Hail, Ceasar!

First Hit:  An odd film and despite the star power, lacks being interesting let alone good.

You’ve got Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Channing Tatum, and Jonah Hill, yet the only part that stood out for me was Jonah Hill as Joseph Silverman, the finance guy.

Brolin as Eddie Mannix runs a Hollywood studio and is in the middle of a career crisis. Clooney is the bankable star who gets kidnapped for money. Fiennes plays a highly respected and temperamental film director. Johansson plays a single pregnant star who does swimming films (think Esther Williams). Tilda Swinton plays two roles, twin opposing gossip columnists Thora and Thessaly Thacker. Frances McDormand as film editor extraordinary. Tatum was a dancing (think Astaire or Kelly) actor. The story is about the trials of running a studio, the communist edge of the 50’s, the behind the scenes stories about actors. There were some funny parts (Hill and Johansson).

Brolin was OK as the studio head, who had no time for his family. Clooney was fair as the kidnapped star who was highly influenced by his kidnappers. Fiennes was very good and the director stuck with an actor who couldn’t act. Johansson was mediocre as the swimming star. Swinton was good in her two roles. Tatum was OK as the dancing communist. Hill, in his minor role, was for me, the best part of the film. Joel and Ethan Coen both wrote and directed this film and I’m sure it sounded better as a discussion than written or filmed.

Overall:  Mediocre film through and through.

Deadpool

First Hit:  I enjoyed this tongue-in-cheek somewhat bizarre film.

I know that most of the reviews of this film where not positive, however I was amused and enjoyed the quirkiness of this story and film.

Was this story improbable? Yes, and so what. Most films are improbable. But what works for this film was that Ryan Reynolds was a perfect fit as Wade/Deadpool. As Wade, he’s sort of an enforcer of wrongs done by people and he gets paid for it. He's funny and serious at the same time.

The film does not do a good job giving the audience a background of where these jobs come from nor does it do well in setting the whole group of people who do this sort of work. However, get past this and enjoy. They gather in this bar run by Weasel (T.J. Miller).

Here Wade meets Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), and falls in love. They totally “get” each other and it changes his life for the better. He then finds out he has cancer and is going to die. He takes one final chance to heal himself by an evil scientist, Ajax (Ed Skrein) who promises that he will alter his DNA to heal him of his disease. However, there will be unknown side effects and in the case of Wade, now "Deadpool", it is that he cannot be killed and his skin becomes disfigured.

He doesn’t believe Vanessa will love him with his new look so he’s bound and determined to get back at Ajax. This is the story:  How does he let his love know he’s still alive? How does he get revenge on Ajax? And finally how does he live the rest of his life?

This film uses special effects to its advantage and the best part is Reynolds. He’s self-effacing, brash, and funny.

Reynolds is really good and I cannot think of another actor that would have been able to pull this off as well as Reynolds. Miller was great as the bar owner. He is great as Reynolds friend and confidant. Baccarin was perfect as Reynolds lover and wife. She’s just as quirky and strong and holds up her end of their relationship seamlessly. Skrein was strong as the evil doer. He carries this persona with clarity. Brianna Hildebrand as the Negasonic Teenage Warhead was good. Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick wrote a quirky odd story that, for me, worked. Tim Miller did a wonderful job of getting the most out of this odd story through his direction.

Overall:  I liked and enjoyed the oddities of this film.

Ride Along 2

First Hit:  Not much of a film and felt forced in all ways.

The upside was seeing Olivia Munn although I sensed she knew this was a stinker of a film.

This retread of a film came off as a throwaway. Kevin Hart as a newly minted, on probation, police officer Ben Barber who is engaged to Angela Payton (Tika Sumpter) that happens to be Detective and fellow officer James Payton’s (Ice Cube) sister.

James doesn’t think much of Barber’s unqualified police and detective skills. Barber doesn’t help his case much because he’s always talking. He is incessantly chattering away about something or nothing.

Not sure if the script had it this way or they just let him loose but it was tiring. With all the noise he was creating it was extremely difficult to hear any good stuff that would make the film funny.

Together Barber and James are off to find a guy who is a drug supplier to a dealer they tried to bust. The investigation takes them to Miami where they meet Munn (as Maya) a detective with the Miami Police Department.

The villain is Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt) who is half wise guy and half stupid. His scripted toughness lacked an intelligent storyline for his obvious success.

Therefore, we end up with a stupid insipid story bouncing along hoping that Hart’s jokes and banter will make this film interesting or funny; it was neither.

Hart’s role was one of constant needless jabber. It was almost as if the director and producers hoped he'd talk so much that it would make this film funny or interesting. It didn't. Hart needs to take on roles that have some depth and story behind them and use his quick wordiness more sparingly. In other words quit throwing shit on the wall hoping some sticks. Ice Cube:  I’m always so surprised that I see him in something like this. This was the guy who came Straight Outta Compton? Really, you’re doing mindless drivel like this. Where did your soul go? Sumpter is OK as the engaged girlfriend of Barber’s. She barely rose above the level of the film. Munn was fun to see and she did her best to keep the role focused and on target. The scriptwriters and director let her down. Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi wrote this stupid script that had little direction or focus. As director, Tim Story, never told one.

