Lady Gaga: Don’t Call It A Comeback, 5 Reasons 2016 Has Gone Gaga

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February 4, 2016

From The Oscars To The Super Bowl, This Is Lady Gaga’s World & We’re Just Living In It!

Ever since her television acting debut on American Horror Story: Hotel this past October, Lady Gaga has seemingly been on a non-stop roll of amazing accolades & performances. While the 6-time Grammy winner hasn’t released a new pop single since 2014, Gaga has been steadily stretching her musical and performance abilities beyond anyone’s imagination. Including her jazz collaboration with legend Tony Bennett & a jaw-dropping performance at last year’s Oscars, the “Bad Romance” singer was just preparing the world for her takeover of 2016.

In the list below, I’ll take you through all the pitstops Gaga is making on her domination of 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDkEAbOZvYM

1. Golden Globe Winner

-Somehow, someway…Lady Gaga is a Golden Globe winner! Even if Leonard Dicaprio’s reaction to Gaga passing him at the show is the most talked about moment from the evening; that doesn’t take away from the fact she took home gold. She won the award for ‘Best Actress In a Mini-Series or TV Movie‘ for her role as The Countess of American Horror Story. Gaga beat out the likes of a Queen Latifah, Kirsten Dunst, and Felicity Huffman to nab the statue. A hugely impressive feat for someone who’s just starred in their first major television role ever.

2. Performing National Anthem At The Super Bowl

-The Super Bowl is the most watch sporting event each year. With millions of viewers, anyone who performs at the event has a chance to be seen in households all over the country. This year, Gaga will be kicking off the event with her rendition of The National Anthem. This gives the chance for the Lady to showcase her ability to an audience that may have never seen her perform before. Her vocal ability is not in question but what will Gaga bring to The Super Bowl to make her performance memorable?

3. First Time Oscar Nominee

-After a stellar performance of a ‘Sound of Music’ melody at last year’s Oscars, Gaga returns to this year’s event as a performer again. This time though, she’s also a nominee! Landing a nom for “Best Original Song” with her song “Till It Happens To You”, the singer will hopefully add an Oscar to her collection of nearly 200 awards! She’ll be performing the nominated song at the event so look for the songstress to bring the house to tears with heartbreaking song!

4. David Bowie Tribute At The 58th Annual Grammy Awards

-What artist could pay tribute to the late David Bowie better than Gaga? Originally, Lady Gaga was working on a secret project with technology company Intel on something experimental for the show. After the passing of David Bowie, The Grammys & Lady Gaga decided that honoring Bowie will be the best use of the singer at this year’s show. Citing Bowie has one of her many influences, Gaga shall bring forth a touching and stunning 7-minute performance to honor the great music man! Will she mix Just Dance with Let’s Dance? Will she dress like Ziggy Stardust?
Tune in on February 15th on CBS to see!

5. New Album (Release Date TBA)

-Following her polarizing 2013 album ‘ARTPOP‘, Lady Gaga is finally working on her fifth studio album! While she hasn’t released a date or a name, the album already has an insane amount of hype. Bringing out hit music makers like Redone (Poker Face, Just Dance), Mark Ronson (Uptown Funk), and Elton John; the newest Gaga album dubbed LG5 is shaping up to be one of her best albums to date. The question now is: what will the album sound like? With influences in jazz and classic rock, LG5 could be another career defining moment to add an already memorable 2016!

Do you think this is the year of Gaga?! What’s the most Gaga thing you can’t wait to see in 2016?!

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Lucha Underground S2E2 Review: Broken Arms & Rey Mysterio

By

EJ Moreno

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February 4, 2016

New Luchadors Enter The Temple, While Others Fight To Stay Alive!

Lucha Underground is having quite the amazing week as the cult wrestling promotion as been picked up for a third season! After the amazing announcement, the hit-show on the El Rey Network followed their premiere with another exciting entry. The second episode featured new luchadors fighting for a place in the temple and a lucha legend making his debut.

