After Oscar Thoughts and Summary

Hello All,

I am literally typing this immediately after the show. I want to start off that I came home late, but arrived right when the first award was handed out.  I wanted to go over my thoughts on everything and give you all my honest, summed up opinions about it because I know I will get asked eventually. Full disclosure: I usually don't watch the show, but with the blog in full swing I felt a need too this year.  So let’s make a list, and go through everything, and organize it from there.

1. Chris Rock - I thought he nailed it as host. He was entertaining, the jokes were always on point, he tackled the controversies with intelligence and even knew when to say nothing. The man was solid gold.
2. Mad Max winning 6 awards - I am actually thrilled that that happened. Yeah they were all technicals but they’re still Oscars dammit, and for the academy do pick that over a whole slew of safer choices shows that they can acknowledge the action genre, and I really hope this will lead the way to more diversity not only in who gets nominated but for the types of films as well.
3. Best Cinematography - Well I may not have liked the Revenant as much as some people, I will say the best thing about it was it’s mind blowingly awesome cinematography and truth be told it earned that award with full force.
4. Ennio Morricone for best original score - The man came out retirement to do the Hateful Eight, and he rightly won for it. I have some of his soundtracks in my collection and as much as I love John Williams, the right man won that award.
5. Best Original Song - Boy, even Joe Biden couldn’t save Lady Gaga from not winning huh? Can’t wait for the collective bitch fit over this one. Honestly though I felt all the original songs were weak this year, but at least fifty shades of grey didn’t win. Good for Sam Smith.
6. Short films - I havent seen any of them so I’ll just sum them up like so: As someone who has speech impediments, anything that brings attention to that always wins in my heart and I’m glad Stutterer did. A girl in the river changed the laws about honour killings, it deserves the goddamn nobel peace prize for that. The crew who made Bear Story seem like a good bunch, I’m happy for them.
7. Best Animated feature - Inside Out won, I’m glad it did, but honestly it’s competition stood no real chance. I like the shaun the sheep movie, but I can’t help but feel like it got nominated to round out the numbers.
8. Best Foreign and Documentary - Havent seen either, but from what I’ve heard I’m not shocked.
9. Best Screenplays - I missed spotlight, and I’m sure the straight outta compton fans will be sad they didn’t win. Big Short for best adapted doesn’t surprise me, I actually really liked the film and this was the award it rightly earned.
10. Best Supporting - Alicia Vikander had a fantastic year and Danish Girl ended it on a high note for her, she rightly deserved it. I’m really stoked Mark Rylance won for Bridge of Spies though, and while I am sad for Sylvester Stallone, I’m glad he at least got nominated.
11. Best Actress - I have to admit, I really wanted Saoirse Ronan to win, but Brie Larson really did well in Room so I will give her credit where credit is due.
12. Best Actor - This one’s going to get me some trouble. Hang on, I’m happy Leo won, he’s a great actor, and he’s deserved it for years. He did give the best performance and he really did deserve to win BUT…….i’m worried this might set a bad standard. There are some people out there who might interpret this as “he won by doing extreme things in the film”  and so instead of trying to be the best actor, they’ll try to win by going through drastic acts. It’s a stretch argument I know, but it’s a nagging thought that I hope doesn’t become a reality. On a positive note, can we all finally shut up about it on the internet now, the joke is dead, can we please move on?
13. Best Director - I’m sorry, George Miller got fucking robbed. I will stand by that until I die, also Innaritu seems more and more like a fucking asshole the more I see him. The man out talked the music cue when he clearly should’ve fucked off.
14. Best Picture - Spotlight won, the sky is blue, cows go moo, and I will probably still not see it for the longest time. My (super awesome and totally does not base his entire life around it yet still believes privately because he doesn’t push it down anyone’s throat) religious best friend is concerned the hardcore atheist circle jerk might make his life more difficult, I just think it’s the academy picking the safe fucking choice again. Mad Max should’ve won, just to troll everybody.

All in all, good show. 9/10.That’s all I got, it’s 1:34 am at the time I finished writing this. Thanks for so much for reading, and apologies to everyone’s news feed I clogged on facebook.