Overall:  This film was really a follow-up to the first one and showed NO originality or reason for existing.

Anomalisa

First Hit:  A dynamically interesting film with many layers of meaning the more I think about it.

Are the layers I see in this film of my development or was the intent of the film to have these layers or was the intent to just have us being thinking?

I don’t know and I’ll share a couple of the layers I’ve considered and neither of these are necessarily predominate in my thinking about the film. One layer is that Michael Stone (voice by David Thewlis) seems to become indifferent with any woman after he’s been intimate with them. He’s fascinated with them in the beginning and once physical intimacy happens, he begins to see and become critical of the person. I think that both men and women have had the experience of seeing someone different after sexual intimacy, I know I have.

Another layer is that Michael sees everyone as the same. This is juxtaposed with his character being the leader in how to deliver customer service by seeing each person as a unique individual. This juxtaposition is effectively created by having Tom Noonan be all the other character's voices (except Michael and Lisa’s).

Regardless, man or woman the voice is pretty much the same and while animated faces are also very close to looking like each other as well. Then from a "look" point of view, we have Michael with a strong unique look (is this how we see ourselves?), and everyone else is seen as having a more generic look. Lastly, with everyone in this film having their faces made of separate pieces/segments (no other body parts are drawn/animated this way) it is interesting that the only the faces are developed/drawn in this way.

This concept transitions to an interesting scene when Michael is hurrying down the hall of the hotel and the lower half of his face falls off. When it comes off, I wondered about everyone's faces being interchangeable. Anyway this is a fully animated film that is definitely of an adult orientation. The love making scene with Lisa (voice by Jennifer Jason Leigh) is very powerful and real.

This film is amazing in its presentation of the details of the body. Watching hair slightly move, the way Michael throws his hotel key down, the way the red lights as the door key doesn’t work – fascinating. The script for Lisa’s character was superb. Vulnerable and self-effacing, she becomes a voice of strength.

Thewlis carried Michael’s struggle well and was a great choice. Leigh was sublime as Lisa’ voice. It perfectly honest in its characterization. Tom Noonan created wonderful characterizations of the other voices. Charlie Kaufman wrote an amazing script. It captured human emotion and feelings extremely well. Duke Johnson joins Kaufman in directing this amazing story in an animated film.

Overall:  This is a complex film with many layers and levels and will leave you wondering for days afterward.

Joy

First Hit:  Wonderful story about a woman who learned to understand her creative inventive power and used it to change her life and the world around her.

This is the story about Joy Mangano. Yes, dramatic license was taken in presenting this story, however the essence and path of the story is true.

Joy (Jennifer Lawrence) married the wrong guy Tony (Edgar Ramirez), who lives in her basement because he cannot afford to live anywhere else. Her mom Terry (Virginia Madsen), lives in her house and spends all her time watching soap operas from her bed.

Her Dad Rudy (Robert DeNiro), helps to pay the mortgage because when he’s not living with a girlfriend he’s living in her house as well. Then, like bookends, also living in her house are her two children who require her time and attention and her grandmother Mimi (Diane Ladd).

Mimi keeps pushing her to get back to the creative person she was as a child so that she can become the true successful matriarch of the family. Joy's life is filled with one problem after another. She addresses and deals with them in a robotic way so that she can take just one more step. Resignation is the sign she carries in her eyes and in her spirit.

Finally, the creative inventive person she was when she was young perks back to the surface when she cuts herself cleaning up wine and broken glass with a mop. This event pushes her to invent a mop which revolutionizes the mop and cleaning.

The rest of the film is about the difficulties of getting the product sold. She sells the head of QVC Neil Walker (Bradley Cooper) that this mop can be a success on his network. He takes the chance, it fails, but her perseverance gets her another opportunity. The interaction between Lawrence and Cooper is magnetic. They work so well together.

Another one of my favorite scenes is preceded by her admitting defeat and then with all being lost, she digs into the paperwork and agreements and shows up in Texas (think showdown on main street) with someone who claims he owns a patent on her product. The dialogue in the hotel room – perfect.

This film is about perseverance, belief, and the ability to find one’s inner strength to explore what might be next.

Lawrence gives another top-notch performance. It will be considered for possible selection in the Oscar race. De Niro is strong as the flighty unfocused father. Isabella Rossellini’s performance as Trudy, De Niro’s latest girlfriend, was inspired. Madsen was funny and oddly interesting as the soap opera watching mom. Ladd was sweet as the solid motivating family matriarch grandmother. Ramirez was great as the ex-husband who supports his former wife’s plans. Cooper was fantastic. He fully embraced the role as guide, cheerleader and occasional heavy. Dascha Polanco was outstanding as Joy’s supportive friend Jackie. David O. Russell wrote and directed this team of actors with originality, focus, and clarity.

Overall:  I loved the inspiration that emanates from this film.