All About Eve

Posted on May 27, 2014 by jaycluitt

At a prestigious awards ceremony, Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) is being presented with their highest honour for their Best Actress in a stage production. However, judging by the looks she is receiving from the guests at the event, a lot of people don’t seem to be in a celebratory mood about this turn of events. Via flashback we are transported less than a year back in time, when Eve – then nothing more than a down-on-her-luck theatre fan – met Karen (Celeste Holm), the wife of writer Lloyd Richards (Hugh Marlowe) and friend to Eve’s acting idol, Margo Channing (Bette Davis). Continue reading →

His Girl Friday

Posted on April 26, 2014 by jaycluitt

When I was a child, I remember wanting to be a journalist when I grew up. I liked writing, and was good at English at school, so it seemed the right thing to do would be continuing said activity into my adulthood. At the time this presented precious few options, with journalist or novelist being the most obvious and apparent to my juvenile outlook on life, and I’ve never been a terribly creative person, so the concept of coming up with fictional works was beyond me. It was settled then; I would be a journalist. I even undertook my obligatory two weeks work experience in Year 10 at the Southern Daily Echo, a local newspaper, where I actually wrote a couple or articles that were published under the editor’s name, and probably weren’t very good anyway. Needless to say, my journalism dream never quite solidified, as is the case with most childhood plans, and to be honest I’m not all that bothered, as judging by His Girl Friday I’d never be able to survive in such a world. Continue reading →

Metropolis

Posted on March 25, 2014 by jaycluitt

In a dystopian world, the people are split into two groups. The working class live underground, working arduous, back-breaking shifts in a giant factory before trudging home to their identical, depressing homes. The affluent upper class live lives of luxury, spending their time frolicking in the pleasure gardens amongst fountains and peacocks and attending shows, utterly oblivious to the hardship that keeps their way of life going, just beneath their feet. This world is run by Joh Frederson, a successful businessman who created this society. One day Joh’s son – brilliantly named Freder Fredersen – sees a strange girl showing a group of children from the working district what life is like on the surface. Freder heads below to find the girl and, upon seeing the horrific lifestyle of the workers, he sets about assisting a revolution. Meanwhile, Rotwang – an eccentric inventor who loved Freder’s deceased mother before Joh married her – has built a robotic Machine-Man who can be configured to look like anyone. Joh hopes to use this creation to quell the mutinous rumblings below.

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Rocky Horror Picture Show

Posted on February 15, 2014 by jaycluitt

Newly engaged virginal couple Brad and Janet (Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon) are heading to visit their scientist friend, Dr. Scott (Jonathan Adams) when their car breaks down during a storm. They head to a nearby castle, where they find themselves becoming embroiled in a bizarre party/science experiment/orgy/clusterfuck. Continue reading →

Harold and Maude

Posted on January 27, 2014 by jaycluitt

This review has been written as part of Ryan McNeil’s Blind Spot series over at The Matinee.

Harold (Bud Cort) is a wealthy young man disconnected from society and obsessed with death. Maude (Ruth Gordon) is a gleeful near-octogenarian with a passion for life and a desire to try new things. Bizarrely, these two opposite ends of the spectrum meet and become friends – and possibly more. Continue reading →