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.

Blind Spot: Schindler's List (1993)

Just in the nick of time, again, is our Blind Spot post for February. I really need to not make a habit out of this, but Oscars season has just messed up my entire blogging schedule as well as film-viewing schedule! This month I watched Schindler’s List, over two viewings thanks to it’s eye watering 195 min runtime.

Schindler’s List is the kind of film I shy away from instantly, which is the main reason I made sure it was on the Blind Spot list. The second reason is that people keep telling me Liam Neeson never used to just play Liam Neeson! So anyway, the film itself largely focuses on Oskar Schindler (Neeson), who sets up a factory in Poland during World War II, creating hundreds of jobs and hope for the Jews that are seeking refuge there.

This is only the second black and white film I’ve ever seen, and just like before, it seemed odd at first but once the story kicked in I completely forgot about the lack of colour. Until a scene involving a huge table full of food - I couldn’t work out what was there and that felt a little weird*. Oh, and the little girl in the red coat of course, how can I forget her? Okay, so maybe this is my first black, white and red film.

Schindler's List was a real rollercoaster of emotions for me. I won't try and pretend that I understood everything that was going on, because similar to my last Blind Spot, there was just so much going on. I also know very little about World War II thanks to my absolute ignorance to History class back in school. Thankfully though I watched this with my fiance who let me pause every now and again so I could double check what was happening/

The ending was ruined a little for me by everyone telling me to be ready with a box of tissues. My mind had already geared myself up for the worst and as heartbreaking as the end was, I think it would have affected me more if I was clueless.

It was also really interesting to see a very young Ralph Fiennes, having recently seen him in the Oscar-winning Grand Budapest Hotel. He was chilling, and I look forward to seeing more of him.

All in all, despite it's length, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Several scenes were extremely uncomfortable to watch, but they added to the story perfectly. It's one of those films I will never forget, but will probably never watch again either, if that makes any sense.

* I’m writing this whole post after two and a half hours sleep thanks to the Oscars, so you’ll have to forgive me for going completely off track.

Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

I saw the trailer for this a million times and my Dad told me it was brilliant but I just wasn't interested.  However, I was limited on choice on a flight so I thought I would give it a go and I am so glad I did.

I remember seeing the trailer at the cinema ages ago and my reaction being 'I HAVE to see this when it comes out!'. Then, as always, I just didn't have the time, and since then I've kept putting it off. I'm glad I finally gave it a chance!

This is the brillaint story of Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes) a concierge at the famous Grand Budapest Hotel and his trusted friend and colleague Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy (Tony Revolori) through the dramas of theft (and recovery) of a priceless painting and the fight for a huge family fortune.

This is like no other film I have ever watched, although I don't think I have been a fan of Wes Anderson's work before so maybe that's why this was so unique and new to me.  The story was truly insane and crazy but it was made brilliant by Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori unique chemistry on screen, they we're really hilarious together.  In fairness, I think everything that was supposed to be serious in this film actually made me laugh, it was so deadpan!

This is the first thing I've seen of Wes Anderson's so I didn't really know what to expect, but I really loved it. The humour is brilliant in my eyes, although I can understand that others just wouldn't enjoy it at all. I may be making a silly comparison here but the film was almost a little Monty Python-esque, or at least I thought it was! 

It wasn't just Fiennes and Revolori that made this film, the ensemble cast from Jude Law to the yet again unrecognizable Tilda Swinton and too many cameos to count were all brilliant and the change of point of view kept the pace of the film up (although wouldn't be required).  The settings and set design were amazing, I found myself looking at the background in every scene to see what they had done, it looked like cartoon come to life.

I loved every member of the cast, and the cameos made me light up too. Perhaps it's a good job I didn't go to the cinema, I don't think anyone would appreciate me jumping out of my seat to shout 'BILL MURRAY' at the screen...

In all honesty, a really difficult film to review but brilliant nonetheless.  You have to see it for yourself to believe it.

The Grand Budapest Hotel was clever, colourful, and so funny, but it's not for everyone!