Below are the 5 best moments from the 2/4/16 edition of Lucha Underground:

1. Pentagon Jr Confronts Prince Puma

-Since losing the heavyweight title during last year’s season finale, Prince Puma is a more focused adversary. The once peaceful champion has since turned on the light and showcased a new attitude. This new attitude was showcased during his interaction with the devious Pentagon Jr. Pentagon thanks Puma for helping take out champion Mil Murtes last week; Puma is having none of this from Pentagon. The two face off in a cheesy action movie style face-off after Pentagon tells Puma they will tag together against Muertes lackies known as “The Disciples of Death”.

2. Killshot Vs. Johnny Mundo

-The two incredibly gifted athletes face off this week in the first match of the evening. Killshot, in the mask, & Mundo, in the fur, have similar high-flying styles so the two seemingly worked together wonderfully. Not often does the opening match of a TV show get the crowd so hyped but these two men managed to do so! With a big spot following another big spot, the competitors barely had time to catch their breath before they were doing another dangerous move. The highlight was Mundo’s reversal of Killshot’s attack allowing for Mundo to pick up the win this week! But his night was far from other after the match…

3.”The Machine” Cage Returns To Challenge Mundo!

-After spending the promo trading insults & catchphrases, Brian Cage returned to The Temple to show Johnny Mundo he is really the most gifted athlete in the whole promotion. The self-proclaimed “Swolverine” Cage made his way down to the ring to give Mundo a piece of his mind but Mundo ran away the first chance he had. While Cage was distracted with the looming Mil Muertes, Johnny snuck back into the ring, trying to attack Cage. “The Machine” was having none of it and easily disposed of Mundo.

2. “Darewolf” PJ Black Debuts…Then Loses.

-In his first match in Lucha Underground, PJ Black faced off the big bag man named Willie Mack! Formally known as Justin Gabriel to WWE fans, PJ Black debuted to the shock of the Lucha crowd. While he was allowed to shine during the match, it was Willie Mack who picked up the pin-fall. Will PJ Black be able to recover from this losing debut and will this be the start of a feud between the two men? Next week will hopefully answer these questions and be a better week for the “Darewolf”.

1. Pentagon Jr. Outshines Prince Puma!

-Pentagon Jr. has slowly turned into one of the most beloved wrestlers in the entire company; much to the anger of Prince Puma. This was very evident during the main of event of this week’s episode. As Puma & Pentagon faced off against Mil Muertes’s ‘Disciples of Death’, Pentagon took every chance to show-off his power & popularity! The arm breaking masked man stole the pin from Prince Puma after constantly stealing spots from Puma. The two confronted each other after the match but the two were an even match. Very excited for the match up between these two luchadors!

*Bonus*- Rey Mysterio Debuts In Lucha Underground!

-In one of the best moves of his career, the former WWE superstar has finally found his way to Lucha Underground! His segement wasn’t enough to warrant a full spot but it’s worth noting as the future of The Temple has become a bit more mysterious.

Did you enjoy this week’s episode of Lucha Underground? This season is starting to build up to a wild climax and with all the new faces, who’s gonna be the Lucha Heavyweight Champion by the end of the season?

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Agent Carter: Developing Villains in “Smoke And Mirrors”

By

Michael Bedford

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February 4, 2016

Agent Carter: “Smoke And Mirrors” in Brief

For the first time in “Smoke And Mirrors,” viewers got to catch a glimpse of what Agent Carter’s life was like before she enlisted. From a flashback to Peggy Carter’s childhood to a flashback to the event that made her want to become a spy and points between, we learn Peggy’s origin story. This fleshing-out of Peggy’s long-term motivations is juxtaposed by flashback sequences showing the origins of Whitney Frost, AKA Agnes Cully. And, though Frost is no Arnim Zola, I’m glad Agent Carter now has a real villain to contend with rather than having to continue battling it out with henchmen such as Rufus Hunt. On top of the character development of both Peggy and Agnes though, we were also treated to some good acting, including a tense scene between Peggy and Vernon Masters, portrayed by That ‘70s Show’s Kurtwood Smith, but more on that later. All in all, I thought this was a good episode. Now, consider yourself warned, spoilers abound:

Spoiler Territory

Agent Carter Smoke And Mirrors — A young Agnes Cully getting some words of discouragement from her mom

