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 La La Land 

Rate This Film
A 72%  72%  [ 18 ]
B 20%  20%  [ 5 ]
C 4%  4%  [ 1 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 4%  4%  [ 1 ]
Total votes : 25

 La La Land 
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The Kramer
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Post Re: La La Land
I guess I just didn't believe his smile at the end. Seeing Emma broke him almost instantly. He plays their song to give her of what could have been, what he wanted. But he still smiles back to her , because he loves her and doesn't want to burden her with his regret. They severed contact so complerely that she didn't even know about him opening the club? Cmon.


Wed Jan 11, 2017 11:31 pm
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Sbil

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Post Re: La La Land
Flava'd vs The World wrote:
I guess I just didn't believe his smile at the end. Seeing Emma broke him almost instantly. He plays their song to give her of what could have been, what he wanted. But he still smiles back to her , because he loves her and doesn't want to burden her with his regret. They severed contact so complerely that she didn't even know about him opening the club? Cmon.


How many of your exes do you stay in touch with, even if the relationship ended amicably? Plus Mia was off getting all Hollywood Star famous and shit.


Wed Jan 11, 2017 11:43 pm
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Post Re: La La Land
It was great but not in the way I expected. Contrary to most musicals surface splashiness, I thought this film was preoccupied with deeper and more melancholic things regarding dreams and becoming an adult, the pressure to be successful, etc. and love and regret in the city where so many are meant feel like failures. Even death in a way. Some have pointed out why the music numbers stop in the middle, maybe it's because the characters have to enter reality after they get together

Even for an Oscar frontrunner Stone was above and beyond what I expected. Probably one of the best performances of last few decades for me. Gosling was so great as well.

Flava'd vs The World wrote:
So the theme of the movie is that love holds you back and you can only be successful and achieve your dream if you grow up and let it go. Wonderful. I'm thrilled that I just invested two hours into a romance movie.

It's really good up until the final Winter though.


It depends how you see the ending. I saw it as a sad one and that the characters choosing their career path over love was the wrong move that left them with sadness and regret. From that perspective Chazelle has the priorities right - love over career, not career over love. I kind of wish I didn't see Cafe Society first though cause it had the same ending thus taking the impact off this one a bit

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Thu Jan 12, 2017 4:39 am
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Post Re: La La Land
Shack wrote:
Chazelle has the priorities right - love over career, not career over love.

Or does he?


Thu Jan 12, 2017 5:41 am
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The Kramer
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Post Re: La La Land
Libs, isn't that what facebook is for? Checking in on people from your past without having to actually talk to them? But I guess Jazz Hands Gosling wouldn't be a facebook guy.

And shack, I just wasn't viewing the movie that way. For me, La La Land was about a romance that was helping their respective careers. And then, all of a sudden, Gosling has to choose between her and his career and as Joe Rogan would say "iittttssss alllll oovvvveerrrr". A love so powerful, so strong, yet it can't handle a simple scheduling conflict. For 95 minutes, La La Land Showed me one thing, but then Told me the exact opposite at the end.

On a more positive note, while I didn't think any of the songs were great ("How Far i'll Go ">>>) , the musical numbers are set as well as I've ever seen. My favorite was probably "A Lovely Night" or "Someone In The Crowd". But even the non showtuns were so well done. Emma dancing to "I Ran" should win her the oscar by itself.


Thu Jan 12, 2017 1:24 pm
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The Kramer
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Post Re: La La Land
Emma's kid looks to be about 2 at the end. So add another nine months, and assuming it wasn't an accidental pregnancy, add atleast another year for dating and marrying the new guy. So she's been with this guy for four out of the five years since Gosling. So why couldn't she give Ryan a call sometime between her four months in Paris and meeting this new guy, the same type she ran out on at the beginning. So you can be successful if yor relationship is boring and by the manual, but unselfish passion leads to failure.


