HitchcOctober Day 15: Mr and Mrs Smith

Posted on October 15, 2014 by jaycluitt

David and Annie (Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard) have been married for three years and, despite the occasional row (the most recent of which lasted three days, five short of their record) they are still very much in love. One morning Annie asks David if he would still marry her if he could go back and live his life again, to which he foolishly replies no, saying he would rather remain a carefree bachelor than marry anyone. Annie is understandably perturbed, but an argument does not ensue and the pair go about their days. A short while later, David is visited in his office – he’s a lawyer – by a man from the town he and Annie were married in, claiming that, due to a discrepancy over which state their church was actually in, the couple are not legally married. The notion amuses David, who delights himself in the idea that he is technically dating a single woman again, but his hesitancy to tell his then-wife-now-girlfriend may cost him the entire relationship. 5111 Continue reading →

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

Posted on September 4, 2014 by jaycluitt

Hi folks, this isn’t going to be a huge review, I just have some thoughts on this film, and find myself lucky enough to have a blog upon which I can write them. I was supposed to be on (and host) an episode of the Lambcast which will be published very shortly on this topic, but alas life got in the way and I couldn’t make it to a screening in time (many thank to Robert for filling in) but I have now seen the film (in order to edit said podcast episode). sin_a Continue reading →

Labor Day

Posted on August 14, 2014 by jaycluitt

In a small town in Massachusetts in 1987, young Henry (Gattlin Griffith) lives alone with his fragile mother, Adele (Kate Winslet). She hasn’t been the same since the boy’s father left, and her depression has intensified to the point of her becoming a shut-in, only venturing away from the house once a month to collect groceries. On one such trip they encounter Frank (Josh Brolin), who has just escaped from prison and is in need of somewhere to lay low before he catches the next train out of town. Adele reluctantly helps Frank – who quietly yet forcefully insinuates harm will come to them if they do not help – but due to it being a holiday weekend and a lack of trains, Frank is forced to stay with this fractured family, and soon finds himself and Adele getting closer than he had intended. Continue reading →

Heathers

Posted on July 8, 2014 by jaycluitt

This review was originally written as part of my road trip series for French Toast Sunday.

Veronica (Winona Ryder) has integrated herself into the popular clique at her school, known as the Heathers, because the other three members are all named Heather (Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk & Kim Walker). However, Veronica’s existence isn’t as pleasant as she’d like, so when she meets the school’s new rebel JD (Christian Slater), the pair set about restructuring their environment, with unexpected outcomes.
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The Monuments Men

Posted on July 7, 2014 by jaycluitt

During World War 2, it becomes evident that the Nazis are not only collecting countries, but famous pieces of artwork too. Not only that, but if Hitler is killed he has ordered that some of the hoarded pieces will be destroyed as well. In order to prevent this, a small team of art experts – none of whom are overly fit for duty – are sent in to retrieve and save the art. Continue reading →

The Mighty Ducks

Posted on June 15, 2014 by jaycluitt

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

Gordon Bombay was a child hockey prodigy, with both the talent and ambition required to make it all the way. What he lacked, however, was the ability to thrive under the intense pressure applied by the coach of his team, Jack Riley (Lane Smith) of the The Hawks. After missing a vital shot (“You miss this shot; you’re not just letting me down, you’re letting your whole team down!”) and providing the Hawks with their only second place banner in history, Gordon gave up on the sport and became a successful lawyer, whose arrogance and underhand tactics were not overly appreciated by the courts or his company. When his latest case gets Gordon reprimanded he goes out drinking and gets himself arrested for driving under the influence. In order to keep the firm’s name from being dragged down with him, Gordon is instead sentenced to community service, teaching hockey to the local District 5 team, whose very first game happens to be against the Hawks, still coached by Jack Riley. Will Gordon learn to be a team player? Will his past love of hockey break through his frosty exterior? And will he be able to instil these hopeless kids into a formidable sporting team? It’s an early 90s kids sport film, what do you think?
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Performance

Posted on April 21, 2014 by jaycluitt

Chas (James Fox), a young gangster in late 1960s East London, runs into a spot of bother when he lets his personal history interfere with the latest hit. When he finds himself the next target for his former colleagues, Chas flees and searches for a place to lie low for a while. He stumbles upon a basement room that’s recently been vacated, and blags his way in. However, his new landlord is none other than former rockstar Turner (Mick Jagger), whose bohemian lifetstyle with live-in-lovers Pherber and Lucy (Anita Pallenberg and Michele Breton) isn’t exactly the kind of surroundings Chas is used to. Continue reading →

Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie

Posted on April 14, 2014 by jaycluitt

I think it’s time to come clean: I’m not a documentary guy. I’ve seen very few, and liked even less. To date, the only documentary I’ve watched that I have any inclination to see again is King of Kong, because fuck Billy Mitchell. I’ve seen Hoop Dreams – it’s OK, but I forgot a lot of it within a week, hence why I never got around to reviewing it for the 1001 Movies list, and thus why I’ll therefore have to watch it again eventually. Night and Fog and Land Without Bread both left me severely depressed, and were both reviewed during a period of my blogging life where I hadn’t quite worked out what I was doing yet, which should go some way to explain the 1/10 scores I gave them (although I kind of stand by that for Land Without Bread, because Luis Bunuel is an utter dick for what he did in order to make that film). Shoah moved me, but the 9 hour running time was almost unbearable. And so it is that on my list of Least Anticipated Movies on the 1001 List I have not one but two long-ass documentaries, with Hotel Terminus being neatly packaged with the similarly 4 1/2 hours long The Sorrow and The Pity, which I look forward to watching later this year. I don’t really know why I’m not a huge fan of documentaries – maybe I’m just not intelligent or receptive enough for them. I’ve had debates with colleagues before as to whether they can really be classed as films of not – I’m fine with the classification, but it seems many others are not – but that hasn’t stopped there being an awful lot included in the 1001 book. Continue reading →

My Own Private Idaho

Posted on March 29, 2014 by jaycluitt

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

Mike (River Phoenix) had a tough upbringing, not helped by being both homosexual and narcoleptic. Teenage and alone amongst the barren fields of Idaho, he moves to Seattle and becomes a street hustler and male prostitute, gaining friends amongst the small group of similarly disadvantaged youths in the same profession. Amongst these is Scott (Keanu Reeves), a Mayor’s son and the heir to his father’s fortune, but who is rebelling and living on the streets instead. When their squatting home is raided by the police, Mike and Scott begin a search for Mike’s mother, taking them on a journey back to Idaho, and eventually to Rome. Continue reading →

Before Sunrise and Before Sunset

Posted on August 28, 2013 by jaycluitt

Whilst on a train returning home from visiting her grandmother in Budapest, Céline (Julie Delpy) moves seats when her journey is interrupted by an arguing couple nearby. She impulsively sits across from Jesse (Ethan Hawke), and the two soon strike up a conversation. When they arrive at his stop in Vienna, he asks her to join him as he spends the night strolling around the town before his flight back to America in the morning. What begins as a moment of spontaneity slowly grows into a life-altering encounter. Nine years later, we revisit the pair in Paris, and catch up on where they are in their lives and their relationship.
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