Based on the flashbacks we see, it’s obvious that Peggy Carter and Whitney Frost had very different upbringings. And, though both characters were taught and ultimately rejected their appointed social roles as ladies in the early 20^th century, their rejections of those roles sends them down very different paths. Frost becomes a manipulative socialite while secretly moonlighting as a mad scientist. Carter becomes a tough-as-nails intelligence officer who helps train Captain America, and kisses him once. The following of these different paths results, in this episode, in Peggy tranquilizing and psychologically torturing the aforementioned Rufus Hunt, and Whitney gaining the ability to absorb living beings’ essences. In other words, don’t mess with either of them.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Vernon Masters attempts to do with Peggy and the rest of the SSR when he interferes with and ultimately blocks a raid on the Arena Club. The raid, organized based on information Carter and Sousa were able extract from Mr. Hunt, was meant to provide a link between the Arena Club and a group of conspirators seeking to dominate the world. The conspirators, says Hunt, call themselves the “Council of Nine,” and meet regularly at the Arena Club. Masters’s suspiciously timely interference in the raid is the final piece of the puzzle for Peggy: she realizes that Masters must be either a stooge of The Council or a co-conspirator himself. So, not wanting to give Mr. Hunt’s name to The Council, she refuses to tell Masters her source.

This scene between Carter and Masters is an example of where the show goes right. Kurtwood Smith and Hayley Atwell paint a picture of emotional intensity with only the expertly timed delivery of their lines and a few insincere grins. In fact, this episode is chock-full of scenes with this level of acting, including the sexually charged opening scene between Agent Carter and Dr. Wilkes, and the “Jarvellous” comic relief supplied by an accidentally tranquilized Jarvis.

The ending of this episode of Agent Carter, though, didn’t live up to the rest of it. Although we see Whitney Frost use her newfound powers (again) to eliminate Rufus Hunt, who Souza purposely freed and covertly fitted with a listening device, the episode doesn’t provide any new information to the viewer. Instead, it ends the same way as last week’s episode, with a shot of Whitney Frost’s glistening scar that grows every time she uses her powers. I wonder if that scar will turn into a … “Masque” of some kind … ?

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The Walking Dead – “We don’t all survive,” Norman Reedus

By

Matthew Sardo

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February 4, 2016

AMC released a featurette Thursday, ‘A Look at the Final Episodes of Season 6: The Walking Dead.’

The cast and crew of the show talk about what fans can expect from the second half of the season. Norman Reedus is the first cast member to speak and he doesn’t look too happy.

“There’s some large things that happen to us in the back half. We don’t all survive and we don’t all take it very well,” said Reedus.

Andrew Lincoln commented that the introduction of Negan is the part of the comic that he was looking forward to portray on television.

“The Governor was magnificent and David did a beautiful job playing him. But Negan is horrific. He is this incredible tyrant and this very charismatic, funny, brutal beyond words sociopath. I’m interested in the relationship between Negan and Carl and Carl and Rick. There’s a very complicated, extraordinary psychology between those characters. I’m just thrilled that we are getting to a place where it feels very deep, dark, thrilling and dangerous,” said Lincoln to TV Insider.

The Walking Dead returns to AMC on February 14 to start the second half of season six.

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What Movie Trailers Might We See During Super Bowl 50?

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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February 4, 2016

Super Bowl 50, like every other Super Bowl (at least the last 40 or so), is only partly about the game. The majority of the event is a massive media platform for advertisers and companies to push their products for a hefty price. That includes movie studios.

There are only a few confirmed movie trailers for Super Bowl 50 thus far, and a few more suspects. Most of these we’ve seen more than enough of, a couple we’ve only caught glimpses, and one hopeful in particular we haven’t seen anything from at this point.

Fox has grabbed two 30-second spots during the game, and one of these will undoubtedly go to Deadpool since the Marvel flick opens a few days afterward. The other is likely going to one of two other Fox tentpoles for 2016: Independence Day: Resurgence,or X-Men: Apocalypse. I’m pulling for Apocalypse to be honest.

