Hail, Caesar

"Hail, Caesar" boasts an all star cast including Channing Tatum, Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Jonah Hill, Elden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson and Tilda Swinton and was co-written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Given this stellar list of talented actors, writers and directors, I eagerly anticipated viewing this attempted satire of 1950’s Hollywood but, unfortunately, I was greatly disappointed for the advertised brand was significantly better than the product. With so much material available, the Coens missed almost every opportunity to make the film work and could have elicited genuine laughter instead of only a slight smile or grin from an audience anxiously wanting and hoping for more. It should also be noted that Mr. Clooney and Ms. Johansson, two charismatic and generally enjoyable actors to watch, should not attempt slapstick comedy for the result is more tragic than humorous. Also, the film with many subplots never properly allows any of them to develop and what could have been a clever spoof of making films in the mid 20th Century becomes a poor but unsuccessful  attempt to be funny.  Knowing what could have been achieved but wasn’t is even more frustrating. Difficult to understand, too, is that so many reputable critics have applauded this film apparently judging the proverbial "book" by its cover rather than its contents. I give the film 2 stars suggesting that the Coens owed the viewers and their own tremendous talents more than they were able to achieve in their latest theatrical endeavor.

45 Years

"45 Years" was written and directed by Andrew Haigh based on a short story by David Constantine. It stars Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay who, at 69 and 78, respectively, play the parts of Geoff and Kate Mercer, a supposedly happily married couple as they, or more properly, Kate, plans their 45th Wedding Anniversary celebration at the local banquet hall. Spanning a period of less than a week in their lives, this is the story of a long lost romance Geoff had well before he ever met Kate and how this 50 year old experience suddenly impacts on their present lives and, more significantly, Kate’s reaction and response to what she now learns about it. Mr. Courtenay plays a subdued and stoic role as he attempts to move on from the past while Ms. Rampling’s character becomes more absorbed with the historic details as if this now deceased part of her husband’s life is still alive and in competition with her. Enough cannot be said of the wonderful acting of Ms. Rampling who, with little or no dialogue, is able to express more emotion and feeling than most actors might if they were shouting. Although the film is long and at times somewhat tedious, it is in effect mirroring the relationship of the couple on the screen as they, in their typical British civility, struggle through the emotional obstacles that confront them. I give the film 3 and 1/2 stars and credit Mr. Haigh with successfully accomplishing the dual role of good writing and directing.

The Revenant

"The Revenant" stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy in this "based in part on a true story" of mountaineer Hugh Glass and his fight for survival in the South Dakota wilderness after an almost fatal encounter with a bear.  The film was directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Innarritu  ("Birdman") who, with Mark L. Smith,  co-wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Michael Punke. Although shot in Canada and Argentina, the film attempts to depict the challenges of a South Dakota winter n 1823. The word "revenant" is derived from the French word "revenir" (i.e. to return) and literally means the return of the spirit from the dead. This is the plight of Mr. DiCaprio’s character as he struggles across the barren icy wasteland for over 2 and ½ hours of viewing time. The audience also feels his pain and anguish since it too has to suffer through this ordeal as it is forced to endure a tedious and overlong excursion through the cold and unforgiving wilderness. The difference of course is that Mr. DiCaprio was paid for his suffering while the audience was not. Mr. DiCaprio’s character is enmeshed in a thin story line and basically has a non-verbal role as the script requires him to do a great amount of crawling and some groaning but, unfortunately, these do not necessarily rise to the level of great entertainment.
One must acknowledge the haunting and vitally important original musical score created by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto and the spectacular photography of Emmanuel Lubizki. That being said,  I found myself looking at my watch at least 3 times during the film in hopes that it was nearing its conclusion and wondering why I saw what the editor didn’t. I give the film 2 stars for it proves once again that advertising and hype will not always make a film great but a quality screenplay and strong acting performances will. In my opinion, this film is lacking in both.

