Hail, Caesar!

    This last spring I was lucky enough to sit in for a Q&A with Joel Coen. The Coen Brothers are one of my favorite directors and I reference them often in this blog. So when asked about his next project and Joel described a movie called Hail, Caesar! about George Clooney being abducted by a group of extras, I was thrilled. I finally saw Hail, Ceasar! last weekend on a Valentine's date with my Mom. I was not thrilled.

    So let's get this clear. The movie is not awful. It's not Battleship or some other Hasbro garbage. But is not a good movie for them and is one of my least favorites by them. I like the visuals, the jokes, and the acting. But there were some key story elements that did not happen. For example, there's a plot line that involves a dastardly act George Clooney's character did on his first Hollywood film. The act was revealed at the end of the movie in an offscreen conversation and written out quickly. Additionally a lot of the characters don't have purpose or a desire, other than create work for Josh Brolin's character Eddie Mannix.

                                                            Mannix is the protagonist of this twisty, seemingly meaningless comedy-drama. That description in itself shows how scattered the characters are. Huge stars like Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, and Scarlett Johansson pop in and out of the story with very little to do and loose ends that get tied up by a simple walk and talk with Eddie Mannix in the last five minutes.

The only actor who is given any other meaningful screen time is Alden Ehrenreich who gives a marvelous performance as country good ole boy Hobie Doyle. Hobie is a stud with horses but is brought into a adapted play directed by Ralph Fiennes' Lawrence Lawrence. The scene provides the only true moment of comedy of the whole film with an endearing Hobie and the artist Lawrence. 

  

     Now at the Q&A I learned about Hail, Caesar! before while it was shooting. This could be me only hearing what I wanted to hear but I could have sworn that Joel Coen said that Hail, Caesar! was going to be a musical.

     It fits with the current cut of the movie. There are large musical interludes with Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, and Alden Ehrenreich and music and old Hollywood is a big theme. Additionally the explanation of major off screen plot points through dialogue would make sense if these were originally supposed to be shown in a musical number. Channing Tatum's character is given a full length musical number and then has no dialogue until what seems to be the climactic scene. And this climactic scene has absolutely no context. 

     I think Hail, Caesar! was supposed to be in a musical and somewhere in the production that was cut. What was left was a hodge podge of actors, characters, and story lines tied together by Eddie Mannix and Roger Deakins.

In Bruges

     This is quickly becoming a best of Netflix blog series. In Bruges is a film written and directed by Martin McDonagh who is also known for Seven Psychopaths. The movie is about two Irish hitmen Ray and Ken, played by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, who are hiding out in Bruges by direction of their boss Harry, Ralph Fiennes.

     In Bruges is a film in which a plot summary or synopsis would not do it justice. Not only that but it would be detrimental to a potential viewers desire to watch. The story is filled with a complex cast of characters: a midget in a danish film, a drug dealing love interest, her skinhead ex boyfriend, a yogi arms dealer, and a mob boss who cares deeply for his children. 

     With such an eclectic cast of characters it's no surprise that movie is quite comedic. Collin Farrell's character Ray, is blunt and unapologetic, often leading him into sticky situations. It's funny, this cocky Irish hitman making fun of big Americans. The dialogue in this film truly stands out and creates characters that are interesting and believable.

The acting is terrific, the largely British cast does a great job with a massive script and character arcs. Farrell and his love interest, played by Clémence Poésy, have great chemistry and do a lot with their few scenes together. 

     There's a moment in the film, as the camera tracks a trail of blood, that I wondered how we got here. Not in a plot sense, but in a viewer sense. How can Martin McDonagh tell a story that is so foreign to my in setting and conflict, in which I can be so emotionally absorbed? The answer is not something hard to define but it's in the characters. They act in such a way that the whole story makes sense. They are strong, their dialogue is believable, and they stick to their morals. 

     It's all this that creates a movie that does not apologize for what it is and takes the viewer on magical journey to this strange place, In Bruges.

The Grand Budapest Hotel: Set Design Done Right

Over spring break, I was lucky enough to visit the AMC movie theater in NYC. What’s special about this theater is that, unlike the normal, relatively comfortable seating that is generally in movie theaters, this place had beautiful, plush, reclining seats. I cannot begin to express to you how much more enjoyable my movie experience was, and I would go into further detail, but I don’t want to get sidetracked.

What I really wanted to talk about was the movie that I saw. I went to see the Grand Budapest Hotel, written and directed by Wes Anderson. If there were a way to describe this movie, I would say that it is very “Wes Anderson” (if that makes any sense). The entire movie was very fast paced both in dialogue and in action. The storyline was interesting and there were a ton of stars such as Ralph Fiennes, Adrien Brody, and of course the short appearance of Bill Murray. But although the story and cast were captivating, the real star aspect of this movie was the set design and art direction. The entire film was flooded with bright colors and large, detailed spaces. Here are a few pictures to show what I am referring to:

If only for the set design and art direction, I would highly recommend you see this movie. The colors are beautiful and detailed. The cinematography is creative and the costumes are fitting. I would also highly recommend seeing this film in a movie theater because all of these things are much better seen on such a large screen (and of course if you can go somewhere with comfy reclining chairs, I would recommend that too).