Until next time, I’ll see you at the movies.

Movie Review: Eddie The Eagle (2016)

Hello All,

    I know I’m posting this rather early in the day, as I actually saw Eddie The Eagle yesterday at the time of writing this. I got home rather late and truthfully just wanted to get some sleep. I can’t think of a good transition into the review so let’s just do it shall we?

Plot Summary - The movie chronicles the life of Eddie Edwards (Taron Egerton), an Olympic hopeful since childhood who decides to become a ski jumper in order to qualify for the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

Pros - Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman are greatly cast as Eddie and Eddie’s coach Bronson Peary respectively. Taron really manages to capture Eddie’s determination and eagerness to simply compete in the olympics just for the sake of competing. The film is well shot too, as while there are some cliche moments, most of them are interestingly done enough that you really don’t mind them. The movie is just heart felt enough that you find yourself just rooting for him the entire time regardless.

Cons - That being said, there are still one or two moments that do feel cliched. There’s also a weird thing where a few times you’d watch someone go down a ski jump from a distance only to have it look pretty obviously animated.

Final Score - 9/10

I actually really liked Eddie The Eagle, like a lot. Strangely enough it’s probably one of the better sports movies I’ve seen in awhile, and I can easily recommend this to anyone.

Next: Not sure to be honest. I might either play catch up, or with London has fallen coming out next weekend I might review the first one.

Until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

Movie Review: Gods of Egypt (2016)

Hello All,

    I have to admit the first time I saw a trailer for this film, It looked pretty bad in the special effects department. In the back of my mind though, I was kind of hoping for a good old fashioned swords and sandals epic. For anyone who doesn’t know, basically a swords and sandals movie is basically any film that takes place in the era of gods, and would generally have a hero go on an adventure fighting monsters and soldiers and so on. The most recent attempts at these were the Jai Courtney titan movies from a few years ago (I think.) So did I get my swords and sandals epic? Let’s find out together shall we?

Plot Summary - When the Egyptian God of Darkness Set (Gerard Butler) forces his way into becoming king of Egypt, it’s up to the God Horus (Nikolaj Coster - Waldau) and the human thief Bek (Brenton Thwaites) to stop him.

Pros - The best actor in this film by far, is Chadwick Boseman as Thoth, the God of Wisdom. He plays the character of an all knowing god who knows that he is the smartest and blatantly acts like it. He brings genuines humour and charm to the character, and I wished he had had a bigger part in this movie. There are also parts of this movie in terms of sets and costume design that are pretty cool……

Cons - …...While most of it, especially the gods transformed states, look like complete shit. No joke, there were parts of the film that looked liked their human heads were photoshopped onto God bodies. Other times it looks like the world around hasn't rendered properly and the only really impressive moments are of the wide landscapes. Not to mention the rest of the cast is pretty damn unlikeable and not in the good way. Thwaites as Bek is annoying, Nikolaj as Horus goes through the type of story arc that all films like this have, Gerard is kind of having some fun as Set but to me he’s just doing the same thing he always does. Geoffrey Rush plays Ra and god love him he probably knew this was going to be bad cause he’s just on auto pilot. The story is dull, predictable, and really overly convoluted. Truthfully, the whole film is just boring, and the whitewashed cast (while a problem in Hollywood overall yes) is truthfully the least of this film's problems.

Final Score - 1/10

If I did half scores, It’d be a 1.5/10. I’m honestly amazed this didn’t come out in January because my god this is dog shit. If the casting controversy had not already dissuaded you from seeing it, hopefully this review will.

Next: Eddie the Eagle - Like I said, it was a coin flip kind of a day. If I can I will also try and do catch up on some films this week as well.

Until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

Before I forget, I will be trying to do streams more often, so quick self plug for the channel here: http://www.twitch.tv/reservoir222

Movie Review: Triple 9 (2016)

Hello All,

I apologize for the time of the review, It’s been a long day and I got home late. I’m probably going to keep this one short because of that so let’s just get straight to it shall we?

