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Hail, Caesar! (1 Viewer)

Jim*Tod

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It is lots of fun if not quite as pointed as some of the other Coen films.... It does remind me most of my favorite of their films, THE HUDSUCKER PROXY, with its stunning and witty period detail and costuming.... Tilda Swinton's hats alone are worth the price of admission. Two extremely well staged musical numbers makes me wish the brothers would tackle a full on musical. As other posts have indicated the more you know about Hollywood, the funnier it will be. The time frame is somewhat unclear.... somewhere in the early 50's where there is VistaVision and Carmen Miranda is still a star? I tend to think anyone in this forum would enjoy this film.
 

Al.Anderson

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I saw it last night and it left me flat; not much reaction from the half-filled theater either. While I chuckled at a few scenes, and I appreciated the references to 40s/50s Hollywood, it felt like they sacrificed their own plot for an homage. The submarine scene was a complete washout, and that's where I think I completely detached from the film.

On the other hand, the line, "Are you an extra or a principle?" is a classic.
 

Malcolm R

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With an opening day Cinemascore grade of C-, word of mouth will be pretty dire for this one.
 

Robert Crawford

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I can't imagine that the Cinemascore on most Coen brothers movies is ever very good. Things like A Serious Man or Burn After Reading must have gotten an F triple minus from a mall multiplex audience.
Right, the Coen films are generally an acquired taste.
 
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Joel Arndt

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Saw this yesterday with an enthusiastic audience at a very well attended matinee at our local art house theater. I think the audience there is more dialed in than at your suburban multiplex.

We really enjoyed this, but I like Coen Bros. films generally. If you have knowledge of the Hollywood studio system in the 40s and 50s you should probably like it. I thought the cast was uniformly excellent, but a standout for me was Alden Ehrenreich as singing cowboy Hobie Doyle. He was hilarious in the scene filming the prestige picture "Merrily We Dance" with Ralph Fiennes as director Lawrence Laurentz.

The style seemed to be a mash-up of late 40s, early 50s even though the copyright date on Hobie's movie at the premiere was 1951.

Perfect, no, somewhat abrupt ending, yes, but very entertaining. Highly recommended!
 
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Jim*Tod

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Yes.... I caught that too. VistaVision did not premiere until '54, so this is obviously not accurate (you can see the logo on the titles for the cowboy movie). But then Carmen Miranda was no longer a star in 1951 either. Not that I would necessarily hold the Coens to precise historical fact in a movie as cartoonish as this one.
 

Edwin-S

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I have yet to see this film, but online reviews from people who have seem to indicate that this is a love it or hate it film. There doesn't appear to be a middle ground.
 

Rob Willey

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I have yet to see this film, but online reviews from people who have seem to indicate that this is a love it or hate it film. There doesn't appear to be a middle ground.

I'm a big fan of the Coens and the era of Hollywood depicted, but I am firmly in that middle ground that doesn't exist. I definitely didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. Cast was awesome and I know the family of the woman that taught Channing Tatum to tap dance for this film (Meredith Patterson), but I don't think I laughed out loud once and the same goes for the 15-20 people in the theater when I saw it.
 

Josh Steinberg

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I guess I'm in the nonexistent middle ground too.

It seems that every few years, the Coens make a little trifle of a movie - it usually looks great on paper or in trailers with a good cast, funny premise, maybe some familiar looking elements done with a Coen twist - and then the movie itself winds up being just a minor work, a quick diversion. Besides Hail Caesar, I think Burn After Reading, The Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty are examples of similar films that sound great on paper but don't necessarily live up to their potential.

So for Hail Caesar, when I saw the trailer it took me by surprise (I hadn't heard of the movie until then), and I laughed my ass off. I found the movie amusing, and I don't regret seeing it, but it's already mostly faded from my memory.
 

JohnMor

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I'm the non-existent middle ground as well. Liked it. Didn't love it or hate it. I did laugh out loud a few times. The meeting with the religious leaders was hysterical and by far the best scene in the film, imo. I also laughed at "Squint! Squint against the grandeur!"

But, overall, not one I'll be revisiting anytime soon.
 
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Colin Jacobson

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It is lots of fun if not quite as pointed as some of the other Coen films.... It does remind me most of my favorite of their films, THE HUDSUCKER PROXY, with its stunning and witty period detail and costuming.... Tilda Swinton's hats alone are worth the price of admission. Two extremely well staged musical numbers makes me wish the brothers would tackle a full on musical. As other posts have indicated the more you know about Hollywood, the funnier it will be. The time frame is somewhat unclear.... somewhere in the early 50's where there is VistaVision and Carmen Miranda is still a star? I tend to think anyone in this forum would enjoy this film.

I wondered about the time frame, too, but in one scene, we hear that the US just exploded the first H-bomb.

That places the movie in 1947!
 

Colin Jacobson

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I saw it last night and it left me flat; not much reaction from the half-filled theater either. While I chuckled at a few scenes, and I appreciated the references to 40s/50s Hollywood, it felt like they sacrificed their own plot for an homage. The submarine scene was a complete washout, and that's where I think I completely detached from the film.

Agree with this, Saw the movie this afternoon and the crowd seemed unimpressed - almost no reaction to anything.,

Which made sense to me, as the film gave us little reason to react. The movie offers marginal plot information or character development, as it seems to exist solely so the Coens can stage scenes reminiscent of those from old movies.

And they do so well, as the throwback sequences offer lavish homages - even if the Gene Kelly style scene with the sailors is way more homoerotic than anything that would've actually existed.

Beyond these period-accurate simulations, there's no "there there", really. The exploration of the Communist group goes nowhere, and Mannix is an almost forgotten "lead", He associates with a lot of the action but little of it goes anywhere.

I'm reasonably familiar with the "classic Hollywood" depicted in the film, and I appreciate the craft that went into those recreations. Nonetheless, "Hail Caesar" offers a slow, monotonous piece that feels more like a montage of old movie scenes than an actual narrative.

Occasional sequences show some life - usually those with Tilda Swinton - and the cast all seem game, but the end result is a drag, I can appreciate low-key humor from the Coens - I really liked "Llewyn Davis" - but "Caesar" just lacks any punch or purpose...
 

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