With the first Hail, Caesar! teaser trailer officially released, the award-winning Coen brothers are officially back. Joel and Ethan Coen have kept audiences entertained as credited screenwriters for both Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken and Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, and now the writer-directors are tackling 1950’s Hollywood. All the glitz and the glam is there, with each shot featuring dazzling costumes, bright sets, and the promise of some incredible song and dance numbers.

After Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) has a brief conversation in a confessional, the Hail, Caesar! teaser takes flight. The music is loud, the cinematography is bright, and every scene oozes with one big name star after another. From Frances McDormand (Fargo; Burn After Reading), who is no stranger to working with the Coens, to Tilda Swinton (Snowpiercer; Only Lovers Left Alive) and Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), I’m completely geeking over how much talent is in this film. Even the 21 Jump Street duo Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill pop up. The trailer is cheeky, fun, and nostalgic for the uproarious movies of the ’50s.

The short teaser ends with the question, “Wondering what’s going on?” posed by one of the smoking men presumably holding Baird Whitlock (George Clooney). Is this man part of “The Future”? Who or what is “The Future”? Based on what I’ve seen in this tease, Hail, Caesar! is either going to be a true delight or a flop for biting off more than it can chew. How will it carry the plot without getting too swept up in its own fabulousness and wit? Plus, with a cast this lavishly star-studded, will we get true character development or become lost trying to keep up? The Coen Brothers are expert storytellers and have an impressive number of successful films under their belt – see A Serious Man, The Big Lebowski, and No Country for Old Men. Let’s hope this one is no different.

Another note of interest is the release date. If it’s critically successful, and I really think it could be, it would have Oscars written all over it. However, the brothers Coen have elected to surpass the awards season hoopla with a February release, meaning Hail, Caesar! would only be eligible for the Academy Awards in 2017. If the film truly delivers, it could have a year like The Grand Budapest Hotel, whose critical momentum carried it from March all the way to the Oscars – a rare feat. But as far as awards go, the Coen brothers, like the honey badger, don’t care.

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Here’s the official plot synopsis for Hail, Caesar! courtesy of Sony Pictures:

Hail, Caesar! follows a single day in the life of a studio fixer who is presented with plenty of problems to fix.

Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, Hail, Caesar! stars Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Channing Tatum. The movie is set to hit theaters on February 5, 2016.

Source: Sony Pictures