Deadpool (2016)
DIRECTOR: Tim Miller
CAST: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapicic
REVIEW:
In a movie landscape oversaturated with ever more superhero movies, it’s hard to make them all stand out, and the fact that 99% of them all inevitably follow the same basic formula makes them start to seem generic and interchangeable after a while. For those suffering from conventional superhero movie fatigue, Deadpool blows through the sameness like a wrecking ball. While itself an adaptation of a popular Marvel Comics character, Deadpool, like the comic series, pokes merciless fun at the superhero genre, leaving no trope unskewered, while not completely abandoning what fans love about the genre in the first place. A rare comic book movie to earn a well-deserved R rating, Deadpool will come as a shock to the system of those expecting something along the lines of Captain America (one suspects strait-laced do-gooder Steve Rogers would not approve of Mr. Wade W. Wilson), and it is decidedly a comic book movie parents considering attending with their children should avoid like the plague. But for those not easily offended, Deadpool‘s raunchy comedy and high-octane graphic violence may come like a breath of fresh air. Continue reading
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
DIRECTOR: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
CAST: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Jonah Hill, Frances McDormand
REVIEW:
Hail, Caesar!, a pseudo-docudrama/comedy going behind-the-scenes of a Hollywood film studio of the 1950s, feels self-indulgent, like its thin narrative exists as an excuse for obvious film buffs Joel and Ethan Coen to play in the 1950s “classic Hollywood” sandbox recreating the kinds of movies they grew up admiring. To that end, it’s an enjoyable enough diversion, but among the Coen brothers’ filmography, it’s one of their more forgettable offerings. Continue reading