6. "This looks like one of the Cohen Bros. Movies I usually wait for video. " In response to Reply # 0
The best of which is “Intolerable Cruelty” the worst of which is “The Ladykillers” With “The Hudsucker Proxy”, “Burn After Reading” and “Barton Fink” in between.
Where does it rank among those films?
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Tiger Woods Member since Feb 15th 2004 18385 posts
Thu Feb-04-16 09:29 AM
8. "this must suck, and the studio must even know it sucks..." In response to Reply # 0
...because to have a cast like that and the Coen Brothers directing, it's strange they'd put this movie out at this time of year well after all nomination eligibility periods.
9. "i thought it came and went" In response to Reply # 8
the trailer seemed wack to me last year, i didn't see it again for a while and had assumed the movie came out last fall, but then i saw the trailer again on saturday with the imminent release date.
This is the exact time of year Grand Budapest Hotel was released, and that shit got nine Oscar nominations. (GBH went wide the first week of March, 2014.)
Interestingly enough, I've seen some people on twitter saying that this is kind of like the Coens' GBH in more ways than one.
The reviews I've seen so far have ranged from "minor-Coens, but still good" to "masterpiece, one of their best."
12. "As expected; the best of the meh" In response to Reply # 0
Fans of the Coens will eat it up. Hipsters will love the metaness about Hollywood. People who weren't wild about the "lesser" Coen films won't love it but won't hate it.
There are some legitimately funny moments (perhaps ironically, the funniest is a slapstick moment) and I like the overall theme/message but it wasn't enough to carry the film for me.
15. "Plenty to chew on????" In response to Reply # 13
The film left me with almost nothing to chew on. It was so basic with it's dealing of legitimately interesting topics that I was confused why even bother making this film in the first place. Then I realized they made it to make a safe mainstream film (In the Coen brothers sense) for studio in order to get a more passionate project through later.
14. "Pretty underwhelming" In response to Reply # 0
Brolin was fine, and it's his movie to carry. Nothing really stands out and the ending was pretty anticlimactic. This is pretty low on the Coen's best of list.
18. "Haha, I thought this was going to be a breezy comedy..." In response to Reply # 0
There's a ton going on there. (Disagree that there's not a lot to chew on...) More than I was expecting, even though I should've known better with it being the Coens.
I've read a handful of review on this and the one I like best so far is David Ehrlich's:
"...And that, ultimately, is what Hail, Caesar! argues with greater clarity—if not always greater force—than any of the Coens’ previous films. There is no meaning but that which we convince ourselves. It doesn’t matter if you adhere to communism, religion, or movies: The only way you can believe in yourself is if you believe in something bigger. Who wouldn’t want to be a lobby boy at the Grand Budapest hotel, sir? It’s an institution.
The picture—and this is one of the only contemporary films that someone younger than 50 can refer to as such with a straight face—may be too light on its feet to match the tidal pull of Inside Llewyn Davis or A Serious Man, but it nevertheless takes you to the same place. If the Coen brothers’ dramas are cautionary tales, their comedies are veritable how-to guides for people who can’t help but enjoy a mirthless chuckle at the humility of human existence. Yeah, the joke is on us, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t funny..."
I really need to watch this shit again though. I feel like this has the potential to be something Inherent Vice where it starts off as a bit of a head scratcher and then upon subsequent viewings it really opens up and pays off big time...
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