Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Writers: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Stars: Ralph Fiennes, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson
Strengths: Acting, Comedy    
Weakness: Plot not for all audiences 
Runtime: 106 minutes
Rating: 3.5/5

Plot: A Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio's stars in line.
Review: In the early 1950s, Eddie Mannix is busy at work as a “fixer”, trying to solve all the problems of the actors and filmmakers at Capitol Pictures, all the while keeping anything scandalous from twin gossip columnists. His efficiency in the industry has also attracted the attention of The Lockheed Corporation, who are offering him an executive position. All the while, he is dealing with his latest assignments, involving a disgruntled director, a singing cowboy, a beautiful swimmer and a handsome dancer. As if all this wasn't enough, Mannix faces his biggest challenge when Baird Whitlock gets kidnapped while in costume for the swords-and-sandals epic "Hail, Caesar!" If the studio doesn't pay $100,000, it's the end of the line for the movie star.

The one thing people will notice straight up is the amount of star power in the film. And the performances from each one was spectacular. However,
Clooney and Fiennes were truly in a class of their own. It's been some time since the Coen brothers have made a full-out comedy. The producing, writing, and directing brother team's last three films, “A Serious Man,” “True Grit,” and “Inside Llewyn Davis,” certainly haven't lacked for funny moments. But “Man” was an apocalyptic riff painted on two inches of ivory, “True Grit” a rousing adventure that gradually mutated into a memory play about loss and mortality, and “Llewyn Davis” was at least in part a deeply sad story of inescapable existential failure. In other words, pretty heavy topics. This new film, “Hail Caesar!” is an exhilarating switch up: A comic fable that's both deftly clever and irrepressibly goofy. It is also, from stem to stern, the sweetest and sunniest film the Coens have ever made. A recommended watch for anyone, not just a Coen fan.

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