Plot Summary - When a crew of criminals and corrupt cops gets corralled into pulling off a major heist, they realize that the best way to do it would be to pull a “999”, which is the police code for officer down. However when the personal lives of the men in the crew become complicated, they find that the heist, and the 999, will be harder than they imagined.

Pros - The very well cast actors are all on point. Special mention in my mind goes to both Woody Harrelson seems to be channeling his time on True Detective, and Aaron Paul as a member of the crew in turmoil over the whole situation. The heists in the film, as well as a few police raids, are well shot and intense, bringing a sense of urgency to them that’s always good to see in these kinds of films. I also really liked the look of the film, as it really captures the down and dirty work sense of the film. When the film was firing on all cylinders, it reminded a bit of my favorite film Reservoir Dogs, and in terms of the story it would probably be my first point of comparison.

Cons - Once the film gets rolling, you quickly realize it’s a different type of film than what you were expecting, which isn’t bad if you can curb your expectations, but if Drive taught me anything, that sometimes won’t work with people. While the story was enjoyable, I admit it does have its few moments you can kind of see coming. It also relies on Casey Affleck’s character relying a surprising amount of dumb luck too looking back on it. The actual heists themselves are a smaller part of the film than they lead you to believe, focusing more on the build up to them. This is where the film starts to show its flaws, as it drags on a bit too much on this aspect in an attempt to show off more of the cast’s great performances. The ending also leaves much to be desired, as despite everything that goes on it the film, it tries to leave off on a note that it doesn’t really earn. It’s not a bad ending, it’s just not as great as they clearly think it is. Norman Reedus is great in the film, but sadly he’s not in the film for a great amount of time (I blame that on the walking dead, and no I don’t watch it, and I won’t watch it.)

Final Score - 6/10

It’s an above average film, and while it’s not awful, it just doesn’t really live up to it’s full potential. I’m disappointed if I’m honest, but what we got instead is entertaining if uneven.

Next: Eddie the Eagle or Gods of Egypt - This one’s going to be a bit of a coin flip, as I will more than likely see a movie tomorrow, I just don’t know which one yet. It’ll be a spur of the moment type decision, so keep an eye out for that.

Until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

Movie Review: Race (2016)

Hello All,

Just in time before the Thursday night preshowing, and the beginning of the new film week, I got to the last of the three films released this week and I have to admit I wasn’t sure what to think of it going in. I’m not huge on bio-pics but I am big on history, and Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics is an interesting story, so why has it taken so long for a film about him to be made? Is the one we have now any good? Let’s find out together shall we?

Plot Summary - Starting off in 1933, the film follows Jesse Owens (Stephen James) from his beginnings as a college athlete to Olympic Medallist.

Pros - The cast is stellar for the most part. Stephen James as Jesse and Jason Sudeikis as his coach are easily doing the best here. There are a huge amount of supporting characters and most of them are good. The film is well shot too, as it manages to capture the feeling of the races, and the sense of certain places pretty well.

Cons - There’s basically three subplots in this film, and one of them is only somewhat related to the main story:

Jeremy Irons as Avery Brundage basically is only there to bring up how both the American Olympic Committee was debating boycotting the games, and the reason as to why Jesse Owens had to participate in the relay race at the Olympics. The second reason was basically needless as in the film they have a perfectly valid other reason in the film which I won’t spoil here. Jeremy Irons does fine in the role but it’s a very minor role it almost feels like a waste.

Carice van Houten as Leni Riefenstahl is only in the last third, and has the simplest story arc that basically contributed nothing to the film except to bloat it’s running time. Truthfully, I don’t know much about her, but I’ve been told that she’s an important figure in history, and from what I saw she should’ve had her own movie. Carice is fine as Leni but we learn almost nothing about her except that she’s filming the games.

Barnaby Metschurat as Joseph Goebbels is only there to remind you that Nazi’s are assholes and to serve as a needless villain, because we already know that Nazi’s are assholes. He’s also the worst Goebbels I’ve ever seen in film, looking more like an Alabama skinhead then a menacing high official.