Disney released a TV-spot for Alice: Through the Looking Glass earlier this week, which will probably pop up during one of their purchased ads during the game. Here’s that spot, if you are a masochist and want to watch it:

Surely one of their spots will go to Captain America: Civil War. We’ve only seen one (incredible) trailer to this point, so maybe we’ll get a few new glimpses of the picture, which hits theaters in May. There’s also the chance The Jungle Book, Zootopia, or Finding Dory will pop up in one of the ads.

Paramount bought one commercial slot, and that will likely go to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequel, Out of the Shadows.

But the biggest mystery/excitement surrounding movie trailers at Super Bowl 50 involves Universal’s 60-second spot. This mystery is dwindling as we near the game, however, as it’s almost certain now the first footage of Bourne 5 will debut the one-minute commercial. The official title will obviously accompany the Bourne 5 spot, so keep your eyes peeled…

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Watch Martin Scorsese Try His Hand at a “Li’l bit” of a De Niro Impression

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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February 4, 2016

Last night, Martin Scorsese was sitting down with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, and he tried his hand at a subtle Robert De Niro impersonation.

De Niro has to be one of the most impersonated actors of all time, and there’s plenty of straight up mimics out there from the likes of Bradley Cooper and a number of other A-listers. Martin Scorsese’s isn’t really the curved-mouth frown impersonation we all know and love. It’s more just cool to hear the legend talk about his favorite scene from Goodfellas:

See… not really an impersonation so much as a cool moment. Still worth watching.

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Undisputed Collection of Greatest Filmmakers: Coen Brothers Edition

By

Curtis Waugh

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February 4, 2016

Joel and Ethan Coen, aka The Coen Brothers, have maybe the most distinct crucial characteristic which makes one a Great Filmmaker: voice. Being able to dazzle with technique and wordplay isn’t necessarily enough to enter this pantheon. The Greatest Filmmakers create universes within which their characters operate and are easily distinguishable from any world another director might create. The extended beauty of The Coens’ works is that while their contributions to the pop vernacular are obvious even to the neophyte, they have equally great work which extends beyond what is their accepted realm of genius.

While the Coens are the second entrants breathing this particular Monkeys Fighting Robots rarefied air, our first entry, Michael Bay, might have asphyxiated directly out of the womb if it weren’t for Joel and Ethan Coen. The most interesting characteristics of Mr. Bay’s work are when he’s attempting to ape the notions of what it means to make a “Coen Brothers’ Movie” (Mr. Bay’s films take such a hard left turn from actual Coen aesthetic that it’s unfair to call him a ripoff but credit must be given where it’s due). Idiosyncratic collections of characters put through the wood-chipper of mundane, yet extraordinary life are the meat and potatoes of Coen Universes.

[Caution! Clip contains NSFW language!]

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yl95hx6mcA[/embedyt]

Each Coen Universe is immediately recognizable whether it be through the weekly bowling league you and your buddies enjoy (The Big Lebowski), your pregnant wife going about her job because she believes in duty and keeping busy (Fargo), trying to come to terms with the fact your art is passing you by without asking permission (Inside Llewyn Davis) or stealing a baby to raise as your own whilst running from a biker maniac who might actually be a demonic minion of Satan (Raising Arizona — ok maybe not that last one). The people living these lives aren’t that far removed from ourselves. They might be the hyperreality of what it means to have PTSD or a song in your heart but their plights are the same as ours. The extents of the circumstances in The Big Lebowski or Inside Llewyn Davis help to illuminate the truth of what it means to be looked upon as an outcast or a talent who is being overlooked.

The Coens have become known for their humor and for excellent reason with Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Burn After Reading and Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? being prime examples. Their genius has garnered even more critical acclaim when they look into the deeper and darker recesses of the human condition. No Country For Old Men secured the Coens much Oscar gold (if you take that sort of thing as credence) but, more importantly, placed a populist, consumable sheen on material that isn’t easy and never lets the audience off the hook. The Coens previous work also tells us this (Donny’s ashes being blown back into The Dude’s face in TBL is funny but also darkly realistic) but when placed within this realm of true evil and not giving us easy answers of what that evil actually is or how, if even at all, you can actually defeat it resonated deeply with audiences. The fact that No Country probably isn’t even their greatest film is another testament toward the longevity of the Coens’ relevance.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLCL6OYbSTw[/embedyt]

Outside of the Coen Brothers’ typical directorial work, they’ve turned in some interesting scripts for movies you might never recognize as their work. Did you by chance realize the Coens are nominated for an Oscar this year? They helped pen Steven Spielberg’s latest work, Bridge of Spies and I would dare anyone to point out to me a blatantly traditional Coen tic in that film. I’d love to also see the list of films they’ve worked on without credit.

