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La La Land |OT| Not quite Mia tempo
- Thread starter shira
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Kotetsu534
Member
Went into this fairly sure it was going to miss me - I'm pretty far from the target demographic as far as musicals go - but I was bowled over. It's just shot so well, on film with richly saturated colours and a guileless love of LA filmaking. The sound mixing (give or take a couple of the early songs' vocals), the razor sharp editing, the confidence to let Gosling and Stone act out the dancing and singing without cuts every two seconds, and the genius to let them be flawed at it, to gradually pull us away from the fantasy, towards the messy reality of 'conflict and compromise'.
And man they sell it. Stone particularly, doing so much with her wide, demonstrative eyes. But Gosling's her equal, if only because the script gives him more to work with, and because they have a natural spark together. There's enough spark in their dialogue and exchanges - think Stone's mocking lip sync after Mia requests I Ran, Gosling, still sharp and taciturn, but with a more vulnerable edge than he often carries, fitting for a struggling idealist - to be compelling without overegging it. Then there's the pathos,
Saw someone comment that Chazelle had pulled off a heist - smuggling an indie romance onto our screens under the guise of a musical. That rings true to me. But few romances command music half as successfully as La La Land.
I was also reminded of Whisper of the Heart (a Ghibli film about two younger creative dreamers that is accordingly sweeter, sketches its female lead more fully, and hangs on just one song). Despite the large age difference, there's the same amount of sex shown. Funny to contemplate.
Couple of good articles on it here:
At The Movies - Michael Wood (quite dense, but gets at what is gained and lost very well)
https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n02/michael-wood/at-the-movies
La La Land Salutes, and Updates, the Hollywood Musical - David Edelstein
http://www.vulture.com/2016/12/movie-review-la-la-land.html
And man they sell it. Stone particularly, doing so much with her wide, demonstrative eyes. But Gosling's her equal, if only because the script gives him more to work with, and because they have a natural spark together. There's enough spark in their dialogue and exchanges - think Stone's mocking lip sync after Mia requests I Ran, Gosling, still sharp and taciturn, but with a more vulnerable edge than he often carries, fitting for a struggling idealist - to be compelling without overegging it. Then there's the pathos,
the way they help each other achieve their dreams but therefore end up apart - I saw this coming after the scene at the Griffith Observatory - such a flight of fancy simply came too early to believe it was going to hold. At first I thought Chazelle should've showed us why they split and never kept in touch, but then I realised that would take things all the way from bittersweet to crushing melancholy, and that would be too much for the film to bear. Instead he gave us a bravura finale, calling back to the scene where Mia first sees Seb play the piano at the restaurant, while he conjures up a prettified, la la scenario of what might have been, and they leave each other what smiles they can.
Saw someone comment that Chazelle had pulled off a heist - smuggling an indie romance onto our screens under the guise of a musical. That rings true to me. But few romances command music half as successfully as La La Land.
I was also reminded of Whisper of the Heart (a Ghibli film about two younger creative dreamers that is accordingly sweeter, sketches its female lead more fully, and hangs on just one song). Despite the large age difference, there's the same amount of sex shown. Funny to contemplate.
Couple of good articles on it here:
At The Movies - Michael Wood (quite dense, but gets at what is gained and lost very well)
https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n02/michael-wood/at-the-movies
La La Land Salutes, and Updates, the Hollywood Musical - David Edelstein
http://www.vulture.com/2016/12/movie-review-la-la-land.html
cj_iwakura
Member
Shit. I gotta watch this for a 4th time. IMAX up
Damn, that's tempting.
Not a fan of the art though.
JetBlackPanda
Member
My autographed blue vinyl finally shipped. HYPE.
Mine came today. Looks like the dude got sick of signing shit and rushed the fuck out of it.
Same, which makes me think he either did a ton and didn't expect it or that's just the way his signature is.
Either way nice to have, it's up in my office. I'll get a frame album protector for it at some point.
Warm Machine
Member
So saw this yesterday. While I enjoyed it and was very impressed by the choreography and mechanical aspects of the film I wasn't in love with the actual story. I was engaged throughout but it just didn't resonate with me the way I would have hoped. I do not understand why people have called the dancing or singing poor though as I found both worked in context.
So my Oscar films I've seen so far has been Moonlight, Hell or High Water, and this. Hell or High Water is still in my personal lead.
So my Oscar films I've seen so far has been Moonlight, Hell or High Water, and this. Hell or High Water is still in my personal lead.
