La La Land Reviews
La La Land review
Posted : 2 years, 1 month ago on 13 March 2022 05:53Very few films in recent memory has left me leave the cinema with my heart properly warmed, a beaming smile on my face, tears in my eyes, feeling uplifted and properly moved. 'La La Land' however has managed that feat. Would also go further to say that it is one of the best modern film musicals after Disney's Renaissance period in the 90s, and very much a modern classic. Am not surprised at all its award wins and nominations (including being a record breaker at the Golden Globes), and if it does well at the Oscars as well there will be no complaints from me.
'La La Land' clicked with me most likely because of my love for golden age Hollywood, musicals (a somewhat maligned genre these days, but while there are a fair share of not particularly good ones there are a bigger number of great ones and even masterpieces), and how it fondly reminded me of what makes me love them so much. Also because of being able to relate to its themes and conflicts, due to being there myself. The talent was also appetising, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, directed by 'Whiplash's' Damien Chazelle and featuring cameo support from JK Simmons (who coincidentally won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 'Whiplash), John Legend and Rosemarie DeWitt.
It was just sheer joy to see a film with so much potential deliver on that potential and even more so, having seen a lot of stuff recently film and TV that wasted their potential it was refreshing to see a film actually delivering on it.
Visually, 'La La Land' is a gorgeous-looking film, with lots of vibrant colour that leap out at you from the screen while not having too much of a dizzying effect and cinematography that's not just a dream to behold but inventively done without falling into self-indulgent territory. The music and songs may induce, and has induced, mixed reactions, count me in as somebody who found the songs infectious, emotion-filled and with enough to make one top-tap and hum along.
The musical numbers are winningly choreographed too with non-stop exuberance. The opening number is especially true to this. The script is warm, funny, affectionate and poignant, and also with an honesty. It's not a complex script, nor did it need to be, and neither does it make the mistake of being too simple. The story is admittedly slight in places, then again so were the stories of even the best golden age musicals and they still managed to be classics because of how everything else was executed and because of the atmosphere.
Something that is true with 'La La Land', a film where anybody can relate to its themes. Even more special though is that not only does it pay tribute to musicals and films of the golden age (especially those with MGM), with their bold colour, exuberant marriage of music and dance, it also has a winsomeness and melancholic nature seen in films like 'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg' yet does it in a way that will appeal hugely to modern audiences. Loved that the two leads' relationship and chemistry was much more complex than the love-at-first-sight sort (far from it, more antagonists turned lovers) with a meet cute first encounter (again also not a case).
Chazelle's direction shows someone with a sheer love for film and film-making, more than evident in execution that is affectionate and full-of-life rather than self-indulgent. The chemistry between the two leads and their performances would need to be good to make the film work. No worries there. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone look so natural and at ease together, nothing looks false and it is easy to root for them and their conflicts.
Both of them give terrific performances, performances so good that less than great singing was immediately forgotten about. Especially Stone who has never been better in a performance of great expressivity and nuance, so many emotions such as vulnerability, strength, cheekiness, charm and buoyancy with never a hint of a heavy-handed touch. Gosling matches her, if not quite as good, showing a very charismatic presence and an effortless twinkling charm. All the support, although basically cameos, registers memorably.
All in all, a dream come true and totally banishes any blues and daily troubles away. 10/10 Bethany Cox
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A good movie
Posted : 6 years, 10 months ago on 9 June 2017 05:360 comments, Reply to this entry
La La Land review
Posted : 7 years ago on 19 April 2017 03:39QuizĂĄs no sea la pelĂcula que va a cambiar la industria, pero es una que deben apreciar a los que les gusta de buen cine y de aprender a analizar las caracterĂsticas que conforman una pelĂcula para los estudiantes o crĂticos que estudian cine.
Aunque mi favorita para los Oscares seguirĂĄ siendo Arrival.
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La La Land review
Posted : 7 years ago on 7 April 2017 01:450 comments, Reply to this entry
"La La Land" (2016)
Posted : 7 years, 1 month ago on 28 March 2017 07:43In Los Angeles, jazz pianist Sebastian falls for aspiring actress Mia, and they soon end up having to cope with the pressures of success.
This has to be one of the most critically lauded films of 2016, hailed as a return of the classic musicals of old. Unfortunately, what impressed everyone else so much, I felt was the film's weakest aspect. The musical sequences often involve choreographed dances that I couldn't help but feel looked very unnatural. On stage, it would look fine, but in the naturalistic setting depicted on film, it just looks out of place.
One thing that did impress me, though, was the film's use of colour. I think every colour on the spectrum is visible bright and clear in this movie, which makes a welcome change from the washed-out, monochrome colour palate I'm seeing so often.
But it was the second half that really stuck with me, where the songs become less frequent and it becomes clear that the overall theme is dreams and aspirations, particularly of being successful as a performer. It's a very profound and hard-hitting message: success in the entertainment industry is just pure luck.