Essays and dissertations and think pieces galore could be made from any single one of the Coens’ films including their “lesser” work (Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers being fair, yet still interesting examples). Delving deep into why things go where and how the camera acts as perverse instigator and what the plight of the unwilling hero truly means and blahblahmetaphorblahbiddyblahblah isn’t what makes Joel and Ethan Coen’s films important works of human art. It’s Nicolas Cage loving a baby he can’t possibly take care of in Raising Arizona. It’s the lovable simplicity of Brad Pitt in Burn After Reading. It’s Rooster Cogburn’s (Jeff Bridges) unwilling paternal instinct in True Grit. It’s the MUSIC of Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? It’s the hideous absurdity of Barton Fink. Joel and Ethan Coen create skewed windows into our own lives with their films and it is a beautifully joyous ride each and every time.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FscKSB7Hh_w[/embedyt]

The Coen Brothers’ latest film, the comedy Hail, Caesar! opens this weekend. I can’t wait to add a Channing Tatum performance into the Coens’ pantheon of great characters.

”Undisputed Collection of Greatest Filmmakers” is a semi-regular column that attempts to place today’s working directors into a pantheon of greats, only surrounded in fellowship by talent of equally unparalleled measure. This collection is non-refundable.

Check out the previous directors enshrined in this collection (with more to come!):

Michael Bay

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Looks Like Steven Soderbergh May Be Ending the Worst Retirement Ever

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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February 4, 2016

Steven Soderbergh has been retired from filmmaking since the Liberace docudrama Behind the Candelabra aired on HBO way back in 2013. Since his retirement – where he clearly decided to take a break from filmmaking – Soderbergh directed 25 episodes of his incredible period drama on Cinemax, The Knick. He also executive produced Magic Mike XXL and has a new series, the adaptation of his film The Girlfriend Experience, coming to Starz.

Last night and this morning, a whole mess of reports came out saying Soderbergh was getting back behind the camera to direct either Logan Lucky or Hillbilly Heist, and that Channing Tatum would star. Other names like Matt Damon and Michael Shannon were thrown out too. Some say Soderbergh is flat out denying the claim, others say his denial is involving casting rumors, and around and around we go. Soderbergh is definitely being coy with the news on his own Twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/Bitchuation/status/695111199042699266

So news that Steven Soderbergh is possibly coming out of retirement to direct one of two new films needs to be tweaked a little bit. If it happens, this is Soderbergh’s next project… not some triumphant return to filmmaking after a decades long hiatus. This guy ain’t Terrence Malick. He’s prolific, always moving and viewing and thinking and creating. Hell, he’s probably been busier in his retirement than he was for decades behind the camera.

This idea he retired is an insult to retirement. I kid of course, I never wanted Soderbergh to walk away from filmmaking to begin with just like every other movie fan. He is easily one of the most curious, inventive, and unique voices to have emerged in the early 90s. Even when he misses, it’s never boring. Hopefully this news comes to fruition and he does come out of “retirement” to direct one of these films.

If not, I guess I’ll just wait for his next project…

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‘Supergirl’ and ‘The Flash’ To Crossover – Who Will Be Next?

By

Lee Westney

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February 4, 2016

Yesterday it was confirmed that The Flash will be appearing on the March 28th episode of Supergirl.

As a fan of both shows, this was very exciting news indeed. It opens up a few questions about what the story line will be and why Barry will appear. For me, the most important question I could think of was “Does this mean that Arrow will crossover at some point?”

The logistics of this happening are quite complicated due to schedules, but it could be so good if they make it happen.

They would need to make sure the storyline was right something the fans can get behind. I’m not thinking that it would happen this year, I think next season would be more effective. Especially if at the end of the Supergirl/Flash crossover, there could be a hint of a possible big bad on the horizon.

