Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Movie Review Madness - La La Land

Musical.  Step away if you do not want actors breaking into song. 

Are you still with me?  La La Land is absolutely delightful. It’s light, frothy, fun, and just joyous.  It’s a golden salute to Los Angeles, Hollywood, the film industry, jazz, and joy. Am I gushing?  Yes, I am.
Emma Stone (Mia) and Ryan Gosling (Sebastian) are not necessarily strong singers or dancers, but they are on key and have rhythm and they bring youth and exuberance to their roles.  From the time they meet to how they keep bumping into each other to how they bond and to how they move upward in the world of creativity…oh it’s fun.

From the opening number – cars stopped on the freeway, everyone getting out, singing, and dancing – to auditions, to jazz bars, to soulful glances – this movie has it all. It’s fun to root for Mia and Sebastian to “make it” – get chosen, be successful, work hard and sweat for the applause. And this is a duo you want to be in love, to be successful , to make it all work out.  I won’t give anything further away. Go watch these crazy kids and bask in their youth, their optimism, their hard work, and sacrifice. This is a good movie about the arts – there are no overnight success stories. It’s a lot of sweat and tears and gumption.

Fun song and dance numbers, fun palm tree backdrops, and you just can’t go wrong with time spent with Emma and Ryan. They are excellent at their craft and give it their all.  La La Land represents the soul of Hollywood. I predict happiness on Oscar night. We’ll see.


16 comments:

  1. Hi Joanne - I'm going on Friday ... see you anon - and I gather it's brilliant ... cheers Hilary

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    1. this is Hollywood at its best. Enjoy

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    2. Hi Joanne - I certainly needed to think about the aspects in the movie and it was an interesting film to have seen ... cheers H

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  2. I love musicals and this one seems to be great.
    Thanks for a wonderful read.

    Yvonne.

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  3. I heard it was a good movie. I hope to see it!

    betty

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  4. The soul of Hollywood huh? I think it is far darker than the movie depicts, but good movie indeed.

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    1. well, yeah. We need the gloss - jazz hands!!!

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  5. I've heard it's really good - it cleaned up at the Golden Globes - but just not a fan of musicals in movie form.

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    1. and that's why I gave the warning. But...if you had to go, I actually think you'd survive it just fine and enjoy some of the film making creativity.

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  6. Definitely a fan of Emma and Ryan, and was glad to learn the LaLa Land was about do-ra-me musical and not LaLa nutty as a fruitcake. I'll probably watch it much later when it comes out on Netflix or Demand by myself...HiHoney...not a fan. Great..not too gushy...review!

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    1. you will definitely be entertained. A nice escape hatch and something different. It's not a Star Wars product!

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  7. I like Emma....but not musicals. I heard this was good though and I hope it does well at the Oscars.

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    1. Emma just exudes youth and charm and some brains. She seems like a nice person

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  8. My kind of movie! I can't wait to see this one.

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