So I really enjoyed this movie, but maybe not for the same reason as everyone else.
My rating: 80%
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La La Land review
Posted : 7 years, 2 months ago on 7 February 2017 05:19*I really adore musicals especially when they introduce people singing that I didn't see sing before.
*I like the cast with a few surprises here and there.
*My wife wanted to see this so that's why I finally made the way to see it.
*Another reason is to see what all the fuss and nominations were all about.
*Damien Chazelle also directed Whiplash so that is definitely a plus.
*A crazy thing is this guy also wrote 10 Cloverfield Lane and the unfortunate Last Exorcism Part II.
*Anyways I have heard someone say that it is great if you liked Singin In The Rain.
*So let us see what it has to offer.
Pros:
*The music is fun, unique, and different.
*Some of the musical numbers were fun.
*The story was nice and cute.
*The acting was great.
*The characters were likable and interesting.
*I thought Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling had great chemistry.
Cons:
*It felt a little too long.
*Some of the songs didn't work for me.
*Singin In The Rain is loads better.
*Some characters just seem to get left behind.
Verdict:
It's a refreshing and different new musical. I wouldn't say it's on top tier or deserves so many awards, but it is still pretty good. I don't think it is something I would seek to watch more than once to be honest. Still check it out as it does have a nice story that makes you care.
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La La Land
Posted : 7 years, 3 months ago on 25 January 2017 03:11If La La Land were a person, it would be an eager-to-please, bright sunny person with very little going on behind the eyes. Thereâs loving nods and references to your idols and objects of obsession, and then thereâs pure pastiche stitched together from the better parts of several famous movie musicals but without their emotional context. La La Land is a prime example of a charming time waster, an adequate movie musical that lacks any sense of depth that keeps something like Singinâ in the Rain vibrantly alive.
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La La Land steals proudly from Jacques Demyâs musical output, but all of this referencing is missing the melancholy and depth of feeling in its characters. Writer-director Damien Chazelle sure does know how to signify exuberance, but he canât seem to make us care about any of it. Itâs wonderfully sweet, happy, and cute in the moment, but it fades nearly instantly from your memory.
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If I sound contrarian to this movie, know that I enjoyed La La Land in the moment, but find its near full frontal assault on awards season slightly baffling. I suppose given the dark temper of 2016 something this light feels like a blissful oasis. Thereâs several positives to this film, but the strength of other films like Moonlight or Kubo and the Two Strings is how they linger in the mind and heart. La La Land is a sugar rush thatâs immediately pleasing before fading from the mind.
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At least thereâs a few moments of heightened movie-making that are clearly trying for something greater. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling bring their chemistry once more, and their fun repartee as actors does a lot of the heavy lifting for the material. Not that thereâs much to lift here. Stone plays an actress who dreams of hitting it big, Gosling plays another of Chazelleâs white jazz savior proxies, and their characters are fun to watch romance and spar together. But this is the extent of what La La Land asks of them.
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Stone can carry a tune, and is a pleasing dancer, while Gosling is a gifted actor who should probably lead with his other talents, because musical star is not one of them. Think of how good he is in Lars & the Real Girl, Crazy Stupid Love, or Half Nelson, then watch how adequate he is here. Any number of fellow actors in Goslingâs generation could have given this performance; it lacks his trademark wit and self-effacing charm. His warbling lacks soul, while Stone mugs up a few of her musical moments like a theater kid making good. God, do they try valiantly to bring their characters some soul, but thereâs no major arch for them to play, no memorable song for them to belt.
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La La Land comes roaring out the gate with an impassioned free-for-all dance number on a Los Angeles freeway, and nothing will top this sequence. The solid colors, almost eye bleeding vibrant and bright, and acrobatic choreography are an adrenaline shot that perk you up immediately. Then the vague sense of fealty creeps in and weâre left with a nagging sense that everything is a flimsy bubble ready to pop at a momentâs notice. Strange considering the depth of feeling Chazelle brought to Whiplash, which had actual thoughts in its brain and characters for its actors to play.
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I think itâs because nothing happens in this movie that you canât see coming from three scenes before. The romance follows the projection of A Star is Born without the tragedy and romance. Thereâs an extended dream sequence in the end that steals outright from the âBroadway Melodyâ in Singinâ in the Rain and An American in Parisâ impressionistic ballet, and a scene where a date starts off with a repertory screening of Rebel Without a Cause and ends with a late night trip to the Griffith Observatory. La La Land is obsessed with proving its bonafides as a prodigal child of movie musicals but forgets to invest some heart, soul, or real feeling while itâs at it. I enjoyed it in the moment, but the second the credits rolled all I could muster as I turned to my friend was an noncommittal, âIt was cute.â Naturally, this will probably dominate the Oscars. Â
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