Aside from maybe parts of Jeremy Irons story, all these characters contribute is pointless padding that pulls away from the main character of the film, Jesse Owens, in his own biographical drama because (I’m guessing) someone thought he wouldn’t be interesting enough on his own. To that I say the following: All you did, was space out what could’ve been a really good compact film, with pointless scenes and stories that overemphasized points that other parts in the film already explained perfectly well.

TL;DR You fucked up a good film with pointlessness.

Final Score - 7/10

This might be the most infuriating score I’ve given in a while, because there were points where I’d be on the edge of my seat, and then they would cut away to one of the pointless characters and I’d be taken right back out of it. I hate seeing potential squandered, this time by overstuffing what should’ve been a simply told story. We know Nazi’s are assholes, we didn’t need to be told every ten minutes.

Next: Triple 9 - This will (Hopefully) be a late night review tomorrow. If not then definitely Friday. I’m really looking forward to this one.

Until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

Movie Review: The VVitch (2016)

Hello All,

After spending most of my weekend battling illness I am pleased to report that I triumphed through it, and am now back to my regular abnormal self. I also only got one other person sick along the way (maybe.) So to celebrate my recovery, what was my first reaction? Why to go watch a horror movie of course. One that has a particularly unique way of spelling it’s name (yes that’s how it’s spelt, I double checked.) The critics reviews have been good for it, yet the reviews I’ve heard from moviegoers has been mostly negative. So what’s my stance on this divisive film? Let’s find out together shall we?

Plot Summary - In the 1630’s, the deeply religious William (Ralph Ineson) and his family are banished from their plantation due to a difference of beliefs. Several months later, they have set up a farm surrounded by forest, and have a new son named Samuel. When he disappears, the farm becomes cursed and the family begins to turn on each other as paranoia and suspicions arise.

Pros - This is probably the creepiest movie I’ve seen since The Babadook, although the film that this reminds me more of surprisingly is Prisoners. I say that because the film is now afraid to show you what’s happening, without venturing into excess gore or jump scares. It relies entirely on slow build ups and creating tension rather than just throwing scary things at you every few minutes. The cast is really good too, even the children have their fair share of scenery and screen time. The kid who plays the oldest son probably gives the best monologue in the whole film when he’s feverishly praying to God. The look of the film is good too, and the time era helps as everything just looks spooky even in the day time. The pacing is fantastic, even at 93 minutes it was tense up until the very end and I was admittedly relieved when it was over. There’s also kind of a red herring in the film that makes the ending reveal a bit odd, but still satisfying overall.

Cons - Like I said the film is a bit of a slow burner, so if you don’t have the patience for slower horror films (which is understandable) then this is not for you. They do also speak olde english throughout the film so that’s another thing that people might not like about it. I didn’t mind it myself too much although I missed the odd word here and there.

Final Score - 9/10

It’s a really intense and creepy film, but if you’re looking for more scare packed film then this might be one you want to skip. If you’re a fan of the slow burn, I cannot recommend this enough.

Next: Race - Probably Wednesday, and I might try and do Triple 9 Thursday, but that’ll be a late night review.

Until next time, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

(Special Sick Reviewer Edition) Movie Review: Risen (2016)

Hello All,

Side Note - Before I start with the review, I am acknowledging that I did indeed not review How to be Single yet. I ran into scheduling conflicts for something like three days in a row and now I’ll have no time in the foreseeable future to get a review done. If I can do it later down the line I will, because why not. And now, back to our regularly scheduled review:

    Someone told me that there are three things in life you never talk about: Money, Politics, and Religion. So let me get something out of the way right now - I am religiously neutral. I do not care one way or the other, I figure when I die whatever happens happens, and I try to live my life in a way where I’m only an asshole to people who deserve it (mostly.) I am merely trying to go into this as a movie critic alone, not a religious commentator. I went into this with the mindset of someone who has not heard any stories of the bible and was experiencing all this for the first time. So how did this all strike me? Let’s find out together shall we?