Joy

"Joy" stars Jennifer Lawrence, Diane Ladd, Robert De Niro, Virginia Madsen, Edgar Ramirez, Isabella Rossellini and Bradley Cooper. The film was directed by David O. Russell and co-written by Mr. Russell and Annie Mumolo. This is the loosely based story of Joy Mangano, the lady who went from rags to riches via the QVC Network after demonstrating and selling her new invention, a mop that never touches your hands and whose head can be washed in a washing machine. The story is really quite predictable with the other actors playing caricatures in a modern Cinderella tale with a heroine who mops the floor and a stepsister who is her arch rival.
The dialogue is trite and leaves little to the imagination save the gaps that the viewer must fill in because some of the scenes and scenarios just don’t make much sense.  If you delete the "J" from the title of the film you end up with the word "oy" and that’s the word I used after I viewed it. I give the film 2 stars and suggest that the ticket price would be better spent on buying the mop featured in the story.

Daddy's Home

"Daddy’s Home" stars Linda Gardelini, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg in this comedy based on a story by Brian Burns and a screenplay co-written and co-directed by Sean Anders and John Morris. Seeking to recapture the terrific chemistry that Messrs. Ferrell and Wahlberg had in the film "The Other Guys", Mr. Ferrell plays a sweet and mild mannered husband and step-dad married to Mr. Wahlberg’s ex-wife. The film examines the inevitable conflict that exists between the divorced biological father who wants to retain some identity with his kids in spite of the step-dad now occupying the family residence. Obviously a subject more serious than comedic, the film tries to interject humor and to a certain extent succeeds. It is a light and easy film to watch with no great surprises enriched by the pleasant demeanor and screen presence of Mr. Ferrell.  I give the film 2 stars with the warning that it needn’t be on your must see list of films for 2015.

Sisters

"Sisters" stars Tina Fey, Amy Poehler Ira Barinholtz and Maya Rudolph in this film written by Paula Pell and directed by Jason Moore. This is not a good film, in fact, it’s one of the worst films Ive seen in a very long time. The chemistry and talents of Ms. Fey and Ms. Poehler deserve a better vehicle to display the obvious abilities these two ladies possess. What makes the situation even worse is that the entire film is an insult, not only to them but to the viewers who expected and were entitled to much more.
Slapstick comedy, even badly executed slapstick comedy, has its place but crudeness without humor does not. Adding to the tumult and artistic anarchy are James Brolin and Diane Wiese who play the parents of the two sisters but, try as they may, they just aren't comic actors and their efforts fail as does the rest of the endeavor. The film is a disappointment to the viewers and demeaning to the performers which I guess sums up the whole  experience. I give the film 1 star and that really goes to Ms. Poehler who, in spite of it all, is the only person worth watching in this 98 minutes of theatrical discomfort.  

The Big Short

"The Big Short" is a film based on the book by Michael Lewis which details the fall of Wall Street in 2008 and the circumstances that led up to it. With an adaption of Mr. Lewis' book by Director Adam McKay and co-writer Charles Randolph, the film has an outstanding ensemble cast including Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Christian Bale and Brad Pitt (who was also one of the producers of the film). Mr. Bale’s character and 3 others find that the bundles of mortgages being sold by Wall Street firms to their investors are loaded with subprime (a/k/a) "bad") mortgages, most of which have adjustable sweetheart rates that end in or about 2007. Recognizing this and the debacle that will ultimately occur when mortgage rates and payments will suddenly soar and foreclosures will become the inevitable consequence,, these savvy mavericks swap or 'sell short' these bundles in order to reap the high profit that they anticipate will come about. The film is filled with trade acronyms and concepts that even well seasoned brokers would not understand so, in order to educate the viewing audience, stars like Selena Gomez, Anthony Bourdain and a lady in a bubble bath interject themselves into various frames in the film in order to explain to the viewer the complexities of these arrangements.
The vehicle works and what might otherwise have been a disaster of technical jargon becomes a more or less easily understood combination of events, both serious and comedic,  that led to the crash of 2008. There is no single performance that stands out although the sum of all them makes this a film that should be seen by anyone who directly or indirectly was impacted by what occurred in the fatal year when Wall Street houses and stocks crumbled. I give the film 3 and ½ stars and recommend that it be seen if, for no other reason, to understand  how vulnerable an unregulated and rogue bunch of brokers, dealers and institutions can and, in fact, did manipulate the system.