Film Review – Hail, Caesar!

Joel and Ethan Coen have been to Hollywood before. In 1991’s “Barton Fink,” they constructed a surreal vision of creative Hell, satirizing industry types with a dose of insanity. “Hail, Caesar!” doesn’t share the same interest in self-destruction, but it returns to a position of mischief for the legendary filmmakers, who use the moment to revive and ridicule the Old Hollywood way of business, with its blinding star power, big screen extravaganzas, and habitual troublemaking. While brightly crafted and more playful a picture than “Barton Fink,” “Hail, Caesar!” is missing customary Coen Brother snap. That’s not to suggest it isn’t wonderfully entertaining at times, but the production as a whole seems a little undercooked, perhaps too caught up in the rare opportunity to recreate a specific time in a turbulent business. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com