Plot Summary - Clavius is a powerful Roman Centurion, who is charged by Pontius Pilate to investigate the rumours of a risen Jewish messiah. He is at the same time tasked with finding the body of a man named Yeshua in order to quell an uprising.

Pros - Joseph Fiennes does really well as Clavius, a roman soldier who is simply tired and wants to find peace. It also does a really good representation of the era, and it has some really good cinematography around it. The rest of the cast is solid too for the most part, and they even cast Curtis Cliff as Yeshua, probably the most accurate portrayal of Jesus I’ve seen of late in terms of ethnicity. In terms of the story, it simply plays out as a man who sees something he does not quite comprehend, and merely seeks to find answers for his satisfaction. It’s not overly preachy, no one's really a villain as it tries to cast everybody in a fair light.

Cons - The only supporting actor who gets a decent amount of screen time is Tom Felton as Lucius (hah) who works as an aide to Clavius. The film also doesn’t really set up the story that well in the beginning as you really don’t know the main conflict until you literally see it in front of you.

Final Score - 7/10

It’s a good film that I’m glad I saw. If you have no interest in seeing based on the content, there’s not much here that’ll entertain you.

Next: I kind of want to see The Witch more than Race, don’t know when though. I still feel pretty ill and so I might take a day or two to recover.

Until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

Movie Review: Zoolander 2 (2016)

Hello All,

You know, I love doing this blog. I really, honestly do. I don’t make money off of it, my audience is small but loyal, and there are days like today, when sometimes I have to watch something I know will be bad. Why? Mostly because I feel obligated to, and because I know my misery is amusing to some as well. So how bad is the sequel to the second 0 I’ve ever given on this blog? Let’s find out together shall we?

Plot Summary - 15 years after the events of the first movie, Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) is in hiding. When he is summoned to Rome to model for a show, it’s there he runs into Hansel (Owen Wilson) who's also been in hiding for the past 15 years. While there, they get dragged into a conspiracy involving dead pop stars and a prophecy that could threaten the fashion world.

Pros - There are actually some funny jokes in it this time around to start. A few decent cameos are sprinkled in as well and it manages to stay actively engaged in the rather interestingly bizarre plot of the film. They even manage to keep an amusing running joke involving Kiefer Sutherland and an orgy.

Cons - For every one good cameo, there’s like three that aren’t funny. They recycle jokes bad jokes from the first movie, and most of the newer jokes still land with a flat out thud. To it’s credit it it’s not as frustratingly unfunny as the first one.

Final Score - 2/10

A mild improvement over it’s predecessor, and not even the worst comedy I’ve ever seen, it still just doesn’t work and overall I honestly didn’t like it. For fans of the first one, you’ll be contempt with this one. As for everyone else there’s nothing new here for you.

Next: How to be single - It won’t be Valentine’s day though as I’m working that evening, it might be the day after though so keep an eye out.

Until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

(Spoiler Free) Movie Review: Deadpool (2016)

Hello All,

So I think for most of us this was the film we’ve been waiting for, not just since it was announced, but since the first time Fox attempted to bring Deadpool to the big screen. We all remember the butcher job they gave to him in Origins, and ever since Ryan Reynolds has been on a mission to redeem the character. Fun Fact: they silenced Deadpool in that movie to gave Wolverine more screen time, thanks Fox. First there was the test footage, then when it went viral on the internet, and then when the Fantastic Four movie started running into issues, they decided to give in and give us a Deadpool movie. So now, the question is this: Does the movie live up to all it’s hype? Let’s find out together, shall we?

Plot Summary - Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a former special forces operative, now working as a mercenary for hire. He meets and falls in love with a girl named Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and the two become engaged. When he diagnosed with terminal cancer, he undergoes a radical treatment to cure himself, only to learn that they’re turning him into a weapon. Now, disfigured but powerful, he dons a suit and the name Deadpool to seek revenge on those who wronged him.

