The past year has given new life to the idea of the long gestating sequel, with 'Creed,' 'Star Wars Episode VII,' & 'Mad Max: Fury Road' all proving to not only be the expected financial successes, but also creatively reinvigorating - bringing new life to familiar franchises. I don't want to say that 'Zoolander 2' negates all of that good will, but it is certainly a solid argument against going back to the well after more than a decade. The first 'Zoolander' actually had something interesting and political to say about the exploitation of child labor in foreign countries. This sequel feels like so much less of a mockery of the fashion world because it has been fully embraced by them and has cameos by just about every famous designer you can think of (and many more I probably didn't recognize). The only mean jokes about the fashion world here are that people in that world are weird, stupid, gullible & crazy which doesn't do much when everyone is in on the joke (and it's not exactly biting or original commentary). The sequel treads the same jokes as the original but lacks the additional substance that made it a cult classic.
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I've never been a big follower of comic books, but ever since the outcry about the depiction of Deadpool in 'X-Men origins: Wolverine' I have been intrigued by this character. The idea of a snarky, morally ambivalent comedic character that also has a prevalence to break the fourth wall and make fun of the whole concept of superheroes was right up my alley, so I had to find out more. Eventually this led to me reading a few comics and even digging up the screenplay that had been floating around for years. After reading and enjoying all of that I just assumed the film would never get made since it necessitated a 'hard R' rating which doesn't happen for superhero films sine they theoretically need the teenage male audience to come out in droves. Well, thankfully Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Tim Miller and all the fans are persistent because what has finally been released isn't quite as incredible as what could have been, but it has maintained what makes the character unique to create a film that really stands out among the constant stream of similar recent blockbusters.
The Coen Brothers are unquestionably some of the best filmmakers working today, and they have certainly earned the right to do whatever they want to. When they decide to have a little fun they manage to align with my sense of humor pretty perfectly, so their comedies are some of my favorite films of all time. With 'Hail, Caesar!' they have been given free reign to revisit the Hollywood backlots of the 1950's and clearly havr a ball getting to explore this world. Some parts of it are perfectly realized screwball set-pieces and it all manages to come together as a celebration not only of film, but the absurd reality that comes with creating this entertainment for the world (especially when it was almost exclusively run by a few select studios). I wouldn't be surprised if just like all of the other Coen comedies this one ages remarkably and reveals layers missed on first viewing, however my experience was with a simply fun film that included some ingenious set-pieces infused with hilarious bits of subtle comedy, it just doesn't quite come together as a complete story.
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