La La Land Movie Discussion Thread

[StarShapedGummy]

 

For those who have seen this incredible film, what did you think of it?

 

I've seen it 3 times so far ;). Love the music, score and story.

[Pseudo]

Absolutely loved LalaLand a lot more than I expected to. The chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone was fantastic and the transition from light-hearted to emotional was well done. The songs in the film are probably not going to become classics but were still great, and the Mia and Sebastian's theme motif is still stuck in my head. I also liked the way the ending was done, spoilery so...

 

 

A lot of the film was an artist's wish fulfillment: a barista getting discovered and a struggling musician making it big and achieving his dream. So, when reality hit and it turns out their careers would take them separate ways in life but they still want the best for one another, it was very realistic and made the movie's cheesiness go down to an acceptable level. Having it played out in Mia's fantasy would have made the movie bland and unmemorable and they did the right thing. Also, speaking of Mia's fantasy scene, wow, took my breath away.

 

 

Very well directed movie, highly recommended.

[StarShapedGummy]

Absolutely loved LalaLand a lot more than I expected to. The chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone was fantastic and the transition from light-hearted to emotional was well done. The songs in the film are probably not going to become classics but were still great, and the Mia and Sebastian's theme motif is still stuck in my head. I also liked the way the ending was done, spoilery so...

 

 

A lot of the film was an artist's wish fulfillment: a barista getting discovered and a struggling musician making it big and achieving his dream. So, when reality hit and it turns out their careers would take them separate ways in life but they still want the best for one another, it was very realistic and made the movie's cheesiness go down to an acceptable level. Having it played out in Mia's fantasy would have made the movie bland and unmemorable and they did the right thing. Also, speaking of Mia's fantasy scene, wow, took my breath away.

 

 

Very well directed movie, highly recommended.

I don't think Gosling and Stone's chemistry was super amazing, but it was good enough to make interactions feel seemless at times. I think the best parts of the film and the ones where you connected the most with the characters was when they were apart:

stone's audition, gosling's playing sebastian & mia's theme. emma hearing the audience after her play, sebastian realizing he was not meant for the touring, sebastian when he was playing the theme at the end of the movie; all of these performances didn't show direct interaction between the two.

 

 

The songs feel nostalgic...well musical numbers always do. The songs didn't have super hard notes to hit, which was great for gosling and stone's ranges. and old timey songs don't usually feature super hard notes to hit. 

 

 

the sad ending was the perfect ending; i'm pretty sure everyone in the audience expected a happy one. but it was a sad and enduring ending.... chazelle knows how to end his movies well

 

[Pseudo]

I don't think Gosling and Stone's chemistry was super amazing, but it was good enough to make interactions feel seemless at times. I think the best parts of the film and the ones where you connected the most with the characters was when they were apart:

stone's audition, gosling's playing sebastian & mia's theme. emma hearing the audience after her play, sebastian realizing he was not meant for the touring, sebastian when he was playing the theme at the end of the movie; all of these performances didn't show direct interaction between the two.

 

 

The songs feel nostalgic...well musical numbers always do. The songs didn't have super hard notes to hit, which was great for gosling and stone's ranges. and old timey songs don't usually feature super hard notes to hit. 

 

 

the sad ending was the perfect ending; i'm pretty sure everyone in the audience expected a happy one. but it was a sad and enduring ending.... chazelle knows how to end his movies well

 

 

I more or less agree with you on that point - the best character building moments were done when they were alone, but Gosling and Stone (at least to me) managed to portray a believable relationship between two people who were in love, admired each other, and were truly supportive of each other's ambitions, and that stayed true even in the rougher moments of the relationship. And I think it was the interpretation of the characters by the actors that probably made it so - they were both portrayed as genuinely good people, and even though Gosling wasn't nearly as emotive as Stone, he made his character likeable even though he could've clearly ended up as an annoying jazz hipster/reactionist.

 

I didn't have super high expectations for their voices and was surprised at how decent they were, although they couldn't match up to the singing and dancing stars of the oldies like Fred Astaire (but they didn't have to to make it a great musical). 

 

 

The ending could've been left to interpretation by ending at the fantasy scene without coming back to reality, made unbearably sad by having Mia leave without looking back, but I'm glad Chazelle gave the viewers closure by having the two look at each other and smile, hinting that their relationship wasn't all for nothing. It really was very well written.

 

 

I've been holding off on Whiplash but now I'll definitely have to see it! 

[StarShapedGummy]

I more or less agree with you on that point - the best character building moments were done when they were alone, but Gosling and Stone (at least to me) managed to portray a believable relationship between two people who were in love, admired each other, and were truly supportive of each other's ambitions, and that stayed true even in the rougher moments of the relationship. And I think it was the interpretation of the characters by the actors that probably made it so - they were both portrayed as genuinely good people, and even though Gosling wasn't nearly as emotive as Stone, he made his character likeable even though he could've clearly ended up as an annoying jazz hipster/reactionist.

