'Money Monster' Review

What would you do if faced with a situation where you faced being exploded if you didn't showcase your friend being held hostage? Well that is exactly what happens to Julia Roberts' character Patty Fenn and she tries to help out Lee Gates (George Clooney) as much as possible whilst in such a delicate situation. Just from that, you wouldn't expect the film to be filled with quite a lot of comedy.

Lee Gates (George Clooney) is the host of 'Money Monster', a show which delves into the stock market. When a company IBIS stock plummets, it costs many people thousands of dollars. In an extreme turn of events, Kyle Budwell (Jack O'Connell) holds Gates hostage on a live episode of his own show being broadcast all over the world. Gates with the help of his director (Julia Roberts) will try to defuse the situation and get answers for Budwell to why he lost his money as well as trying to keep his life intact.

'Money Monster' most definitely is quite odd. The film combines two different genres and it is two that I feel wouldn't really go hand in hand with each other. The concept of the film works fantastically for a thriller and does well at times to create some tense moments. However due to the film having quite a lot of comedy within it, it does lose some of its tension and makes things not seem nearly as severe as they are. It does hurt the film in a way as it does take away from the tension to make it more enjoyable for the audience in form of comedy. I'm not entirely sure if this was the right step to go with when creating a film with a plot like this. In saying that, the comedy does do its main intention which is obviously to make the audience laugh. Most of the gags and jokes do work throughout the film but I just don't think it was suited for this particular film.

The film needed a very charismatic actor to be able to pull off the character of Lee Gates. He had to have the presence to grab the attention of anyone when talking. Gates also had to be able to have the ability to pull off the entertaining and slightly more ridiculous pieces of his act to create fun moments. Thankfully for this movie, they were able to get George Clooney who is a pretty perfect casting for this film. Clooney's charisma works fantastically well throughout the stages of the film where at first he is calm and doing his normal routine on screen. He then does very well when confronted with Budwell as his life is threatened. A good performance which does a great job at combining the odd job couple of genres.

Julia Roberts is also very good in this film as the brave director of the show. Like Gates, her character Patty Fenn tries whatever she can to defuse the situation from her booth. She shows great courage as she looks out for Lee and buys him as much time as possible and helping him out in every way she possibly can. She soon finds herself directing a life threatening situation where she has to keep Gates motivated and with information that could save his life. Although mainly stuck in a booth and only talking to the main characters via headsets, Roberts does not fail to impress with her performance.

Jack O'Connell does fairly well as well as Kyle who clearly seems unhinged. Parts with his character are pretty predictable such as his money and family situations but they do create motives that may push somebody over the edge. He brings an intensity to the film that creates a whole load of tension within the room with his character seeming like he could snap at any moment.

The comedy within the film also damaged the ending of the film. The ending just falls very flat and we don't really see a big payoff. The emphasis is mainly on the person who caused the stock to fall to be turned into an internet meme. Now for a hostage and serious financial situation, the comedy again feels out of place. In a straight up comedy, it would work incredibly well.

There is quite a bit of realism within the film I feel that came from the situation and it surrounds how people reacted to it. In bars around the city, people are making jokes of the situation or not even paying attention at all. Sadly, I saw this to be very real to how some people react to situations like this although it really isn't the nicest way to act. For evidence of this you can check pretty much any social media network out there and see masses of people making jokes out of serious situations. I also feel that the stupidity of people to get close to a situation like this is realistic as well. I won't go too far into as it may spoil parts of the film, much like the trailer did.

Final Verdict = 

A very entertaining film with some good, fun performances. The combination of the genres don't really belong together but the film still does well despite this. I would recommend 'Money Monster' as well, it is definitely worth seeing! If you are interested in seeing this film, do not watch the trailer, it does spoil a part of the film which did effect my viewing.

So have you seen 'Money Monster'? If so what did you think of it? I hope this review was useful and maybe convinced you to check this film out! Once again, thank you for reading my review, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor

Hail Caesar! Review

'Hail Caesar!' is the latest film to come from the highly popular and successful Coen brothers and contains one of the most star studded casts of recent times. There's no denying that the Coen's can produce magic but would 'Hail Caesar!' do them justice or not live up to the hype?

