Lazy Film Critic Movie Reviews
La La Land
So a few days ago I saw Damien Chazelles musical throwback to classic Hollywood, La La Land, and I gotta say it was actually pretty great. The shere amount of praise I'd been hearing for this movie had sort of convinced me it was going to disappoint, with some people calling this one of the best movies of the year, or even of the decade. And while I don't think it's on exactly that same level, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a pretty good time with this one.
First off, if you know me you know I'm a fan of musicals. If a movie can successfully integrate musical numbers and songs into its story, I'm there day one. Musicals are always just so much fun, they're always wonderful, and this one is no exception. Right from the start, this movie shows off daring, fun, creative, and well-choreographed musical numbers. Each sequence stands on its out as a unique number, they're all beautifully directed with amazing set work and lighting, and of course, the songs themselves are fantastic.
As I'm sure you've heard, there's also some Oscar buzz surrounding this movie, specifically around Emma Stones performance. And I have to say, her performance here is one of the most surprising aspects of this movie. It's definitely one of the more charismatic performances I've seen from her, most of the time she's pretty typecast as the same snarky character, but here she plays a more emotionally-based character, and she absolutely nails it. Ryan Gosling is as good as ever, although he's definitely more in his normal range here than something like Drive, but he does a good job.
Final Rating
If there's any gripes I had with this movie, they're very minor. I had a really good time with La La Land, it's an excellent, fun, wonderful time. If you're a fan of musicals (especially musical theatre or broadway) you have to see this one, this movie was practically hand-crafted for you. Really, I think everyone should see this movie, because I can't see someone not enjoying this movie at least a little bit.
If there's any gripes I had with this movie, they're very minor. I had a really good time with La La Land, it's an excellent, fun, wonderful time. If you're a fan of musicals (especially musical theatre or broadway) you have to see this one, this movie was practically hand-crafted for you. Really, I think everyone should see this movie, because I can't see someone not enjoying this movie at least a little bit.
My only problem was the ending......now I know you might roll your eyes at that. But personally I felt the movie did not mesh well. You have a first half that is bubbly and fun, a terrific tribute to the Old Hollywood Musical. Then it drops off into this very dramatic piece that lacks any of the fun (or music) that was found in the first half. The second half felt very forced. And then they try to wrap it up with one more dazzling number that you can't fully enjoy because you know what the reality is of the situation. I also hate that they try to bring this kind of harsh reality into a movie where people dance in rush hour traffic.
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