Thu Jan 12, 2017 1:44 pm
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Post Re: La La Land
Flava'd vs The World wrote:
And shack, I just wasn't viewing the movie that way. For me, La La Land was about a romance that was helping their respective careers. And then, all of a sudden, Gosling has to choose between her and his career and as Joe Rogan would say "iittttssss alllll oovvvveerrrr". A love so powerful, so strong, yet it can't handle a simple scheduling conflict. For 95 minutes, La La Land Showed me one thing, but then Told me the exact opposite at the end.


Maybe. For me Gosling ruins the relationship by going by the paycheque, not trying to start the jazz club. If at the scene at the dinner table he decided to stay in LA and tried to start the club with the money he has already, that would have saved the relationship. So I don't think the movie glorifies him giving up Mia for his dreams in that moment. He was being foolish by overvaluing money and a normal job. But later on your argument could be right from the other way around. When Stone hears she would have to go to Paris she could have turned around and said no I want to stay here and be with Gosling but didn't cause she was chasing after the dream. Gosling also wants her to leave to follow her dream. At no point in the movie does either character say the most important thing we have is our romance and it doesn't matter if we have a club or acting career. Even when Stone is trying to convince him to not go on tour she's basing her argument around the club and not her. So this would imply neither of them really got it. The question would be whether the film thought it was a good thing they ended up with career dreams instead of love or whether they were idiots, I guess it could be seen either way but I felt like by the end they should regret their decision not be happy for them. The film is about dreams and it appears for both of them throughout the film their career dreams mattered more than dreams of love which just so happened to pop up along the way, hence their failure. It's also about two characters who idolize dying things which could have hurt their chances since a dead relationship they get to romanticize the rest of their life in a way fit their personalities more than staying together

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Thu Jan 12, 2017 3:35 pm
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Post Re: La La Land
It is a good movie with no real bad qualities. The final scene though makes the movie Best Picture material.

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Fri Jan 13, 2017 2:13 am
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Post Re: La La Land
Not that I want to, but it is impossible to get "City of Stars" and "Another Day of Sun" out of my head. I am constantly humming them, especially the latter.

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Sat Jan 14, 2017 3:23 pm
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Post Re: La La Land
The bum bum bum, bum buh buh dum bum bum, bum bum bum, bum buh dum bum bum is quite catchy.


Sat Jan 14, 2017 4:30 pm
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Post Re: La La Land
It's partly my fault as I have the soundtrack on a loop from YouTube. :funny:

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Sat Jan 14, 2017 10:17 pm
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Post Re: La La Land
That was fucking incredible. Like MadGez I've never been much of a fan of musicals, but was looking forward to this just for the talent involved and I'm so glad it delivered. Damien Chazelle definitely proves he's legit between this and the awesomeness that was Whiplash. Him and Villeneuve should be considered some of the best directors working today if not the best and I really can't wait to see what either does next. Stone and Gosling are pure magic together, but I wouldn't be surprised if Stone got most of the attention during the Oscars considering this is totally her movie. Loved pretty much every musical number in this and it's so visually awe inspiring to look at in those sequences. I also must applaud them for that bittersweet ending they went for because you don't see that in a lot of mainstream films, especially romances and even though it was quite sad I still thought it was beautifully done. Oh and the J.K. Simmons bit at the end was hilarious.

Also it's nice to see that Tom Everett Scott is still getting work lol!.


Sun Jan 15, 2017 12:03 am
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Post Re: La La Land
Bollywood lol

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Sat Jan 21, 2017 12:36 am
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The Kramer
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Post Re: La La Land
The camera work, set design and editing are what make the musical bits superior to the norm.


Sat Jan 21, 2017 1:56 am
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Post Re: La La Land
Magnus wrote:
A good musical incorporates its musical bits so that it feels real within the film itself


lol, says who? the Good Film Bible? fuck off with your rules.

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Sat Jan 21, 2017 4:48 am
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Post Re: La La Land
I fail to see what makes this better than Sweeney Todd or Chicago. Les Mis you could argue had bad directing, Into the Woods has a divisive second act, Hairspray is fluffy, but those two are just excellent as films in general.


Sat Jan 21, 2017 11:53 am
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Post Re: La La Land
For those of you, like me, who are just not getting the adulation for La La Land, here is a nicely written deconstruction by The New Yorker.


