Hail, Caesar! - mini review...

What's it about?
Written & Directed by the Coen Brothers, "Hail, Caesar!" is a comedy set during Hollywood's 'Golden Age' - 1951 to be precise - and follows the trials and tribulations of Eddie Manix - head of production and studio fixer for Capitol Pictures. When the lead in one of the studio's biggest productions is kidnapped by a group calling themselves 'The Future', the curious personalities and practicalities of Hollywood ricochet off one another.
Who would I recognise in it?
Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Erenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, and more.

Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
The Coen Brothers march to the beat of their own drum, so it's with no surprise that "Hail, Caesar!" is the sort of film that will require more than one viewing to peel back the intricate layers of wry humour that are laced throughout. Skirting away from some of the strictures of traditional screenwriting structure, the film moves with a loose feel. We see glimpses of disparate productions - all of them elaborately realised - from a stunt-filled cheese-ball western and a synchronised swimming spectacular, to a stuffy melodrama and a tap-dance-tastic sailors-on-leave picture. Indeed, the Coen's love for Hollywood's golden years celebrates with rose-tinted glasses on, while simultaneously playing up the more farcical elements of the time (Francis McDormand's scene as a chain-smoking editor, locked away in a darkened room, proves to be both loving and laugh-inducing)...

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Double Bill Mini Musings: Strange Cameras and Stolen Culture...

Time Lapse:
What's it about?
Three friends discover a bizarre camera, in the home of their recently deceased neighbour, which can take photographs of future events.
Who would I recognise in it?
Danielle Panabaker.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
The film wastes little time in convincing its protagonists in the existence or mechanics of this strange photographic device, preferring to get the setup done quick and then take time with what comes next. There are familiar themes relating to time travel, such as using it for greed or the mind-twisting workings of the concept itself, but the film still feels more fresh than you might initially expect. The characters aren't necessarily the deepest or most complex, but their wants and needs are clear, and the performances help bolster their curious predicament as believable. Inevitably things take darker and more troubling turns, and while some twists are relatively predictable, the climax is deliciously satisfying. Good.

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