Hail, Caesar!
Published 2016-09-17
Film info
- Title Hail, Caesar!
- Directors Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
- Year 2016
- Run time 1hr 46m
- Genres Mystery, Drama, Comedy
- Tagline Lights. Camera. Abduction.
- Cast George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill
Four-time Oscar-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen write and direct Hail, Caesar!, an all-star comedy set during the latter years of Hollywood's Golden Age. Hail, Caesar! follows a single day in the life of a studio fixer who is presented with plenty of problems to fix.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 0:27 | They’re choral singing over the Universal ident - boo! |
| 4:06 | “Mary Jo… something.” |
| 6:56 | Love the studios, building upon building of creativity. |
| 12:01 | Loving the concept of holding for dissolve. |
| 14:45 | Also curious about how you can spin situations to suit whatever! |
| 22:18 | Excellent accent from Ms ScoJo. |
| 25:19 | The Western guy is cute as a button! |
| 33:42 | I’d like a fish tank next to my table when I go to a restaurant. |
| 38:59 | Fisher Stevens looks different every time I see him. |
| 39:16 | Ooh, sandwiches on a stick! |
| 46:54 | “Someone’s calling from the future.” |
| 50:14 | Extras are the bad guys on the set! |
| 52:22 | Moi-made! |
| 53:22 | Tablecloth tricks with live humans. |
| 54:50 | Channing looks like he’s genuinely loving this scene. |
| 1:00:36 | “We’re not even talking about money, we’re talking about economics.” |
| 1:03:53 | God, editing used to be so complex! |
| 1:12:47 | Moon! |
| 1:21:57 | Movie sets must be very creepy at night time. |
| 1:25:22 | Now a submarine? This film gets better! |
| 1:37:01 | “It’s really too often, my son. You’re not that bad.” |
Thoughts
It took a while to work up the courage to watch this one, as its reputation as a bit of an odd-ball film preceded it. It certainly did take a minute or two to adjust to the style but once you know it's slightly surreal, definitely all over the place, and wonderfully humourous when you're least expecting it, then it's really, really good.
There's a superb cast, from the main crew holding it all together, to the people that only appear once or twice through the whole film, and the styling is so gorgeous, it's almost worth watching just for the looks regardless of the script.
As it turns out, the story is great too, slightly too intricate given the number of strands weaving in and out of each other, but otherwise a fascinating look at Hollywood and the rumour mill that has always surrounded it.
Rating: 4 / 5