Review: Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Picking a movie as my ‘Looking Forward to this Month’ choice each month seems to put some kind of curse over it, meaning I don’t even get to see it at the cinema. How does this keep happening?! Hail, Caesar was my choice for March, and I think I had 3 different occasions planned to see it, all of which got cancelled on the day.

I’ve been excited for this since the trailer first came out last year. I think I was on a bit of a George Clooney hype, and the addition of Channing Tatum was too much for me to take. Then I watched (and loved) Inside Llewyn Davis and decided from that point I was a Coen Brothers fan. Still haven’t sat through the whole of Bridge of Spies, though…

So, the plot is fairly simple. This movie is about a guy who makes movies! Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) runs the joint, and spends every living moment of the day solving problems within the studio. Things go a little more pear shaped when his leading star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) goes missing. 

I think even if you didn’t enjoy the movie itself, you have to appreciate how beautiful it is to watch. If the film world in the 1950’s really is this colourful, then sign me up! It’s greatest strengths are ultimately its greatest weakness, sadly. A lot of the movie is filled with snippets behind the doors of different sets. We see Scarlett Johannson put on an incredible synchronised swimming act, and Channing Tatum dressed as a sailor, dancing on tables. I mean come on, what more could a girl want? The only problem is that most of these acts have nothing to do with the plot of the movie at all.

That sounds harsh, especially when I really enjoyed watching Hail, Caesar! It’s just that I hyped it up so much in my head, I was thinking of placing it next to Fargo on my hypothetical shelf. And it definitely doesn’t deserve a place up there. Although the twist is takes is unexpected, it takes a weird, political turn that kind of bored the pants off me. I don’t do politics. Or history. Sorry.

By far, the star here was Hobie Doyle, played by Alden Ehrenreich, as the young actor, famous for his Westerns, that is suddenly thrown into a highbrow drama, directed by the ever patient Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes). Would that it were so simple...It doesn’t matter how many times I watch that scene, it will be hilarious every single time! I heard Alden is in the running for playing a young Han Solo? Don’t let Jenna know but I think he would be great!

All in all, and despite sounding negative, I really did enjoy this. I was just my own worst enemy and hyped it up too much. It’s not the best Coen Brothers movie out there, but as a fan of quirky humour, this was definitely my cup of tea.

Review: Gravity (2013)

I was told I should watch this film at the IMAX, but I didn't get round to it.  Then I was told I should at least see it at the cinema but my Dad went without me while I was away.  So it was suggested I should buy the 3D Blu-ray and watch it that way (to get the full effect) but I didn't get around to buying it (and had I brought it I wouldn't have found the time or opportunity to watch it) and then finally, I should watch it on my laptop from LoveFilm/Sky Go.  Yet none of these things happened and I ended up watching this film on a 6in screen on an plane flying to the US (although the turbulence did provide a terrifying 4D element).  All my dreams of watching this visually stunning film in all it's glory were gone.

I was meaning to see this at the Giant Screen in Birmingham, then I ran out of time. Then I was meant to see it at my local cinema, and ran out of time again. There was even a special event put on where I work to see it, and guess what? I missed that too. Doh. I ended up watching it at home...

Gravity follows Medical Engineer Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) as their shuttle is destroyed on a routine space walk leaving them stranded in space. (I am aware this is quite a short blurb but what more can I say?! That is literally the story!)

I didn't expect to enjoy this film necessarily, everyone was ranting and raving about it and I thought the trailer looked a little boring, although I was looking forward to seeing the visual effects.  They were definitely worth watching it for (even on a 6in plane screen) it was stunning and so well shot.  Also, I have to admit the story kept me entertained as well (which I didn't expect), I had a good laugh in some places and a sob in others and I shouted at the screen at some points when Ryan was doing something ridiculously stupid!

The thought of being alone in space with no way of getting home is terrifying for me, so I spent 90 minutes on the edge of my seat, while the 7 year old child sat next to me watched Insidious 2 without even twitching.  Furthermore, at one point he kindly tapped me on the shoulder 'Hey, are you ok?  Do you want a bubblegum?' which would have been fine, had the tap not made me jump out of my skin and shove my face into my flight pillow in shear panic!

I'm really glad that I didn't see this at the cinema now because some of the camera shots made me quite giddy, even sat at home! Gravity was visually mesmerising though, I could have quite happily sat and just watched the background for an hour.

I read somewhere that the movie is shot to be indicative of Ryan rebirth since losing her child and the foetal position that she rotates in the and the tunnels represent fallopian tubes.  I didn't see this if I'm honest,  maybe I was too busy panicking to notice any clever metaphors. What? That's crazy, if it's true then fair enough but some people read into things way too much...

Overall, I loved this.  Even on the smallest of small screens it's visually stunning and the screenplay is cleverly written.  Sandra Bullock (one of my top favourite actresses) is amazing, with barely any lines she manages to show exactly how Ryan would be feeling and reacting to everything that's happening and that has already happened to her.

I really did enjoy Gravity and I think it's a film that everyone should watch once. However, I don't know if it really has much replay value. For me it's more of a must see once, then leave it.

If you are like me and your not sure about this, do it anyway, you will be surprised.  Maybe, I liked it more because I had no expectations.