I mean, he doesn't have a particularly nice signature in the first place. But mine looks a lot more rushed than some of the other examples I've seen. Mine almost looks like it's forged.
\
Mine:
shira
Member
Ok. IMAX La La Land is fucking amazing.
Wowzers. The CINEMASCOPE format in IMAX with massive screen, Laser projection and Dolby Atmos. I've already seen it 3x and it really heightens the whole expeience.
Stayed till the end credits and goddamit the
IMAX highly recommended if you haven't seen it or want a 2nd viewing. I'm not sure what they are doing in other regions but for most NA theatres I think they are doing
Lego Batman Feb 10-Feb 24.
Logan opens March 3.
So they might have another limited IMAX run Feb 25-March 2 for a post Oscar (Feb 26) run.
Check it out in real IMAX if you can!
Wowzers. The CINEMASCOPE format in IMAX with massive screen, Laser projection and Dolby Atmos. I've already seen it 3x and it really heightens the whole expeience.
Stayed till the end credits and goddamit the
final song is a lullaby version of mia and seb's theme with a celesta. I already thought the actual ending was perfect, but staying till the end is just this perfect cherry on top as it slows down and tucks you into bed ready for dreamland. Fucking genius start to finish.
IMAX highly recommended if you haven't seen it or want a 2nd viewing. I'm not sure what they are doing in other regions but for most NA theatres I think they are doing
Lego Batman Feb 10-Feb 24.
Logan opens March 3.
So they might have another limited IMAX run Feb 25-March 2 for a post Oscar (Feb 26) run.
Check it out in real IMAX if you can!
Hierophant
Banned
Is there anything between Ryan gosling and emma stone irl
Boogie9IGN
Member
Gosling has been married to Eva Mendes since 2011 and Emma Stone is engaged to Andrew Garfield iirc do prooooolly not but who knows
Uhm no?
He's married and she was in relationship with Andrew Garfield. I think it's just a case of two friends who have a lot of chemistry with each other.
shira
Member
shira
Member
BAFTAs (11 nominations)
Nominee Best Film Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, Marc Platt
Nominee Director Damien Chazelle
Nominee Original Screenplay Damien Chazelle
Nominee Leading Actor Ryan Gosling
Nominee Leading Actress Emma Stone
Nominee Original Music Justin Hurwitz
Nominee Cinematography Linus Sandgren
Nominee Editing Tom Cross
Nominee Production Design Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, David Wasco
Nominee Costume Design Mary Zophres
Nominee Sound Mildred Iatrou Morgan, Ai-Ling Lee, Steve A. Morrow, Andy Nelson
Not really a great indicator for Oscar but LLL primed to sweep again.
The only iffy one is Gosling for best actor
Lights and Waves
Member
Insane. I'm tempted to see it once last time before the Oscars!
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
Oscars: "Not quite Mia tempo"
JetBlackPanda
Member
So my soundtrack never arrived its been stuck with USPS with the last update as picked up feb 6th.
and USPS is a fucking nightmare to even find out what is going on.
I hate this.
Lionel Richie
Member
Oscars: "Not quite Mia tempo"
I can see La La Land losing and deal well with it. Whiplash was motherfucking robbed though.
cj_iwakura
Member
At least L3 is an uplifting movie. Bittersweet, but still.
Whiplash turns any joy to ash.
cj_iwakura
Member
After listening to the soundtrack again, I feel like not having Stone and Gosling perform was a wasted opportunity. Start with solo City of Stars(just Gosling), segue into the duet version, finish with Audition(just Stone).
greatestjediever
Member
Yeah, I wasn't feeling Legend and Hurwitz' new interpretation of those songs. That said, Emma has stated many times over the awards season she had absolutely no intention of singing in front of the Oscars. I don't think Ryan necessarily said one way or the other, but my guess is he didn't want to do it either.
I hated the performance at the Oscars. My friends watching with me who haven't seen the movie were not impressed and might have turned them off to it slightly.
cj_iwakura
Member
Source? I believe you, just curious about context.
greatestjediever
Member
I'll have to look back through many of the press interviews they've had during screenings and awards season. I'm a bit embarrassed to say I've watched countless interviews of the cast/crew, but it's one of my favorite movies of all time. If I can pinpoint some, I'll link them here.
cj_iwakura
Member
Even Jenkins said "to hell with dreams". Ice cold.
Really hope this leads to similarly ambitious projects being greenlit
Lights and Waves
Member
This just happened to me. Damn these emotions of mine! What a beautiful film.
