Winter releases gain in quality, ticket sales

Ingenue DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson) has a problem that needs the attention of studio fixer Eddie Mannix in the Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar!
Ingenue DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson) has a problem that needs the attention of studio fixer Eddie Mannix in the Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar!

This probably isn't the worst time for casual moviegoers. There are plenty of good films left from last year still in theaters, and if you haven't yet caught The Revenant, Room, The Big Short, Youth or Carol, you still have time. And I expect that in the next couple of weeks you'll be able to see Mustang, 45 Years, Son of Saul, Anomalisa, The Lady in the Van and maybe Mojave, which was a movie I liked at last year's Tribeca Film Festival. (Caveat: I am the only one I know who liked Mojave.)

Last week we had Kung Fu Panda 3, which is a surprisingly good movie for the end of January. This week we have a Coen brothers' film, Hail, Caesar!, with an all-star cast that includes George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Josh Brolin and Jonah Hill. Brolin is playing a fictional version of legendary Hollywood fixer Eddie Mannix, a fascinating and controversial figure who was one of the inspirations for the Ray Donovan character Liev Schreiber plays in the Showtime series of the same name.

"The real Eddie Mannix was a thug from New Jersey who bribed cops, bedded hundreds of would-be actresses, ran with the mob and may have ordered the killing of Superman George Reeves," New York Post entertainment writer Michael Riedel wrote earlier this week. Apparently Brolin portrays the fictional Mannix as a fixer with scruples and a decent family man.

(For more on Mannix and the Old Hollywood tradition of protecting investments, see E.J. Fleming's 2004 book The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine.)

Usually a February release signals, at the very least, a studio's lack of confidence in a movie. And this is the first movie the Coens have released in the year's first quarter since The Ladykillers on March 26, 2004. The Ladykillers was a commercial and artistic disappointment; it made $39 million, and its scores on the review aggregators Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes stand at 56 percent and 55 percent, respectively. That said, I didn't hate the film. Here's what I wrote in my review: "Ultimately, the standard for any remake is the original film, though the Coens so thoroughly rework -- or 're-quirk' -- the story that had they not also borrowed the title, they might have gotten away with not crediting the original at all. The Ladykillers is to most remakes as Fargo is to most docudramas -- the Coenization process is much more important than the source material."

On the other hand, Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Clooney's Monument Men (2014) and Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island (2010) were released early in the year. They all managed to perform well at the box office, and Grand Budapest Hotel even garnered end-of-the year critical attention. So maybe the stigma of a February or March release is dissipating.

In any case, it just seems like good business to give moviegoers quality counter-programming in the midst of all the cheap horror films and troubled productions that get dumped in theaters in the dead of winter. Today's release date for Hail, Caesar! was announced way back in October 2014. I'm guardedly optimistic about the prospects of Hail, Caesar! (But then, I'm writing this before editing our review.) I'm looking forward to the Coenization of Eddie Mannix.

Two more 2015 Top 10s

There are a couple that I didn't get in earlier. There may even be some more hiding in my email files. We'll keep running them until we run out.

Amy Gatewood of Allegra & Image360: I feel like there are quite a few movies I plan to see that would probably make it, so they are unfairly losing out (The Revenant, Anomalisa, Joy, Carol, Room).

But here are the ones that I have seen and really enjoyed: Salt of the Earth; The Wrecking Crew; Far From the Madding Crowd; The Big Short; What We Do in the Shadows; Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief; Love & Mercy; Trainwreck; Ex Machina; The Martian.

Runner-up: Spotlight

Second runner-up: Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

Matt Smith, owner-operator, Riverdale 10 Cinema (among other theaters in central Arkansas): I guess I should make most of this list about movies people have had a chance to see in Arkansas. These are in no certain order -- not worst to first, or best to worst -- I'm just listing what I felt to be moving films.

The Revenant -- Wow!

Room -- She rocked it.

Spotlight -- Hard subject, great cast used to almost perfection.

Trumbo -- Other than Breaking Bad, this is his tour de force.

The Danish Girl -- Painful and gripping.

Carol -- Great social commentary on that period in time.

45 Years -- Charlotte Rampling is always tremendous.

Cartel Land -- The truth about the subject. And it hurts.

Amy -- Sad to see her go. What a voice.

Mustang -- Thought this was cool.

Son of Saul -- This one will win the award.

Sicario -- Loved it. Very underrated this year, it deserved more credit.

Youth -- Sir Michael Caine: Nothing else needs to be said.

Creed -- Give Stallone the award already!

Brooklyn -- Cute, somewhat predictable, yet very enjoyable.

Email:

pmartin@arkansasonline.com

blooddirtangels.com

MovieStyle on 02/05/2016

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