'Hail Caesar' follows Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) who is looking to fix all of the problems at Capitol Pictures. He has to deal with disgruntled actors, filmmakers and the media when he is faced with his biggest problem. The star of Capitol Pictures latest big budget movie Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) is abducted. A ransom for $100,000 is set and if it is not paid, it is the end for Whitlock.

George Clooney as Baird Whitlock

The Coen Brothers are two of the most successful directors and screenwriters of all time with 4 Oscar wins amongst their many nominations. It is very clear that they are both incredibly talented and have it in them to make incredible movies. However I don't feel that was the case with their latest attempt.

Now I was eagerly anticipating this film. Other than Star Wars, I don't think I've seen a trailer for a film so many times. I was constantly seeing this which lead me to be very interested and to look forward to this film. Also with the huge names behind this, I was expecting something fantastic.

The cast for this film is fantastic. You have Academy Award winners such as George Clooney, Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormad amongst fellow nominees such as Josh Brolin, Ralph Fiennes and Jonah Hill. You also have some of the most popular actors working today in Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson. With all this talent so much could've been done and it could have really been phenomenal. However it isn't the performances that let 'Hail Caesar!' down. In fact the performances are mainly all really good. No qualms about any of the performances. In fact my favourite parts of the film was whenever Alden Ehrenreich was featured and he was by far my favourite character. He brought great comedy to the film and had the most interesting things going on around him.

Tilda Swinton and Josh Brolin amongst the star studded cast.

'Hail Caesar' is really filled to the brim with stuff going on at the start and does set it up to be quite promising. However with everything that's going on, the film fails to follow any of them up that much. We have short tid bits giving a bit of information to the scenario and then in most cases it is not shown again for the rest of the film. Take example the situation with Scarlett Johansson's troubled and pregnant character. It is said that the bad press wouldn't do the studio good so they need someone to be the father to her unborn child. This is shown in two scenes and then we are told that it is all resolved at the end of the film without being shown anything. Why make it part of the film if you're just going to skip over everything until the outcome? This happens on a few occasions and it just felt lazy.

The film is very anti-climatic as well. In the end nothing really has changed. Everything really is just how it was at the start of the film. You'd think with someone being kidnapped and a ransom being put out that there would be some confrontation in getting him back. This however must of been the cleanest and easiest recapturing in film history and really doesn't deliver. There really is no payoff in 'Hail Caesar!' and I feel that you will leave the film deeply underwhelmed.

There were parts to the film I did enjoy. I loved seeing them do scenes for a movie within the movie. The staged bar scene with Channing Tatum was very well done and great to watch. It was good to have a look back to how the films in the 50's would have been shot. The same should be said for Scarlett Johansson's scene where she is filming for a movie as a mermaid. These parts were very enjoyable to watch and were shot beautifully.

One of the better parts of Hail Caesar!

My favourite part of the film featured Ralph Fiennes who was portraying a director creating a new drama. He was stuck with Alden Ehrenrich's character Hobie Doyle, a western actor who doesn't work as well with speaking parts and with his new surroundings in a drama. It was great to see these two working together trying to create the finished piece for the film but Doyle's inability messing it up at times. This scene is highly entertaining and really funny as they struggle to get the directions correct and really nail the dialogue. I would have loved to have seen more of this in the rest of the film. 

Alden Ehrenreich and Ralph Fiennes interaction was great!

Overall though, the film really doesn't deliver. There is most definitely potential but the film really fails to follow up on any of what it sets up. Everything that happens is really rushed over or is skipped entirely. The film is really well produced and looks magnificent. However the story really doesn't deliver at all.

Final Verdict: Hail Caesar! = C+

'Hail Caesar!' is a very good looking film and all of the performances are of a good standard. However the content within the movie isn't up to the same standard. Very underwhelming and disappointing. I don't recommend you going and seeing this in the cinema, maybe check it out on DVD or TV but not worth going out of your way to see.

So have you seen 'Hail Caesar!'? If so what do you think? Also where does it rank amongst other Coen Brothers films? Once again thank you for reading my review, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor