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Author
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Topic: Hail, Caesar!
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Sam Graham
AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues.
Posts: 1431
From: Waukee, IA
Registered: Dec 2004
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posted 02-05-2016 04:40 PM
CINEMA: AMC Council Bluffs 17, Council Bluffs, IA
AUDITORIUM: 6
PRESENTATION: AMC Recline-O-Vision, Something Something Digital
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: None ![[Cool]](cool.gif)
RATING: Three stars (out of four)
THE PLOT: An actor is kidnapped, America's Sweetheart is unmarried and pregnant, and a cowboy is miscast. Wackiness ensues.
As loaded as this movie is, there is a clear standout star, and it's Josh Brolin. His Eddie Mannix is the guy tasked with keeping his actors in check and keeping the studio running. Everyone else is part of the paintbrush, even if Clooney steals every scene he's in (as absurd as that sounds).
The sets and cinematography are a wonder. Easter eggs are everywhere. Standout scenes include a religious discussion, Scarlett Johansson's water sequence (which looks like something straight out of a Wes Anderson feature), and the Navy musical scene, the funniest thing in the movie.
And yet...I wouldn't put this on the list of the Coen Brother's best efforts. And I'm not sure why.
Still, well worth the bother. I would even encourage multiple viewings. You're certain to catch little nuances you missed the first time.
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Matt Russell
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 142
From: Aurora, USA
Registered: Aug 2015
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posted 02-06-2016 04:33 PM
Although I'm not a huge fan of the Coen brothers, I already knew that they could pull off a good comedy so I was glad that Hail, Caesar! was lots of fun to watch. The plot basically revolves around an "everyman" studio fixer having to juggle between looking over multiple film productions, publicity, bad habits, and now his biggest star, who gets kidnapped by a group of classy gents named "The Future" (and there's a lot of funny stuff that the Coen's use with this group). Josh Brolin (who plays the studio fixer, Eddie Mannix) does a wonderful job and so does George Clooney as the moronic star of the "film" Hail, Caesar!, but I thought the real breakout was Alden Ehrenreich, as a star who's known for his stereotypical roles as a cowboy, and the film does a great job showing how the character struggles with adapting to making films of other genres. For actors who got such promotion in the marketing, Scarlett Johansson and Jonah Hill go heavily underused in a side story, and while I understand that there's already so much going on in the film, I wish they took more time to developed these characters. Channing Tatum has a delightful scene as an actor preforming in a musical, but until the end, he doesn't do very much as well. Tilda Swinton, however, was very good (albeit brief) role as a pair of twin gossip writers. So overall, Hail, Caesar! is more of Eddie Mannix's movie, and that ain't a bad thing at all, but I wish the film also focused more on the actors' stories as well, but overall, I thought it was a very well-made film with lots to enjoy about (and the cinematography did a really good job at showcasing that 50s Hollywood feeling).
Film: 3 out of 4 stars
Presentation: 4 out of 4 stars
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