Hail, Caesar!

It's a bit disjointed, it doesn't hold together, there are funny scenes, then less funny ones and then completely dull ones (the Soviet submarine). But as a whole, it's still a nice excursion to a time I love more than anything, the Golden Hollywood of the 1950s, when cinemas were ruled by naive westerns, even more naive sci-fi B-movie and swords and sandal movies. And I'll say one name: Alden Ehrenreich. I like this kid a lot, he's gonna be a star one day, trust me. (10/03/2016)

It's actually another feature-length Jewish anecdote from the Coen brothers, this time on the subject of belief in anything (in God, the Party, oneself, Hollywood...) and how and why it can be denied to the point of being denied. However, unlike (for example) A Serious Man, I would say that this is a much more accessible anecdote, in which jokes so dry that they almost make you gag alternate with those that provoke incredible bursts of laughter. I enjoyed it very much and the period atmosphere, abundantly supported by Deakins' beautiful cinematography and Burwell's easily recognizable music, was downright magical. "Hobie Doyle? Are you also a communist?" (03/08/2016)

Nice form, you simply have to give it to the Coens, they know how to play with film and it's very enjoyable to watch. For example, those dance scenes were absolutely great, excellent capturing of the era, I was entertained by some of the numbers, they have great actors here, but the whole thing just doesn't work for me and it's kind of meaningless. (11/15/2016)

I'd still look elsewhere for the weakest Coen, but, of all their their underwhelming films, Ave, Caesar! reeks of untapped potential by far the most. A film with such polished details, great cast and a flexible production design that is only accentuated by one Roger Deakins simply deserves a more coherent story structure, a better-developed central motif and certainly more punchy humour, which is masterfully offset by a powerful touch of irony in every shot and dialogue, but given that this is supposed to be a comedy first and foremost, there aren't many really funny moments in the long 100 minutes. The brothers try to parody too many things at once, and at times the result is a tired mess that hardly moves forward and is really only kept afloat by the stars: the energetic Clooney, of course, but most of all the fantastic Josh Brolin, whose tiny gestures and confident elegance once again reveal that he has grown into a Hollywood star of the first magnitude. (05/26/2016)

I was counting on the fact that this movie would be reminiscing about the old Hollywood from the middle of the last century. The fact that it would have a billion never-ending references was also a given. But the fact that the Coen brothers arrogantly thought that we all know everything about Hollywood and that we would not only understand all the references but that we would also laugh at them; well, they were greatly mistaken. The movie actually isn’t that funny and that’s despite the fact that Josh Brolin with his producer have the main role, which could in and of itself create a dozen of infinitely funny scenes. But the humor couldn’t be drier than a martini in the Virgin Islands. A pity, I like the Coens, but this movie was horrible. (06/15/2016)