InsaneMonkey
Neo Member
Loved the film more than I thought I would.
Does anyone have any other movies with jazz as a core? I've already watched Whiplash.
Does anyone have any other movies with jazz as a core? I've already watched Whiplash.
lightskintwin
Banned
Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues that stars Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes.
cj_iwakura
Member
It doesn't involve jazz, but The Young Girls of Rochefort is VERY similar.
The Jazz Singer obv.
I hardly discuss movies because I'm far from the most enlightened film critic out there, but La La Land's been on my mind for the last week and I haven't gotten over it. I actually saw it in two parts initially on a flight from Tokyo to Seoul, which is under 2 hours so I saw the first half on the flight to and the latter half on the flight back. Was so impressed and moved by the ending that I saw it in Japanese theaters the next day; actually the theatrical run here was extended due to higher-than-expected popularity. And the following day after that, I caught the showing on IMAX. And then the following day was April 11, the U.S. digital release, so I bought that one too. I've seen the film 5 times now.
I really, really love this movie, but I also hate it a bit at the same time. It's a bizarre feeling.
Things I loved:
Things I didn't like as much:
Overall, definitely somewhere among my favorites.
I really, really love this movie, but I also hate it a bit at the same time. It's a bizarre feeling.
Things I loved:
- The LA scenery. I'm from San Francisco and am a fairly opinionated traveler, so I take the LA rivalry a bit seriously at times, but seeing the city in the background, particularly the freeway scene, and recognizing just about all of it gave me a newfound appreciation for LA. I can't wait till E3 now, even though I usually dread going. The nostalgic look was very nice overall, although I can't handle certain panning scenes in which the backgrounds are a bit too blurry.
- The leads. Emma Stone's been on my radar for awhile and I always knew I loved her facial expressions, voice and demeanor. She didn't disappoint. I was surprised how much I also liked Ryan Gosling, who I had never really paid attention to in the past. Seb's a flawed, egotistical guy with a great heart and Gosling sold that so well. I went and saw The Notebook and Crazy, Stupid, Love right after because Gosling was just so much fun.
- The songs are great, and I'm into Another Day In The Sun and Audition in particular. Stone does a pretty decent job, although Gosling shines more on the piano than his actual voice, which I'm not fond of. I don't think the songs are as good as something like Wicked or Phantom of the Opera, but they're nice.
- The Paris fantasy. Paris is my 2nd favorite city in the world (after Tokyo) and I've always dreamed of moving there someday. That was a nice bonus.
Things I didn't like as much:
- I'm not 100% convinced at how they
Even taking A Lovely Night into consideration, it just seems to happen so suddenly. Also, is it just me or is there never a scene where Sebastian tells Mia his name?present the leads falling in love.
- The ending (excluding the
). It feels way too melodramatic for the sake of being melodramatic.fantasyDid they seriously never, ever stay in touch in the last 5 years? For that matter, 5 years doesn't feel like a particularly long time in the context of how much Mia has changed. She went to Paris to film for months, became famous, moved to New York at some point where she presumably met her husband and had time to blossom the relationship (with her family in Boulder City), popped out a kid and is starring in a recent hit? Seemed more like a 10 year gap than a 5 year one, IMO.
- The ethnic representation. It's LA and there are hardly any Latinos around. It's not a deal breaker or anything, but just particularly odd.
Overall, definitely somewhere among my favorites.
Waiting for La La Land 2 where the husband dies and Mia can rekindle her romance with Seb.
Kssio_Aug
Member
Just watched it. I haven't read any critic about it before and got the movie mainly to watch with my girlfriend cause she wanted to see it more than me. I was never a big fan of musical.
I'm really glad that I did cause it was absolutely amazing! Beautiful movie, and I am not toally sure why but it really touched me (probably all that story about dreams, and the fact that I identified myself with some of the Sebastian's characteristcs).
Didn't want to creat a new thread just to express my reaction about it, but I really wanted to share my opinion. Reason why I'm resurrecting this thread.
If you're reading it and haven't watched the movie yet, give it a try. It's beatiful!
I'm really glad that I did cause it was absolutely amazing! Beautiful movie, and I am not toally sure why but it really touched me (probably all that story about dreams, and the fact that I identified myself with some of the Sebastian's characteristcs).
Didn't want to creat a new thread just to express my reaction about it, but I really wanted to share my opinion. Reason why I'm resurrecting this thread.
If you're reading it and haven't watched the movie yet, give it a try. It's beatiful!
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