Hail, Caesar! is a comedic expose of a collection of humans whose daily fortunes and talent are entwined in the complexities of Hollywood's movie industry in the 1950s. With hints of Woody Allen's Radio Days combined with big dance numbers reminiscent of The Producers and the classic Million Dollar Mermaid. Scenes within scenes and cascading predicaments, Hail, Caesar! touches on some major themes that did effect the movie industry in the 1950s including suspected communist activity, threat of blocked funds, the pressure of declining attendances at movies and the changes brought about the nascent television industry. The multi-layered plot includes confessionals, a blockbuster bible tribute, lies, temptations, abduction and dialogue about freedom, promises, faith and ideals.

Tonight at Phoenix Picturehouse, the laughing moviegoers, the majority cult followers of the highly successful filmmaker duo, Joel and Ethan Coen, came to have their fill of this latest 'idiot genre' fun flick. It is all a little crazy, eccentric even absurd with a hint of Marx Brother's comedic style in scenes between characters. Highlights include the unfolding of the gentlest kidnapping of drugged Roman attired George Clooney, and studio boss Eddie Mannix's (Josh Brolin) desperate attempts to try to assess his options to keep Capitol Studies, and his life, afloat. The big surprise is newcomer Alden Ehrenreich, who plays cowboy star Hobie Doyle. If this cowboy's athleticism and guitar serenading doesn't move you earlier in the film, then his charm and charisma, especially lassoing a strand of spaghetti to impress his escort, definitely will.

Costume designer (Mary Zophres) who has worked on twelve Coen films, deserves an award. The classic costumes are stunning and so reminiscent of the Hollywood studios of the 1950s. This is possibly another reason why the movie appeals to a mixed age audience. All those childhood memories both black and white and then technicolour are still drawing audiences to the big screen following on from the obsession with YouTube clips that relive the movie star glitter and style of that era.
This movie is for anyone wishing to be transported in time. Exquisitely fashioned, musically toe-tapping, this quirky expose may well have revisits. For the opportunity to immerse yourself in the dance numbers both aquatic and bar room or just to rekindle the many sparks missed the first time, it will likely require another re-take. To quote Shakespeare's Julius Caesar 'The skies are painted with unnumbered sparks,' (III.i.58–65) much like Hail, Caesar!

I should admit straight off the bat that I am a huge Cohen brothers fan and have probably watched every movie they've ever made, so when I walked into the cinema to see their latest film, Hail, Caesar!, I was already half won over and ready to love it. Spoiler alert: I loved it. Not every Cohen brothers movie is a hit, but this one was a huge hit particularly for me - an old fan - but also for new audiences who aren't familiar with the existing body of work from the pair.

From the first scene, a board room meeting between the studio executives and a council of religious figures to deem the appropriateness of a film depicting Jesus, myself and a large percentage of the cinema were already in hysterics. The snappy dialogue and razor wit that is such a signature of previous movies (The Big Lebowski, Fargo, No Country for Old Men) was back in full force here, the jokes so rapid fire that the viewer can barely finish laughing at one before the next one blindsides them. Similarly, the ridiculously over-the-top, camp musical number starring Channing Tatum and a troupe of sailors shipping out to sea had tears of mirth rolling down my cheeks, in between being genuinely impressed by the choreography.

Obviously another large plus that this movie has going for it is its almost obscenely star-studded cast, bringing in some absolutely huge A-list performers that are constantly stealing the show from one another like some kind of massive, multi-directional tug of war. Josh Brolin is utterly convincing as Eddie Mannix, a beleaguered wrangler of studio employees, playing the straight man to the more exuberant artistic temperaments, most notably of which, just to name a few, are Ralph Fiennes' precious 'lovie' director Laurence Lorenz, Scarlett Johannsen's irritable anti-starlet Dee-Anna, and Alden Ehrenreich's wide-eyed ingénue Western actor-turned-detective, Tobey.

Clearly the budget for this film was generous considering the casting, but also the visual effects and settings are a feast for the eyes, simultaneously a tongue-in-cheek parody of traditional Hollywood movie sets, and yet managing to be beautiful to watch. In particular the synchronised swimming sequence has an almost dream-like, ephemeral quality, and the scenes where they are shooting a movie set in Ancient Rome have incredibly detailed props and costumes. Even just the bit-characters are richly thought out and performed beautifully, and they help to carry out the many-threaded jumble of narratives into one cohesive story that is gripping and surprising from beginning to end.

As an early-release treat, I hurried to the first showing of the Coen brothers' newest meisterwerk at the Phoenix Picturehouse. What an absolute joy it was. The third in their 'numbskull trilogy' (featuring O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Intolerable Cruelty, and an often-undignified George Clooney), it's definitely squarely on the goofy end of their spectrum, if you're better acquainted with magisterial thrillers such as No Country for Old Men.

The set-up: 50s studio executive Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin playing a heavily adapted version of this real-life fixer) runs an appropriately manic Capitol Studios, where a stable of bender-indulging and immodest stars have to be kept in check. Someone who may seem entirely pragmatic at work has moral doubts outside; we accompany him to confession. Capitol's (eponymous) historical epic is nearly in the can, when star Baird Whitlock (Clooney, who has an easy ride playing the louche buffoon) goes missing; his captors go unsought as Whitlock is thought to be off on another binge. This is just the greatest of Mannix's troubles…

Great skill, taste and affection go into the Coens' fictional version of Capitol Studios: as if on a paradisiacal channel-hop, we wander from a western, to a romantic epic, to the midst of enchanting Busby Berkeley-esque choreography. This could make the film seem episodic, but tonally it holds together. The audience is assured by the presence of cinematographer Roger Deakins, who has been bringing a beautiful, rich syntax to the Brothers' visual language for a quarter of a century. Is this merely an excuse for them to fondly pastiche tropes of early-fifties Hollywood? We'll answer later.

So there is lavish spectacle, retro charm and memorable set pieces. The multi-movie narrative also allows for a real-life stellar cast: Tilda Swinton with a wardrobe like an aviary, Channing Tatum impressing in his song-and-dance number, starlet Scarlett Johansson with a winningly grating voice and zero class. And gravitas from a special Vicar of Dibley guest, who'd've thought. Everyone is well used (maybe not Jonah Hill in his half-minute onscreen) and has a whale of a time. As is the Coens' facility for this sort of thing, the film has comedy dripping out of it: it may contain a fair bit of slapstick, but sometimes an actor's appearance and the editing combined to make me laugh out loud, nary a pratfall or witticism needed.

Concerning itself with the entertainment business, Caesar doesn't have the phlegmatic, honest and downcast grain of Inside Llewyn Davis, and is lighter as the creators of Barton Fink could possibly manage. Are they resting on their laurels, then? To say so, I'd have to have a low opinion of the comedy genre. Hail, Caesar! works magnificently as pure comedy, but I think this is more than an expertly executed trifle. Emerging shortly after Trumbo, here is another story couched in a Hollywood where fear of communism is affecting the business. But more primarily, this can be seen as a genial defence of cinema itself, a hymn to the willing suspension of disbelief. Such is apparent in Eddie Mannix's stated motivations for making his stars appear squeaky clean for the press, and for having served in his profession at all. Such is clear in the lovingly crafted movies-within-a-movie. At the roll of the credits, this is a story about storytelling, which happens to genuinely entertain. The lighting, costume and customarily pungent dialogue, as well as other elements previously mentioned, allow a real warmth through.

These brothers know their business.