Pros - From the opening credit sequence of the movie, you know exactly what kind of film you are in for…….a fucking kickass Deadpool movie. If this was all you needed to know, I’m glad I was able to help. Continuing on for whoever’s left, I can honestly say there was not a single moment in this movie I didn’t enjoy. This movie manages to find the perfect balance of all it’s elements, and utilizes them all perfectly. To the perfectly timed and executed jokes, the kick ass action scenes, hell even the romance plot feels like a perfect Deadpool romance, as it doesn’t hinder the film in any way at all. Hell it has some of the raunchier jokes in the movie.

    The 4th wall breaks are there and my god are they fucking awesome. There are so many great references, not only to things going on in the movie, but to Ryan Reynolds himself and even other films he’s been in.

    The cast is perfect, the music is perfect, there’s blood, and nudity, and swearing and none of it feels immature or forced. Just everything about this movie is awesome and I can say so much more about this movie, but I’d be heading into spoiler territory and I really don’t want to do that.

Cons - *Clears throat, and stands on soapbox* THIS IS NOT A MOVIE FOR KIDS. I repeat, THIS IS NOT A MOVIE FOR FUCKING KIDS. I don’t care if it got a 14A rating, if your kid is like 12 and under, wait till it’s out on DVD and buy it then, cause that way you can turn it off if you don’t think it’s appropriate for them, which it’s not, because DEADPOOL IS NOT A FUCKING MOVIE FOR YOUR FUCKING KIDS TO BE WATCHING.

Final Score - 10/10

It’s really good people. It’s the Deadpool movie we all wanted, and my early contender for movie of the year. Go see it, leave the kids at home, and just go get as blown away as I was.

Next: Zoolander 2 tomorrow. I’m also seeing a screening of Labyrinth as well, which I might review if I have time.

Retro Review: Zoolander (2001)

Hello All,

So I find myself snowed in today. Since I had nothing to do I decided to tackle a movie that gets brought to my attention quite a lot, even if it’s for the unfortunate circumstances surrounding its original release date. Of course the film  I’m talking about is Zoolander which originally came out on September 11th 2001. Yep. So with its sequel coming out this week, I decided to watch the film on Netflix. I now have to justify in my head why I did that…...yeah no regular intro today, I just want to get this over with.

Plot Summary - Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) is the greatest living male model, who gets unknowingly drafted into a plot to kill the newly elected Malaysian prime minister.

Pros -.................................................................................................................................

Cons - I did not laugh once, this entire movie. Not a single time. Not even a chuckle. Every joke is either lazy, bad, dumb, or just simply mind blowingly dull. Why do people think this movie is funny? Why is it getting a sequel? What in god’s name is this movie’s appeal? It’s just one joke, that Derek Zoolander is stupid. Well guess what, when your only joke is that your main character is stupid, IT MAKES YOUR MOVIE REALLY GODDAMN FUCKING STUPID!

Final Score - 0/10

It gets the fucking Pixels score. I need a fucking drink. Fuck this stupid movie.

Next: The Great Digital Film Festival is this week, I’ll probably do a review of one of those films. If not, Deadpool on thursday.

Until then, I have so much of my life to contemplate on after watching this.

Movie Review: Pride + Prejudice + Zombies (2016)

Hello All,

Anyone who knows me knows that when it comes to books, I sadly don’t have the time for them. So when it comes to the classics of literature I can name all of three I’ve read on my own, and can barely name the ones I skimmed through for quite a few english classes. So with that, and also having little knowledge of Pride and Prejudice, I went into this one hoping for an enjoyable zombie experience. So does this twist on a Jane Austen classic breath new life into the story? Let’s find out together shall we?

Plot Summary - It’s the classic tale of Pride and Prejudice, except now the undead have been rising and attacking England for almost 100 years. With the remainder of the population living across a giant moat from the horde of the undead, english life must go on. For the Bennet sisters, this means finding husbands among potential suitors, while also protecting themselves from the undead.

Pros - The cast is actually quite good in this, but in particularly I really liked Sam Riley as Colonel Darcy. He gets remade into this badass zombie slayer, and he does get some really cool fight scenes. Lily James as Elizabeth also holds her own as well, giving a real strong sense of character and integrity. The love story in the film plays out well and I did find myself invested in the characters and their conflicts.

Cons - Unfortunately, it’s biggest problem is with the new edition to the story, the zombies. Whereas the zombie version of the book plays it more as a parody, the play the whole film completely straight. In an effort to preserve what’s good about the Pride and Prejudice, the zombies sort of get lost in the shuffle. These really cool ideas that they mention in the film, like the idea of a zombified four horsemen, ultimately end up going nowhere. There’s an attempt in the third act to bring the zombies back into the fold, but ultimately it feels like pandering as it’s rushed and uninteresting because of that.

Final Score - 5/10

I almost gave it a 6 for the few interesting zombie moments they had, but with all the wasted potential I can’t bring myself to do that. If I had to rate this film as Pride and Prejudice alone it would’ve gotten an 8, sadly again the lack of good zombie elements bring it back down. It’s simply a case of a potentially silly concept taken too seriously.

Next: Not quite sure yet to be honest, but there’s a comedy sequel coming out next week, and I don’t think I’ve seen the original.

Until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.

Movie Review: Hail, Caesar (2016)

Hello All,

Well, since we have now passed the always mixed movie bag that is January, we now have our first new releases of February to look forward to, and the first one surprisingly enough is a Coen brothers movie. From my experience I’m used to seeing their films around Oscar season because, as we’ve seen, they do make some really well regarded films. So I was a bit worried when I saw that this was coming out in February. Luckily I managed to get myself into a preview screening, and can now relay my experience to you all. So, how does the latest Coen film stand against their other films? Let’s find out together, shall we?

Plot Summary - Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is a Hollywood ‘fixer’, who goes around solving problems for the studio he works at. One of the films he’s helping is a production called “Hail, Caesar”, starring their most famous actor: Baird Whitlock (George Clooney). When Baird gets kidnapped in between takes, Eddie must follow the kidnappers demands to retrieve him, all while managing his other duties and keeping the kidnapping out of the press.

Pros - The cast is phenomenal in this, as every role is perfectly cast. No one feels weirdly out of place and everyone is giving it their best, especially Brolin as the man trying to keep all the craziness together. I do want to make a special mention of Channing Tatum as Burt Gurney, as part way through the film we see him do a full song-and-dance number in character and he just nails it, managing to capture the old Hollywood musical look and feel.

The cinematography is really good too, not only in how they manage to capture the look of the times, but even going so far as to shoot certain scenes in that style. They have paintings as backgrounds, everything is done practically, and it matches the spectacle of that era’s style of films.

As a comedy it does well too, managing to balance the type, the quality, and the pacing of the jokes almost seamlessly. Some jokes will have you laughing at the punchline, while some will have you laughing at the sheer absurdity of what you’re watching in front of you. I honestly can’t think of any jokes, with me at least, that didn’t work.

For the rest of the film in between the comedy bits, you get some good dramatic scenes, as well as some really cool glimpses into Eddie’s job and the type of things he deals with on an average day. I didn’t really find myself bored at any moment as even during slower scenes they’ll have a character do something that seems mundane to them, but manages to entertain the audience in a way that doesn’t feel like padding.That’s a feat that’s actually really hard to do in a movie, especially in a comedy.

Cons - Having Eddie walk around between the various people, places, and film sets can be kind of jarring to some expecting a more fluent story. One minute you’re watching Eddie do his thing, then he’s watching a clip of a sword and sandals movie, or a musical, or a drama, and even a movie with a mermaid in it.

    Now as much as I enjoyed the comedy in this movie, as needed to be said with any comedy film, it might not appeal to everybody. That’s not really a negative against this film in particular, I just feel with comedy reviews if it’s not mentioned now then someone might tell me later that they didn’t find it funny even though they went on my recommendation.

Final Score - 10/10

If you can look past the fact that this won’t be a straightforward film, you’ll have yourself a pretty, yet interestingly bizarre film that I honestly think almost anyone would enjoy.

Next up - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. When? I’m not 100% sure, but I’m hoping before the weekend’s over.

So until then, I’ll see you folks at the movies.