This is just my geeky side taking over, but picture a team up next year that sees Supergirl, Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow all working together.

Arrow would be on its fifth season next year, which would be the end of the flashbacks showing how Oliver became the vigilante we met in the first season. There is something quite fitting about the idea of it going out with a big finish and that could be a super cross over event.

A two-hour special should just about do it and the man who has a large say in all this is Greg Berlanti. Berlanti is the writer/producer behind the shows I’ve mentioned, and probably has some surprises for fans in upcoming episodes.

For now I will wait with to see how the Supergirl/Flash crossover happens. We have been given a sneak peek at what the episode title is. Take a look at this.

This picture was released yesterday just after the crossover announcement. People were talking about the fact it could mean we are going to see more versions of Earth in the near future.

I really like the idea of Supergirl being from Earth Three and that’s why no-one has mentioned her yet. Ultimately, that is pure speculation, so far now I will happily wait to see what comes up in “Worlds Finest.”

What are your thoughts on what could happen?

How would you like to see the crossover take place?

Let me know in the comments.

That’s all for now, see you soon.

Continue

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Review: ‘Hail, Caesar!’ is a Slog of Identity Crises

By

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

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February 4, 2016

Hitting theaters nationwide this weekend, Universal Pictures brings us Hail, Caesar!, a comedy written/directed by Joel and Ethan Coen that’s both laborious and utterly confusing thanks to a poorly constructed premise.

The Coens will bring butts to the seats this weekend, but so will the all-star cast. The cast led by Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Coen staple (and wife of Ethan) Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Channing Tatum. It reads like a slam dunk on paper but translates into a mess on screen.

Hail, Caesar! depicts 30 hours or so in the life of Eddie Mannix (Brolin) and on this day, he has some problems. The studio boss wants Mannix to promote singing cowboy Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich) from B-western star to romantic comedy leading man, much to the confusion of Hobie himself. The aquatic musical star DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson) is newly pregnant, which is making her mermaid costume painful to wear, and on top of that, she’s not sure if she’s interested in marrying the father of her child. This sort of refusal would result in a PR nightmare for a studio that prides itself on its All-American image. A pair of twin gossip columnists (both played by Tilda Swinton) are demanding answers to very sensitive questions about the studio’s biggest star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney). Finally, and most crucially, Whitlock himself has been kidnapped from the set of his Biblical epic, by a group of disgruntled Communist screenwriters who call themselves “The Future” in their terse ransom note.

What works in ‘Hail, Caesar!’ are those moments where the focus was on the screwball happenings transpiring on the set at Capitol Pictures. Tatum’s dance number in the sailor outfit is the type of humor that resonates. The number, reminiscent of Gene Kelly, is a well-manicured mixture of pelvic thrusts and lively dance moves, the kind of offbeat comedy we’ve come to expect from the Coen comedies. But for every moment like Channing’s dance number, there is a handful that falls flat. An example of this was Tilda Swinton’s character (the twin gossip columnists) which were meant to be a play on the sensationalist media that was running rampant in Hollywood but instead her moments on screen were only awkward, tedious, and rather pointless.The Coen brothers are sending up 1950’s Hollywood, but they’ve made a collection of parts that don’t make a cohesive picture.

What doesn’t work are the numerous character arcs. Between Tatum, Clooney, Brolin, and Swinton, we get upwards of five or more stories going on at the same time. On top of this, ‘Hail, Caesar!’ also attempts to tackle the topic of communism with a character arc involving the screenwriters being disgruntled communists. When a film has so many different characters all involved at the same time in ends up diluting the connection that the audience has with the movie. It just ended up being too much, and the slowly the film fizzled into white noise. An oddball sense of comedy and strange characters have long been the Coens’ trademarks, but the movie takes itself so painfully seriously at times that it stifles the laughter.

Hail, Caesar! could not decide what sort of movie it wanted to be. At times it seemed the Coens were making a film noir while at other points it veered toward the slapstick. Between the in-jokes, the numerous characters and storylines, and the inconsistent tone of the movie, Hail, Caesar! is suffering from an identity crisis.

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