Clifton Johnson
The Coen brothers transcend genre, from noir to thriller to dark comedy, they can nail it. But I particularly enjoy their takes on farce (especially when George Clooney is involved). This movie is not perfect, but I laughed out loud throughout, particularly when everyone embraced the silliness of the story as part of the whole point. It may not be the Coen brothers' best ever, but it doesn't have to be to be enjoyable.
JLRVancouver
This Coen Brothers' movie has a lot of detractors but I found it quite funny, as various stereotypes from the twilight of Hollywood's Golden Age deal with personal problems (usually involving 'vices'), production problems (trying to wrap a mega-budget "Sword and Sandal" epic) and the Communist scourge (including a dog named "Engels"). Interspersed are satires of the era's great flamboyant excesses (including an Ester Williams style water-ballet, a Gene Kelly style song and dance routine, and an over-the-top singing-cowboy Western). These 'films-within-film" are (IMO) the best part of "Hail, Caesar", although I found the thin 'plot' tying it all together to be entertaining as well. I would have thought that the film would be great fun for any movie buff, but judging by the IMDb reviews, my enthusiasm is far from universally shared. Worth starting anyway - you'll likely decide which camp you're in pretty quickly (but I recommend that you stay long enough for the 'Swinging Dinghy' musical number).
tlmylm
''Hail, Caesar!'' was easily one of my most polarizing films of last year, and I'm not the only one to say this. Critics liked it, but audiences didn't, and wasn't exactly a huge success at the box office. I saw the film on it's second weekend(right when everyone else was seeing ''Deadpool'', which I was really looking forward to, but I couldn't see it because of it's R rating), and right away, I agreed with the audience. And when I originally reviewed the film last year, I gave it a fairly poor 4/10. I did praise the film for it's production design, acting, and writing, but I criticized it for it's poor pacing and nonsensical humor and story. But now, after I saw the film again, it's safe to say, my opinion really has changed. Yeah, sure, the pacing still isn't great, but I can get used it. However, I was now able to understand the film's story and humor. It does a very good job of blending old and new Hollywood techniques, and a lot of the jokes can be very funny. I also still think the production design is great, the acting is very good(did I mention it's filled with big name stars?), and the writing is very well done. However, is this film for everyone? Not really. But, if you are huge fan of the Coen Brothers and their films, you should check it out.