Mon Jan 23, 2017 6:12 am
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Mon Jan 23, 2017 11:55 am
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Post Re: La La Land
Rainbow Connection: The Movie

That's a compliment.

A+

Can't wait to see it again, and maybe this time without a snoring/farting woman in the same row as me.

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Sat Jan 28, 2017 10:27 pm
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Post Re: La La Land
That pleases me. :D

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Sat Jan 28, 2017 10:28 pm
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Post Re: La La Land
Perhaps I need to rewatch it to discover what everyone else loved about this film, but this sort of left me feeling indifferent. Emma Stone is great in this, somehow breathing life into a character that feels like it doesn't have that much substance to it, but beyond her I felt myself drawn more towards the backgrounds and scenery (pretty colours!) than the rest of the movie. Ryan Gosling boringly portrays a largely unlikable character, while the scant few musical numbers come across as anaemic. It's not like I dislike musicals - I really loved Chicago and Moulin Rouge! - but this just isn't a great musical; the songs aren't that lyrically interesting, the choreography and dancing feel very wooden, and it doesn't help that neither Stone nor Gosling can sing all that well.

It's not a bad film - like I said, Stone is very good and it's certainly pretty - but man, I was expecting a lot more from this given how much in love everyone here seems to be with the film. B-


Mon Jan 30, 2017 5:37 am
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Post Re: La La Land
A lot of the things you dislike about the film I find refreshing. Not being able to sing professionally (though I believe they are absolutely fine) grounds the characters for me. Gosling isn't an unlikable character. He's relatable. The wooden dancing (though I disagree) if it is there is the product of fewer takes and therefore, for me, adds to the rawness of this musical. I hate everything being so perfect in a musical. It switches me off. And it's usually because they are trying to do a stage show justice, but with La La Land there's none of that.

Glad you watched it, but would have been nice if you enjoyed it more. Go and see it again! ;)

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Mon Jan 30, 2017 9:46 am
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Post Re: La La Land
I probably will, I think it will benefit from a repeat viewing. If anything, I found it very visually enjoyable so there's at least that.


Mon Jan 30, 2017 10:01 am
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Post Re: La La Land
This was quite enchanting.


Mon Jan 30, 2017 3:36 pm
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Post Re: La La Land
**** / ***** (B)

Unapologetically oldfashioned, yet falls into the trap of being highly derivative for no reasonable purpose. It's not a wonder that it's the movie of the awards season. Every now and then (The Artist and Argo most recently) Hollywood likes to pat itself on the back and what better way to do it than to go for a cutesy movie that nods to every imaginable Hollywood trope?

Let's get the musical part out of the way first. The music and the lyrics are completely unspectacular and unmemorable. They don't even try to sound distinctive, it's more important to sound classic Hollywood musical than anything original. And that's a creative choice which is fine, but which I didn't personally like at all. Also a case could be made that this didn't have to be a musical at all. Remove all the sing and dance scenes and just leave the final "what if" fantasy one and the film still works just as well, maybe it even makes a bigger punch in the end.

After seeing La La Land I watched Whiplash and was pretty disappointed to see that Chazelle basically used the same blueprint for this movie too. It's about two people with big dreams and big personalities clashing and they both get what they want in the end. And the love story from the Whiplash gets a repeat in this one too.

I actually enjoyed Gosling more than Stone. Gosling can dance, Emma is pretty wooden and funny looking when dancing. Both are weak singers, but they're not musical stars in classical sense so I didn't mind that much. Gosling does his character well from the start to the end. Emma is a bit too comicky in the start of the movie (I felt like I was watching House Bunny at times with her weird facial expressions) but once she gets to the drama parts she's good (though hardly a match to a brilliant performance by Isabelle Huppert).

Overall it's a nice movie. It's flows fast and it's nicely filmed. There's really nothing bad about it. But spectacular and the best movie of the season? LOL. No.

P.S. I can't believe anyone can find Stone attractive. She basically has Smeagol's face.


Sat Feb 04, 2017 7:54 am
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