 

I didn't have super high expectations for their voices and was surprised at how decent they were, although they couldn't match up to the singing and dancing stars of the oldies like Fred Astaire (but they didn't have to to make it a great musical). 

 

 

The ending could've been left to interpretation by ending at the fantasy scene without coming back to reality, made unbearably sad by having Mia leave without looking back, but I'm glad Chazelle gave the viewers closure by having the two look at each other and smile, hinting that their relationship wasn't all for nothing. It really was very well written.

 

 

I've been holding off on Whiplash but now I'll definitely have to see it! 

my only gripe with the ending is

it doesn't seem believable that mia and sebastian would suspend all communication once mia landed (presumably) her role for the movie... in a time when social media is at its height...and when sebastian could somehow locate mia in colorado based on just hints suggested by mia...somehow doesn't add up... of course, if we did find out that they somehow decided to not communicate again for a few years and sebastian, in a conversation in the movie, suggests something like this; the ending wouldn't have as much weight... what made the ending endearing was mia unexpectedly stumbles upon seb's.

 

 

i saw emma stone twice in a musical ^^. she has decent chops...but i wouldn't say she has super amazing vocals...but good enough to sing her songs.

 

whiplash was my most favorite movie of 2014. la la land might be my most favorite of 2016....but i still have to watch moonlight, arrival, silence, hacksaw ridge, and manchester by the sea before i make the decision.

[StarShapedGummy]

watched this movie for a 6th time... but first time in imax. 

 

if you haven't seen this movie yet, watch it in imax! the voices are more clearer and the songs/score are enhanced.

[whoo]

Warning: first and long post!

Just watched this beautiful film last Saturday and I have to say I am damn in awe of everything! La La Land is exactly the drug that I need to reignite my passion for Hollywood cinema after encountering so many derivative, unoriginal blockbusters these past few years.

 

This notion actually brings me to the point of what I really really really admire about Chazelle's work--the upshots of its impact. The manner of which the director made this film recalls the delight and nostalgia of old Hollywood films--the font style and the film references and all that glitter and jazz--as it transcends beyond the expectations of many. The finished product then translates to a great return-to-form of mainstream American cinema, that is not only an Oscar hopeful, but also a box-office success. 

 

It is extremely clever, although it seemed unintended (or is it?), that Damien Chazelle produced a film that is both an ode to the past and a welcome embrace to the future. A small-scale musical (celebrated musical films "Les Miserables" and "Mamma Mia" were produced for over $50 million as compared to Land's $30 million) serving as a synthesis of both millennium ages, as it introduces a gorgeously evocative and contemporarily refreshing gem about the whims of life and the purpose of dream. 

 

Gosling's breeze of fresh breath, Sebastian, was noted for being a traditionalist to much of John Legend's didactic barrage about jazz belonging to the future. Stone's charming Mia, on the hand, strives to survive uninterested faces and "may-I-get-a-sandwich" distractions in casting auditions. "How about you write your own roles", Sebastian utters trying to convince the lady a chance to become a creator of her own acting aspirations. While these boundary-pushing decisions illuminate a sense of a coming horizon to both of their careers, this does not seem the fate. In the end, they both returned to where they truly belong--their life-long dreams. Sebastian now has a club to play all kinds of "traditionalist" jazz he wants, and Mia, well she just have her own life in gigantic studios. Pfft no big deal. 

 

Like the old-fashioned feel and classic "Hollywood" style of La La Land, the functional screenplay is parallel with that paradigm--coercing a metaphorical embodiment of the "old", through Sebastian and Mia's dreams, and how it is so so significant to keep this "old" safe and eventually revived. This just confirms how thoroughly thought-out the movie is, of how profoundly enlightening the message is and interestingly intricate the themes are. Mr. Chazelle wants us to remember the past. Of how they used to make movies back then with a brimming bucket of laughter and tears and sniffs and blushes. He wants us to feel the nostalgia behind the legacy of Hollywood, and in turn, love it. He wants to make a film that will bring forth a future founded by the past and graced by the present. And this was it, La La Fucking Land, the one that bound generations together in a packed theatre, while they munch their popcorn and witness the cinematic achievement eagerly being unveiled. 

[Guest]

La La Land has been getting a lot of shit on my twitter and tumblr timeline/dashboard.

 

For me, however, it has become one of my favorite movies ever! Watched it three times, third time was in IMAX.

 

It's just so magical to watch, it is so beautiful and sobering. I loved it from beginning to end. There is so much that I could say about this movie, but I have already typed down and told whole paragraphs to my friends and the only thing that's really just there for me is the feeling of satisfaction when thinking of the movie.