potentially sentenced. However, on the journey Vogel escapes and, by sheer coincidence, hides out in Corey’s car, which initially proves a problem for Corey, but perhaps these two can work together on the planned burglary?
Le Cercle Rouge 7 Continue reading →

Ace in the Hole

Posted on April 21, 2015 by jaycluitt

Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas) used to be a big shot journalist, and now just thinks he still is one. He’s been fired from more newspapers than I could name for a cornucopia of vices, and now finds himself staring at a vacant typewriter at the Albuquerque Sun Bulletin, a small town paper with very few employees and even fewer stories for them to tell. All Tatum needs is that one big break to get him noticed by the big papers again, and when a local man gets trapped in a cave-in whilst searching for trinkets to sell, Chuck sees potential, he just needs to make the story fit the headlines.

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My Week in Movies, 2015 Week 16

Posted on April 20, 2015 by jaycluitt

Movie-wise, this has not been a productive week. It seems every time I sat down to write up a review (at time of writing I still have 6 pending, some from a few weeks back now) another big trailer would come up, one that I’d want to cover in my Trailer Breakdown feature over at French Toast Sunday, and the problem with stuff about trailers is if you don’t do it quickly, you may as well not do it. As such, I didn’t get a whole lot of reviewing done this week, and I won’t make any promises about doing it all this week because that’s how I end up breaking promises. Anyway, trailers. There were a whole bunch of awesome ones for films I previously wasn’t looking forward to, but am now at least a little excited about the crazy directions they seem to be taking. I’ve linked to the breakdowns below. We also finished out season 4 of Game of Thrones, and will hopefully be catching up with the first two episodes of season 5 this week. Now that’s out of the way for the most part, I should be able to get back to watching more movies. Here’s what I watched this week:

Amour (2012) Continue reading →

Amour

Posted on April 20, 2015 by jaycluitt

Georges and Anne (Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva) are a couple of retired music teachers in their 80s, who live alone together in their apartment. Their peaceful existence is shattered when Anne suffers a stroke, and her condition only worsens, but Georges promises to never send her back to the hospital, and instead attempts to care for her himself in their home.
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The Night of the Hunter

Posted on April 15, 2015 by jaycluitt

This review was originally written as part of my USA Road Trip series for French Toast Sunday, and was recommended to me by Will Slater from Exploding Helicopter as part of my Nominated Movies quest.

Ben Harper (Peter Graves) has just stolen $10,000 from the bank, and killed two people in the process. He tells his young children John and Pearl (Billy Chapin and Sally Jane Bruce) where the money is hidden, just before their father is arrested. In prison, Ben shares the details of his larceny with his cell mate, Reverend Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum), who has been arrested for stealing a car, but is in actual fact a serial killer. Upon his release, Powell heads to the Harper homestead, with plans of getting his hands on that money, by whatever means necessary.

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My Week in Movies, 2015 Week 15

Posted on April 13, 2015 by jaycluitt

I’ve spent a lot of time this past week watching TV, and movies that have nothing to do with anything I need to review. That’s partially down to podcasting purposes, but let’s not rule out my usual lack of self-motivation and drive. TV-wise this past week has seen me start and get half way through both Game of Thrones Season 4 and True Detective Season 1, both of which are as amazing as I’d hoped – I’ve literally just watched the long shot at the end of episode 4 of True Detective, and there’s a strong chance that after I write this I’ll go back and watch it again, I love that shit. However, this 9 hours of solid TV has detracted away from anything resembling useful movie watching, or reviewing for that matter, so as such I’m getting even further behind on everything apart from one goal. Let’s have a look at what I saw this week: Continue reading →

My Week in Movies, 2015 Week 14

Posted on April 6, 2015 by jaycluitt

I love Easter. No, I’m not religious, not at all, but here in the UK we get a four-day weekend and, unlike Christmas, there’s less pressure to spend a great deal of it with family. So we had a family meal on Friday afternoon, and the rest of the weekend has seen me left to my own devices and just getting stuff done. Huzzah! I’ve tidied the attic, put the finishing touches to the new alcove shelving, recorded an epic Lambcast (and edited half of it so far) and watched a fair few movies to boot. Oh? What movies you say? Well, let me tell you:
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Whisky Galore!

Posted on April 5, 2015 by jaycluitt

The island of Todday, off the coast of Scotland, is 100 miles from anything close to recreation, so it’s small island community gets by on thet pastime of whisky drinking. However, due to rationing, the whisky stores dry up, and the island is suddenly devoid of alcohol. The previously cheerful, easygoing folk become irritable and distant, until one night a cargo ship wrecks out in the bay. The cargo? 50,000 crates of whisky. However, just as the locals are set to launch their boats into the water to pilfer the booze, the clock strikes midnight on the Sabbath, and any such business would be going against their religion.

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O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Posted on April 1, 2015 by jaycluitt

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

Everett, Pete and Delmar (George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson) have just escaped from a chain gang in 1930s Mississippi, with the intention of recovering the loot from the burglary that resulted in Everett’s incarceration, before the area within which it is hidden becomes flooded in a few days time. The three men – at least two of whom are amongst the stupidest creations the Coen brothers have ever concocted, which is saying a great deal – have a long way to go and a short time to get there, and their journey isn’t made any easier by the lawmen on their tails and the various obstacles that must be overcome, not least of which is coping with each other’s company. Continue reading →

My Week in Movies, 2015 Week 13

Posted on March 30, 2015 by jaycluitt

I’ve spent a lot of this week wondering what the heck I’m watching. Five movies I’ve seen this past week have had a distinctive “What the fuck is happening?” feel to them, and only two of them in a good way. Also, after a weekend of DIY, I am the proud owner of alcove shelving for part of my DVD collection. Hurrah! Also, I clawed back a green mark on one of my aims! Double hurrah! Here’s what I watched this week (I think):
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